The worksite was a heating plant. And the task at hand was to remove the refractory inside a boiler, so it could be replaced. Time was of the essence because the plant generated electric power and supplied heat for a city of 225,000 people.
Thanks to Aquajet’s Ergo, all hand lance work was replaced by the safe and automated system. The different parts of the Ergo System were easily carried into the boiler and mounted on existing scaffoldings. These scaffoldings were already built inside the boiler for the re-casting of the new heat-resistant lining, and the Ergo climber system could use these to work from.
One Ergo system worked from the top of the boiler and one worked from the bottom, each powered by a high-pressure pump. In this case, the contractor used the small Aqua Power Pack 270, which has water pressures up to 2800 bar and a flow rate of 40l/min. The two Ergo controllers were placed outside the boiler, and the hydraulic hoses were routed into a small manhole.
With the display on the radio remote control, the operator was able to control and adjust the parameters without leaving the working area.
The downtime of the plant was significantly reduced by automating the process and by the much higher reaction forces the Ergo System can handle compared to the hand lance. The complete job was finished in just one week.
Printable PDF – Aquajet On location – Heat plant refractory removal
(METHOD)
Industrial cleaning and refractory removal has traditionally been carried out using handheld tools. More contractors, however, are switching from manual to automated cleaning, increasing safety and efficiency. Hydrodemolition is an ideal solution for safely and efficiently cleaning tanks and removing refractory in furnaces.
Robotic process:
1000 – 3000 bar / 14 500-43 500 psi
38 – 262 liters / 10-70 gal of water
Recommendation:
Ergo go / Aqua Power Pack 270
Ergo go / Ergo rotolance / Aqua Power Pack 270
Aqua Cutter 410 / Rotolance 2500 / Aqua Power Pack 270
Aqua Cutter 710 / Rotolance 1000 / Aqua Power Pack 700
Aqua Cutter 710 / Rotolance 2500 / Aqua Power Pack 700