Glossary
Alternative cleaning
IR rotary sootblower
Also known as IR sootblower, rotary sootblower.
An IR rotary sootblower is a short, fixed-position rotating steam lance with permanently-installed nozzles. Unlike the IK long-retract design, the IR lance does not withdraw between operations — it rotates in place, projecting steam onto adjacent tube banks within its rotation radius.
Typical applications
- Air heater cold-end cleaning
- Deep convective superheater banks where insertion is impractical
- Recovery boilers — used alongside IK retract designs
Trade-offs vs IK
| Attribute | IR rotary | IK long retract |
|---|---|---|
| Lance withdrawal | Continuous in flue gas | Withdrawn between cycles |
| Reach | Short, fixed radius | Long, traverses across pass |
| Continuous-exposure damage | Yes | No |
| Mechanical complexity | Lower | Higher |
| Coverage | Local | Cross-section of pass |
IR lances suffer accelerated wear from continuous flue-gas exposure compared with IK retracts but are mechanically simpler and suit applications where the cleaning zone is fixed.
Related terms
Related terms
- Steam sootblowerA steam sootblower projects high-pressure steam jets onto boiler tube banks to dislodge soot and ash. Effective but causes documented tube erosion and consumes valuable boiler steam.
- IK long retract sootblowerAn IK sootblower advances a long steam lance into the gas path, rotates through 360°, and retracts. The workhorse of convective superheater and reheater cleaning.
- Air heaterAn air heater (also air preheater, APH) recovers low-grade heat from flue gas to preheat combustion air. Cold-end fouling and corrosion are the dominant operational challenges.