Colbun & Bocamina power stations
Two important electricity generators in Chile, Endesa Chile and Colbun SA are constructing two, similar sized coal fired power stations near the city of Concepcion, some 500 km South of the capital Santiago. Both Endesa’s Bocamina 2 project and the Colbun 1 power station have capacities of 350 MW. Bocamina 2 uses a Wet Limestone FGD, whereas Colbun 1 uses Sea Water FGD.
Both plants also have “New Chimney Design” FGD chimneys designed and built by Karrena, a division of BEROA. Bocamina Power Station has a 100 m high concrete chimney, protected by a 54 mm thick PennguardTM lining applied directly to its inside concrete surface. Colbun power station uses a 130 m high chimney with the same basic design as well as the 54 mm thick PennguardTM lining.
Hadek’s New Chimney Design offers power station owners and builders a very efficient option for the construction of large chimneys. The New Chimney Design does not use any separate, internal flue but instead its concrete shell is kept slender and it is internally protected by a lightweight, insulating PennguardTM lining.
In addition to significant savings in construction cost, the New Chimney Design is also lighter than conventional chimneys that use internal flues. This makes the design inherently safer during earthquakes.The Colbun and Bocamina project sites are exposed to considerable earthquake risk. The designers found that by using the New Chimney Design, they could meet the stringent Chilean seismic codes at a reasonable cost.
The very strong, Magnitude 8.8 earthquake that hit the region around Concepcion on 27 February 2010 did not result in any significant damage to the Colbun and Bocamina chimneys.
As reported on the following pages, Hadek sent a team of experts to Chile to perform a close-up inspection of both chimneys.