Glossary
Alternative cleaning
Detonation cleaning
Also known as shock wave cleaning, pulse detonation cleaning, Bang & Clean.
Detonation cleaning uses a controlled pulse-detonation device — a small chamber where a gaseous fuel-air mixture is ignited — to generate high-energy shock waves projected into the boiler. The shock waves dislodge consolidated deposits that lighter cleaning methods cannot remove. The best-known commercial offering is the Swiss-based Bang & Clean system, marketed primarily for WtE, biomass, and lignite-fired boilers with persistent fouling.
Trade-offs vs sonic horns
| Attribute | Detonation cleaning | Sonic horn |
|---|---|---|
| Energy per shot | Very high | Low |
| Frequency | Episodic (per shift) | Continuous (every few minutes) |
| Damage potential | Documented on weld points if mis-targeted | None |
| Capital cost per unit | Higher | Lower |
| Best application | Hard consolidated deposits, periodic remediation | Continuous prevention |
| Operator presence required | Yes for each shot | No, fully automatic |
The two technologies are complementary: sonic horns prevent the buildup that detonation cleaning is otherwise needed to remove, allowing detonation cycles to be reduced in frequency.
Related terms
Related terms
- Explosive deslaggingExplosive deslagging uses controlled charges of solid explosive to fragment severe boiler slag during outages. Specialised contractor service; permit-heavy; for the toughest cases.
- Shock-pulse generatorThe Valmet SPG generates high-energy gas-detonation shock waves inside the recovery boiler for periodic deep cleaning. Complementary to continuous sonic-horn cleaning.
- Sonic hornA sonic horn is a pneumatically-driven low-frequency sound emitter (typically 60–400 Hz at 140–180 dB SPL) used to dislodge particulate fouling from boilers, ESPs, baghouses and process vessels.