---
title: "Steam sootblower"
description: "A steam sootblower projects high-pressure steam (typically 17–35 bar) through nozzles onto boiler tube banks to dislodge accumulated soot, ash and slag. Steam sootblowing is the dominant traditional boiler-cleaning technology, with major suppliers including Diamond Power (now part of ANDRITZ), Clyde Bergemann, Babcock & Wilcox and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries."
canonical_url: "https://sylio.co/glossary/steam-sootblower"
last_updated: "2026-06-28T02:29:24.429Z"
---

A **steam sootblower** projects high-pressure steam (typically 17–35 bar) through nozzles onto boiler tube banks to dislodge accumulated soot, ash and slag. Steam sootblowing is the dominant traditional boiler-cleaning technology, with major suppliers including Diamond Power (now part of ANDRITZ), Clyde Bergemann, Babcock & Wilcox and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries.

## Types

<table>
<thead>
  <tr>
    <th>
      Type
    </th>
    
    <th>
      Use case
    </th>
  </tr>
</thead>

<tbody>
  <tr>
    <td>
      <a href="/glossary/ik-long-retract-sootblower">
        IK (long retract)
      </a>
    </td>
    
    <td>
      Convective superheater, reheater, generating bank
    </td>
  </tr>
  
  <tr>
    <td>
      <a href="/glossary/ir-rotary-sootblower">
        IR (rotary)
      </a>
    </td>
    
    <td>
      Air heater, deep convective banks
    </td>
  </tr>
  
  <tr>
    <td>
      Wall blowers
    </td>
    
    <td>
      Furnace waterwalls, short reach
    </td>
  </tr>
  
  <tr>
    <td>
      <a href="/glossary/retract-sootblower">
        Retractable
      </a>
    </td>
    
    <td>
      High-temperature service, withdrawn between uses
    </td>
  </tr>
  
  <tr>
    <td>
      Fixed
    </td>
    
    <td>
      Air heaters, smaller industrial duty
    </td>
  </tr>
</tbody>
</table>

## Trade-offs vs sonic horns

<table>
<thead>
  <tr>
    <th>
      Attribute
    </th>
    
    <th>
      Steam sootblower
    </th>
    
    <th>
      <a href="/glossary/sonic-horn">
        Sonic horn
      </a>
    </th>
  </tr>
</thead>

<tbody>
  <tr>
    <td>
      Cleaning medium
    </td>
    
    <td>
      High-pressure steam jet
    </td>
    
    <td>
      Pulsed sound
    </td>
  </tr>
  
  <tr>
    <td>
      Tube erosion risk
    </td>
    
    <td>
      Documented
    </td>
    
    <td>
      None
    </td>
  </tr>
  
  <tr>
    <td>
      Steam / energy consumption
    </td>
    
    <td>
      Significant boiler steam
    </td>
    
    <td>
      Plant compressed air only
    </td>
  </tr>
  
  <tr>
    <td>
      Frequency
    </td>
    
    <td>
      Per shift typical
    </td>
    
    <td>
      Every few minutes
    </td>
  </tr>
  
  <tr>
    <td>
      Effective on bonded slag
    </td>
    
    <td>
      Yes
    </td>
    
    <td>
      No
    </td>
  </tr>
  
  <tr>
    <td>
      Effective on dry friable deposits
    </td>
    
    <td>
      Yes
    </td>
    
    <td>
      Yes (and earlier in the consolidation cycle)
    </td>
  </tr>
  
  <tr>
    <td>
      Moving parts in flue gas
    </td>
    
    <td>
      Yes
    </td>
    
    <td>
      None
    </td>
  </tr>
</tbody>
</table>

## Position in modern cleaning practice

Modern practice typically combines both: steam sootblowers for periodic deeper cleaning, [sonic horns](/glossary/sonic-horn) for continuous prevention between sootblower cycles. The combination outperforms either alone on most convective-pass duty.

## Related terms

- [Sonic sootblower](/glossary/sonic-sootblower)
- [IK long retract sootblower](/glossary/ik-long-retract-sootblower)
- [IR rotary sootblower](/glossary/ir-rotary-sootblower)
- [Retract sootblower](/glossary/retract-sootblower)
- [Water cannon](/glossary/water-cannon)
- [Sonic horn](/glossary/sonic-horn)