January 2016 - Power Air Quality Insights 238

Total world sales of fabric filter systems will be $8.8 billion in 2016. Sixty-four percent of the sales will be in Asia. This is the conclusion reached by the McIlvaine Company in N021 World Fabric Filter and Element Market.

Continent	2016
Total	8,831
Africa	183
America	1,958
Asia	5,490
Europe	1,210

China is playing a major role in the Asian market. It has been a fast growing and large market over the last decade. Now sales are starting to level off. The major air pollution control companies in China are devoting considerable time and effort to penetrate the markets in Indonesia, Vietnam and India.

Some of the international filter suppliers with manufacturing in China are also looking to the broader Asian market. Cement, steel and chemical companies are all major filter purchasers. The tightening regulations in Asian countries is assuring market growth.

Some of the Asian fabric filter market will be captured by process system suppliers or international filter companies who sell to the system suppliers. F.L. Smidth supplies complete cement plants in Asia. They also supply fabric filters and replacement bags. European based competitors are buying filter systems from European based filter companies who can provide service in Asia.

The biggest future variable is the application of fabric filters to coal-fired boilers. At present precipitators are still the choice for new Asian coal-fired power plant companies. However, the need for higher dust removal efficiency is causing some owners to remove the internals of their precipitators and replace them with bags.

One of the options to remove SO₂ is to combine dry scrubbing with fabric filters. This is less expensive than the electrostatic precipitator/wet FGD alternative. There are already more than 50,000 MW of these dry scrubbing/fabric filter units operating in China.

The Top 200 Purchasers Buy More Than 50 Percent Of The World’s Industrial Air and Water Monitoring Equipment

The largest users of industrial air and water monitoring equipment are also the industries which are most concentrated. A few oil and gas companies produce most of the oil and gas. Large power companies produce most of the electricity. A few large electronics companies produce most of the semiconductors and flat panel displays. In fact, Samsung is a leader in both products.

Due to the government ownership of wastewater plants in many countries and the growth of third party operators such as Veolia and Suez, the water and wastewater industry is also relatively concentrated in terms of decision makers.

Monitoring equipment suppliers sell directly to some large users and sell through distributors to others. The percentage purchased by the large users is rising and calls for more focus on this segment by the suppliers. This is the conclusion reached by McIlvaine Company in N031 Air and Water Monitoring: World Market.

The 2015 industrial air and water monitoring sales will exceed $10 billion. Municipal water plants will be the largest purchasing sector followed by municipal wastewater and then power.

The McIlvaine Company has created a program for suppliers to maximize sales to the largest purchasers. It combines the air and water monitoring report with tracking of prospects and projects. Detailed Forecasting of Markets, Prospects and Projects.

OEM Networking Directory Has the Contacts at Consulting and Supplier Companies

If you sell systems, scrubbers nozzles, packing or corrosion resistant materials you will use the McIlvaine OEM Networking Directory daily. Check it out at: 53DI OEM Networking Directory.

An editorial in the January 2, 2016 New York Times was titled “The Dirty Truth About ‘Clean Diesel’.” It documents deterioration in air quality in Europe as a result of a program to increase the use of diesel-powered vehicles because they emit less CO₂ than those powered with gasoline. The substantial increase in NO_x and fine particulate emissions are leading European policy makers to belatedly view “diesel as a devil’s bargain.”

China has just started a $20 billion pipeline to transfer clean coal gas to cities across the nation. The hope is to eliminate the smog caused by burning solid fuels. So China has concluded that increasing CO₂ in order to reduce NO_x and particulate is worthwhile.

Every pollution control decision may not be a “devils bargain” but there is a negative aspect. It may just be cost but typically the reduction of one pollutant increases another. Water purification is an example. Substantial energy is needed to purify water with reverse osmosis. The investor has decided that increased CO₂ is offset by the clean water value.

Informally the world is functioning with a common metric to measure all harm and good. Every government, business and personal decision involves use of this metric.

The problem is that the metric values differ widely among decision makers. The decision to donate to a charity or buy a new coat is individualized based on life quality perceptions. Life quality, in turn, is shaped by tribal values and differing views on discounting future values.

The European facing vehicle smog vs. CO₂ at home will have a different preference than if asked to choose between CO₂ and smog for China. CO₂ causes global but not local harm. Tribal values cause us to look at every decision through a prism of our own self-interest and then the interests of our tribe (family, city, country, etc.).

The well fed protected American will more likely put more value in creating a better life for grandchildren than the Syrian refugee who can justifiably discount any future value.

McIlvaine has attempted to create a decision system with a harm metric which fulfills the true goal of individuals to maximize life quality and not quantity. More information is found at: Sustainability Universal Rating System.

Sales of emissions catalyst for both stationary and mobile emissions sources are projected at $13.2 billion in 2016 by the McIlvaine Company. Mobile catalyst sales will account for 10 billion while stationary catalyst sales will comprise the other $3.2 billion.

Sales of catalysts to reduce NO_x to N₂ using selective catalytic reduction (SCR) will be $4 billion equally split between mobile and stationary sources. In the next five years, the mobile SCR catalyst market will experience double-digit growth while the stationary catalyst market growth will be modest. China created a large temporary stationary SCR catalyst market with a drive to retrofit 400,000 MW of coal-fired power plants with SCR technology. This program is now nearly complete. So the stationary Chinese market growth will be negative in the 2015-2018 period.

The high growth in mobile SCR is being driven by the failure of companies such as Volkswagen to meet emission limits with NO_x traps. A new regulatory requirement (RDE) to measure NO_x emissions during on-road conditions will make it very difficult for any diesel-fired vehicle to meet limits without SCR.

The mobile oxidation catalyst growth is being driven by the demand for vehicles in Asia along with tightening emission limits. The stationary oxidation catalyst growth is due to multiple factors. One is increasing use of oxidation catalysts on gas turbine power generators. Another factor is the increasing use of catalytic incineration at chemical, food, refining and metal working plants in Asia.

More information on mobile SCR catalyst is included in a new report Diesel SCR Systems. Contact Bob McIlvaine at: rmcilvaine@mcilvainecompany.com for more information on this report.

FLORIDA: Public Service Commission to Consider Need for FPL’s Okeechobee Power Plant

MINNESOTA: Xcel Energy Selects GE’s 7F.05 Gas Turbine for Black Dog Peaker

OKLAHOMA: TAS Energy to Supply Inlet Chilling System for Grand River Energy Center

PENNSYLVANIA: GE to Provide Technology and Financing for Moxie Freedom Project

RHODE ISLAND: GE’s Enhanced Steam Path (ESP) Upgrade at Entergy Plant Adds 26 MW

Dynegy Awards GE Contract to Upgrade 4 Power Plants with Advanced Gas Path (AGP) Technology

BANGLADESH: Siemens to Supply Key Components for Bibiyana South Power Plant

BENIN: Genesis Energy’s 360 MW Power Project Will Provide 30% of Benin's Electricity

MYANMAR: Sembcorp Signs Agreement to Build 225 MW Gas-fired Power Plant in Myingyan

UK: Centrica Says Killingholme Gas Fired Power Plant Will Close in March 2016

Charlotte-based SPX Corp. Announces Sale of Dry Cooling Business to Indian Company

KENTUCKY: East Kentucky Power Receives Approval to Buy Bluegrass Generating Station

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