Atlas Copco Rental to support long-term availability and safe operation of boiler at steel plant
5 April 2017
Brazil, April 5, 2017: When an important company in the steel industry faced problems with their existing air compressors that did not provide the necessary pressure to their boiler, they contacted Atlas Copco Rental to fix the issues.
Boilers require careful attention and specific controls in order to be 100% efficient, safe during operations and to reduce their cost of ownership while, at the same time, guarantee their long-term availability.
One item that can seriously jeopardize the good functioning of a boiler is the soot blower.
This device, installed inside the boiler close to the firing side, requires a steady supply of compressed air at the correct pressure to clean the pipes so they do not become clogged with soot resulting from the burning of the fuel. This cleaning must be performed daily for boilers with a high utilization in order to avoid explosions caused by gasses formed during the burning.
When an important steel industry player in Brazil started to face problems with the pressure delivered by their existing air compressor, they immediately contacted Atlas Copco Rental.
It rapidly became clear that the equipment was only supplying air at four bar: about half of what was required for the job, insufficient to overcome the vacuum created inside the boiler. This caused the soot to accumulate, increasing the risk of damages to the boiler and other equipment on the production line. Also the lack of detailed documentation on the pressure limitations of the system was and additional difficulty to find a solution.
After a first meeting to discuss the application, our engineer was able to rapidly propose a solution that perfectly matched the customer’s emergency.
The solution consisted of installing the air compressor as close as possible to the soot blower’s inlet and gradually increase the compressed air pressure in order to evaluate the capacity of the system while protecting the pipeline and other surrounding equipment. For this evaluation we selected an Oil-free Class Zero PNS 1250 mobile air compressor since it can provide up to 24 bar of compressed air.
Rafael Soares, Sales Engineer, explains: “It was very important to understand the customer’s application and the risks involved so we could present the right solution”.
Ricardo Cabot, Commercial Manager, adds: “Thanks to the expertise we demonstrated by sharing all needed information about compressed air standards, together with the carefully designed solution we worked out with the customer, we managed to reach the expected result of keeping their system clean and safe during the entire rental period.”
For more information please contact:
- Cassia Juknevicius, Business Assistant Tel: +55 15 34 127 602 E-mail: cassia.juknevicius@br.atlascopco.com
Atlas Copco is a world-leading provider of sustainable productivity solutions. The Group serves customers with innovative compressors, vacuum solutions and air treatment systems, construction and mining equipment, power tools and assembly systems. Atlas Copco develops products and services focused on productivity, energy efficiency, safety and ergonomics. The company was founded in 1873, is based in Stockholm, Sweden, and has a global reach spanning more than 180 countries. In 2016, Atlas Copco had revenues of BSEK 101 (BEUR 11) and about 45 000 employees. Learn more at www.atlascopcogroup.com.
Specialty Rental is a division within Atlas Copco’s Construction Technique business area. It serves customers in the industry segments around the world with temporary air and power rental solutions. The specialty rental services are offered under several brands. The divisional headquarters is located in Houston, USA.