Since the start of the 14th Five-Year Plan, Gansu Province's new energy sector has shown strong momentum in large-scale and intensive development. By the end of 2023, the installed capacity of new energy in Gansu exceeded 50 million kilowatts, accounting for over 60% of the total power installed capacity and ranking second nationwide. To facilitate clean electricity transmission from Gansu, the province is actively promoting the construction of transmission channels such as delivering electricity to Shandong, Zhejiang, and Sichuan. Peak-shaving in thermal power plants is a crucial support for Gansu's transition from a "province rich in wind and solar resources" to a "province with strong wind and solar power." Recently, a team led by researcher Gao Xianghu from the Lanzhou Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, in collaboration with Gansu Datang International Constant Power Generation Co., Ltd. (referred to as Changle Power Plant), successfully applied nano high-entropy ceramic coating technology to the largest 6×1000MW ultra-supercritical unit under construction in China, which is also the largest peak-shaving unit in Northwest China. This breakthrough provides strong support in addressing key technical challenges such as boiler radiation heating surface coking and high-temperature corrosion at power plants. The related research paper was published in "Thermal Power Generation."
Researcher Gao Xianghu stated, "Xinjiang coal is the main coal type used by thermal power enterprises in Gansu and surrounding provinces. Due to its high content of alkali metals, chlorine, sulfur, and other elements, it tends to cause issues such as boiler radiation heating surface coking, high-temperature corrosion, tube bursting, and high coal consumption, severely impacting the safety and economy of power plant boilers. This has become a critical technical challenge that urgently needs to be addressed by the thermal power industry in Gansu, Xinjiang, Qinghai, and even nationwide. With the support of the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Strategic Priority Research Program (Class A) - 'Clean Coal Combustion and Low-Carbon Utilization,' our team has developed nano high-entropy protective and energy-saving ceramic coatings. This breakthrough in ceramic material technology addresses key issues such as anti-coking, high-temperature corrosion resistance, infrared enhancement, high thermal conductivity, and adjustable thermal expansion coefficient. It also features multifunctional characteristics such as reducing coal consumption and enhancing coal adaptability, making it suitable for large-scale peak-shaving power plants and other conventional power plants."
With strong support from Changle Power Plant, this material has been successively applied in its Unit 2 and Unit 4. After more than a year of operational practice, the furnace's water-cooled wall tube surfaces were smooth, dense, free of coking, easy to clean of deposits, and showed no signs of corrosion such as pitting or thinning of the tube walls, fully demonstrating the excellent high-temperature corrosion resistance and anti-coking performance of this technology. This achievement has been recognized by on-site inspections conducted by Xi'an Thermal Power Research Institute Co., Ltd. and has received high praise from industry experts.
The review panel unanimously agreed that the nano high-entropy ceramic protective coating exhibits excellent anti-coking and anti-corrosion effects, with high scientific research value and engineering application prospects. It is reported that this technology will undergo large-scale demonstration application in a 1000MW ultra-supercritical peak-shaving unit in Gansu by 2025. The research results of this project will be extended to provinces such as Xinjiang, Qinghai, Inner Mongolia, and Guizhou, providing technical support for the transformation of China's coal-fired power generation towards foundational, supportive, and regulatory power sources.
This research achievement signifies the widespread recognition of the nano high-entropy ceramic coating technology developed by the Lanzhou Institute of Chemical Physics in the industry. Researcher Gao Xianghu stated, "Our team will continue to focus on the national goals of 'peak carbon emissions and carbon neutrality,' the strategic requirements of the new era's Western Development, and the Chinese Academy of Sciences' directive to seize the high ground in science and technology. We will closely center on key materials for power plants, conduct demand-driven research, strengthen cooperation with central and state-owned enterprises, promote the large-scale application of relevant technologies, and provide technical support for the development of new quality energy production."
Related Paper Information: https://doi.org/10.19666/j.rlfd.202401003
The performance of Units 2 and 4, each with a capacity of 1000MW, at Changle Power Plant. Image provided by Lanzhou Institute of Chemical Physics.
