Case Study · Power Generation
Process Boiler High Emissivity Coating: 15 to 20% More Steam on 4 to 5% Less Gas at Apache Nitrogen
| Industry | Power Generation |
|---|---|
| Asset | Gas-fired process boiler (46 MMBTU/hr Erie City) |
| Customer or location | Apache Nitrogen Products, USA |
| Products used | Emisshield on castable refractory and carbon-steel tubes |
| Headline metric | −4 to 5% natural gas |
| Secondary metric | +15 to 20% steam output |
| Also measured | Maintenance 9 to 24+ months |
Apache Nitrogen Products coated Boiler 1, radiant and convective refractory and carbon-steel tube surfaces, with Emisshield and compared it against the identical uncoated Boiler 2 using thermal imaging and daily heat-value data. The coated boiler used 4 to 5% less natural gas, produced 15 to 20% more steam, ran lower shell temperatures on the burner wall and sidewalls with less excess air, and stretched its maintenance cycle from 9 months to more than 24.
01
What was the challenge?
High fuel cost, inconsistent combustion temperatures, recurring refractory wear, and casing losses on an ammonia plant's process boiler.
02
What was applied?
Emisshield on both castable refractory and carbon-steel tube surfaces of Boiler 1. Steel was grit-blasted and chemically cleaned; refractory needed no preparation. Thermal imaging before and after tracked burner-wall and sidewall temperatures against Boiler 2.
03
What were the results?
| Metric | Uncoated (Boiler 2) | Coated (Boiler 1) |
|---|---|---|
| Natural gas use | Baseline | −4 to 5% |
| Steam output | Baseline | +15 to 20% |
| Boiler efficiency (normalized, after burner adjustments) | 966 BTU/scf | 1,009 BTU/scf (+4.4%) |
| Shell temperature (burner wall, sidewalls) | Baseline | Notably lower |
| Excess air | Baseline | Reduced; more stable combustion |
| Maintenance cycle | 9 months | 24+ months |
Daily heat-value data showed a 1.1 to 1.3% efficiency gain immediately after coating and 3.9 to 4.4% after burner adjustments, with additional gains from lower stack temperature and higher feedwater temperature. The plant manager's summary: "This technology gave us more steam with less fuel, and pushed our maintenance window out by over a year."
04
Why did it work?
Coated refractory re-emits absorbed energy to the tubes rather than the flue, and coated tubes absorb more of it, so the same fuel raises more steam while walls run cooler. See Energy Savings and Production Increase.
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