Thermal Spray Coatings for High-Temperature Corrosion Protection in Biomass Co-Fired Boilers

There are over 1000 biomass boilers and about 500 plants using waste as fuel in Europe, and the numbers are increasing. Many of them encounter serious problems with high-temperature corrosion due to detrimental elements such as chlorides, alkali metals, and heavy metals. By HVOF spraying, it is possible to produce very dense and well-adhered coatings, which can be applied for corrosion protection of heat exchanger surfaces in biomass and waste-to-energy power plant boilers. Four HVOF coatings and one arc sprayed coating were exposed to actual biomass co-fired boiler conditions in superheater area with a probe measurement installation for 5900 h at 550 and 750 degrees C. The coating materials were Ni-Cr, IN625, Fe-Cr-W-Nb-Mo, and Ni-Cr-Ti. CJS and DJ Hybrid spray guns were used for HVOF spraying to compare the corrosion resistance of Ni-Cr coating structures. Reference materials were ferritic steel T92 and nickel super alloy A263. The circulating fluidized bed boiler burnt a mixture of wood, peat and coal. The coatings showed excellent corrosion resistance at 550 degrees C compared to the ferritic steel. At higher temperature, NiCr sprayed with CJS had the best corrosion resistance. IN625 was consumed almost completely during the exposure at 750 degrees C.