1. Satish Agrawal
Owner, Project Sales Corp
Operational Safety in Power Stations
With a view towards the greatest possible operational safety, particularly high standards have to be
met by the materials used in power stations. These also include sealing compounds, particularly
those for sealing turbine parting planes. In the presence of water or steam, halogens such as
chlorine and fluorine can corrode the surface structure, causing cracks to form. Read more about
corrosion in steam turbines at http://turbolab.tamu.edu/uploads/files/papers/t37/T37-TUT06.pdf
Recently Thermax asked a sealant manufacturer AI Schulze to confirm that Birkosit contains no
sulphur or halogen materials (chlorine, fluorine, bromine, etc) that could potentially cause corrosion
on metal surfaces. AI Schulze, the manufacturer issued the certificate to Thermax. This is now
standard for all supplies for Birkosit. Birkosit now certifies that it contains no chemical substances (it
is based on linseed oils instead of flammable solvents) nor contains any hazardous substance.
With the new generation turbines being manufactured by BHEL, L&T Mitsubishi, Siemens and
others, it is now imperative that sealing compounds designed for turbines have to meet several key
parameters:
 The sealing compound should not present any significant danger for the environment. It
should not contain any hazardous substance that is harmful to the environment.
 The Sealing compound should be non-flammable or have any flashpoint.
 Several products contain 10-12% by volume of methylated spirits and have flash point of
14-20 deg C due to the solvents. This is not safe to handle and is needs special protective
clothing and needs special precautions as they are highly inflammable.
 Sealing Compounds containing solvents have a chance for solvent evaporation which is
not safe and needs addition of solvents again.
 Sealing compounds should have a service life of 10 years after application in line with
the requirements on the new generation turbines.
 The new specifications for the next generation of SST steam turbines and SGT gas
turbine will have a pressure resistance required of 250 bar to also take care of a safety
margin and temeperature resistance of 900 deg C.
Meeting all the technical parameters is the product Birkosit from AI Schulze, Germany.

2. BIRKOSIT - sealing compound ® has been used for 50 years on Siemens turbines. [product
development 1952 with Siemens]
Without the additional sealing of individual pressure areas using BIRKOSIT - sealing compound ®
the production imprecisions or the distortion under loads are no longer evened out, which means
that the turbine areas in the individual pressure areas become permeable under pressure. This
means the turbine loses power, and can even lead to unplanned reconditioning.
Application/Costs/Summary at Siemens AG Power Generation Mülheim location in steam and gas
turbines Turbine output from 1 - 150MW
Everywhere that:
-> metal on metal is to be sealed to the STEAM SPACE!
Individual areas of application:
-> Sealing surfaces (butt joints) in the pressure area turbine halves.
[consumption: on average 3 to 5 tins]
[Time required: usually approx. 40-60 minutes]
-> Sealing surfaces (butt joints) inside the pressure area turbine halves.
[casing guide blade carriers]
[consumption: on average 1 to 2 tins]
[Time required: usually approx. 20-30 minutes]
-> High-pressure stage of the turbines.
-> Medium-pressure stage of the turbines.
-> Low-pressure stage of the turbines. [not used]
Working recommendations
Design/quality of the metal surfaces (butt joints):
-> Smooth/structured surfaces.
-> Dry, fat-free working surface.
-> With through borings maybe also stay rods.
-> precision [Ra = 0.8 to 1.2 µm].
-> After mechanical processing [milling] geschwabelt [not compulsory!]
-> Metal on metal is to be sealed to the STEAM SPACE.
-> Production parts (casing, cover etc.) must be screwed down.
Only BIRKOSIT - sealing compound ® is used as a sealing material. (no additional seals)
Usage time/storage life:
-> BIRKOSIT is designed for the usual reconditioning intervals
in constant use for between 30000 - 50000 hours.

3. Leading turbine manufacturers worldwide and in India prefer to use BIRKOSIT for sealing parting
plane flanges of turbine casings. Customers in India include BHEL, Siemens, Triveni, MAN Turbo,
Kirloskar Ebara and several other OEs. It is also used by NTPC
Anta/Dadri/Unchahar/KayamKulum/soon Deepshika; Nuclear Power Corp, Tata
Power and more..
Do you know why ? Here’re the key reasons:
BIRKOSIT is the only product WORLDWIDE designed exclusively for sealing turbine flanges.
BIRKOSIT - Dichtungskitt ® has been used for 50 years on Siemens turbines (product development
1952 with Siemens).
BIRKOSIT is the only product that GUARANTEES a service life of 10 years
When used in accordance with instructions and with regular servicing as required for steam and gas
turbines, we guarantee a service life for use on machined sealing surfaces (butt joints), of 10 years
BIRKOSIT has the HIGHEST temperature and pressure resistance
Withstands Hot steam and air, hot and cold water, light fuel oils and lubricants, crude oil and natural
gas at up to 900 °C.The excellent adhesion on sealing surfaces and butt joints guarantees a perfect
seal up to 250 bar. The pressure resistance for flanges without sealing rings is up to 450 bar and
even up to 550 bar for screw joints
BIRKOSIT has better SPREADABILITY on the turbine flanges
Compared to other jointing and sealing compounds available, it’s easier to apply Birkosit sealing
compound on the flanges as it contains linseed oil. Linseed oil also improves the sealing due to its
polymerization properties. The surface area coverage of the product is also more as compared to
solvent based sealing materials. It can be spread on the dry surfaces using a putty knife or rubber
spatula. As the product doesn’t cure but slightly changes its consistency, staying flexible and elastic,
application on butt joints without time pressure is possible. And the product can be subjected
immediately to working loads! A small amount of linseed oil varnish may be added to improve the
spreading properties.
BIRKOSIT has a longer STORAGE life
Unlimited storage life when is BIRKOSIT correctly stored. Its properties are stable and it is flexible in
use. The tin should be properly closed if only part of the contents is used.
Birkosit guarantees the following: In Unopened tins - When correctly stored in the original packing, a
storage life of 5 years from manufacture date.
BIRKOSIT provides complete information on its WEBSITES and internet
You can get all the above information and more, including product data sheets, safety data sheets
andcontact information in the global website www.birkosit.com ; India website
http://india.birkosit.com and
Facebook site http://www.facebook.com/birkosit

4. Available in new 1 kg packs • Sold in India by Project Sales Corporation
Orders to sales@projectsalescorp.com
Project Sales Corporation, General Agency of A.I. Schulze, for marketing BIRKOSIT - Dichtungskitt ® in
India; 28 Founta Plaza, Suryabagh, Visakhapatnam 530 020, AP, India; Phone: +918912564393; Fax:
+918912590482; Technical helpline +91-98851-49412
About Project Sales Corp:
We are Importers, Marketers and India Distributors for a host of high performance gasketing brands
like Birkosit, Arexons, QuickSteel, etc. used in power plant turbines/compressors and count among our
customers original equipment manufacturers like Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited, Siemens, MAN
Turbo, Maruti Udyog, Alstom, GKN Driveline, Renk Bearings, Kirloskar, Bombardier, Dresser Rand,
and power stations including Lanco, Tata Power, Torrent, Surat Lignite, NTPCs, NPCIL, APGENCO,
OPGC, Essar Power, JSW, Tata Steel Captive, Nalco CPP, GVK, GMR, SEPCO, etc