Power Air Quality Insights No

Power Air Quality Insights
No. 176 September 26, 2014

WELCOME

The following insights can be sent to you every week. This alert contains the details on the upcoming hot topic hour, breaking news, and the headlines for the Utility E Alert for the previous week. This is one of a number of free services. You can sign up for any of these newsletters and of course request to be removed from the mailing list at any time. See registration following the newsletter.

· $2.9 Billion Market for Stainless Steel in Flow and Treatment Control Equipment In 2015

· “Precipitator Improvements to Meet MATS and MACT” on October 2 “Hot Topic Hour”

Our energy sources are wind, solar, other biomass, hydro, nuclear, petroleum liquids, gas and coal. The McIlvaine Company continues to analyze and predict the future of each of these sources.

At some point in time fossil fuels will no longer be an energy source. As fossil fuel resources are depleted, the price will rise. The extent of that rise will be dependent on the availability and cost of the alternatives.

Petroleum liquids have been more highly valued than other forms of energy because they have more uses and specifically have been the exclusive choice for transportation. This advantage could be diminished as natural gas and electrical energy are becoming increasingly competitive to supply transportation energy.

Nuclear energy unlike biomass has the capability to supply much of the world’s energy needs. Questions about safety and cost and, most importantly, public prejudice threaten future use of this energy mode.

Near-term competition is mainly among various forms of fossil fuels. The most important development has been the conversion of one form to another. China has embarked on a huge program to convert coal to synthetic natural gas, gasoline and chemicals. Sixty large coal to syngas projects under development in China would equal two-thirds of the U.S. shale gas output.

Other countries are also pursuing this course. The Ukraine and China are cooperating to build four large coal to syngas plants using Ukrainian coal. This will lessen dependence on Russian gas.

There are a number of projects to convert coal to Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG). Some involve above ground gasifiers. Some involve underground gasification and others will utilize coal bed methane. Posco, the large Korean steel maker, is completing a plant to convert coal to LNG. This gas will replace the purchased LNG presently used in steel making operations.

Australia has a number of LNG projects involving coal bed methane and underground gasification. The country recently abolished its carbon tax and is no longer pursuing a strategy to reduce global warming.

Whereas, in the past it appeared that the efforts to reduce global warming would shape the energy future that no longer appears to be the case. Asia is focusing on solving its immediate problems and has placed a low priority on global warming. Europe has fallen way behind its timeline for CO₂ reduction. The urgency has been reduced by what the environmentalists term a “pause in global warming” and what opponents claim is proof that the predictions were wrong.

$2.9 Billion Market for Stainless Steel in Flow and Treatment Control Equipment In 2015

Purchases of stainless steel by manufacturers of flow and treatment control equipment will be $2.9 billion next year. This forecast does not include storage tanks, piping, ductwork and other ancillary system components. These forecasts are part of Air/Gas/Water/Fluid Treatment and Control: World Market published by the McIlvaine Company. (www.mcilvainecompany.com)

Flow control including pumps and valves represent almost two thirds of the total. Sales of these components will be $139 billion next year. The suppliers will purchase stainless materials exceeding $1.9 billion. In some cases, the purchases will be direct but often through suppliers of forgings, castings and fabrications.

2015 Market For Stainless Steel In Flow and Treatment Equipment
Product	Stainless Steel $ Millions	Total $ Billions
Flow Control	1,900	139
Liquid filtration and separation	240	46
Water and liquid treatment	70	15
HVAC	20	11
Stack gases and compressed air	680	73
Monitoring	20	15
Total	2,930	299

The vessels used to support liquid filtration devices are constructed of stainless steel where there are hygienic or corrosion considerations. Centrifuge design includes the additional challenge of rotating parts. The scrolls and discs revolve at high speed. Stainless disc type centrifuges are used for wine, food, dairy and chemical applications. The scroll type centrifuges are used for sludge dewatering and for many chemical applications.

Reverse Osmosis housings are frequently constructed of stainless steel. Microfiltration and ultrafiltration housings used in desalination are also typically stainless steel.

McIlvaine has created a free website Drinking Water Filtration - Continuous Analysis. A series of webinars will serve to further populate this website and make it an important decision making too for municipalities.

The tried and true method for purifying drinking water has been the use of gravity media filters. In the last decade, cross-flow membranes have been an alternative selected by municipalities seeking protection against small microorganisms. Chemicals and ultraviolet disinfection are also widely used. The webinar on October 16 will explore each of these technologies and the advantages and disadvantages of each.

The devil is in the details. With gravity media filters is air scour, water backwash, or a combination the best way to keep the unit clean? What are the options regarding underdrains? How do systems utilizing an intermediate layer of gravel between the treatment media and the underdrains compare to those which retain the media directly? Should an online particle counter be used to monitor performance? If cross-flow membranes are used, should the medium be microfiltration or ultrafiltration? What about the tradeoffs between UV, onsite chemical generation and purchased chemicals? How do chemicals aid the filtration process?

We are asking viewers to submit data to populate this site and to review the posted data prior to the webinar. This will ensure a high level discussion. Contact: Bob McIlvaine at rmcilvaine@mcilvainecompany.com.

GE announced it will supply 56 1.7-100 wind turbines for its first wind farm in North Africa developed by Energie Eolienne du Maroc (EEM), a leading developer of wind projects and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Nareva Holding. The 100 MW wind farm will be located near Akhfennir in southern Morocco.

Akhfennir is one of the wind farms in the first phase of the Moroccan Integrated Wind Energy project, set to produce over 720 MW. Five new sites are being planned to utilize Morocco’s strong potential in wind power, estimated at 25,000 MW. Morocco’s Renewable Energy Law (No.13-09) supports energy production from renewable resources.

Voith Hydro has been awarded the contract to rehabilitate and upgrade the turbines in the 10-unit powerhouse at Grant County (Washington) Public Utility District’s (PUD) Priest Rapids Dam on the Columbia River.

Installation of the upgraded vertical Kaplan turbines, with a majority of the rehab work being performed at Voith’s York, Pennsylvania facility, will span 10 years starting in 2016, with one unit upgraded per year. Voith performed extensive model testing over the past several years, culminating in a successful customer witness test in Lausanne, Switzerland in June 2013. Each turbine is rated at approximately 100 MW.

Cavitation free performance and stringent fish passage criteria were critical components for the final awarded design of the turbine. With the award of the Priest Rapids contract, Voith is once again modernizing components of a hydropower plant on the Columbia River; the company recently completed the final turbine upgrade at the 10-unit Wanapum Dam, which is immediately upstream from Priest RapidsB.

SPI Solar Subsidiary Announce Agreement to Purchase and Develop 19 MW of Solar PV Projects in Shandong Province, China

SPI Solar, a vertically-integrated photovoltaic solar developer, announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Xinyu Xinwei New Energy Co., Ltd. (Xinwei), has signed an agreement to purchase and develop approximately 19 megawatts (MW) of distributed generation (DG) solar power projects in Shouguang, Shandong Province, China via the acquisition of a special purpose vehicle (SPV) that owns the rights to such projects.

The agreement calls for the development of four rooftop sites (consisting of 5 MW, 5 MW, 4.5 MW and 4.5 MW, respectively) for established manufacturers in China. Construction of the projects is scheduled to begin in September 2014, with completion and grid connection expected during the fourth quarter of 2014. This marks SPI’s second significant DG project announcement in Shandong Province in the past month.

Glennmont Partners, a leading investment manager dedicated to clean energy in Europe, has commenced operation of the 38 MW Sleaford straw-fired renewable energy plant.

The plant was built by a consortium of Burmeister & Wain Scandinavian Contractor A/S and Burmeister and Wain Energy A/S. Glennmont purchased 100 percent of the equity in the project in December 2011, and financed the construction through a debt package provided by NIBC Bank NV, RBS, Siemens Bank GmbH and Unicredit Bank AG.

Sleaford will generate enough electricity to power 65,000 homes as well as providing free heat to local sports clubs and community facilities. It will create and support jobs in local agriculture and has been built to perform to the highest environmental standards.

Saft, the world’s leading designer and manufacturer of advanced technology batteries for industry, has received its third contract from a major California utility. Since the first utility-scale storage system was commissioned at the end of 2012, Saft received two additional contracts bringing the total to a combined energy storage system (ESS) capacity of 7.5 MWh, deployed in 12 containers. The lithium-ion (Li-ion) energy storage systems will be used to mitigate power fluctuations inherent with solar-generated electricity.

The first ESS supplied by Saft to the California utility, partially funded by the Department of Energy, ultimately participated in one of the first times in the nation’s history that a microgrid was used to power a large portion of a community during an emergency situation. Commissioned in late 2012, the contract included three battery containers and one power electronics container, rated at 500kW/1500kWh and installed at a remote desert community microgrid. The community is served by a single transmission line that is subject to disruptions due to weather fluctuations and the prevalence of wildfires.

Saft’s ESS solution demonstrated its operational value in the fall of 2013 when intense thunderstorms cut power to the community. Utility engineers were able to call on the microgrid for assistance and used its local power sources to restore electricity to 1,060 customers, including the essential downtown business area. The location’s fragile connection to the power distribution system, proximity to a local substation and prevalence of customer-generated solar power served as an ideal microgrid test site.

· CMS undertaking $1 Billion Program to cut Emissions from Five Coal-fired Power Plants in Michigan

· Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection intends to issue an Air Operating Permit to NRG Power Midwest

· Volta River Authority signs MOU for 1,200 MW Coal-fired Power Plant in Ghana

· UK approves new 470 MW Gas-fired Power Plant at North Killingholme, England

· Carlton Power to develop 1.8 GW Gas-fired Power Plant and also purchasing GE’s interest in 1,500 MW Thorpe Marsh Gas-fired Power Station in England

· Lafarge, Wärtsilä, IFC to build 220 MW Gas-fired Power Plant in Nigeria

· Sasol lets Services Contract to Foster Wheeler for Mozambique Gas Processing Plant

· Energy Future Holdings (TX) to auction stake in Oncor Power Distribution

· Fuel Tech acquires Intellectual Property for Carbonite Fuel Conversion Process

· Water Monitoring for Combined Cycle Power Plants was Hot Topic September 18, 2014

· “Water Treatment Chemicals for Gas Turbine Combined Cycle Power Plants” - Hot Topic Webinar on September 25 at 10 a.m. Central

“Precipitator Improvements to Meet MATS and MACT” on October 2 “Hot Topic Hour”

Power plants must upgrade particulate removal to meet MATS while cement plants and industrial boiler operators must upgrade to meet MACT. The EPA recommendation is to replace the precipitator with a fabric filter. This is an expensive approach. An alternative is to upgrade the existing precipitator to meet the new particulate limits.

One option is to change the internals and electrical system to achieve better performance. Another is to change the conditions e.g. the temperature of the incoming gas. A third option is to supplement the precipitator with other capture technology. If you are installing a wet scrubber for SO₂ and mercury capture it will also reduce the total particulate. A forth option is to adjust the fuel mix (e.g. burn both gas and coal).

Three experts with nearly 100 years of precipitator experience will be addressing these options:

Michael (Mike) James Widico, Vice-President, Business development, APC at KC Lodge

On Thursday at 10 a.m. Central time, McIlvaine hosts a 90 minute web meeting on important energy and pollution control subjects. Power webinars are free for subscribers to either Power Plant Air Quality Decisions or Utility Tracking System. The cost is $300.00 for non-subscribers.

See below for information on upcoming Hot Topic Hours. We welcome your input relative to suggested additions.

DATE	SUBJECT
October 2, 2014	Precipitator Improvements
October 16, 2014	Municipal Drinking Water Purification	More Information
October 23, 2014	Dry Scrubbing	More Information
October 30, 2014	Coal-fired Power Plant NO_x Reduction Innovations
November 6, 2014	Power Plant Cooling
November 13, 2014	Boiler Feedwater Treatment
December 18, 2014	Power Plant Pump Innovations

· Volta River Authority signs MOU for 1,200 MW Coal-fired Power Plant in Ghana

· UK approves new 470 MW Gas-fired Power Plant at North Killingholme, England