Corrosion in the Flue Gas Cleaning System of a Biomass-Fired Power Plant

After only a few years operation, corrosiondamage was observed in the flue gas cleaning system of abiomass power plant. The corrosion was on the lower partof the gas/gas heat exchanger fabricated from A242weathering steel, where UNS S31600 bolts were used toattach sealing strips to the rotor. Thick iron oxides (up to5 mm) had formed on the weathering steel, and theseoxides also contained chlorine and sulfur. In this area of theheat exchanger, weathering steel has not had the optimalwet/dry cycles required to achieve a protective oxide. Dueto the thick growing oxide on the rotor, the UNS S31600bolts were under stress and this together with the presenceof accumulated chlorine between the sealing strips andbolts resulted in stress corrosion cracking and rupture. Inaddition, Zn-K-Cl deposits were agglomerated in the ductafter the DeNOx unit. Zn was also a constituent of corrosionproducts in various places in the ducts resulting inhygroscopic compounds. The presence of Zn in these caseswas not from the fuel and is assumed to have originatedfrom Zn containing primer (used to protect the plant duringconstruction) reacting with flue gas constituents containingchlorine (KCl and HCl).