477 Rethinking Power Plant Water and Steam Chemistry with Brad Buecker (Part 1)

Power plant water and steam chemistry is not a background task. It affects safety, reliability, metallurgy, production, and the decisions plant teams make under pressure. In Part 1 of this conversation, Trace Blackmore, CWT, welcomes Bradley Buecker of SAMCO Technologies and Buecker Associates to examine what happens when familiar assumptions go unchallenged.

Safety Comes First in High-Energy Systems

Bradley begins with the lesson that has shaped decades of his work: safety. Power and industrial systems involve heat, flow, moving equipment, chemicals, confined spaces, lockout/tagout requirements, and PPE decisions that cannot be treated casually.

That safety lens carries directly into the discussion of flow accelerated corrosion, or FAC. Bradley explains how older thinking around removing all oxygen from high-pressure steam generation systems helped shape all-volatile treatment reducing programs. However, research following a catastrophic 1986 feedwater line failure showed that chemistry, flow conditions, pH, temperature, and piping geometry can combine to thin protective oxide layers on carbon steel.

"Water is Water" Is a Risky Mindset

Trace and Bradley then challenge one of the most expensive assumptions in industrial plants: “water is water.” Bradley explains why boiler makeup treatment, softener performance, hardness control, and operating discipline deserve attention before failures appear.

Low-pressure and intermediate-pressure boilers may tolerate a range of dissolved solids, but hardness remains a serious threat. Calcium and magnesium can form calcium carbonate scale in hot boiler environments, especially when softeners are poorly maintained, overrun, or bypassed to keep production moving. Bradley shares examples where short-term operating decisions led to tube failures, re-tubing, hydrogen damage, and costly downtime.

Layup, Stainless Steel, and Data Before Assumptions

The conversation also covers proper layup, oxygen and moisture corrosion, nitrogen capping, dehumidified air, vapor phase corrosion inhibitors, and why idle systems need a plan. Bradley reminds listeners that protecting the boiler is not enough; condensers, low-pressure turbines, and other surfaces also matter.

Finally, Bradley discusses stainless steel selection and why 304L or 316L should never be treated as a universal cure for corrosion. Chlorides, deposits, cycling in cooling towers, and pitting risk all need to be evaluated before materials decisions become expensive lessons. His closed cooling water case history reinforces the same principle: do not clean, treat, or specify based on assumption. Get the data first.

Good water treatment decisions protect people, equipment, and production. This conversation is a reminder that experience matters, but so does the willingness to ask questions, challenge old habits, and reach out before a problem becomes a failure.

Listen to the full conversation above. Explore related episodes below. Stay engaged, keep learning, and continue scaling up your knowledge!

Timestamps

02:30 — Trace opens the episode by thanking listeners for encouraging him to share more personal reflections, showing how audience feedback shapes the podcast.

04:50 — Trace highlights upcoming industry events, including ACE26 and The Water Expo, and reminds water professionals to use the Scaling UP! H2O events section for career and networking opportunities.

07:10 — James McDonald presents Words of Water, defining the mole and keeping technical learning approachable for industrial water professionals.

09:10 — Trace welcomes Bradley Buecker of SAMCO Technologies and Buecker Associates as his lab partner for the episode.

10:00 — Bradley summarizes his career across coal-fired utilities, water treatment, steam generation chemistry, air emissions control, engineering firms, and water treatment companies.

11:30 — Bradley identifies safety as the most important lesson from his career, emphasizing PPE, lockout/tagout, confined spaces, chemicals, and high-energy systems.

12:50 — Bradley challenges the phrase “that’s the way we’ve always done it,” pointing to changes in membrane technologies, high-pressure steam chemistry, and cooling water treatment.

13:50 — Bradley introduces two major concerns: flow accelerated corrosion and the dangerous assumption that “water is water.”

15:10 — Bradley explains the historical focus on removing oxygen from high-pressure steam systems using mechanical deaerators and reducing agents.

16:10 — Bradley describes the 1986 nuclear plant feedwater line failure that killed four personnel and intensified research into FAC.

18:50 — Bradley explains how AVTR chemistry, flow conditions, fittings, pH, and temperature can thin protective oxide layers and lead to catastrophic failure.

20:20 — Bradley discusses how high-purity feedwater with a small amount of dissolved oxygen can form a denser oxide layer that protects carbon steel from FAC.

23:50 — Bradley compares oxygen scavengers, including sulfite, hydrazine, carbohydrazide, DHA, and methyl ethyl ketoxime, and explains where their use differs.

26:50 — Trace and Bradley unpack why “water is water” often means water is treated as the last priority instead of the first.

28:10 — Bradley explains why sodium softening, hardness control, and boiler makeup treatment are essential for low- and intermediate-pressure boilers.

31:00 — Bradley shares examples of softener bypass decisions that can lead to boiler damage, tube failures, re-tubing, and costly downtime.

36:50 — Bradley explains why layup matters, especially when water cools, air enters, and localized corrosion develops inside idle equipment.

42:00 — Bradley warns that stainless steel is not a cure-all and explains how chloride concentration and pitting risk affect 304L and 316L applications.

45:50 — Bradley shares a closed cooling water case history where black material was assumed to be iron but turned out to be bitumen from an unsuitable pipe liner.

51:00 — Bradley stresses the need for data before action, explaining how an incorrect cleaning assumption could have compounded a seven-figure materials mistake.

52:50 — Trace and Bradley discuss the value of experience and why younger professionals should seek training, conferences, vendors, and technical networks.

54:20 — Bradley speaks to the importance of mentorship as experienced professionals retire and critical industry knowledge risks being lost.

59:40 — Trace closes Part 1 and previews Part 2, which will continue the conversation on oxygen scavengers, pretreatment stories, and Bradley’s career.

Connect with Bradley Buecker

Email: [email protected]  

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bradley-buecker-705b9021/  

 

Guest Resources Mentioned  

ASME CRTD 34 / ASME Consensus document

Barry Dooley – “Flow-Accelerated Corrosion in Fossil and Combined Cycle/HRSG Plants”

IAPWS Technical Guidance Document – Volatile Treatments  

Brad Buecker’s HRSG issues: Reemphasizing the importance of flow-accelerated corrosion control – Part 1 

Industrial water and steam treatment will be important for a long time Part 1   

The importance of industrial water and steam treatment, Part 2 

The importance of industrial water and steam treatment, Part 3

The importance of industrial water and steam treatment, Part 4 

The importance of industrial water and steam treatment, Part 4.5

The importance of industrial water and steam treatment, Part 5 

The importance of industrial water and steam treatment, Part 6 

The importance of industrial water and steam treatment, Part 7

Surry Unit 2 feedwater line rupture documentation

 

Scaling UP! H2O Resources Mentioned 

AWT (Association of Water Technologies) 

Scaling UP! H2O Academy video courses 

Submit a Show Idea 

The Rising Tide Mastermind

 

Words of Water with James McDonald

Today's definition is the standard SI unit for the amount of substance, defined exactly as 6.02214076 x 10^23 elementary entities, such as atoms or molecules.  Can you guess the word or phrase? 

 

2026 Events for Water Professionals 

Check out our Scaling UP! H2O Events Calendar where we’ve listed every event Water Treaters should be aware of by clicking HERE.