This paper presents development of a cleaning robot for the sludge in sulfuric acid tank. The sulfuric acid is made during SOx capturing process, well known as flue gas desulfurization, and it has very strong corrosion characteristics. The cloud of micro dust in the flue gas settles as sediment in the acid tank. Because the fume produced by the sulfuric acid is very toxic, the sulfate sludge must be removed not by a worker but by an underwater robot having anti-corrosion capability. For this purpose, an underwater robot is developed with anti corrosion materials for its elements such as robot body, drive shaft, wheel, waterproofing seal, power cable, slurry pumping tube, etc. A series of experiments of sludge cleaning shows that the developed robot works well in the real sulfuric acid tank.
A Sludge Cleaning Robot for Sulfuric Acid Tank