GE P&W FuelSolv - Slag Control Treatment Program at EKPC Spurlock Station - Manual (Page 8)

Page 8 Technical Paper
Impact of Slagging and Fouling Index
The fouling index of coal burned in Unit 2 increased
significantly. EKPC Spurlock found a different type of
buildup during the May 2010 Air Heater repair out-
age. A lighter weight fouling deposit was seen as
opposed to the heavy slag typically seen. Slagging
or fouling that did form came off tubes easier with
sootblowing. Figure 9 shows coal slagging and foul-
ing index plotted against slag rating.
We saw Unit 2 slag rating increase due to deteriora-
tion of burner tips over time.
Fuel Cost Savings
As many as eight different Illinois Basin coal
sources were used to fuel Units 1 and 2 in 2010.
Coal-A was the lowest cost, but the coal with the
highest slagging tendencies. In the past Spurlock
Station was unable to continuously burn Coal-A.
Burning alternate fuels came at an incremental
cost per ton. Coal-A comprised 22% of all coal
burned in 2010. Relative costs of all fuels are
shown in Table 10. Minimum savings associated
with the ability to burn Coal-A are shown in Table
11 while maximum savings are shown in Table 12.
Replacing Coal-A with 100% Coal-B is not practi-
cal and so the total Fuel Cost savings are realisti-
cally between $2,413,000 and $7,600,000.
Total operating cost for the FuelSolv FMG2960
program is estimated at $2,172,000.
Conclusions
The FuelSolv FMG2960 program was successful
when applied directly to a coal belt and combined
with targeted sootblowing practices. Application
of FMG2960 slag control chemistry with consistent
boiler operating practices produced the following
results:
 Eliminated clinkers on Unit 1 SH Platens and
eliminated damaging slag falls
 Reduced pluggage on Unit 2 RH. Slag that
formed was brittle and easily removed with air
sootblowers
 The majority of slag that developed shed at
shutdown, eliminating much of the cost of off-
line high pressure water blasting
 Slag that did form broke up very easily, signifi-
cantly reducing problems with grinding hard
bottom ash
 FMG2960 enabled EKPC Spurlock to regularly
burn high slagging coals without pluggage or
large slag falls
 Enabled EKPC Spurlock to burn high slagging
coals that they were not able to burn in the
past
 Reduced overall fuel costs by as much as
$7,000,000 per year
Unit 2 RH from Right Wall at IK #10 after De-rate 7-4-10
Unit 2 RH from Right Wall at IK #10 7-2-10