The
compressor is an extremely important part of your gas turbine. If it’s not running as effectively as possible then operating costs will rise as efficiency decreases. Fortunately, there are simple steps you can take to keep your compressor running as new.
Why clean your gas turbine compressor?
As your gas turbine compressor goes about its routine business, the build-up of foulants is inevitable. These foulants enter the system in several ways from pollutants in the air to lubricants necessary in the day-to-day running of the turbine.
The ingested foulants adhere to and build up on the surfaces of the compressor aerfoils. Compressor section performance deteriorates as a result of the progressive build, which in turn leads to an inefficient compressor section.
This impacts overall
gas turbine efficiency and results in increased fuel costs to support the inefficient system.
To keep the compressor working as economically as possible, it’s important to use gas turbine cleaning chemicals to remove any foulants before they have a chance to build up.
Do I need to use gas turbine cleaning chemicals?
Although some foulants are water-soluble and can be removed with water alone, many are not. The disadvantages of simply flushing the compressor with water include:
- Water alone cannot combat oil or greasy deposits
- It is ineffective against hard carbonaceous deposits
- It may simply move deposits around
- Water itself can cause corrosion
- If injected improperly, water could cause blade erosion damage, thermal shock or stress
It’s highly recommended that you choose a tried and tested gas turbine cleaning detergent to ensure optimum results when you conduct a clean.
Why choose Rochem Fyrewash?
Rochem Fyrewash has been specifically designed to take on gas turbine compressor cleaning. It works by encapsulating the foulant and detaching it from the surface of the compressor. When the system is flushed with water, the chemical and foulant are rinsed away together leaving no product residue.
Fyrewash is extremely effective on exactly the kinds of deposits found in a gas turbine compressor and achieves a far superior clean than water alone. It is backed by unique high-value product liability insurance and has a 100% safety record over millions of operating hours at thousands of gas turbines.
However, this specialist gas turbine cleaning detergent is only effective if it gets to the right places. Fyrewash must be introduced properly into the compressor to attain the best possible results and the most efficient system.
Using Rochem Fyrewash
One of the great things about Fyrewash is that it can be used for both off line and on line cleaning. Why not supplement thorough off line cleans with regular, scheduled on line cleans to maintain a spotless compressor and extend the time between system shut-downs?
In order to carry out an off line clean, the turbine must be stopped. In turn, you are prevented from producing power but must also pay downtime costs, labour expenses and stand by penalties. By conducting a clean during normal operation, while the turbine is still running, there is no need to shut down the system and you boost your bottom line.
On line cleans step by step:
- The gas turbine remains in operation.
- A mix of water/gas turbine cleaning chemicals is directly injected via atomising spray nozzles. This ensures Fyrewash gets exactly where it needs to be.
- Pure water* is used to flush the system, removing all chemical and foulant residue.
*It’s essential to use demineralised water as the turbine is still running and the temperature is extremely high. If the water used contains sodium or other metals it can cause high temperature corrosion.
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