7,000 Utility Coal-fired Power Plants Are Continuing to Upgrade and Replace
Controls and Equipment
The market to upgrade and replace components in the existing 7,000 coal-fired
power plants is larger than the new equipment market for wind, solar, or gas
turbines. The upgrades and replacements are tracked in the Utility Tracking
System published by the McIlvaine Company.
Many of the power plants in the U.S. are more than 40 years old but are expected
to operate another 20 years. Optimization systems can improve efficiency, reduce
greenhouse gases and save fuel. The payback is often measured in months and not
years or decades. So, even if the expected remaining life is 10 years or less,
investment is warranted.
In many instances, the remaining life is determined by the upgrade investment
costs. McIlvaine has been conducting three webinars for a large utility to
determine whether optimization systems can reduce NOx sufficiently to meet new
regional haze requirements. The alternative is expensive selective catalytic
reduction (SCR) systems. Siemens, GE and Emerson have made presentations showing
how substantial NOx reductions can be maintained by combining predictive models,
advanced instrumentation and results based tuning.
The Utility Tracking System also tracks upgrades of utility water systems. Power
plants in the U.S. must make adjustments to limit harm to aquatic life at water
intakes. These same power plants must also now meet new wastewater emission
standards. Many power plants around the world are opting for zero liquid
discharge (ZLD) systems. This requires major investments in evaporators,
crystallizers, membrane separators and mechanical vapor recompression.
The drought in India and water shortages in many countries are resulting in the
use of treated municipal wastewater. Most power plants are within 70 miles of a
municipal wastewater plant. The treatment costs to make this water usable by the
utility are modest. So, if water is valued, the investment can be justified.
The average power plant is only 40 percent efficient. The steam plume visible
from the stack and cooling tower are testimony to the large quantity of wasted
heat. Sorbent injection and air preheater extension investment can be justified
with payback within a year or two.
Air pollution regulations are not static. There is a new round of regulations at
least once a decade. New pollutants such as mercury now have to be reduced as
well as the traditional acid gases and particulate. The Utility Tracking System
tracks all the upgrades in a database with details on each plant. A weekly 10 to
20-page alert covers new developments. For more information, click on 42EI
Utility Tracking System.
Coal-fired Power Plants Must Make Many Tough Decisions
Old coal-fired power plants in Europe and the U.S. must invest in technology to
meet new emission standards, but must do so with a modest investment. New
coal-fired power plants being built in Asia and certain other countries are
tasked with obtaining high conversion efficiencies which are achieved with
operation at high temperatures and pressures. The result is that coal-fired
power plants, whether they are new or old, have difficult decisions to make. 44I
Power Plant Air Quality Decisions (PPAQD) which includes information on all
coal-fired power plant products and services provides power plants and their
suppliers with Decision Guides to include the latest developments presented in a
format so that the benefits of each option are compared.
PPAQD provides a powerful new tool both for the plant operators and suppliers.
For example, in the last three weeks there has been a specific analysis of NOx
control options for a utility which is facing a $700 million investment to
comply with regional haze rules. The major options are to install SCR or to
initiate a series of projects which in combination will achieve the needed NOx
reduction. The combination options include:
A: In Furnace:
Catalytic burners
Combustion optimization systems
Reburn
SNCR
B: Back End:
Catalytic filters
Ozone injection
Hydrogen peroxide
Catalytic baskets in the air preheater
In-duct SCR
These options have been reviewed in webinars with a large number of utility
people in attendance to hear presentations by GE, Siemens, Emerson, Fuel Tech,
FLS, AECOM and others.
For more information on 44I Power Plant Air Quality Decisions (Power Plant
Decisions Orchard), click on:
http://home.mcilvainecompany.com/index.php/other/2-uncategorised/86-44i.
Mercury Removal from Exhaust Stacks and Process Gas is a Shifting Billion
Dollar/yr. Market
New technologies, geographies and regulations are creating an ever changing
market for mercury removal from exhaust stacks and process gases. This is the
conclusion of the McIlvaine Company in N056 Mercury Air Reduction Market.
The largest application is coal-fired boilers. Natural gas purification, sewage
sludge incinerators, waste-to-energy plants and other facilities are significant
purchasers. There are continuing geographic shifts. Tough rules for
waste-to-energy plants have been adopted worldwide. Regulations for coal-fired
power plants in the U.S. are stringent. The rest of the world is moving to
emulate the U.S. Since China has five times as many coal-fired boilers as the
U.S., it presently represents the largest geographic growth potential.
Many new developments are likely to change the mix of systems and products which
are purchased. Activated carbon in powder or granular form is the most commonly
applied technology. Improvements in carbon are creating more cost effective
solutions. When carbon is injected into the scrubber recycle slurry, it serves
to separate the mercury in the slurry.
Ionic liquids are being applied to pellets and promise advantages over carbon
beds for natural gas purification. There is now investigation into using ionic
liquids in dedicated wet scrubbers.
Wet scrubbers are used for acid gas removal in most applications involving
mercury. Chemicals to improve mercury capture make scrubbers a primary
technology for mercury removal. Waste-to-energy plants in Europe use scrubbing
technology not only to capture mercury but also to recover hydrochloric acid and
valuable metals. McIlvaine has suggested that a variation of this technology is
likely to provide the cheapest source of rare earths. Coal-fired power plants
could generate significant revenues and eliminate air and solid waste pollution
with this process.
For more information on Mercury Air Reduction Markets, click on:
http://home.mcilvainecompany.com/index.php/markets/2-uncategorised/85-n056
Air Filtration Market Will Grow to $8.6 Billion/yr. by 2020
Sales of air filters for cleaning ambient air will reach $8.6 billon/yr. by
2020. This is the latest forecast by the McIlvaine company in N022 Air
Filtration and Purification World Market.
One of the fastest growing but smaller segments is the air filter intakes for
gas turbines and large stationary engines. Gas turbines are replacing coal-fired
power generation as the option for new power plants. Large volumes of ambient
air are needed to supply the mass driving these turbines. Stationary natural
gas- and diesel-fired engines are being purchased in large numbers to offset the
variation in solar and wind energy supply.
The largest segment is residential and commercial heating, air conditioning and
ventilation. China is the largest single market. This is a result of the high
levels of pollution in the ambient air and the construction of large numbers of
homes and apartments.
The price per cubic foot of air purified has risen thanks to the selection of
filters. In the last decade, home owners have switched from low efficiency to
medium efficiency filters. Since the price for the more efficient filters is at
least double that of the low efficiency option, the industry revenues have been
positively impacted.
Data center air filter usage is growing at 9 percent per year due to the growth
in cloud computing. There is some debate about the air filtration efficiency
required and whether to recirculate air or just use air changes, but in any
case, corrosion can be a concern and dictates the use of adsorptive media.
In general, the medium efficiency and high efficiency segments of the market are
growing faster than the low efficiency segment. High efficiency filters are
considered to be necessary on the air intakes of the higher performance gas
turbines. The impregnation of filter media with activated carbon or other
adsorptive materials is also on the increase.
For more information on N022 Air Filtration and Purification World Market, click
on: http://home.mcilvainecompany.com/index.php/markets/2-uncategorised/108-n022
Improving the Right-to-Win Ability for High Performance Flow Control and
Treatment Products
The right-to-win for high performance flow control and treatment products can be
enhanced by leveling the playing field and changing the scoring method.
Right-to-win is the ability to engage in any competitive market with a
better-than-even chance of success. Four strategies have been used to improve
the right-to-win ability. They are position, execution, adaptation and
concentration.
In flow control and treatment there are two types of products and services: high
performance and general performance. The right-to-win strategies for them differ
significantly.
The challenge of large U.S. and European based suppliers of high performance
flow control and treatment products is to not only improve the right-to-win
ability in the existing market, but to be pro-active in changing the rules of
the game to level the playing field and even the scoring method in developing
countries. Most of these large companies have not achieved the sales and profits
in the fast growing developing market. McIlvaine, therefore, proposes that
creation be considered a fifth right-to-win strategy. The importance of each
strategy has been ranked from very important to irrelevant.
Right-to-Win Strategies for High Performance
and General Performance Products
(5 is very important and 1 is irrelevant)
Right-to-Win Strategy High Performance General Performance
Position 3 5
Execution 3 5
Adaptation 5 3
Concentration 3 4
Creation 5 2
The creation strategy changes the playing field by making it easier for
purchasers to buy the best rather than the lowest cost product. This entails
finding an easier way to determine the lowest total cost of ownership (LTCO).
Arcelor Mittal is doing this by global sourcing and then providing LTCO analyses
for its 200 plants around the world. McIlvaine is accomplishing this in certain
industries with free Decision Guides for end users.
Changing the scoring method is another game changer. Most flow control and
treatment products contribute to increased life quality today at some penalty to
future generations (e.g. greenhouse gases or resource depletion). The
perspective is quite different for a wealthy individual who wants to set up
annuities for his grandchildren and the starving parent who cannot even ensure
the survival of his children. McIlvaine has created a metric to help developing
countries make the best choice for their citizens.
For more information on right-to-win strategies in flow control and treatment
contact Bob McIlvaine 847-784-0012 ext. 112 rmcilvaine@mcilvainecompany.com.
For more information on the markets see N064 Air/Gas/Water/Fluid Treatment and
Control: World Market.
Utility E-Alert Tracks Billions of Dollars of New Coal-fired Power Plants on a
Weekly Basis
Here are some headlines from the Utility E-Alert.
UTILITY E-ALERT
#1283 July 29, 2016
Table of Contents
COAL US
Life of Coal Plants will also be extended thanks to Digital Technology
Heat recovery is the Key to Longer Life for U.S. Coal Plants
Demolition of R.E. Burger Coal-fired Power Plant completed
COAL WORLD
HNPCL commissions 1,040 MW Power Project at Vizag
Two Iloilo Coal-fired Power Plants to boost Power in Visayas
Inner Mongolia Sheng Lu Power Plant approved
Hwange Partner commits $7 Million to New Power Plant in Zimbabwe
The 41F Utility E-Alert is issued weekly and covers the coal-fired projects,
regulations and other information important to the suppliers. It is $950/yr. but
is included in the $3020 42EI Utility Tracking System which has data on every
plant and project plus networking directories and many other features.
Upcoming Hot Topic Hours
DATE HOT TOPIC HOUR AND DECISION GUIDE SCHEDULE
The opportunity to interact on important issues
August 25, 2016
10:00am CDT
Markets Oil, Gas, Refining - Supply and demand; impact on flow control and
treatment products; regional impacts e.g. subsea in North Atlantic vs. shale in
the US vs. Oil Sands in Canada.
TBA
Markets Food - Analysis of 12 separate applications within food and beverage
with analysis of valve, pump, compressor, filter, analyzer and chemical options;
impact of new technologies such as forward osmosis.
TBA
Markets Municipal Wastewater - Quality of pumps, valves, filters, and analyzers
in Chinese and Asian plants; new pollutant challenges; water purification for
reuse.
TBA
Markets Mobile Emissions - Reduction in CO, VOCs, and particulate in fuels,
oils, and air used in on and off road vehicles; impact of RDE and failure of NOx
traps and the crisis in Europe created by the focus on clean diesel.
Click here to Register for the Webinar
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You can register for our free McIlvaine Newsletters at:
http://home.mcilvainecompany.com/index.php?option=com_rsform&formId=5.
Bob McIlvaine
President
847-784-0012 ext. 112
rmcilvaine@mcilvainecompany.com
www.mcilvainecompany.com