The most efficient construction materials for boiler water walls and superheaters in steam power plants are ferritic and martensitic steels. In practical operation, tubes are exposed simultaneously to combustion gas and air/steam on their opposite surfaces. The corrosion behavior of ferritic-martensitic steels under such dual atmospheres is nondistinctive and has been investigated in a specially designed test equipment between 500°C and 620°C. The power plant conditions were simulated with a flowing and pressurized (80 bar) combustion gas on the inner side of the tube, which contains water (H2O) and carbon dioxide (CO2). On the outer side, tube material was exposed to air. Oxides that formed on the air side under dual atmosphere conditions were significantly different from the oxide scales formed when the alloy was exposed to air only. It is assumed that the anomalous corrosion behavior during the dual atmosphere exposure is due to hydrogen and carbon diffusion through the bulk alloy from the combustion gas side to the air side. Both species are produced when the material reacts with the gas phase. Because of its high diffusivity, hydrogen is thought to affect the corrosion process on the air side from the beginning of the corrosion exposure, whereas carbon reaches the opposite side after a considerably longer time period.
The combustion of coal in CO2-reduced Oxyfuel power plants requires creep resistant and corrosion
resistant materials, which can withstand high temperatures up to 600°C and CO2 rich atmospheres.
Among the heat resistant materials, the 9-12% chromium steels are proven to resist high wall
temperatures in conventional power plants and are suitable as membrane wall, superheaters and steam
piping.
During Oxyfuel combustion a flue gas is generated, which consists mainly of H2O (30 mol %) and
CO2 (70 mol %). The present paper is focused on the corrosion of 9-12% chromium steels under
oxyfuel conditions in a temperature range between 550 and 625°C.
Depending on Chromium content of the 9-12%chromium steels, carburization of the base material,
perlite formation and carbide formation were observed. Alloys with lower chromium content form a
non protective oxide scale with perlite at the scale-alloy interface. Steels with 12% chromium have a
small growing oxide scale with enlarged M23C6-particles at the scale-alloy interface. The carburization
of the base material is found to be increased for the 9% Cr-steel. Higher pressure of the flue gas results
in the formation of less resistant scales and cause accelerated carburization of the base materials.
However, the carburization has an impact on the mechanical properties at the surface and leads to an
embrittlement, which is deleterious during thermal cycling.
Oxidation kinetics, phase analysis of the scale (transmission electron microscope) and carburization
depths (microprobe) of the base materials are presented.