Industrial soot blower manu-facturer Agram reports that it has installed nine elec- trically operated blowers, three electrical valves and an auto-mated control panel at Ford Motor Company’s manu-facturing plant in Silverton, Pretoria, to improve the plant’s pipeline system.

These improvements will result in reduced heat loss, thus reducing fuel costs, unplanned downtime and maintenance requirements.

“The soot blower saves up to 15% in coal used for the heating requirements, as it removes soot build-up from boiler tubes that are associated with fossil fuel burning and power,” says Agram director Arnold Retief.

“Further, using an auto-mated boiler system with elec-trically operated soot blowers improves the system’s operation rate while it reduces the oper-ating costs significantly,” he explains.

Retief adds that the soot blowers have been designed for installation at a suitable position so that the heat of the steam emitted from the nozzle is directed into the dirty tube area.

“Soot build-up is removed and bird nesting – a major problem that results in heat-transfer deterioration – is prevented. These soot blowers keep boilers at the plant clean, which enable the boilers to operate continuously, for at least four months, before inspection is required,” he elaborates.

In addition, the efficiencies of the system have been enhanced by the Agram boiler combustion control system, which increases combustion efficiency by constantly monitoring gas levels to achieve consistent and ideal burning conditions, highlights Retief.

He notes that the system can detect deviations from the optimal operation conditions and rectify it immediately, resulting in significant fuel-cost savings.

The company says it adheres to a health, safety and risk assessment plan for every project and complies with ISO 9001:2008 quality assurance standards to ensure all work meets stringent local and international safety and quality specifications.

“These soot blowers, which are manufactured from stain-less steel 304, cast iron, steel and bronze, are designed for installation in diverse sectors, including hospitals, prisons, power and coal plants, as well as general industry, which use boilers,” explains Retief.

He concludes that Agram supports its range of soot blowers and combustion man- agement systems with a tech-nical advisory, installation, repair and maintenance service throughout Southern Africa.