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Materials Selection for Superheater Tubes in Municipal Solid Waste Incineration Plants

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Abstract

Corrosion reduces the lifetime of municipal solid waste incineration (MSWI) superheater tubes more than any other cause. It can be minimized by the careful selection of those materials that are most resistant to corrosion under operating conditions. Since thousands of different materials are already known and many more are developed every year, here the selection methodology developed by Prof. Ashby of the University of Cambridge was used to evaluate the performance of different materials to be used as MSWI superheater tubes. The proposed materials can operate at steam pressures and temperatures over 40 bars and 400 °C, respectively. Two case studies are presented: one makes a balanced selection between mechanical properties and cost per thermal unit; and the other focuses on increasing tube lifetime. The balanced selection showed that AISI 410 martensitic stainless steel (wrought, hard tempered) is the best candidate with a good combination of corrosion resistance, a relatively low price (0.83-0.92 €/kg) and a good thermal conductivity (23-27 W/m K). Meanwhile, Nitronic 50/XM-19 stainless steel is the most promising candidate for long-term selection, as it presents high corrosion resistance with a relatively low price (4.86-5.14 €/kg) compared to Ni-alloys.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank R. Nadal (General Manager of SIRUSA) and the SIRUSA Incineration Plant for useful discussions and for financing this work, and Mrs. Toffa Evans of the Language Services of the University of Barcelona for language revision. This study was also financed by the Spanish MICINN under the ENE2011-28269-C03-02 Project, and XaRMAE (Xarxa de Referència en Materials Avançats per l’Energia, Generalitat de Catalunya).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre DIOPMA, Departament de Ciència dels Materials i Enginyeria Metal·lúrgica, Universitat de Barcelona, C/Martí i Franquès 1, 08028, Barcelona, Spain

    M. Morales, J. M. Chimenos, A. I. Fernández & M. Segarra

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  1. M. Morales
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  2. J. M. Chimenos
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  3. A. I. Fernández
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  4. M. Segarra
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Correspondence to M. Morales.

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Morales, M., Chimenos, J.M., Fernández, A.I. et al. Materials Selection for Superheater Tubes in Municipal Solid Waste Incineration Plants. J. of Materi Eng and Perform 23, 3207–3214 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11665-014-1100-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11665-014-1100-y

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