Power plant chemistry – A cornerstone of the vgbe for over 100 years
Michael Rziha
It is an honor and pleasure for me to be able to write this editorial, especially because power plant chemistry has always been my passion.
During the founding period of the vgbe in the 1920s, the importance and necessity of power plant chemistry was already recognized and promoted accordingly, so that as early as 1925 the first manual for feedwater care (“Preliminary Material and Manufacturer Regulations”) was published.
In these past 100 years, members of the vgbe have continuously developed all areas of power plant chemistry in a scientifically sound and innovative way. The vgbe has been and continues to be a global lighthouse in all areas of power plant chemistry. Numerous vgbe standards, technical information sheets and much more have been created jointly in the respective working groups, initiated by the Technical Committee Chemistry and Emission Control and its predecessors, with great success and worldwide resonance.
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Editorial
Michael Rziha
Chief Key Expert
Power Plant Chemistry
PPCHEM AG, Hinwil, Schweiz
Power plant chemistry – A cornerstone of the vgbe for over 100 years
Dear readers of the vgbe energy journal,
It is an honor and pleasure for me to be able to write this editorial, especially because power plant chemistry has always been my passion.
During the founding period of the vgbe in the 1920s, the importance and necessity of power plant chemistry was already recognized and promoted accordingly, so that as early as 1925 the first manual for feedwater care (“Preliminary Material and Manufacturer Regulations”) was published.
In these past 100 years, members of the vgbe have continuously developed all areas of power plant chemistry in a scientifically sound and innovative way. The vgbe has been and continues to be a global lighthouse in all areas of power plant chemistry. Numerous vgbe standards, technical information sheets and much more have been created jointly in the respective working groups, initiated by the Technical Committee Chemistry and Emission Control and its predecessors, with great success and worldwide resonance.
Numerous vgbe standards, technical information sheets and much more have been created jointly in the respective working groups, initiated by the Technical Committee Chemistry and Emission Control and its predecessors, with great success and worldwide resonance. In the past, the success has been very impressive, as reflected in, among other things, considerable economic benefits, such as annual cost savings through optimal chemistry and a significant reduction in chemical-related damage.
Thanks to this outstanding and intensive work by all those involved, we now have an excellent knowledge base. However, this must be maintained and further developed. We cannot and must not simply stop at power plant chemistry, but must absolutely keep pace with technical developments and the challenges arising from them. Likewise, we must not allow this valuable knowledge to be forgotten and no longer passed on.
Unfortunately, however, it can be observed in this context that the great successes of power plant chemistry achieved in the past are increasingly diminishing and the number of chemically induced damages has risen again, with correspondingly high economic consequences. A major cause is the progressive loss of know-how and expert knowledge.
As we know from the past, this expertise can be developed and built upon very successfully, especially through the unique committee work of the vgbe. However, this will only work if we counteract the current dramatic loss of experts in this field by promoting young talent and rekindling young people’s enthusiasm for this exciting and important topic, while also offering them career prospects. However, the responsible managers must also give these young people the opportunity to actively take part in this committee work and enable them to participate in specialist conferences, such as the chemistry conference of the vgbe. These are definitely the wrong places for potential savings or budget cuts.
You don’t become a power plant chemist overnight; it’s a lengthy process, and power plant chemistry is not a “commodity” that you can “outsource” at will or simply buy when needed. It takes a lot of experience, as well as specific knowledge of the plants and an understanding of the processes that take place within them.
In my opinion, the following quote from the founding period 95 years ago is interesting and very worth mentioning in this context:
Robert Stumper: “The challenges that the feed water poses for the scientists and technicians are by no means solely chemical in nature. Chemistry, mechanical engineering, materials science and thermodynamics are all intertwined in our field.”
These statements are essential and remain valid without restriction, because power plant chemistry is not limited to pure laboratory and measurement activities. The power plant chemical processes are sometimes highly complex and only with a sufficient understanding and knowledge of the different processes, together with representative and correct measurement data and its evaluation, can a correct diagnosis be made and, ultimately, safe and, above all, economical operation be achieved.
We must therefore urgently ensure that we have qualified young talent and foster it! Do not allow this valuable treasure trove of knowledge to be sacrificed on the altar of senseless cost-cutting. Power plant chemistry will certainly still be needed for the next 100 years.
With this in mind, I would like to quote my friend and very highly esteemed colleague Prof. Dr.-Ing. Herwig Maier, long-time chairman of the Technical Committee Chemistry of the vgbe:
“Not everything is chemistry, but without chemistry, everything is nothing!”