Article: Protective Materials For FGD Infrastructure

Flue gas desulfurization (FGD) is the technology used for removing sulfur dioxide (SO₂) from the exhaust flue gases in power plants and has a long tradition with more than 50 years of traceable references. Power plants that utilize FGD usually burn coal and/or oil to generate steam used for the steam turbines that drive electricity generators. Sulfur dioxide removal has become an increasingly important issue as the power and co-generation industries strive to increase efficiencies and meet more demanding environmental regulations. Though there are others methods used, the most common FGD system utilized by U.S. power plants is called wet scrubbing.

Corrosion in FGD systems is an extremely important concern associated with wet scrubbers. There are, however, two methods that minimize corrosion. The first method is to reheat the gases to above their dew point, and the second is to choose construction materials and design conditions that allow equipment to withstand the corrosive conditions.