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Emisshield

Industries · Power Generation

High Emissivity Coatings for Power Generation

In steam and power generation, radiant absorption on boiler surfaces sets efficiency, and burner tips, refractory, and waterwalls degrade under the load. Emisshield high emissivity coatings raise radiant transfer to the working surfaces and protect the components that take the abuse, with documented results including a gas-fired process boiler producing 15 to 20% more steam on 4 to 5% less fuel, a biomass CHP boiler gaining 10% steam output on 10% less fuel with NOx down 25%, and burner tip life extended 3 to 7 times. ROI is typically under a year.

+15 to 20% steam, 4 to 5% less gas, maintenance 9 to 24+ months
Gas-fired process boiler · Apache Nitrogen
+10% steam, 10% less fuel, NOx down 25%
Biomass CHP boiler · E.ON, Mora, Sweden
Life 7×
Black-liquor burner tips · Recovery boiler

01 · Applications

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    What problems does a high emissivity coating solve in a boiler?

    Steam output is capped by radiant-section performance while shell temperatures and casing losses stay high. Burner tips corrode and coke in black-liquor and coal service. Slag builds and thermal shock cracks refractory in biomass and mass-burn units. HRSG transition sections run uneven. Heat rate and CO2 intensity sit above target. The coating re-emits absorbed energy to the waterwalls and tubes instead of reflecting it into the flue path, stabilizes combustion, and shields the metal and refractory it covers.

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      How does Emisshield perform on gas-fired process boilers?

      Apache Nitrogen coated the radiant and convective refractory sections and carbon-steel tube surfaces of one of two identical gas-fired process boilers and compared it against the uncoated unit with thermal imaging. 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, reduced excess air, and stretched its maintenance cycle from 9 to more than 24 months. The plant manager's summary: more steam with less fuel, and the maintenance window pushed out by over a year.

      Documented in

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      How does Emisshield perform on biomass boilers?

      E.ON's walking-grate biomass CHP plant in Mora, Sweden had slag buildup, alkali corrosion, and unbalanced combustion. Coating the aged castable walls, firebrick, and boiler tubes produced a 10% increase in steam output on a 10% lower fuel load, combustion air reduced from 5.0% to 0.5%, NOx down 25%, CO down 45%, CO2 down 10%, particulate down 20%, and a large reduction in flyash, soot, and slagging. The plant was also able to switch to a less expensive fuel.

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      How does Emisshield perform on burner tips?

      Sintered coatings on stainless burner tips slow the corrosion and coking that consume them. In a black-liquor recovery boiler, tips that lasted under two months went from first degradation at 3 weeks to 9 months, and time to failure from 7 weeks to 12 months, a 7× life increase. In a coal-fired power plant, tips with coke buildup and broken welds went from about 6 months to about 20 months between failures, with burner surface temperature held to 150°C, complete combustion, and lower NOx.

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      How does Emisshield perform on HRSGs?

      On a horizontal HRSG at a combined-cycle plant, the duct burner zone and transition sections were coated to improve radiant capture and temperature uniformity. The unit reached operating temperature 22% faster, particulate fell 20%, dusting dropped, and refractory and steel sub-components lasted longer.

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      How does Emisshield perform on waste-to-energy boilers?

      A sloped-grate mass-burn facility with slag buildup, incomplete combustion, hot spots, and thermal shock coated its wall refractories and throat arch. Heat recovery and solid-waste combustion improved, hot spots and slag adhesion fell, and the maintenance cycle moved from quarterly to semi-annual.

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      Can the coating serve power transmission?

      Yes. Emisshield developed the first high emissivity coating for overhead power conductors (US patent 10332658B2) with General Cable, applied at production speed and to in-service cables. Weatherometer testing predicted a 40-year coating life, with a 4.5% reduction in resistive losses, a 25% reduction in conductor temperature rise above ambient, and less cable sag.

      Documented in

    02

    Documented results

    AssetCase studyResult
    Gas-fired process boilerApache Nitrogen+15 to 20% steam, 4 to 5% less gas, maintenance 9 to 24+ months
    Biomass CHP boilerE.ON, Mora, Sweden+10% steam, 10% less fuel, NOx down 25%
    Black-liquor burner tipsRecovery boilerLife 7×
    Coal burner tipsCoal-fired plantLife 3×, NOx reduced
    HRSGCombined-cycle plant22% faster to temperature, particulate down 20%
    Mass-burn boilerWaste-to-energyMaintenance quarterly to semi-annual
    Overhead conductorGeneral Cable4.5% less resistive loss, 40-year life
    All Power Generation case studies

    03 · Case Studies

    Power Generation case studies

    All in the library

    FAQ

    Frequently Asked Questions

    Does it work in biomass and waste-fuel atmospheres?
    Yes. Slag adhesion and corrosive-gas resistance are documented; the E.ON and mass-burn cases ran in exactly those conditions.
    Can burner tips really be saved?
    Sintered coatings on black-liquor and coal burner tips are among the most repeated Emisshield applications, with documented life increases of 3× and 7×.
    What about combined-cycle plants?
    HRSG duct burner zones and transition sections are documented, with faster heat-up and lower particulate.
    Where are RTOs covered?
    Both documented RTO and dryer installations are at ethanol plants; see the Ethanol page.

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    Next Step

    Send us the boiler's heat rate, fuel, and steam target. We project the result from comparable documented installations.

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