Project Description
The power station of Langerlo was built in 1976, with two units powered by fuel oil. In 1986, the power station was converted to a coal power station, due to its proximity to the coal mines located in Genk. Since mining activity in Belgium declined and ceased in 1992 with the closing of the last mine in Zolder, the power station in Langerlo remained the last one driven by coal. In 1997 and 1999 the power station was enlarged. In 1999 the fume and gas purification was expanded and 2 gas turbines were built. Today the power station has a capacity of 556 MW, driven by a mix of coal, biomass(pellets) and gas.
For the expansion plans in 1997, ZINGA was prescribed for corrosion protection of 7500 m² construction steel by the engineering company Tractebel.
Even before, ZINGA was already a stock item at Electrabel companies for patch repair. Because of the expansion, several large beams turned out to be too big for HDG at local galvanisers’ baths and hence were treated with ZINGA.
The beams were coated with 2 x 60 μm DFT after steel fabrication at Victor Buyck to provide a good corrosion protection in a harsh industrial environment.
An inspection at the Power Station in 2014 (after 17 years), now run by Electricity company E.ON, found the beams in good condition showing no signs of corrosion and with a Zinc depletion of only 20 μm DFT.