Customer case:

Enhancing boiler maintenance: insights from Shock Pulse Generator installation

Mar 14, 2024

An installation of Shock Pulse Generators (SPGs) in a biomass boiler in Germany has yielded valuable insights into enhancing operational efficiency and reliability. See how this installation has significantly improved boiler maintenance practices in all four passes of the biomass boiler.

Costly boiler tube buildup removed with a non-damaging solution

A 4 pass vertical biomass boiler was having problems. They were experiencing significant buildup on the boiler tube walls, resulting in large slag chunks falling and blocking the deslagger and damaging the stoker. Worse still, the deposits often resulted in mill downtime for cleaning or repairs to the damaged equipment. The integration of shock pulse generators has proven to be a transformative solution, significantly enhancing boiler maintenance efficiency.

Summary

Location	Germany
Challenges	Large slagging deposits are visible on the membrane walls and at the refractory Extensive build up caused increases in flue gas temperature Large slag chunks were breaking off and falling down onto the stoker Blockages were happening at the deslagger Mill downtime for cleaning and equipment maintenance
Solution	Installation of three Shock Pulse Generators (SPG) in passes 1 - 3 Secondary installation of a fourth SPG in the final pass of the boiler
Results	Very effective cleaning in 1st pass, build up completely removed Increased cleaning in the 1st and 2nd passes led to lower flue gas temperature at the inlet of the 3rd pass Increased efficiency of sootblowers in 3rd and 4th passes Elimination of deslagger blockages and no further damages to the stoker
Keywords	Safety, innovation, Shock Pulse Generator, pulp, pulp & energy, boiler, biomass, online cleaning,

Technical Summary

Steam capacity	28 t/h
Pressure	46 bar
Temperature	425°C

*Valmet is the authorized NA distributor of the Shock Pulse Generator, an Explosion Power GmbH product.