Powerwave* Acoustic Cleaning Systems

Powerwave acoustic cleaning systems can significantly improve the cleaning of air pollution control equipment, heat transfer surfaces, material handling and storage equipment, and areas of production where particulate buildup occurs. As an alternative to sootblowers and sootblower cleaning, acoustic cleaners are air-operated devices that emit low frequency, high-energy sound waves. The sound waves create vibrations powerful enough to break apart and dislodge heavy concentrations of particulate on surfaces, but gentle enough to not harm the surface. Once the material has been dislodged, gravity and/or gas flow removes it.

Features & Benefits

Powerful online cleaning technology
Removes thick and stubborn ash deposits better than traditional cleaning methods
Reduces the need for steam soot blowing
Enhances long-term operational ability
Cleaning process doesn't require personnel to enter area where buildup occurs
Fuel-efficient design has low operating cost with minimal maintenance
Can be integrated into plant control systems, or operated in self-timed mode
Increases heat transfer and overall efficiency of processes
Operates online versus requiring an outage
Extends time intervals between downturns caused by off-line cleaning, allowing more time for production
Potentially less damage to boiler tubes
Easy to install and maintain, with a small footprint that preserves valuable space
Utilizes only small amounts of compressed air, fuel, and 110 VAC

Application
Proven applications for acoustic cleaning systems
Boiler tubes/heat exchangers
Supplement or replace steam sootblowers
Reduce or eliminate opacity spikes associated with sootblowers
Remove particulate from rotary or tubular heat exchanger surfaces
Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) equipment
Effective and comparatively inexpensive method for cleaning SCR catalyst
Primary choice of OEMs on all SCR cleaning systems
Baghouse fabric filters/elements
Clean filters by dislodging dust accumulations
Reduce cleaning cycles; in some cases, eliminates need for other methods of filter cleaning
Precipitator components
Clean ESP inlet baffles and collecting surfaces without mechanical stress
Potential for reduced or elimination of conventional rapping
Material handling (hoppers, fans, silos, ductwork)
Variety of different configurations useful in hoppers, I.D. fans, bins, and ductwork
Eliminates sledgehammering, rodding out hopper poke holes, or dangerous work unclogging ash vessels
EGC (Evaporative Gas Cooling) systems
Can eliminate buildup on lances or sidewalls of EGC and in-duct humidification systems
Spray dryers
Helps break up agglomerates on internal walls of spray dryers
Prevents excessive wall deposits which can cause blockages
Design

How it works
Using technology developed for the future of jet propulsion, impulses are created in a controlled, pulsed manner in order to direct cleaning waves at the collective surfaces. Its operation is easy to explain; the results of GE's Powerwave+ are hard to replicate using currently available technologies.
A cleaning cycle from the Powerwave+ cleaner is the result of a complex process that is managed entirely by a fully automated, simple to use control system. Each burst consists of precise delivery of fuel and air to the combustion chamber followed by ignition of this mixture and acceleration from subsonic to supersonic mach-5 speeds. The supersonic impulse exits the Powerwave+ cleaner into the area of the boiler to be cleaned. This process is repeated up to 10 times per second, and the strength and frequency of operation is adjustable depending on the application. This shockwave penetrates in and around obstructions it encounters providing more complete surface contact.
The result of this controlled process is a much cleaner boiler with optimized heat exchange and increased performance.

GE Energy

User Tools

Powerwave* Acoustic Cleaning Systems

Features & Benefits

Powerwave* Acoustic Cleaning Systems

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