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Ceramic liner is tougher than coal clinker

Paul Boughton
Wear protection solution succeeds in handling hot clinker at coal-fired power station.

Kingfisher Industrial has succeeded in providing a ceramic liner wear protection solution to a large coal fired power station, to replace two competitive systems that failed.

The solution, the company's K-ZAS Ceramic Liner system is effectively handling the severe abrasion and corrosion resulting from conveying hot coarse clinker to an ash reception hopper.

"We have a tremendous amount of experience of supplying and installing wear protection systems in the power generation market," commented Kingfisher MD, John Connolly. "This was instrumental in selecting the correct liner for this application. We know from experience that there is no 'one-size-fits-all' solution in wear protection systems. Each application has to be considered individually; it has to be surveyed and considered before a tailored solution can be arrived at."

Kingfisher was called in by the plant engineer at the power station following unsuccessful trials of both cast basalt and hi-chrome castings as lining materials for handling the hot clinker. The problem was that, although the course clinker was suspended and conveyed hydraulically, the internal surface of the pipeline was subjected to severe abrasion and erosion.

Having had previous experience with this type of application, Kingfisher recommended its 25mm thick K-ZAS ceramic lining system. The system was supplied in cylinder form, to ensure that internal concentricity was maintained, and that the excellent impact and sliding wear resistant characteristics of the K-ZAS liners were employed to the full. Subsequent operation of the system has shown that the K-ZAS liners considerably outperform the previously used wear resistant system.

The K-ZAS ceramic lining solution provided by Kingfisher is designed for the protection of plant and equipment encountering severe abrasion and erosion attack from bulk solids being conveyed, stored or processed by mechanical, pneumatic or hydraulic means. Rated nine on the MOHS hardness scale and having excellent thermal shock resistance, K-ZAS is ideally suited to counter excessive abrasion and high temperatures for applications within the power generation, bulk solids handling and mineral processing industries.

Kingfisher's K-ZAS lining comprises three raw materials: zirconia, alumina and silicon. These are crushed, screened and fed into an electric arc furnace where they are smelted at 1450°C. At this stage the minerals are converted into a molten state and cast into moulds. These components remain in the moulds and are placed into an annealing chamber where, a heat treatment process is undertaken; this dependent upon the volume of the casting. The result, at the end of the process, is a material with the characteristics of extreme abrasion resistance as well as resistance to high thermal stresses.

Kingfisher Industrial provides wear solutions for process plant used to convey, process or store bulk solid materials, in either dry or hydraulic states.

Such plant often suffers premature wear due to handling large quantities of materials at velocity in a constant operational cycle. With its range of ceramic, metallic and polymer protection systems, Kingfisher can overcome wear problems; engineering suitable protection systems that can add many years' of life to a plant, and in some cases outlast the design life of a process completely.

These solutions cater for the operating criteria, budget and life cycle of either new equipment - particularly when initially installed - or existing equipment, which can be retrofitted with a protection system to add to its current asset value.

For more information, visit www.kingfisher-industrial.com

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