Heat Management (https://heatmanage.com) reports successful application of its infrasound cleaning system in a China Western Power Industrial CFB boiler installed at a paper mill in Thailand. The 70 t/h boiler (pictured) co-fires sub-bituminous coal, wood chips, and waste reject, with a typical fuel mix of 63%, 33%, and 4%. It is designed with a vertical back pass containing the superheater (SH), economiser (ECO), and air preheater (APH).
The infrasound cleaning system was installed to reduce soot accumulation on the heat transfer surfaces of the air preheater, economiser and superheater. The goal was to achieve at least a 50% reduction in steam sootblowing while maintaining overall energy efficiency.
The installation of infrasound cleaning did indeed enable a 50% reduction in steam sootblowing, along with: lower water consumption; less wear on heated surfaces; and an increase in average power production, from 11.5 MW to 12.1 MW, despite what the operator describes as “slightly more challenging fuel mix conditions during the infrasound period.”
The cleaning technique employs long range infrasound waves (~20 Hz), which cause oscillations in the boiler flue gas that remove deposits on heat transfer surfaces.
