The coal-fired power station has eight natural-draught water cooling towers that help to improve the efficiency of the power generation process. However, the silted condition of the plastic heat exchange media inside the cooling towers had resulted in a significant decline in its cooling efficiency, as well as a significant increase in weight imposed on the concrete support beams.
As part of the contract, which will be completed during an 18-week period during summer 2013, the site team will dispose of waste material and replace the existing plastic with 13,000m3 of an improved design that will result in less silt contamination. New plastic spray pipes will also be installed.
Costain has designed assembly lines for feeding the plastic sheets along. A solvent-free adhesive will be mechanically applied to bond together the sheets into modules which will then be dried in racks.
“The use of environmentally friendly adhesive will ensure the welfare of on-site personnel and the power station’s owner-operator, SSE,” said, Costain industrial cooling director Mark Blackham. “In the past, using alternative solvent-based adhesives required respiratory monitoring, more exacting quality control of the assembled product and inclusion in the station’s emissions schedule,”
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