Original-equipment manufacturer Babcock has entered into a strategic alliance agreement with US-based Babcock & Wilcox (B&W) to jointly market B&W’s thermal and environmental technologies in Southern Africa.

B&W was established more than 150 years ago, and it develops technologies that aim to generate power more efficiently, safely and reliably.

The company designed the pioneer water-tube boiler and highlights that it continues to be committed to bringing environment-conscious, technology-driven solutions and services to energy and industrial customers worldwide.

Babcock engineering business CEO Thava Govender explains that, through this alliance, Babcock’s power and industrial customers have access to a wealth of proven international technologies that can be applied to address local challenges such as emission reduction, power reliability and renewable energy.

He highlights that some of these technologies have already been successfully implemented in South Africa, such as a nitrogen oxide (NOx) abatement solution that Babcock provided for a large industrial petrochemical plant in association with B&W.

After an extensive technology selection process, the compact B&W DRB-XCL low NOx burner was found to be the most suitable, and ongoing boiler installations at the petrochemical plant have reached emission levels of almost 40% lower than the legal requirements.

Babcock also worked in partnership with B&W to upgrade electrostatic precipitators (ESPs) on boiler units at a power station. Babcock designed and built the boiler units in the 1980s while B&W owns the technology of the original design of the precipitators.

Using technology not available at the time, Babcock and B&W are bringing the boiler units into the 2020s, enabling the power station to comply with latest emission regulations and reducing the impurities by 50%, the companies notes.

Babcock International Group and B&W on January 31 held a Power Technology Day in South Africa, where a myriad of Babcock and B&W speakers outlined the various technologies available from both entities, along with reference projects.

Following this, Babcock hosted a tour of its Jet Park factory, where it manufactures mechanical and pressure part equipment.

Speaking at the event, B&W Thermal Division head Chris Riker highlighted that the South African market is a key target market for the company, with it requiring the fleet of equipment that B&W can provide – with the country boasting a myriad of natural resources, but devoid of aftermarket services.

B&W sub-Saharan Africa sales and business development director David Milner says Babcock can draw on a range of B&W technologies to customise engineering solutions for any complex steam generation challenge.

The technologies available from Babcock that can help customers achieve their environmental and optimisation objectives include boiler cleaning, ash handling, flue gas desulphurisation (both wet and dry), bubbling fluidised bed boilers, circulating fluidised bed boilers, coal pulveriser systems, boiler controls and optimisation, industrial package boilers, chemical recovery boilers and waste-to-energy plants.

Milner says there is also growing interest in South Africa in technologies such as carbon capture, oxy-fuel firing and hydrogen production and use. While still in their infancy locally, B&W has successfully implemented these technologies in other parts of the world and Babcock says it can help customers explore solutions for future challenges in association with B&W.

In addition to its strategic alliance with B&W, Babcock has supplier or agency agreements with a suite of specialised international partners to provide customers with the best solutions and products available.

For example, Babcock has entered into a long-term contract with Spanish company Tubos Reunidos to receive high-pressure boiler tubing on an ongoing basis. Tubos Reunidos are certified up to x20 tubing material and can manufacture tubing according to Babcock’s stringent specifications.

Additionally, Babcock is the exclusive agent for Persta high-pressure valves in Southern Africa. Manufactured in Germany, these valves are fully forged, conform to European and American Society of Mechanical Engineers specifications and are said to be synonymous with durability and quality.

“We manage the entire combustion value chain, from engineering to execution, and together with our technology partners and suppliers, we can identify opportunities to implement environmental and optimisation solutions throughout the various stages of the lifecycle, from analysing how a boiler manages a specific type of coal, to how emissions can be reduced,” Govender avers.