Distant view of a power plant cooling tower with flue gas emissions
Once the slurry in a wet desulfurization tower foams, the foam piles higher from the tower sump, the level gauge reading distorts, the gypsum dewaterer carries over with it, and desulfurization efficiency hovers repeatedly near its low limit.
Chemi Tech has introduced the KM-237 series defoamer for wet desulfurization and decarbonization units, with the dosage adjusted flexibly according to slurry solids content and chloride ion concentration. This grade is a polyether system: heat resistance and foam suppression are pronounced, and the defoaming components do not deactivate under high-temperature slurry conditions. Combined with measured data on tower foam height and desulfurization efficiency, a precise KM-237 series dosage can be pinned down.
Advantages of Chemi Tech Defoamers
Chemi Tech KM-237 series defoamer is configured for desulfurization and decarbonization slurry systems. Heat resistance is pronounced — the defoaming components do not break down under high-temperature slurry conditions; foam suppression holds, the tower foam layer height stays controllable throughout, and slurry entrainment is reduced; compatibility with the slurry is excellent — no oil separation, no scaling, and no interference with gypsum crystallization; foam breaks fast, and tower sump foam can fall back quickly once it has piled up; and the dosage is economical — adjusted flexibly to slurry solids and chloride ion concentration, with desulfurization efficiency stable and controllable.
Industry Pain Points and Solutions
Foam problems in wet desulfurization arise mostly from the combined action of slurry solids fluctuation and surface-active substances carried in the flue gas, and the consequences are concentrated in two places: foam piling up inside the tower and carry-over from gypsum dewatering.
Once tower foam piles up, the level gauge reading distorts with it, and operators can only fall back on sampling to judge, so control response is slowed. The KM-237 dosage is pinned down by slurry solids, and tower foam can be held steadily below the safe level.
Carry-over from the gypsum dewaterer drags down gypsum quality, and the outward sales specification for the desulfurization by-product narrows with it. KM-237 is highly compatible with the slurry and can effectively reduce foam entrainment.
The additive cost of a desulfurization unit is tied directly to its efficiency metrics. By tying the dosage to changes in slurry solids and chloride ion concentration, it can be locked into an accountable range, and the additive cost per tonne of slurry falls with it.
Typical Operating Conditions and Verification
Customer case: a power plant in Shandong, for the slurry circulation stage of a wet desulfurization tower.
After unit load rose, the desulfurization tower slurry foam piled up frequently, the level gauge reading distorted, and carry-over from the gypsum dewaterer caused gypsum quality to swing. After a comparison test on tower foam height and desulfurization efficiency, the plant adopted KM-237 as the dedicated defoamer for the desulfurization slurry, with the dosage pinned down by slurry solids. After the change, tower foam fell back below the safe level; the level gauge reading returned to steady; desulfurization efficiency came back into its design band, and carry-over from the gypsum dewaterer fell noticeably.
Frequently Asked Questions
In high-temperature slurry, will a polyether defoamer break down and lose activity?
Work through slurry solids content and chloride ion concentration as two separate threads. KM-237 has completed heat-resistance and foam-suppression durability measurements under high-temperature slurry conditions, and within the recommended range its heat resistance is stable. The actual dosage takes slurry solids as the baseline, with chloride ion concentration and flue gas load as corrections; Chemi Tech pins down the precise dosage through a parallel comparison of tower foam height and desulfurization efficiency.