Lubricating Exhaust Fan Bearing in FGD Systems

Since the Clean Air Act (CAA) in 1970, U.S. power utilities have made significant progress installing pollution control equipment to curb power plant stack emissions. The CAA Amendments of 1990 heightened the urgency of installing a large number of Flue Gas Desulfurization (FGD) systems, or scrubbers, in a relative short period of time. As of 2005 with the passage of the Clean Air Interstate Rule (CAIR) along with plans for building new coal-fired stations, a steady number of new scrubbers have been planned for construction through 2030.

Nye Lubricants developed a high temperature and chemically inert oil for use in lubricating the blade pitch bearings of axial flow exhaust fan designs used in the FGD scrubbers installed at coal fired power plants. A unique synthetic oil that is completely fluorinated, Uniflor™ 8190 provides resistance to oxidation and breakdown. Made with PFPE as its base oil, 8190 performs at temperatures up to 250°C, a number well over that of the flue gas exhaust temperatures.