Gypsum Dewatering is the Hot Topic Hour for Thursday, January 24, 2013

While the decision on whether an FGD system should produce disposal-grade or commercial-grade gypsum is primarily based on economic factors including the availability of a market for the gypsum; dewatering is an essential process in either case. The objective is to meet the requirements for the disposal method at the minimum operating cost. In previous Hot Topic Hours, participants have demonstrated that basket centrifuges in use since the 1980s and vertical centrifuges can deliver gypsum with 90 to 95 percent solids with lower maintenance and energy costs than typical belt filters. Rotary drum vacuum filters can also offer reduced cost in some situations. Lower capital equipment cost and lower operating cost when compared to a belt vacuum filter have been reported. However, belt filters may be the choice as the volume of gypsum to be dewatered increases. Factors to consider when specifying a de-watering system or belt material for dewatering and washing are:

·         Volume of material

·         Temperature

·         Particle size distribution "PSD"

·         Concentration of gypsum in the slurry

·         Concentration of Cl^- in the feed liquor

·         Vacuum pump capacity

·         Energy consumption

·         Maintenance requirements

·         Space required

The following speakers will address these and other issues related to gypsum dewatering systems, provide a comparison of the various dewatering systems and discuss the dewatering system best suited for specific plant configuration and gypsum dewatering objectives.

Steve Myers, Industry Manager, North America Region for Mining & Minerals at ANDRITZ Separation, will discuss the broad range of solid/liquid separation and drying solutions that ANDRITZ Separation offers to the minerals, chemical, food & pharma and environmental industries. ANDRITZ has been involved in gypsum dewatering for many years, and can offer both horizontal vacuum belt filters and basket centrifuges, as well as drum filters, filter presses, pusher centrifuges and decanter centrifuges. ANDRITZ Separation has lab testing facilities in Texas and Kentucky and provides customer support through regional service centers around North America.

Barry A. Perlmutter, President and Managing Director of BHS-Filtration, Inc, will discuss solid-liquid separation systems. BHS-Filtration, Inc. manufactures solid-liquid separation systems with the BHS core technologies of vacuum belt filters and candle and pressure plate filters.   BHS then provides complete turnkey-skid packaged systems for filtration, adsorption, thickening and polishing at energy, refinery gas, and petrochemical plants worldwide.  The BHS rubber belt filters or indexing belt filters are installed for gypsum dewatering at coal gasification, grey water, power plants and other critical petrochemical, chemical and mining applications.   BHS Process Labs and on-site testing provide for process development, scale-up and performance guarantees while service groups complete the project with assembly, installation, start-up and commissioning, and spare parts and troubleshooting support.

Lindy Swan of GKD-USA, Inc, will discuss filter belts gypsum dewatering. GDK has been in business since 1925 and now operates the most advanced and one of the largest technical weaving mills in the world.  GDK manufactures a high performance, high durability polyester belt that is used in dewatering gypsum slurry on horizontal belt vacuum filters.  

To register for the Hot Topic Hour, on Thursday, January 24, 2013 at 10:00 a.m. CST, click on:
http://www.mcilvainecompany.com/brochures/hot_topic_hour_registration.htm.

McIlvaine Hot Topic Hour Registration

On Thursday at 10:00 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.

To register for the Hot Topic Hour, click on:

http://www.mcilvainecompany.com/brochures/hot_topic_hour_registration.htm.

Headlines for the January 11, 2013 – Utility E-Alert 

UTILITY E-ALERT

#1107– January 11, 2013  

Table of Contents 

COAL – US 

• WPS to install ReACT at Weston 3
• Georgia Power seeks to retire Branch 3, 4, Yates 1-5, McManus 1,2 and Kraft 1-4 by 2015
• Wolverine Power’s Building Permit extended to End of 2013
• Rocky Mountain Power to retire 172 MW Carbon in Utah by 2015

COAL – WORLD 

• Egypt is planning to set up 1,950 MW Coal-fired Power Plant
• Tamil Nadu is considering Building 4000 MW Power Plant in Chhattisgarh (India)
• Nanticoke and Lambton in Ontario, Canada Closing a Year Early

 GAS/OIL - US

• Wärtsilä to supply 225 MW Power Plant to Texas Utility

GAS/OIL – WORLD

• Wärtsilä to supply Major Dual-fuel Power Plant to Jordan
• GDF Suez wins AzZour Power Plant Contract in Kuwait

PROPOSED COMBUSTION TECHNOLOGIES/BOILER EFFICIENCY

§  Florida Plant Expects to Save 15 Percent of Coal Costs with Coal Treatment Technology

§  Australian Government Awards $110,000 to IPACS Power to Develop Boiler Efficiency Software

BIOMASS

• ANDRITZ to supply CFB Biomass-fired Boiler Plant to Fortum Värme, Sweden

NUCLEAR

• South Korea plans to add 11 Nuclear Reactors by 2024 despite Public Fears
• EDF and China Guangdong Nuclear Power in talks to build UK Power Plants

BUSINESS 

• $69 Billion Market for Industrial Process Automation and Control in 2013
• $26 Billion Market for Mobile and Stationary Catalytic and Thermal Treatment
• It was the Warmest Year on Record - or was it Colder than the Average for the Last Decade?

HOT TOPIC HOUR 

• Oxy-fuel Combustion already Commercial --- Hot Topic Hour on Thursday January 10, 2013 at 10:00 am CST
• “Production of Fertilizer and Sulfuric Acid at Coal-fired Power Plants” is the “Hot Topic Hour” for January 17, 2013
• Upcoming Hot Topic Hours

For more information on the Utility Environmental Upgrade Tracking System, click on: http://home.mcilvainecompany.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=72

Progress with Smart Valves Will Lead to 10 Percent Higher Growth in the $55 Billion Valve Industry

McIlvaine Company has revised its forecast for growth in the industrial valve industry over the next five years. The current forecast is for 5 percent growth. This is being revised to 5.5 percent CAGR for the 2013-2017 period. The basis is the increased anticipated revenues from the sales of smart valves. This is the latest forecast in Industrial Valves: World Markets published by the McIlvaine Company.  (www.mcilvainecompany.com)

($ Millions)

Top of Form

Bottom of Form

The valve forecasts are defined to match the individual valve supplier revenues, so they include smart valve technology where it is sold by the valve supplier but not by an independent automation supplier.

The biggest growth will occur in Asia (including the Middle East and two of the BRIC countries (China and India).  The oil and gas sector is leading the way toward smart valves.  For sub-sea oil and gas, the use of intelligent control systems for valve trees is becoming a defining factor of intelligent well development.  All electric subsea production control systems are replacing industry standard electro-hydraulic control systems, with the aim of making them more reliable, more responsive and more cost effective.

The oil and gas industry is moving toward valve technology with embedded processor and networking capability to work alongside sophisticated monitoring technology coordinated through a central control station.  The goal has been to link control valves to an extended data network, coordinating control valve operation with the increasingly detailed data available on flow rates and operating conditions. Connecting valves to a network allows distributed control, which can enable operators to reconfigure piping and networking systems so that a field can continue producing even if there is a blockage in, or damage to, the pipeline network.

Another goal is to develop valves that consume less power to create systems that can be deployed in applications where conventional valves cannot be used due to the lack of power.

One manufacturer leading the way in smart valve development is Emerson Process Management.  The range of high-performance Fisher digital valves enabled the implementation of customized valve designs to cope with the pressure, flow capacity and temperature demands of the world's first twin-mega-train LNG plant.

The Yokogawa Exaquantum/SSP provides continuously updated subsea valve information from FMC Technologies SSH (Subsea Historian). This timely information enables users to take appropriate action if problems are detected, avoiding lost production.

For more information on Industrial Valves: World Markets, click on: http://home.mcilvainecompany.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=71#n028

Pressurized Oxy-Combustion is Just One More Route to Clean Coal

Clean energy from coal is a multibillion dollar industry which will grow rather than shrink. This is the conclusion reached by McIlvaine in Fossil & Nuclear Power Generation: World Analysis & Forecast.  (www.mcilvainecompany.com)

One of the biggest drivers for clean coal will be use where it is greener than solar or wind.  This will occur when a combination of coal and biomass are burned in an oxy combustion system.   All the gases (CO₂) are sequestered and used for enhanced oil recovery.  There are no emissions and there is a net reduction in the world’s CO₂ in the atmosphere for every unit of energy generated.

The U.S. DOE as well as countries in Europe and Asia are funding programs to further oxy combustion. Two approaches in the U.S. include combustion at normal pressure and combustion at high pressure.  Recent research shows that if combustion takes place at the pressures experienced by separating the oxygen from the air, there are multiple benefits including total parasitic energy reduction. The energy to compress CO₂ is substantial, so eliminating this step is significant.

There is progress being made on ultra supercritical coal firing. This approach will significantly improve the conversion efficiency particularly when compared to older power plants operating in the U.S. and elsewhere.  The biggest and quickest impact to make coal cleaner would be to replace all old power plants with ultra supercriticals.  The capital cost would be more than offset by the 30 percent reduction in coal consumption.  This new generation of power plants could be retired in twenty-five years and still provide a more economic bridge to renewables than retaining the old coal fleet.

The steam plume associated with coal plants is testimony to inefficiency. This plume can be eliminated and the heat efficiently used to make ethanol or heat sewage sludge. In fact, the co-location of sewage treatment plants and coal-fired generators should be the wave of the future.  Existing coal plants can practice sewer mining and treat all the municipal sewage in the surrounding area. They can then use the treated wastewater for cooling and other purposes.

Coal complexes making power and liquid fuels are already a reality.  In fact, there are large numbers of plants under construction.  China is leading the way, but there are projects in many other countries.  At the present price of oil, it is economically attractive to make gasoline from coal.

Many of these technologies can be applied to existing power plants.  In fact many of the old coal-fired power plants are located in areas where there is a need to dispose of large quantities of municipal solid waste.  This waste can be gasified and used as a reburn fuel in coal-fired boilers. The net effect is a big reduction in emissions compared to alternatives.

Generation of useful byproducts can more than offset the emissions of alternative production of those byproducts. Rare earths can be extracted from flyash. Sulfuric acid, hydrochloric acid, magnesium hydroxide and gypsum can all be economically produced along with power

For more information on Fossil & Nuclear Power Generation: World Analysis & Forecast, click on:
http://home.mcilvainecompany.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=72#n043

$61 Billion Flow Control and Treatment Market in 2016 in the Energy Sector

The power, refining and oil and gas industries will combine to purchase pumps, valves, instrumentation, filters, clarifiers, separators scrubbers, dust collectors and other air and liquid treatment equipment totaling $61 billion in 2013. This is the conclusion in Air/Gas/Water/Fluid Treatment & Control: World Markets published by the McIlvaine Company.

Purchases of flow control and treatment equipment will rise significantly in the U.S. due to the activity in non-conventional fuels. Extraction of gas and oil through hydraulic fracturing involves substantial amounts of water as well as fuels. New regulations impacting the release of gases during completion will boost air treatment revenues.

Refineries are being upgraded to produce higher quality lower polluting fuels. In the U.S. investments are being made to handle the liquids generated from the non-conventional gas extraction. The processing of oil sands in Canada will require substantial new treatment and flow investments.

In the power sector, the biggest markets will be in Asia where an ambitious program to expand electricity generation through construction of coal-fired power plants will continue. Many of these power plants will use treated municipal wastewater or reclaimed water from other sources. The use of scrubbers to capture the SO₂ from these plants results in substantial movement of slurries and investment in air pollution control equipment.

This forecast includes air pollution control, water pollution control, processing of liquid fuels such as chemicals, and any application where the movement or control of air, gases, liquids or fluids or the treatment of these substances is involved.

For more information on: Air/Gas/Water/Fluid Treatment and Control: World Markets, click on: http://home.mcilvainecompany.com/index.php?option=com_content&;view=article&id=71.

Not Letting Waste Go to Waste

As recent articles in McIlvaine’s Renewable Energy Projects and Update illustrate biogas is being  produced from a variety of raw materials.

GE Gas Engine Hits Milestone: More than 50,000 Hours of Turning Biogas into Power for German Brewery

Powered by GE gas engine technology, a combined heat and power (CHP) plant at Germany’s Bitburger Brauerei (brewery) has surpassed 50,000 hours of successful operation. Based on an ecomagination-qualified Jenbacher J312 gas engine, the plant converts biogas (gas produced by biological breakdown of organic matter) into electricity, steam and hot water to meet the brewery’s process requirements.

Since it began operating in 2005, the CHP facility has improved electricity supply for the brewery, reduced carbon dioxide emissions by an equivalent of 10,000 tons and demonstrated higher efficiency and economy compared to the site’s previous steam boiler technology by using biogas.

Biogas, created as a by-product during the wastewater treatment process following beer production, is burned by the Jenbacher engine to produce electricity and heat. This efficient operation has enabled the brewery to realize prime energy savings of about 10 percent.

The Jenbacher J312 gas engine at the brewery produces 624 kilowatts of electricity and 700 kilowatts of thermal power, including 330 kilowatts of seam. The option to run the engine either on biogas resulting as a by-product of the production process or natural gas allows the brewery to run independently and operate smoothly in case of grid fails.

New Twin Bridges Gas-to-Energy Plant Celebrated by Hendricks Power Cooperative, Waste Management and Wabash Valley Power in Danville, IN

Waste Management of Indiana, LLC, Wabash Valley Power Association and Hendricks Power Cooperative dedicated a renewable energy generation facility that uses gas from landfill waste to generate electricity.

The celebration marks the completion of the fourth landfill gas-to-energy plant at the Twin Bridges Recycling and Disposal Facility. With the addition of the 3.2 MW of power from Twin Bridges IV, the site now generates the equivalent amount of electricity to power approximately 14,000 homes.

Twin Bridges IV represents Wabash Valley Power’s 14^th landfill gas-to-energy facility, each of which is located throughout the northern half of Indiana on landfills owned by Waste Management. Through an exclusive partnership, Wabash Valley Power owns the power plants, while Waste Management of Indiana supplies the landfill gas and serves as the plant operator.

Fuel for the Twin Bridges landfill gas-to-energy facility is derived from wastes buried in the landfill, which generate methane gas. A network of recovery wells and pipes control and collect the methane and convey it to an on-site power plant. There the gas is condensed, purified and used as fuel to drive engines that, in turn, drive electricity generators.

The engines used in this process are manufactured by Caterpillar, Inc. at its Lafayette, IN Engine Center. At Twin Bridges IV, two 20-cylinder engines burn landfill gas (methane), each of which generates 1.6 MW of electricity. The facility is designed to be scalable, with the ability to grow to four engines as the landfill’s gas generation increases in future years.

The First Investment in Renewable Energy for Enovos in Belgium — Startup of the Largest Biogas Plant in Limburg

Enovos Luxembourg S.A. and its project partners Pholpa B.V.B.A. and NPG Energy N.V. celebrated the opening ceremony for the biogas plant “Biopower Tongeren” in the province of Limburg, Belgium.

For Enovos Luxembourg, this represents the first investment in renewable energy in Belgium. Furthermore, this biogas plant is the first of its kind in the Benelux using a pre-fermentation tank that enables a higher biogas production.

Located in a predominantly agricultural area, the biogas plant will mainly ferment corn that is grown in close cooperation with local farmers within a 29-km radius. The resulting environmentally-friendly biogas is converted into electricity via a motor and is then fed into the local power grid. The heat resulting from the process is used to dry the fermentation substrates. These substrates are returned to the fields as low-odor, high-quality fertilizers, thus producing a closed cycle.

Xergi to Supply New Biogas Plant for U.K.’s Largest Turkey Farmer

Bernard Matthews, the U.K.’s largest turkey farmer and supplier, is installing a biogas plant to improve the company’s waste handling and energy costs. The project underlines the wide scope of Xergi’s biogas technology for handling waste.

Xergi is to supply Holton Renewable Power Ltd., which is a joint venture between Bernard Matthews, the U.K.’s largest turkey business, and Glendale Power, a development company specializing in anaerobic digestion, with a biogas plant.

The plant will be located close to Bernard Matthews’ current processing site in Holton in Suffolk, with the biogas being generated solely from waste matter from the production plant.

Previously the company delivered its waste to an external service contractor for processing, but with the biogas plant the business will be able to manage everything on site and will save over 1000 lorry journeys per annum.

The biogas will be used for the production of electricity and heating — supplying 16 percent of the company’s energy needs. It will also lead to a CO₂ reduction of 2,800 tonnes.

The Holton plant is based on Xergi’s new modular concept. The installed power output of the gas engine is 499 kW. This gives the company the opportunity to obtain a higher price for the green electricity which is based on the new British tariff for electricity produced from biogas.

The project has been developed in a close partnership between Xergi, Glendale Power, Bernard Matthews and H2OK.

Weltec Biopower Supplying 2.4-MW Biogas Plant to Poland

In September 2012, Vechta-based Weltec Biopower began construction of a 2.4-MW biogas plant in Darżyno, Pomerania, Poland. At the plant site 80 km west of Danzig, the substrates will be fed into the four 4,438 cubic meters stainless-steel fermenters via four storage tanks and a 50-cubic meter dosing feeder starting from the summer of 2013.

Apart from maize and liquid manure, which will be supplied by farmers from the vicinity, the operator NEWD will also ferment potato waste of a chip manufacturer. Four tanks with a capacity of 5,000 cubic meters each provide sufficient space for the digestate.

Previously, NEWD, which is also the investor of Poland’s first Weltec biogas plant, had only operated as builders and wind power plant operators.

Now NEWD has decided to produce biogas, for which it relies on the overseas experience of Weltec Biopower. Moreover, the company from Lower Saxony is represented directly on site with its Weltec Polska subsidiary and can secure the technical and economic stability of the 2.4-MW plant with its comprehensive services.

The conditions for generating biogas are outstanding, as Poland is an agricultural country with a substantial resource potential. Experts believe that Poland has the third-largest stock of resources in Europe. Poland’s agricultural area amounts to about 18.5 million ha, about 1.5 million ha more than in Germany. Agriculture plants number about two million. Especially liquid manure from cattle, pigs, and poultry, as well as renewable raw materials is readily available as substrate for biogas plants.

The infrastructure conditions in Poland are also ideal:  First, decentralized power and heat generation is subsidized, and second, a highly-developed infrastructure is available for the transport of gas and district heat. To reach the EU climate goals, Poland plants to increase the share of renewable energies in energy generation from 5 to 15 percent by 2020, with an upward trend that is to reach one-third by 2030.

For more information on Renewable Energy Projects and Update please visit
http://www.mcilvainecompany.com/brochures/Renewable_Energy_Projects_Brochure/renewable_energy_projects_brochure.htm

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Bob McIlvaine
President
847-784-0012 ext 112
rmcilvaine@mcilvainecompany.com
www.mcilvainecompany.com

191 Waukegan Road Suite 208 | Northfield | IL 60093
Ph: 847-784-0012 | Fax: 847-784-0061

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