Les Boulton, New Zealand Consultant to the Nickel Institute, continued the Stainless Steel Session by presenting a paper entitled  Stainless Steels and Nickel Alloys in Geothermal Energy Production. Geothermal power in New Zealand is a small but significant part of the energy generation capacity of the country, providing approximately 10% of the country's electricity with installed capacity approaching 600 MW.

The paper discussed and outlined the applications of stainless steels and nickel alloys in geothermal power production. As geothermal plant efficiency improves, so does the demand for materials that can simultaneously withstand higher temperature and harsh corrosive conditions. This is a demanding and challenging area of materials technology – one which stainless steels and nickel alloys provide a solution for. Les concluded that the potential for future growth of high alloys within the international geothermal power generation industry is excellent.

The 2nd afternoon session consisted of a forum updating on New Developments in Stainless Steel followed by NZSSDA-AGM. The session began with presentations from Les Boulton entitled  Surface Finishes on Stainless Steel – Achieving Improvement. Les reported that surface finishes on stainless steel have contributed to various problems over recent years. Designers, engineers and architects incorrectly specify the surface finish required on stainless steels affecting the service performance.

Problems can occur on building exteriors, balustrades, facias, and other engineering structures. He gave a number of case studies and concluded that a good SS surface finish is essential to ensure that plant and equipment is fit for purpose in service. Specifications should be clear regarding requirements for SS finish.

The concluding presentation was  Chemical Treatment of Stainless Steel Surfaces given by Russell Thorburn from Tata Steel. The presentation discussed Health & Safety and Environmental compliance issues associated with the use of the chemical cleaning of stainless steels. Russell gave a number of case studies and emphasised that both pickling and passivation use acids that can be damaging for health and environment.

Requirements of the Environmental Risk Management Authority (ERMA) shall be followed. The afternoon session was followed by an Open Forum discussing issues arising from all of the presentations.