NEWS RELEASE                                   AUGUST 2009

Chinese to Add 358,000 MW of FGD by 2020

The installed capacity of flue gas desulfurization (FGD) systems in China will rise from 365,000 MW this year to 723,000 MW in 2020 according to the latest forecast in FGD World Markets, an ongoing publication of the McIlvaine Company.  This investment in 358,000 MW of FGD represents a value based on international pricing of over 100 billion dollars.  Despite the fact that prices of FGD systems in China are 50 percent lower, this market represents a big potential for suppliers of slurry pumps, mixers, alloy steel, valves, limestone, ball mills, nozzles, fans and many other components and consumables.

The magnitude of the Chinese effort to clean up its coal-fired plants is put into perspective with the comparison to the total world FGD capacity today.  World capacity is only 797,000 MW and this represents the cumulative investment of the world over the period 1968 to 2009.  The world has been adding FGD capacity at a rate of 19,000 MW/yr.  China has had some recent years where FGD capacity additions were above 70,000 MW.  Over the next eleven years it will add 32,000 MW of FGD per year.  This represents 75 percent of all the new FGD to be installed each year.

There are now a number of Chinese companies offering components for FGD systems.  The big FGD slurry recycle pumps have only been available from a few European-based suppliers.  Now several Chinese companies are offering the very large pumps and others are offering the smaller ones.

Chinese FGD systems use more synthetics and less alloy metals than European or U.S. FGD systems.  Chinese FRP suppliers have teamed with international companies to offer scrubber shells and stack liners of FRP.  The ceramic scrubber nozzles are now available from multiple sources within China.  Chinese system suppliers have primarily teamed with licensors from Japan, Europe and the U.S.  Most of the systems have been wet using limestone as the reagent.  Recently a system which will utilize ammonia to make ammonium sulfate fertilizer was awarded to a Chinese/U.S. team.  Along the coast there have been some systems designed to use seawater for scrubbing.  The world’s largest fluid bed dry lime absorber has also been awarded by a Chinese utility.

A number of steps are being taken to improve the operations of existing installations.  This will provide a retrofit opportunity of sizable proportions.  Offshore suppliers of instrumentation and optimization systems have a big opportunity in this market.

For more information on FGD World Markets, click on: