AMY RI S LEY · JU LY 5, 2017

Corrosion & Prevention In

Cement Plant Baghouses
A SUMMARY OF THE CAUSES
OF CORROSION AND A PATH
TO ITS ELIMINATION

Greg Odenthal, Directo r o f

Engineering & Technical
Operatio ns, ITC - Internatio nal
Technical Ceramics, LLC and Stev e
Williams, COO o f JC Industrial
Serv ices, summarize bagho use
co rro sio n and pro v ide a so lutio n fo r
its eliminatio n.

INTRODUCTION

Co rro sio n causes plant shutdo wns,

waste o f v aluable reso urces, lo ss o r
co ntaminatio n o f pro duct, reductio n
in efficiency, co stly maintenance,
expensiv e o v er design and also can
jeo pardize safety. In general,
co rro sio n in cement plants o ccurs
when pro cess gases co ntaining
mo isture, SOx, HOI, and NOx,
o perate at dew po int temperatures.
The eco no mic Impact o f co rro sio n
damage has beco me a significant
pro blem in cement plants
wo rldwide. The best time to sto p
co rro sio n is befo re it begins and
ITC - Internatio nal Technical
Ceramics, LLC has dev elo ped
sev eral ceramic thermal barrier
co atings that hav e all but eliminated
bagho use co rro sio n due to
co ndensing flue gases.

CORROSSION PROCESS

Carbo n steel and ev en stainless

steel co rro des in flue gas serv ice.
Equipment like electro static
precipitato rs, bagho uses,
co o ling ducts, co nditio ning to wers
and stacks frequently fall due to
co rro sio n. Co rro sio n is wo rse when
there is presence
o f acidic co mpo unds in the flue gas.
Figure 1 sho ws sev ere co rro sio n o n
the Inside o f a bagho use lined with
co nv entio nal epo xy based co atings.
The so urce can be fro m sulfur
co ntent in the feed o r fuel, chlo ride
co ntent in the feed o r air and C02
and NOx fro m co mbustio n. The
mo isture co ntent in the gas stream
pro duces ho t acid co ndensatio n o n
the steel shell walls, and in mo st
cases, intermittent fo r sho rt perio ds
o f time ho wev er the cumulativ e
impact can be up to 1.0 mm/yr. o f
metal lo ss equating to less than fiv e
(5) years life. This lo ss o f metal
thickness can be seen as thick rust
flakes and also pinho les caused by
lo calized attack. Atmo spheric air
entering the system thro ugh these
pinho les giv es rise to an increase in
energy co nsumptio n during
o peratio n o f the bagho use. Air
po llutio n co ntro l dev ices, the fans
and stack are also candidates fo r
co rro sio n. Water spray to wers used
to co ntro l temperatures, amplify the
pro blem. So me pro cesses hav e acid
gas scrubbers, which are also
pro blematic if they are no t
pro tected. In these systems, the
stack is also a pro blem area. In
general, equipment o perating in the
co o ler end o f the pro cess is where
mo st o f the co rro sio n dev elo ps.
These areas are sensitiv e to co ld air
in leakage, lo w external
temperatures and startups and
shutdo wns.

The co rro sio n o f po llutio n co ntro l

dev ices in cement plants is mo st
sev ere during the acidic
co ndensatio n o f the pro cess gases
co ntaining mo isture, S03, S02,
C02, HCI and NOx. The
co ndensatio n can be mo re frequent
and mo re aggressiv e depending o n
sev eral v ariables such as mo isture
co ncentratio n, inlet gas
temperature, defects in the thermal
Insulatio n, leaks o f co ld air into the
bagho use and lo w ambient
temperature. When there Is a large
fluctuatio n In the gas temperature
entering the bagho use, an
additio nal co mplicatio n o ccurs; at
lo wer temperatures there Is sev ere
co rro sio n due to co ndensing flue
gases, at higher temperatures there
can be thermal degradatio n o f the
co rro sio n pro tectio n (co nv entio nal)
co ating.

CONV ENTIONAL COATINGS

M any co atings hav e been

dev elo ped in the past. Epo xy and
silico ne co ating materials can resist
the effects o f acid co ndensatio n to
so me degree. Acrylics, alkyds, o r
po lyesters will no t withstand high
o perating temperatures. The failure
mo de fo r these types o f co atings
are o xidativ e degradatio n and
delaminatio n, see figure 2.
Oxidatio n damage o ccurs when the
pro cess equipment o perates abo v e
150° C (302° F). Undercut
co rro sio n, dis-bo nding and
delaminatio n o ccur when there is
any surface damage o r imperfectio n
in the surface preparatio n. There are
high temperature silico ne co atings
that can o perate up to 500° C
(932° F) in dry env iro nments, but in
ho t co mbustio n gas systems with
ev en a small percentage o f mo isture
co ntent, they tend to fail in a few
mo nths.

CERAM IC COATING
TECHNOLOGY

To day high temperature, energy

efficient ceramic co atings are being
used to eliminate bagho use
co rro sio n alo ng with the high co st
o f maintenance asso ciated with this
pro blem. ITC - Internatio nal
Technical Ceramics, LLC has
engineered and dev elo ped sev eral
different ceramic co atings that are
successfully being used to prev ent
bagho use co rro sio n. These cement
co atings hav e no V OCs and are
water based, spray applied
pro ducts with excellent adhesio n
and the ability to handle high
temperature, mo ist and acidic
env iro nments witho ut de-bo nding
see figure 3.

Instead o f applying a barrier that

slo ws the heat co nductio n thro ugh
insulatio n and substrate, ITC
co atings use reflectiv e, lo w
transmittance techno lo gy to impro v e
insulating v alues and prev ent the
fo rmatio n o f a dew po int thus
eliminating co ndensing flue gases
and acid attack. Substrate surface
preparatio n is critical to the success
o f ITC co atings and must be
abrasiv ely blasted to remo v e
chemical debris and co ntaminants
fro m the shell, which are the
catalysts fo r the o nset o f co rro sio n.
Applicatio n thicknesses fo r ITC
co atings are o nly mills thick
co mpared to 100+ mills o f
co nv entio nal epo xy-based co atings.
ITC and its alliance partner JC
Industrial Serv ices to date, hav e
sev eral successful installatio ns, each
with two (2) to three (3) years o f
serv ice life witho ut any metal lo ss o r
co ating maintenance required. The
majo r benefits attained thro ugh the
use o f ITC pro tectiv e co atings are:

Bagho use lo ngev ity due to the

eliminatio n o f metal lo ss
Reductio n in do wntime
Increase in efficiency due to
eliminatio n o f co ndensing flue
gases leads to reductio ns in
bag and cartridge co rro sio n
allo wing fo r lo nger
campaigns.

CONCLUSION

Despite the dev elo pments in

co rro sio n resistant allo ys o v er the
past few decades, carbo n and
stainless steels co ntinue to rust and
co rro de in harsh acidic
env iro nments. The need fo r
co rro sio n prev entio n is greater
 to day than ev er befo re due to the
new mo re stringent po llutio n and
emissio n regulatio ns impo sed by the
EPA. Witho ut the use o f co atings,
surface substrates will co ntinue to
co rro de leading to premature
equipment failure co sting hundreds
o f tho usands o f do llars per year in
steel replacement, maintenance,
unscheduled do wntime and po ssible
fines. ITC’s line o f ceramic
pro tectiv e co ating pro v ides a co st-
effectiv e path to ward co rro sio n
eliminatio n thro ugh the use o f
thermal barrier cement co ating that
extends the serv ice life o f cement
plant equipment.

REFERENCES:

1. "The Benefits o f Internal Co atings"

Debra Ashley - Specialized Co ating
Techno lo gy, LLC

2. "So lutio ns Fo r Sev ere

Co rro sio n" Linas M azelka - 3L&T
Inc. USA

FAC EBO O K T WI T T ER LI NKEDI N REDDI T

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Application: Arcelor Mittal Harriman Steel, Pusher

Reheat Furnace
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Anchor Corrosion Testing Using ITC Coatings

For Technical support and CONT AC T

questions about materials, US

applications and quantities:

13001 Old

Greg Odenthal Dento n Ro ad

Fo rt Wo rth, TX
76177
412.498.7270
Pho ne: 817-
337-9889
greg@itccoatings.com Fax: 817-337-
3883

Email: o ffice@it
For ordering info and General cco atings.co m

inquiries: T echnical
info and
support:
817.337.9889
Greg Odenthal

office@itccoatings.com 412-498-7270

Greg@itcco atin
gs.co m
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