Fired Heater & Reformer Applications

Solcoat is an economical choice for solving many problems which occur with ceramic fiber, brick or castable/gunned systems in fired heaters.  Applications range from the burner to the combustion chamber and on up through the flue and stack encompassing both new and repair of existing linings.  Solcoat has temperature durability to >3,500 ºF, wind resistance to speeds in excess of Mach 3 and excellent chemical durability to all the “bad actors” normally associated with refining operations.

Advantage

Increase Energy Efficiency.  Solcoat’s High emissivity [Hi-E] coating provides for prolonged emissivity of >.93 at elevated process operation temperatures.  The effects of increasing the surface emissivity of a refractory lining are: Greater thermal transfer of energy to the process tubes and cooler lining temperatures.  These correlate to energy savings, increased process through-puts, and extended lining life.  The range of energy savings can be from 2 – +7% depending upon specific heater design and operational parameters.

Ceramic Fiber Shrinkage.  Solcoat reduces the initial shrinkage of ceramic fiber products by over 50%.  This reduces installation costs and time for repacking as well as improving thermal efficiency over the life of the lining.

Flame Impingement.  Solcoat will prevent damage done to all refractories by burner flame impingement.  Castables are protected from chemical attack and carbon infiltration which cause failure and cracking.  Ceramic fiber is not ablated and the shrinkage of vacuum cast pieces is cut by more than half reducing the uneven seating of the pre-cast pieces.

High Ablation Areas.  Solcoat applied onto ceramic fiber [modules, blankets or boards] will form a chemical resistant & toughened surface.  Most ridgidizers decrease chemical durability and increase shrinkage.  Solcoat will increase chemical durability and decrease initial shrinkage by more than 50% thereby saving money on installation costs, repacking and future operating costs.  Other solutions such as tile attachment or hardened board are far more costly than applying Solcoat.  For brick, fiber and castable/gunned linings Solcoat will reduce the dusting caused by high gas/air speeds thereby reducing the abrasion of piping and downstream parts due to airborne particulates.

Scale Build-up.   Solcoat inhibits the build up of scale from sulfur and other combustion residues on both the refractory and metallic tube surfaces.  Solcoat will also prohibit the leaching of sulfur scale mixed with water into the refractory as occurs during turn around washing of the tubes.

Condensation.  In the flue ducting and stacks, where the temperature is reduced, gasses have more of a tendency to find their way into the linings and condensing into harmful acids.  These acids erode anchor welds, corrode shells and refractory causing premature failure of lining systems.  Solcoat applied will seal the refractory surface prohibiting the harmful gasses from penetrating.  On existing linings Solcoat is used to fill major cracks and as a general surface treatment to seal off previous damage.  On older mortar & brick stacks Solcoat will protect the mortar and any gunned lining from chemical attack.

General Lining Repair.  If your lining is still intact but in general disrepair such as cracking, loose pieces or eroded surfaces Solcoat can be applied to fill the cracks, glue in loose pieces and prevent further erosion of surfaces thereby extending lining life.

High Temperature Chemical Attack.  Solcoat, by sealing the surface and prohibiting infiltration of gasses into the bulk, reduces significantly attack of linings by chemicals present in the atmosphere of most fired heaters.  Whether it is high sulfur, low oxygen, carbon or some other bad actor Solcoat has excellent durability.