ENGINE & TURBINE TECHNOLOGY


suited to capturing foulant and carrying it through the engine without redepositing on later stages. To select a chemical cleaner, operators should perform an effectiveness test with a foulant sample.


WHAT IF THE FOULANT REDEPOSITS IN LATER STAGES? Once foulant has been removed by the wash fluid it will pass further into the turbine compressor. To ensure no significant build-up occurs in later stages, a regular offline wash should be performed with a suitable number of rinse cycles. Te importance of rinse cycles can be seen in conductivity and appearance changes from effluent taken after a wash and after rinse cycles. What’s usually observed is a significant difference from the first drain during the wash cycle to the last on the second rinse cycle. Tis suggests the offline wash itself only loosens the dirt and the rinse cycle is what removes it from the compressor. Tis highlights the importance of offline cleaning to remove foulant and any later stage deposits.


CAN HARDWARE BE RETROFITTED? Te benefits of turbine cleaning have been outlined, but online cleans require


Fig.1. Effect of cleaning on net work - gas turbine performance optimisation using compressor online water washing technique (Courtesy of Ezenwa Alfred Ogbonnaya)


specialist hardware that may not be have been installed when the machinery was manufactured. However, it is often possible to retrofit this hardware and add online cleans to the schedule.


Te costs associated with installing


new cleaning equipment are often returned many times over in fuel savings alone, not


to mention sparing the expense of excess scheduled and unscheduled downtime.


Martin Howarh is managing director of Rochem Fyrewash. www.rochem-fyrewash.com


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