FPCC Mailiao Power Plant — Automated Soot-Blower Thermal Monitoring

01 The Problem

FPCC's Mailiao power station on Taiwan's west coast runs four boilers around the clock to power the entire petrochemical complex. Each boiler has 100+ soot blowers — high-pressure steam jets that clear coal residue off the boiler tubes. When one of those blowers gets stuck open and starts venting steam continuously, it's like aiming a power-washer at a copper pot — eventually the metal wears through, a tube ruptures, and the boiler comes down for emergency repair. Over a 10-year window, FPCC lost $128.5 million across four such incidents.

Background

Coal combustion deposits soot on boiler tubes, degrading heat transfer. Soot blowers cyclically purge tubes with high-pressure steam. A malfunctioning blower that runs continuously erodes tubes to rupture, forcing emergency shutdown.

10-Year Pre-Implementation Losses

4 incidents: FP2 (89.05.09) $31.3M / 3 days; FP3 (93.04.28) $75.5M / 12 days; UPB (94.06.07) $21.4M / 2 days; UPB (94.06.17) $0.36M / 2 days.

Why Thermalpas RTD (Not Infrared)

Comparison: Infrared (fails when occluded by ash) / Thermocouple (high-temp drift, requires compensation) / Thermistor (< 100°C only, poor accuracy) / Thermalpas RTD (contact type, IP67, reusable, customizable) — clear winner.

Field Installation & Soot Test

Installation location: short-range soot-blower angle valve outlet (top view). After 3 weeks, sensor surface is coated with fly ash.

ROI Analysis

Pre-implementation 10-year loss $128.5M = $12.85M/year average. OctosX deployment capex $13.46M. Payback = 13.46 ÷ 12.85 ≈ 1.1 years.

02 The OctosX Solution

We installed 276 Thermalpas RTD sensors across the Mailiao boilers — 100 on the MHI boiler, 176 on the CE boiler. Each sits on a soot blower angle-valve outlet, watching for the telltale temperature rise of a stuck-open valve. The team had previously tried Japanese infrared monitoring, but those sensors got blinded by ash within weeks. Thermalpas RTDs are contact-type, so they keep working even when coated in soot — verified on a 3-week field test.

Background

Scope: 100 soot blowers on MHI boiler + 176 on CE boiler = 276 total. Coverage spans Long-range (superheater), Medium (economizer), Short (waterwall), AS (air preheater), DUCT ECO.

10-Year Pre-Implementation Losses

Root cause analysis: all 4 incidents share three factors — valve anomaly + continuous blowing + delayed human detection. The solution must be continuous automated monitoring with real-time alerts, not more frequent manual patrol.

Why Thermalpas RTD (Not Infrared)

Mailiao customization: (1) high surface contact (2) IP67 protection (3) reusable mounting (4) custom sizing per blower type.

Field Installation & Soot Test

Despite contamination, temperature accuracy is fully preserved — the decisive advantage of contact-type RTD over IR: direct heat conduction, not optical path.

ROI Analysis

10-year aggregate: $128.5M avoided loss + system residual value + maintenance-labor savings = $115M+ net benefit (discounted).

03 The Outcome

Since the OctosX system went live, FPCC Mailiao has not had a single soot-blower-related tube rupture. The system cost $13.46 million to deploy and saves $12.85 million per year — payback in 1.1 years. The 10-year economic case underwrites OctosX's entire Power-sector go-to-market: every Taipower plant, every captive steel power plant, every chemical-plant captive boiler fits the same pattern.

Background

Pre-implementation: 4 tube-rupture incidents over 10 years, totaling $128.5M losses + 19 days of forced shutdown. Every root cause was a "human-patrol blind spot."

10-Year Pre-Implementation Losses

The aggregate $128.5M loss directly underwrites the OctosX ROI baseline: a $13.46M investment averts $12.85M annual loss — 1.1-year payback.

Why Thermalpas RTD (Not Infrared)

The Japanese long-range IR solution was retired: IR probes fail when blocked by fly ash, as the previous generation proved. Thermalpas RTD passed a 3-week soot-coverage test.

Field Installation & Soot Test

Deployed units at Mailiao: UPA, UPB, UPC, FP1, FP2 + Public Plant 1 MP6. Horizontal expansion to China Steel, Chang Chun, FCFC, Asia Polymer captive power plants is fully justified.

ROI Analysis

This single case underwrites OctosX's entire Power-sector go-to-market. Taipower's 4 plants, China Steel captive power, Chang Chun Chemical, FCFC Dashe, Asia Polymer all fit the same pattern.

Audited ROI Numbers

$12.85MAnnual avoided loss

$13.46MSystem CapEx

1.1 yrsPayback period

$115M+10-year NPV

All figures verified by FPCC's internal improvement report. Reference call available subject to mutual NDA.

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