Patnow Power Station

New Chimney Design for two new FGD wet stacks at Patnow power station

The 2,457 MW Patnow-Adamow-Konin power station complex in Poland has a 10 % share in total Polish electricity production. To meet new Polish and European environmental standards, four existing lignite fired units at Patnow power station are being retrofitted with Flue Gas Desulfurization (FGD) plants.

Each of these units has a capacity of 200 MW. After evaluating all alternatives, Patnow power station ordered Rafako, a leading EPC contractor to the Polish power industry, to construct two wet limestone FGD plants, each with sufficient capacity for two of the 200 MW units.

As the existing chimneys were not suitable for wet stack operation, the owner also decided to construct new chimneys. For all the design alternatives, the required height was 149 m / 489 ft.

Pennguard® lined concrete chimneys (New Chimney Design)

The owner decided to construct two Pennguard® lined concrete chimneys (New Chimney Design). Even though two chimneys seemed more expensive than one, the cost of two chimneys could be kept low, by applying the Pennguard® lining directly to a slender 8.4 m / 27.56 ft concrete shell, avoiding the use of internal flues. Each chimney could be built close to its own FGD absorber, minimizing the need for expensive horizontal ductwork between the FGD and the chimmey(s).

On page 2 and 3 of the Project Report, the fast and economical construction process is explained.

How two chimneys can be cheaper than one

Instead of building a single twin flue chimney, Patnow Power Station decided to build two concrete, Pennguard® lined chimneys, using the New Chimney Design. The Pennguard® lining is applied directly to the concrete surface, eliminating the need for internal flues.

This concept was chosen based on the following considerations.

Less space
Two slender chimneys, instead of a twin flue chimney, and short FGD outlet ducts save a lot of space on the site. Shortening the flue gas ducts also minimizes pressure losses and thereby reduces required fan power.

Less time
The slipforming of the two concrete shells can be done quickly, with minimal interference in the construction process of the FGD itself.

Lower cost
Using two concrete Pennguard® lined chimneys instead of a single twin flue chimney, offer an estimated savings of 10% on total chimney construction cost. On top of this, an estimated 50 m / 164 ft length of ductwork was also eliminated.