Researchers have identified the underlying causes of continuous breakdowns and failures at Eskom coal power stations.
For the time being at least, coal-fired boilers remain the backbone of Eskom’s electricity generation fleet. Coal-fired boilers work by boiling water to produce high-pressure steam which is then used to spin a turbine. To do this, water is pumped at high pressure through boiler tubes which are heated by a coal-fired furnace to produce high-pressure steam.
Eskom has stated that boiler-tube failures are the leading cause of unavailability of power generation or, in simpler terms, they are the main culprits for rolling blackouts. The rate at which these failures occur has been rising. Eskom set themselves a target of one tube failure per year per unit but, as of 2021, were averaging. One can only assume that this number has been rising since then, with 2022 by far our worst year of rolling blackouts ever.
Researchers at Wits, however, have identified underlying causes that are more fundamental to the coal fleet’s chronic boiler-tube failures. The Wits analyses indicate that these conditions are both present in the Eskom boilers that they examined, creating chemical pre-conditions that lead to heightened rates of corrosion and frequent failures.
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