Babcock’s Ntuthuko Engineering business has recently completed the acquisition of Diamond Power Speciality (Pty) Ltd from Babcock & Wilcox (B&W). Babcock Ntuthuko Engineering (BNE) will henceforth be responsible for the sales, service and support of new sootblowers and the existing installed base of Diamond Power sootblowers in southern Africa.

Ian Farrell, General Manager at BNE responsible for the sootblowing business, says that the acquisition has enabled the company to provide customers with additional products and services related to utility and industrial boilers. He adds that the Diamond Power range of products and services complements BNE’s existing range of products and service which includes the manufacture of high-pressure components such as economiser elements, super heater elements, boiler panels, headers, high pressure steam stop, gate and globe valves, boiler tubing and piping and OEM boiler, mill and auxiliary plant spares.

David Milner, Director Sales and Business Development at B&W, explains that sootblowers are utilised in all pulverised coal-fired power plants in South Africa, that there are a number of industrial applications in the paper, pulp and petrochemical industries. Originally manufactured by B&W, Diamond Power sootblowers use superheated steam, saturated steam, compressed air or water to remove deposits, prevent plugging of gas passes and maintain boiler efficiency.

“Sootblowers usually aim high pressure steam at the furnace walls inside pulverised fuel boilers, thus preventing the fouling of the furnace walls with ash and soot. This in turn increases the thermal efficiency of the boiler and reduces the amount of fuel that is combusted in the unit,” says Milner.

First introduced into the South African thermal power plant market over 20 years ago, Diamond Power Speciality holds approximately 50% of the installed base of all sootblowers in South Africa.

“BNE will maintain the trusted Diamond Power brand, and will retain the employees as part of the acquisition to ensure a seamless transition,” confirms Farrell. “As a key service provider in the thermal power plant sector with a well-established market footprint, BNE is in a strong position to better facilitate access of sootblowers to the market.”

BNE has also entered into an alliance agreement with B&W to jointly market B&W’s thermal and environmental technologies including flue gas desulphurisation (both wet and dry), nitrogen oxide reduction, particulate reduction though fabric filter and electrostatic precipitator, bubbling fluidised bed boilers, circulating fluidised bed boilers, ash handling systems, coal pulveriser systems, boiler controls and optimisation, industrial package boilers, chemical recovery boilers, and waste to energy plants.