A 'First' for Duplex Stainless Steel
October 9th, 2003
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.
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.
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.
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