A South African company is promoting
 a Chinese plasma burner technology,
 which, it claims, could significantly reduce power station boiler costs by displacing the fuel oil that is traditionally used to start and stabilise the combustion process.

The company, Entersol Consulting, is currently negotiating with State-owned power utility Eskom to supply one unit of the Majuba power station, in KwaZulu-Natal, with plasma ignition for its pulverised coal-fired boilers.

Entersol is the sole South African provider of the technology, which has been deployed extensively in China and was developed by Yantai Longyuan Electric Power Technology, a subsidiary of power producer China Guodin Corporation.

Owner Terence Sundgren explains that the technology completely replaces fuel oil, which is used in significant quantities in some South African power stations.

“Eskom uses vast quantities of fuel oil and its use for last year was in the region of R1,5-billion. 
“The company’s consumption is currently increasing, as the deteriorating quality of coal supplies is resulting in increased combustion process instability,” says Sundgren.

He adds that Majuba, historically, has 
the highest fuel-oil use, accounting for 
25% of Eskom’s total fuel-oil consump-
tion, making it a prime target for this technology.

Sundgren says that the technology not only reduces the use of fuel oil at power stations, but also offers environmental benefits, as it is a much cleaner product and does not result in an oily residue that contaminates the electrostatic precipitators and bag filters of flue gas cleaning plants.

He adds that installation of the plasma burner technology is simple, as Entersol simply replaces the coal burner oil igniter gun with the plasma igniter.

“If the technology is used and tested at Majuba and it is successful, I am confident that there will be increased interest in the technology from Eskom,” says Sundgren.