Question 371Steam Plants - Assistant Engineer

The correct answer is A) maintaining a normal level of scavenging agents. Scavenging agents, such as sodium sulfite or hydrazine, are used in boiler water treatment to chemically remove dissolved oxygen. By maintaining the proper level of these agents, the boiler water's dissolved oxygen content can be effectively reduced, even without accurate onboard testing. This helps prevent corrosion and pitting of the boiler system. The other options are incorrect because: B) maintaining low boiler water pH does not directly address dissolved oxygen removal; C) testing for total dissolved solids does not specifically target dissolved oxygen; and D) surface blows remove sludge and suspended solids, but do not remove dissolved gases like oxygen.