The overall cost impact of boiler steam water cycle chemistry problems in fossil plants is typically hidden within the statistics of component forced outages, efficiency losses and premature end of useful component life. Corrosion of components in utility steam generating plants is responsible for an estimated 50% of all forced outages and over 30% additional operating and maintenance costs. These problems are usually the direct result of repeat incidents of impurity ingress, corrosion, and/or corrosion product generation, transport, and deposition on heat transfer and other power generation process equipment surfaces.
The only way to prevent repeat incidents of equipment corrosion and deposition problems is to understand and implement a formalized cycle chemistry improvement program that addresses the root causes of these problems. These excellent results are due to use of state-of-the-art cycle chemistry water treatments, minimum “core” level of instrumentation, monitoring and/or process control systems, and improved management, technical, operation, maintenance and administrative policies and practices.
Training Objective
This course is meant to raise awareness about the significance of chemistry in a power plant and the advancement.
The focus is to provide the knowledge on the essential programmatic features of a formalized plant chemistry program, and guidance and/or state-of-the-art direction on how to do the following:
Develop a management supported cycle chemistry program,
Develop and/or implement optimum chemistries for each unit,
Develop unit-specific limits, action levels, and operating procedures,
Decide on optimum sampling points, and specify and install the EPRI/OEM minimum “core” level of instrumentation,
Decide on when or whether to chemically clean the boiler,
Illustrate benefits of condensate polishers and other cycle chemistry improvement features and/or equipment,
Develop and/or apply technical and cost performance indices, and to reduce chemistry-related corrosion and/or deposition costs and demonstrate the benefits of optimum unit-specific chemistries.
