A 'First' for Duplex Stainless Steel

THE MAGAGINE DEVOTED TO NICKEL AND ITS APPLICATIONS October 2003 Volume 19, Number 1

INLET OPENING for the flue gas desulphurization (FGD) plant at the Coleson Cove generating station in New Brunswick, Canada prior to assembly. It was constructed of S32205 duplex stainless steel.

DETAILS OF THE ABSORBER TRAYS in the inlet module shown above.

THE UNDERSIDE OF A FGD MODULE showing spray piping.

DETAILS OF THE INLET MODULE

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For other recent Nickel Magazine articles on the use of nickel-containing materials in the energy sector, click here.

Duplex stainless steel is used in an absorber of a flue gas desulphurization (FGD) plant in North America for the first time. By Dr. Gerry Crawford

Nickel magazine, October, 2003 -- Hundreds of tonnes of half a dozen different nickel-containing alloys are being used in two new flue gas desulphurization (FGD) installations in Canada. One is NB Power's Coleson Cove oil-fired power generating station on the Bay of Fundy, near Saint John, New Brunswick, and the other at the Syncrude Canada oil sands operation  at Fort McMurray, Alberta (click here for separate story).

The Coleson Cove plant is the first FGD application in North America to use duplex stainless steel S32205 for the absorbers. A total of 360 tonnes of this material, containing 5.5% nickel, is being used. In addition to imparting an increased yield strength and elevated corrosion resistance, the nitrogen addition in S32205 overcomes potential ductility problems resulting from welding. (For a list of all the nickel-containing alloys used in this project, click here.)

Another novel feature of the 1,050-megawatt generating station is placement of the wet electrostatic precipitator on top of the absorber. Together with the outlet ductwork, the entire FGD unit stands nearly 60 metres high and is 17 metres in diameter.

An interesting operational feature of the Coleson Cove project is that it will convert the 30-year-old generating station to Orimulsion [TM] as a fuel from heavy fuel oil. Orimulsion [TM] is a low-cost aqueous emulsion with 70% bitumen from the Orinoco region of Venezuela.

The Coleson Cove station was built in the 1970s and is now being refurbished with the latest air pollution control technology to meet strict Canadian pollution requirements and to extend the life of the station to 2030. The general contractor for the upgrade is Babcock Wilcox of Barberton Ohio. The welding is being done locally by Maritime Welding of Bathurst, N.B. The FGD plant is scheduled to go into operation in October, 2004.

Dr. Crawford is a consultant to the Nickel Development Institute.

PHOTOS: courtesy of Babcok Wilcox

NB Power 515 King Street P.O. Box 2000 Fredericton New Brunswick Canada E3B 4X1 Tel: 1 505 458 4444 Coleson Cove Web Site: www.nbpower.com/en/about/generation/ccrefurb.html

For other recent Nickel Magazine articles on the use of nickel-containing materials in the energy sector, click here. Free NiDI technical publications on flue gas desulphurization: Corrosion Resistance of Duplex and 4-6% Mo-containing Stainless Steels in FGD Scrubber Absorber Slurry Environments (2000) (NiDI Reprint Series No. 14055) Flue Gas Desulphurization in Japan (1992) 13007 Fabrication Options for Nickel-containing Alloys in FGD Service: Guidelines for Users (1993)  14029 Welding and Fabrication in Nickel Alloys in FGD Systems (1987) 10027 Flue Gas Desulphurization; The European Scene (1987) 10025 The Use of Nickel Stainless Steels and Nickel Alloys in Flue Gas Desulphurization Systems in the United States (1987) 10024

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