Continuous burning campaigns take their toll on systems and can be particularly arduous on refractories around combustion areas, superheaters, and ash hoppers. In this article, we focus on the challenges around boiler ash hoppers and how Saint-Gobain monolithic materials represent the ideal long-term waste to energy solution to costly breakdown, maintenance and repair issues.

Case Study: Waste to Energy Solutions for Ash/Grit Hoppers

Operation and maintenance teams know how problematic ash hopper operation can be. Build-up or damage can include anything from minor blockages that reduce capacity and call for unscheduled maintenance, to relines requiring extensive planning, downtime, loss of revenue, alongside health and safety implications due to confined space working.

Hoppers are subject to ash sticking and bridging which blocks flow and capacity of the hopper. This physically needs to be removed which entails cost and safety implications. Additionally, ash can cause erosion of the working surface – combined with thermomechanical stress – which can lead to cracking, causing the lining to come away and expose weaker insulation behind, or indeed reach even the steelwork, leading to hot spots with additional maintenance and repair costs.

At Saint-Gobain Performance Ceramics & Refractories, we consider the long-term aspects of these applications and invite durable and cost-effective long-term waste to energy solutions. These are important qualities for WTE plants in their quest for longer on-line availability, safety, and performance. Utilising our monolithic materials and expertise, facilities have been able to drastically reduce wear on the lining, prevent bridging, and maintain a flow of material through the process. This enables resources to be allocated elsewhere in an efficient and controlled manner.

Interested in our unique waste to energy solutions?

Our monolithic materials in ash hopper applications have yielded longer performance with reduced downtime. If you would like to learn more about using the Saint-Gobain waste to energy solution to elevate your performance, why not contact us to speak with an expert?