Power Air Quality Insights No

· “Fossil-fired Power Industry Water Flow and Treatment Issues and Markets” is “Hot Topic Hour” on May 2 (Free registration)

Stationary sources around the world will spend $11 billion in 2014 for capital equipment and consumables to control NO_x. This is the latest projection in NO_x Control World Markets published by the McIlvaine Company. (www.mcilvainecompany.com)

The utility industry will be the biggest purchaser accounting for 81 percent of the total. Industrial boilers in pulp and paper, chemical and other industries will be the second largest purchasing category. Cement plants will be a relatively small purchaser of hardware but will account for nine percent of the reagent consumption. The reason is that cement plants are opting for the lower capital cost SNCR systems. SNCR requires significant reagent per ton of NO_x removed.

At one time, only a small percentage of gas turbines were fitted with SCR. However, recently many new turbines are being equipped with SCR. At one time, peaking turbines were not equipped with SCR because they only operate for a portion of the year and so are generating more modest NO_x quantities. However, recent regulations in the U.S. have forced the use of SCR on these peaking units. The use has even spread to gas turbines operating on Floating Production, Storage and Offloading (FPSO) units operating in the U.S. Gulf.

China is the leading purchaser of SCR and SNCR systems but is still lagging the U.S. in terms of catalyst and reagent purchases. However, based on its aggressive program to equip new facilities with NO_x control and to retrofit many other facilities, it will soon pass the U.S. in terms of catalyst and reagent purchases. A number of catalyst manufacturing facilities are now in operation in China. Additional facilities are under construction to meet the rapidly increasing demand.

Urea is the reagent of choice for SNCR systems. Anhydrous ammonia, aqueous ammonia and urea are all options for use with SCR systems. The urea is converted to ammonia on-site. This option is popular when there are safety concerns. It is also popular where there are ammonia supply problems. Chinese power plants have generally favored the use of urea with on-site conversion facilities. Aqueous ammonia is more expensive than anhydrous but is used where there are safety concerns relative to the use of anhydrous. Compared to urea, there are no capital costs for conversion.

SNCR is selected for those applications where the efficiency requirement is relatively low. Where the efficiency requirement is above 80 percent, SCR is the choice. SCR is also required when low outlet emissions are required regardless of the efficiency.

Industrial scrubber revenues will be close to $6.9 billion in 2014. East Asia will be the leader with purchases of $2.6 billion. This is the conclusion reached by the McIlvaine Company in Scrubber/Adsorber/Biofilter World Markets. (www.mcilvainecompany.com)

World Region	2014
Africa	246
CIS	194
East Asia	2,609
Eastern Europe	235
Middle East	231
NAFTA	1,246
South & Central America	509
West Asia	502
Western Europe	1,123
Total	6,895

These forecasts include all industries except power. The scrubber purchases by the power industry are as large as the purchases for industry and are analyzed in a separate report. Wet scrubbers, dry scrubbers, adsorbers, absorbers and biofilters are all included in the forecasts. Dry scrubbers are frequently applied for HCl and SO₂ removal in waste-to-energy plants. Adsorbers and biofilters are used for removal of odors and noxious gases where the concentrations are relatively low. Absorbers are used where concentrations are high. Wet scrubbers, including the venturi and plate types, are used to remove both particulate and noxious gases. At one time nearly all foundry cupolas were equipped with scrubbers to capture the particulate emissions. Now, however, fabric filters are used where emission limitations are strict.

Ships burning bunker fuels are installing scrubbers and creating a very large market due to new emission standards. The oil and gas industry is greatly increasing its scrubber purchases as it moves from conventional to unconventional fuels. Shale gas, coal-bed methane, tar sands and heavy oils all require scrubbers for removal of acid gases.

East Asia will account for 28 percent of the purchases in 2014. One reason is the rapid infrastructure growth. Municipal wastewater treatment plants use wet scrubbers, adsorbers and biofilters to remove H₂S and other odorous compounds. Mines use scrubbers to capture exhausts from smelting, pelletizing and material transfer. There are also scrubbers used in the high technology industries where East Asia is also a leader. Semiconductor plants use scrubbers to capture etching fumes and toxic materials released in the various wafer processing steps. Waste-to-energy plants in East Asia are typically equipped with scrubbers. There are even a few scrubbers in East Asian cement plants.

The industry has been comprised of many small companies, but there is a trend toward entry of the bigger companies. DuPont purchased Belco and entered the market. It also acquired the Dynawave technology from Monsanto. Andritz has become active through acquisitions. Megtec recently purchased TurboSonics. Nederman purchased Mikropul last year.

For more information on Scrubber/Adsorber/Biofilter World Markets, click on:

If the U.S. ceases to burn coal, shuts down a quarter of existing nuclear reactors, and trims its use of natural gas by 2050, the resulting increased reliance on wind, solar and other renewables will not result in a less reliable electricity grid, according to a major new report prepared by Synapse Energy Economics, Inc., for the nonprofit Civil Society Institute (CSI).

Available online at http://www.civilsocietyinstitute.org/synapsereport, the new study finds that, in the envisioned 2050 with a heavy reliance on renewables, regional electricity generation supply could meet or exceed demand in 99.4 percent of hours, with load being met without imports from other regions and without turning to reserve storage. In addition, surplus power would be available to export in 8.6 percent of all hours, providing an ample safety net where needed from one region of the U.S. to the next.

Wind power is gaining speed. The California Independent System Operator Corporation (ISO) reports a new record was set when turbines spinning within the ISO power grid combined to produce a new record of 4,196 megawatts (MW) at 6:44 p.m. on Sunday. The ISO is the main operator for the state’s high voltage network, serving about 80 percent of the Golden State.

On Friday, total wind levels surpassed the 4,000 MW milestone when 4,095 MW helped to power California. Previously, the all-time record peak output for wind energy was 3,944 MW on March 3, 2013.

There is a total of 5,899 megawatts of wind plant capacity installed within the ISO grid. Not all of the wind power was available as a result of routine generation and transmission outages. California is now the second largest producer of wind power next to Texas. The independent system operator ERCOT, which serves about 80 percent of the Lone Star State, reports 10,407 MW of wind generation installed and achieved a record peak of 9,481 MW on February 9, 2013.

Renewable Energy Systems Americas Inc. (RES Americas), is pleased to announce it has started construction on the 250 MW Buffalo Dunes Wind Project. Located southwest of Garden City, KS, the project was developed by Kansas-based TradeWind Energy LLC (TradeWind), and is jointly owned by GE Energy Financial Services (GE) and Enel Green Power North America (Enel).

As the general contractor, RES Americas will oversee construction of the Buffalo Dunes Wind Project. RES Americas' preconstruction team also worked closely with TradeWind Energy to optimize the project's engineering, design, and construction schedule.

The wind project is expected to employ 150 construction workers, create 15 permanent jobs, generate enough electricity to power 85,000 homes and avoid approximately 800,000 tons of greenhouse gas emissions per year — equivalent to the annual emissions from 153,000 U.S. passenger vehicles.

Masdar, Abu Dhabi's renewable energy company, launched an U.S.$31.99 million utility-scale, 15-megawatt solar photovoltaic (PV) power plant in the Islamic Republic of Mauritania. The Sheikh Zayed Solar Power Plant is located in the capital city of Nouakchott and is the largest solar PV plant in Africa.

The new facility accounts for 10 percent of Mauritania's energy capacity and will displace approximately 21,225 tons of carbon dioxide annually.

Mauritania's electricity grid, which is powered mostly by expensive diesel generators, currently has an installed capacity of only 144 megawatts, resulting in severe energy shortages. With energy demand increasing by 12 percent annually, the addition of solar power will help meet future electricity shortfalls and supply the energy demand of approximately 10,000 homes. The plant, which consists of 29,826 micromorph thin-film panels, was built using innovative and sustainable construction practices. In particular, project engineers designed the support structure for the PV modules to be piled into the ground instead of using a concrete foundation, which reduced the project's carbon footprint and cost.

In a public bid worth $175,000, Carmanah Technologies solar airfield products have been selected by the U.S. Marine Corps for deployment in support of Combined Joint Task Force – Horn of Africa (CJTF-HOA). Including Carmanah solar-powered runway edge and threshold lights, taxiway lights and obstruction lights and mounting hardware, the order represents one of many temporary or permanent off-grid airfield deployments employed by U.S. and NATO bases throughout the world.

Upon shipment, the Carmanah A704 wireless runway edge lights, A650 taxiway lights, and A650 obstruction lights are immediately deployable to support humanitarian or military operations in CJTF-HOA. In addition to avoiding cabling costs and installation logistics, the innately mobile lights are also immune to grid failures or instability.

In 2013, Carmanah supplied hundreds of taxiway and runway lights for U.S. Air Force bases in Colorado, Kansas, Arizona, Mississippi and Delaware. In 2012, Carmanah launched the A704-H; a high-intensity solar LED airfield light that meets standards for medium-intensity runway lighting (MIRL) and high intensity runway lighting (HIRL) up to 500 candela (in white). It is also capable of Infrared (IR) modes for Night Vision Goggle (NVG) operation and is ideal for deployment in permanent or temporary airfields and helipads and as backup emergency lighting systems.

Success with Enhanced Geothermal Systems Changing the Future of Geothermal Power in the U.S.

Ormat Technologies, Inc., the U.S. Department of Energy and GeothermEx successfully produced 1.7 additional megawatts from an Enhanced Geothermal System (EGS) project inside an existing wellfield in the U.S. This is the first EGS project to be connected to the electricity grid. Using innovative subsurface technologies, research and development teams stimulated an existing sub-commercial injection well resulting in a 38 percent increase in power output from brine at Ormat’s Desert Peak 2 geothermal power plant in the Brady complex, Churchill County, NV.

Support for the project included $5.4 million in direct DOE funding, $2.6 in million investment from Ormat, and more than four years of collaborative work with partners including Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, U.S. Geological Survey, Sandia National Laboratory, University of Utah EGI, Temple University and TerraTek.

By expanding existing hydrothermal fractures deep within the Earth’s crust, EGS technology enhances the permeability of underperforming wells, making it possible to extract additional heat from a reservoir’s rocks and inject geothermal fluid at higher flow rates. Ormat’s air-cooled power plants are the technology of choice for EGS developments, as they don’t consume water in the conversion of energy into electricity; all the geothermal fluid is re-injected, to be produced again after heating in the reservoir.

“Fossil-fired Power Industry Water Flow and Treatment Issues and Markets” is “Hot Topic Hour” on May 2, 2013 (Free registration)

The coal-fired power industry around the world is faced with issues involving water withdrawal, contamination with heat and pollutants in wastewater, ash pond safety, scrubber slurry requirements and feedwater purity improvement needs for ultrasupercritical boilers.

· Fossil-fired power plants withdraw and process more water than all other industries combined

· There are major opportunities to reduce use and better treat water and wastewater

Bob McIlvaine of the McIlvaine Company will review the issues and discuss the market opportunities for pumps, valves, filtration/separation and instrumentation in this market. As can be seen below, the market is large. Coal-fired power plants will spend more than $14 billion on flow control and treatment this year.

Some of the drivers and issues shaping the market will also be discussed. They include:

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 Environmental Upgrade Tracking System. The cost is $125.00 for non-subscribers. Market Intelligence webinars are free to McIlvaine market report subscribers and are $400.00 for non-subscribers.

	2013
Date	Subject
May 2	“Fossil-fired Power Industry Water Flow and Treatment Issues and Markets”	Power
May 9	Clean Coal Technologies	Power
May 16	Power Plant Automation and Control	Power
May 23	Cooling Towers	Power
May 30	Air Pollution Control Markets (geographic trends, regulatory developments, competition, technology developments)	Market Intelligence
June 6	Report from Power-Gen Europe (update on regulations, speaker and exhibitor highlights)	Power
June 13	Monitoring and Optimizing Fuel Feed, Metering and Combustion in Boilers	Power
June 20	Dry Sorbent Injection and Material Handling for APC	Power
June 27	Power Generation Forecast for Nuclear, Fossil and Renewables	Market Intelligence
July 11	New Developments in Power Plant Air Pollution Control	Power
July 18	Measurement and Control of HCl	Power
July 25	GHG Compliance Strategies, Reduction Technologies and Measurement	Power
August 1	Update on Coal Ash and CCP Issues and Standards	Power
August 8	Improving Power Plant Efficiency and Power Generation	Power
August 15	Control and Treatment Technology for FGD Wastewater	Power
August 22	Status of Carbon Capture and Storage Programs and Technology	Power
August 29	Pumps for Power Plant Cooling Water and Water Treatment Applications	Power
Sept. 5	Fabric Selection for Particulate Control	Power
Sept. 19	Air Pollution Control for Gas Turbines	Power
Sept. 26	Multi-Pollutant Control Technology	Power

World Stationary NO_x Control Expenditures $ Millions in 2014
Industry	SCR/SNCR	Catalyst	Reagent	Total
Utility Power	6,500	1,100	1,300	8,900
Other	1,500	100	500	2,100
Total	8,000	1,200	1,800	11,000

Fuel Type	GW	Pumps	Valves	Filt/Sep	Instrument
Coal	126	2,000	4,200	5,450	1,700