Here are the Headlines for the November 4, 2011 – Utility E Alert
UTILITY
E-ALERT
#1049 – November 4, 2011
Table of Contents
COAL – US
COAL – WORLD
GAS / OIL – US
GAS / OIL – WORLD
BIOMASS
CO2
NUCLEAR
BUSINESS
HOT TOPIC HOUR
For more information on the Utility Environmental
Upgrade Tracking System, click on:
http://www.mcilvainecompany.com/brochures/energy.html#42ei.
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$5.6 Billion for Chemicals for Air Pollution Control in 2012
Sales of chemicals to reduce air pollution from stationary sources will exceed
$5.6 billion in 2012 and represent an 8 percent increase from 2011. This is the
latest forecast in Air Pollution Management, a continually updated report by the
McIlvaine Company.
Chemical Type |
Sales ($ Millions) |
Lime |
600 |
Limestone |
2,000 |
Sodium |
500 |
Ammonia |
900 |
Polymers/Flocculants/pH Adjusters |
300 |
Odor Control Chemicals |
300 |
Activated Carbon |
700 |
Other |
300 |
Total |
5,600 |
Sales of activated carbon are now projected at $700 million. This is a lower
adjustment from previous forecasts. The important Utility air toxic rules in the
U.S. will have major impacts on sales but the time frame has been moved back
until 2014-2016. Sales of sodium bicarbonate and trona are going to experience
substantial growth as limitations on emissions of hydrogen chloride and sulfur
trioxide come into effect in the U.S. Sodium hydroxide is widely used worldwide
in acid gas scrubbers in chemical, incineration, and mining applications.
The biggest use of ammonia is for reduction of nitrogen oxides. The sales figure
of $900 million for 2012 is just for stationary source emissions. There is an
additional significant mobile market. Ammonia is also used as a scrubber
reagent. A byproduct is ammonium sulfate. The sales price of the byproduct is
now four times the price of the purchased ammonia, so there is an economic
advantage to using this reagent. The problem is that a blue plume is generated
and a wet electrostatic precipitator is often needed to eliminate the fine
ammonium chloride or sulfide particles.
Most scrubber systems are equipped with wastewater treatment equipment. This
involves the use of various chemicals including polymers flocculants, and pH
adjusters. A
variety of odor control chemicals including hydrogen peroxide, potassium
permanganate, and others are used in scrubbers located in municipal wastewater
treatment, chemical, food, and other manufacturing plants.
The market is growing at close to double digit rates. China is the largest
purchaser of limestone for scrubbers and is the second largest purchaser of
ammonia for NOx control. The U.S. remains the largest purchaser for
the present but will lose this position by 2020.
For more information on Air Pollution Management, click on:
http://www.mcilvainecompany.com/brochures/air.html#5ab
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Utility Power Water Treatment Market Will Exceed $23 Billion in 2012
Utility power generators will spend $23.4 billion in 2012 for equipment and
chemicals to treat water. This is the conclusion reached in the continually
updated, Fluid/Gas Treatment and Control: World Markets published by the
McIlvaine Company www.mcilvainecompany.com.
Product Type |
Revenues
($ Millions) |
Chemicals |
4,600 |
Filtration/separation |
2,500 |
Instrumentation |
2,500 |
Other treatment |
3,100 |
Pumps |
3,500 |
Valves |
7,200 |
Total |
23,400 |
Power plants use ten times more water than is treated in municipal drinking
water plants. They extract and treat more water than all other industries
combined. The only larger use of water is for irrigation. The above totals
do not include industrial power plants which add another $5 billion to the
total.
The main use of water by the utility power generators is for steam generation.
This includes the water which is directly converted to steam and the large
amount of cooling water which is also required. The biggest user is the
coal-fired generation segment. They also have flyash transport and SO2
scrubbers which require additional amounts of water treatment. Nuclear power
plants need the water for steam generation but also have to deal with
remediation and contamination prevention.
Various renewable energy technologies also require water. Concentrated
solar power uses water for steam generation. Geothermal power requires
significant amounts of water. Hydropower uses water directly as an energy
source. Tidal and wave energy are in the early stages of
development.
Water for steam generation must be treated to a quality far beyond that of
drinking water. Many filtration, ion exchange and degasification steps are
utilized. The steam cycle requires large quantities of valves and pumps which
must deal with very high pressures and temperatures. Sophisticated
instrumentation is required.
The filtration and separation starts with the river or surface water treatment
and ends with the treatment of the wastewater prior to discharge. There are
chemicals required at each step along the way. Flocculants and coagulants
are needed in pre–filtration. Corrosion inhibitors, oxidizers, scale
inhibitors, ion exchange resins and other chemicals are needed during the many
treatment steps prior to discharge.
The scrubber to remove SO2 from a 1000 MW power plant requires as
much water as a 400 MGD municipal water treatment plant. This is a plant big
enough to serve a city of four million people. Recent regulations, which are
targeting the so called thermal pollution, will require many utilities in the
U.S. to install recycling systems to cool the steam condensate. Other clean
water regulations will require expenditures to renovate existing ash ponds.
Large numbers of coal-fired power plants are being built in Asia. There are some
very large hydropower projects in the region as well. Consequently, Asia is the
largest market presently and will be the fastest growth market over the next
decade.
For more information on Fluid/Gas Treatment and Control: World Markets
http://home.mcilvainecompany.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=71
BIOMASS PROJECTS MOVING FORWARD
Biomass Energy is covered in McIlvaine’s Renewable Energy Updates and
Projects. Here are just a few of the items reported on in a recent
Update.
*****
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack visited a waste-to-energy bioprocessing
facility under construction in Florida August 11, 2011 to announce that the
Departments of Agriculture (USDA) and Energy (DOE) have awarded 10 grants
totaling $12.2 million to spur research into improving the efficiency and
cost-effectiveness of growing biofuel and bioenergy crops. The grants are part
of a broader effort by the Obama administration to develop domestic renewable
energy and advanced biofuels, providing a more secure future for America’s
energy needs and creating new opportunities for the American farming industry.
Overall, the USDA and DOE projects are designed to improve special crops to be
grown for biofuels including selected trees and grasses by increasing their
yield, quality and ability to adapt to extreme environments. Researchers will
rely on the most advanced techniques of modern genomics to develop breeding and
other strategies to improve the crops. The research will be conducted on
switchgrass, poplar, miscanthus and brachypodium, among other plants.
*****
USDA Forest Service
also awarded nearly $3 million in grants to 17 small businesses and community
groups to develop wood-to-energy projects that require engineering services and
will help expand regional economies and create new jobs.
These projects will use woody material removed from forests during projects such
as wildfire prevention, and that woody biomass will be processed in bioenergy
facilities to produce green energy for heating and electricity. The awardees
will use funds from the Woody Biomass Utilization Grant program to further the
planning of such facilities by funding the engineering services necessary for
final design, permitting and cost analysis.
Examples of possible projects include the engineering design of a woody biomass
boiler for steam at a sawmill, non-pressurized hot water system for a hospital
or school, and a biomass-power generation facility. The grant program helps
applicants complete the necessary design work needed to secure public or private
investment for construction.
*****
Foster Wheeler has chosen Emerson Process Management’s PlantWeb™ digital plant
architecture with the Ovation™ expert control system and AMS Suite predictive
maintenance software to control a new biomass boiler at the Polaniec Power
Station in Poland. When operational in 2012, this will be the world’s largest
100 percent biomass-fired boiler.
Foster Wheeler is building the 190-MWe biomass-fired circulating fluidized-bed
(CFB) boiler island for plant owner GDF Suez, one of the world’s leading energy
providers. Poland has been investing in biomass power generation to achieve a
target of producing 15 percent of its total energy consumption from renewable
sources by 2020.
*****
ITOCHU Corporation announced equity participation in Gainesville Renewable
Energy Center, a 100-MW biomass power project located in Gainesville, FL through
indirect affiliates.
The project was jointly developed by BayCorp Holdings, Ltd., Energy Management
Inc., and Tyr Energy Inc., a wholly-owned Independent Power Producer company of
ITOCHU Corporation, and is the second 100-MW class biomass power project
developed by the group. The project is one of the largest biomass-fueled
electric generating facilities in the United States, with an emission control
system designed to meet or exceed all U.S. and Florida requirements.
Following financial closing, the project will move forward to the construction
phase and is expected to begin commercial operation in 2013. After commencement
of commercial operation, the project will deliver electricity to Gainesville
Regional Utilities, the city-owned utility in Gainesville, FL, under a 30-year
long-term power purchase agreement. NAES Corporation, the largest independent
Operation & Maintenance provider, which operates the largest fleet of biomass
facilities in U.S., will provide Operation & Maintenance service to the project.
*****
German biomass energy giant STEAG New Energies has been awarded planning
permission to build its first biomass plant in the U.K.
Kent county council has granted permission for the company’s U.K. subsidiary,
STEAG New Energies U.K., to build a Combined Heat and Power Plant (CHP) at
Ridham Dock in Kent which will burn approximately 160,000 tonnes of waste wood a
year.
The Waste Incineration Directive-compliant facility will produce 25 MW of power
and up to 8-10 MW of heat. The waste wood is expected to come from municipal
waste (15-20 percent), commerce and industry (25-30 percent) and construction
and demolition (40-60 percent).
*****
AREVA, Dutch civil works company Ballast Nedam and Finnish boiler supplier Metso
Power Oy, have been awarded a contract by Eneco, one of the main Dutch
utilities, to build a biomass power plant in Delfzijl, in northern Netherlands.
The total value of the consortium’s order amounts to €155 million.
The AREVA group will lead the consortium and will be in charge of designing,
building and installing the 49-MW plant fueled with recycled wood. It will also
provide testing and commissioning services.
The new plant is scheduled to begin commercial operation in 2013.
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.mcilvaine@mcilvainecompany.com
Copyright © 2011 McIlvaine Company. All Rights Reserved
191 Waukegan Road Suite 208 | Northfield | IL 60093
Ph: 847-784-0012 | Fax: 847-784-0061