Industrial boilers are essential workhorses in waste-to-energy, sludge incineration, and other high-heat process industries. But they share a common challenge: fouling. Over time, fly ash and other particles build up on heat exchange surfaces, reducing efficiency, restricting steam output, and forcing unscheduled shutdowns for manual cleaning.
Text and photo: Mia Heiskanen for Maintworld magazine
At Ecomondo, one technology stood out for offering a simple but powerful solution: online cleaning without stopping the plant.
Swiss company Explosion Power has developed a shock pulse generator (SPG), a device that uses controlled bursts of pressure to regularly dislodge fouling inside boilers. The result: less downtime, more consistent performance, and longer intervals between manual maintenance.
How It Works. The SPG is mounted through the boiler wall via a fixed nozzle. Inside its pressure vessel, a mixture of methane, compressed air, and nitrogen is ignited in a combustion chamber. The resulting shock pulse travels into the boiler, loosening buildup from the heat exchanger surfaces.
These pulses are fired on a regular cycle, typically every one to two hours, which prevents major fouling from ever accumulating. It’s not just a cleaning method; it’s a continuous maintenance process built into the operation.
“It’s a continuous maintenance process built into the operation.”
-The key advantage is online cleaning, said Marco Bernasconi, Sales Manager at Explosion Power. According to Bernasconi plants no longer need to shut down to remove fouling as the cleaning is automated and integrated into regular operation.”
Operational Benefits
According to Bernasconi, the impact on plant performance is:
- No need to shut down for cleaning
- Stable steam output with fewer performance dips
- Reduced thermal stress on heat exchangers
- Higher overall plant availability
And for maintenance teams, it introduces flexibility. While the system is designed to operate continuously, maintenance can be done during scheduled outages or even while the plant is running by disconnecting the SPG and sealing the nozzle.
Once installed, the system can essentially run forever, with only periodic maintenance. Even that can be done without taking the whole plant offline, Bernasconi explained.
A Fit for Almost Any Boiler
The system is adaptable to a range of boiler types beyond waste-to-energy, including coal-fired units, black liquor boilers, and hazardous waste incinerators. Installation requires some structural modification including routing through boiler tubes and mounting the recoil-absorbing hardware but once installed, it is built for long-term operation.
-And we provide training for operators either on-site or at their facility to ensure smooth implementation, Bernasconi added.
Supporting Predictive Maintenance
The company also works with customers to analyze boiler performance and fouling behavior. Bernasconi noted that many plant managers initially misidentify where their fouling issues originate.
-We help operators interpret the pressure and temperature data. Often the real problem is somewhere else and not where they think.
For production environments under pressure to increase uptime and reduce energy losses, tools like the shock pulse generator can offer more than convenience, enable a smarter maintenance strategy that aligns with the demands of modern industry.
