Case Studies · Power Generation

Burner Tip High Emissivity Coating: 3× Longer Life and Lower NOx at a Coal-Fired Power Plant

Coal burner tips (stainless steel)·Coal-fired power plant

Stainless-steel burner tips at a coal-fired power plant suffered coke buildup, broken welds, and a lifespan of roughly six months, and replacement meant significant downtime. Emisshield sintered coatings on the tips extended time between failures to roughly 20 months, held burner surface temperature to 150°C, reduced coke formation and broken welds, and achieved complete combustion with lower NOx.

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Failures ~6 to ~20 months
: Surface temperature reduced to 150°C
: NOx reduced
: Complete combustion

The Challenge

Coke buildup and thermal stress were failing tips every six months.

What Was Applied

Sintered coating on the burner tips to minimize degradation from temperature and corrosion.

Coal burner nozzles coated with Emisshield M-1

Why It Worked

A cooler, uniform tip surface stops the coke laydown and thermal cycling that break welds, and steadier flame lowers NOx. See Production Increase, combustion.

Summary of Results

Metric	Uncoated	Coated
Time between failures	~6 months	~20 months (3×)
Burner surface temperature	Baseline	Reduced to 150°C
Coke formation and broken welds	Significant	Reduced
Combustion	Incomplete	Complete
NOx generation	Baseline	Reduced
Condition at 6 months	Coked	Coated tips cleaner than uncoated

Next step

Operating the Same Asset?

Burner tips coking or cracking? Send us the burner type and failure history. We project the result from comparable documented installations.

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