High-Temperature Corrosion in Fossil Fuel Power Generation: Present and Future

Fossil fuels have historically represented two-thirds of all electricity generation in the United States and are projected to continue to play a similar role despite historically low projected growth rates in electricity demand and the recent dramatic shift from coal to more natural gas usage. Economic and environmental drivers will require more reliable and efficient fossil fuel generation systems in the future, likely with new system designs, higher operating temperatures, and more aggressive environments. Some of the current corrosion issues in power plants are reviewed along with research on materials solutions for systems envisioned for the near future, such as coal gasification and oxy-fired coal boilers.