Analisa Pengaruh Perubahan Teperatur Air Pendingin Dan Temperatur Uap Masuk Kondensor Terhadap Kinerja Kondensor Unit 4 PT Bintan Alumina Indonesia

Abstract

The condenser is a critical heat exchanger in a steam power plant that condenses turbine exhaust steam into condensate while maintaining the vacuum required for efficient plant operation. This study aims to analyze the effects of cooling water temperature and inlet steam temperature on the performance of the Unit 4 condenser at PT Bintan Alumina Indonesia. A quantitative approach was employed using actual operating data collected from October 2025 to February 2026 through the Distributed Control System (DCS) and operator log sheets under steady-state conditions. The performance evaluation was conducted using the Log Mean Temperature Difference (LMTD), Number of Transfer Units (NTU), capacity ratio, heat transfer rate (Q), and condenser effectiveness. The results indicate that an increase in inlet cooling water temperature reduces condenser effectiveness, whereas a higher inlet steam temperature improves the heat transfer driving force and condenser performance. The optimum operating condition was observed on 10 October 2025, with an inlet cooling water temperature of 27.42°C, an inlet steam temperature of 41.80°C, an LMTD of 7.70°C, an NTU of 0.85, a heat transfer rate of 174.09 kW, and a condenser effectiveness of 0.57. In contrast, the effectiveness decreased to approximately 0.32–0.34 when the inlet cooling water temperature exceeded 28°C. These findings demonstrate that simultaneous control of cooling water temperature and inlet steam temperature is essential for maintaining optimum condenser performance and improving the operational efficiency of the power plant.