Sebastian Werner, MD at Werner Pumps, talks about the importance of regular cleaning of ash build-up and slag deposits that form on boiler tubes and the role played by his company’s range of trailer-mounted high-pressure cleaning equipment in keeping boiler tubes in peak working condition.
For over 30 years, Werner South Africa Pumps & Equipment has been designing, manufacturing, supplying, and maintaining specialist high-pressure jetting equipment. The company has built a reputation as a local industry leader through its focus on delivering high-quality, low-maintenance, 100% South African manufactured products that last, all while considering clients’ budgets.
“To keep power plants and other equipment operating efficiently, it’s important to undertake regular cleaning of the boilers. Over time, ash build-up forms slag deposits on the boiler tubes, which act like a layer of insulation over them. This means more and more fuel is required to get the boilers up to temperature and to produce the same output. It also results in higher carbon emissions because of additional fuel usage,” explains Sebastian Werner, MD at Werner Pumps.
A key offering in this regard is Werner Pump’s range of trailer-mounted high-pressure cleaning equipment to help power – and other – utilities and their contractors keep their boiler tubes in peak working condition. “Our 1 000 bar and 1 200 bar, V8 trailer units are ideal for scale and slag build-up cleaning applications,” continues Werner. “Water pressure jet cleaning is also used for condenser applications, often used in under ground mines. Using our high-volume pumps and jets, we can reach the full distance of the boiler/condenser tubes,” he says.
In a recent Hendrina power utility cleaning application, the boiler tubes were over 9.0 m long with an inside diameter of roughly 23 cm. “Our units were able to run for more than an hour at a go, for what is known as ‘online cleaning’, which is cleaning while the boiler is in operation. Although this is a delicate operation, it means that no plant downtime is necessary. We were also thrilled to hear from the contractor that our 100% locally manufactured equipment was able to run longer and more efficiently than previously used equipment on the market. It’s always gratifying to see our equipment stand up to the test, and to have a satisfied customer,” he adds.
Werner says that scale deposits on firetubes are often worsened by burning lower-quality fuels or by incinerating materials that don’t burn cleanly. He cites medical waste incineration applications as an example.
“It’s important to clean tubes regularly for optimum heat transfer,” he continues. “Our units can be ordered as electric or diesel driven versions. They can be skid-, trolley- or trailer- mounted, depending on the customer’s preferences. We stock a range of specialist nozzles to ensure we provide the best solution for each specific application.”
The same type of equipment can also be used for cleaning rubber lining from pipelines, while the larger 2800barWerner Pumps unit is ideal for paint and rust removal applications.
