Ceramic liner tougher than coal clinker

A large coal fired power station was in need of a handling solution for hot clinker, a ceramic liner wear protection was the answer; replacing two competitive systems that failed. The Kingfisher solution, the  K-ZAS Ceramic Liner system is effectively handling the severe abrasion and corrosion resulting from conveying hot coarse clinker to an ash reception hopper. Kingfisher was called in by the plant engineer at the power station following unsuccessful trials of both cast basalt and hi-chrome castings as lining materials for handling the hot clinker. The problem was that, although the course clinker was suspended and conveyed hydraulically, the internal surface of the pipeline was subjected to severe abrasion and erosion. Having had previous experience with this type of application, Kingfisher recommended its 25mm thick K-ZAS ceramic lining system. The system was supplied in cylinder form, to ensure that internal concentricity was maintained, and that the excellent impact and sliding wear resistant characteristics of the K-ZAS liners were employed to the full. Subsequent operation of the system has shown that the K-ZAS liners considerably outperform the previously used wear resistant system. “We have a tremendous amount of experience of supplying and installing wear protection systems in the power generation market,” commented Kingfisher MD, John Connolly. “This was instrumental in selecting the correct liner for this application. We know from experience that there is no ‘one- size- fits- all’ solution in wear protection systems. Each application has to be considered individually; it has to be surveyed and considered before a tailored solution can be arrived at.” The K-ZAS ceramic lining solution is designed for the protection of plant and equipment encountering severe abrasion and erosion attack from bulk solids being conveyed, stored or processed by mechanical, pneumatic or hydraulic means. Rated nine on the MOHS hardness scale and having excellent thermal shock resistance, K-ZAS is suited to counter excessive abrasion and high temperatures for applications within the power generation, bulk solids handling and mineral processing industries. K-ZAS lining comprises three raw materials: zirconia, alumina and silicon. These are crushed, screened and fed into an electric arc furnace where they are smelted at 1450 degrees C. At this stage the minerals are converted into a molten state and cast into moulds. These components remain in the moulds and are placed into an annealing chamber where, a heat treatment process is undertaken; this dependent upon the volume of the casting. The result, at the end of the process, is a material with the characteristics of extreme abrasion resistance as well as resistance to high thermal stresses.