Lab coordinator Matt Harris oversees the deployment of the protective film-forming substance at Loy Yang

‘Our key priority is protecting the turbine – the most at-risk piece of plant – and then our next priority is to protect the boiler and steam pipework.’

“‘We are at the cutting edge of chemistry for offline protection. The substance we are using creates a hydrophobic layer over the metal surfaces providing further protection from corrosion.’”

The film-forming substance is a relatively new tool in the fight against corrosion in Australia. It has previously been used at AGL’s Torrens Island power stations in South Australia, where the 52-year old Torrens A station is being progressively mothballed as the 210MW Barker Inlet Power Station comes online.

In addition to the state-of-the-art chemical protection, the Loy Yang A team is also deploying dehumidifiers.

‘There’s a formula which suggests corrosion is significantly reduced at less than 30% humidity,’ Matt said.

‘We measure the relative humidity daily to calculate the moisture in the air. To overcome the risk of corrosion, dehumidification is required. We’ve brought in dehumidifiers to push dry air through the pipework to keep surfaces dry.’

The protection work will continue until the Unit 2 generator is estimated to come back online mid December. During the shutdown, however, the team is banking valuable knowledge – and preparing to share that knowledge with other industry scientists at upcoming conferences.

‘We’re learning a lot through this shutdown and doing the groundwork for what would be standard practice to protect the assets during outages in the future,’ Matt said.

Embracing best tech to maintain and preserve

We understand the importance of Loy Yang A to Victoria’s electricity supply and that’s why we’re embracing the best technology to maintain and preserve Unit 2 during repairs. AGL expects it will take until December 2019 to return the Unit to service and ensure its ongoing reliability.