Coal-fired Boiler Optimization is Hot Topic on Sept. 27, 2012 and Oct. 11, 2012
In order to accommodate the number of persons that desired to make a
presentation on this subject and keep the Hot Topic Hour within a reasonable
time, we split it into two sessions – the first on
Thursday, Sept. 27, 2012 at 10:00 a.m. Central time and the second on Thursday,
Oct. 11, 2012 at 10:00 a.m. central time. Persons that register for the first
session will automatically be registered for the second session at no additional
cost.
Boiler operators have always been interested in improving the efficiency of
their operations to reduce cost but today they are looking at efficiency
improvements as part of the solution to some of the other concerns they are
faced with. Improving efficiency of the combustion process and heat recovery of
only a few percent can save hundreds of thousands of dollars in fuel and other
material costs. Improving boiler efficiency will also reduce the total CO2
emissions and help to meet the new regulations for GHG reduction being imposed
by states and soon the U.S. EPA as well as reduce emissions of other criteria
pollutants.
Executives are increasing asking utility engineers questions regarding boiler
efficiency improvement such as: What are the available systems, technologies and
methods for improving efficiency and who provides them? Have these
systems, technology and methods been proven in other plants with the same
configuration as mine? What is the impact on maintenance and overall operating
cost? Is there a tradeoff between cost and reductions in emissions? What is the
best way to improve efficiency or where will we get the best bang for the buck,
so to speak? Should we invest in optimization software and/or additional
monitoring instrumentation?
The following
speakers will help us understand the process of
improving boiler efficiency; how to obtain optimum efficiency,
availability and performance; describe the
technologies available and under development with their applicability,
capabilities and limitations; costs involved and the benefits that can be
attained and describe their real world experience with improving the
operating efficiency of fossil-fueled power plant boilers.
The speakers on Thursday, Sept. 27, 2012 will be:
Neil Widmer,
Manager of the Boiler Optimization Service group within GE Energy Services
and Antonio (Tony) Marquez, Product Manager for GE Boiler Optimization
Services, will co-present “Zonal* Combustion
Optimization for Coal-Fired Boilers”. GE’s Zonal Combustion Monitoring System
provides a new level of insight and reduces the mystery behind combustion
performance and day-to-day variability. With continuous information on
combustion issues, operators and plant engineers are able to quickly adjust
boiler/burner operation to improve and maintain combustion performance and
optimize boiler reliability, performance and emissions. They will present an
overview of Zonal combustion optimization principles and the Zonal monitoring
system and will discuss operating experiences and results achieved on wall and
tangential fired boilers in the United States.
*Trademark of General Electric Company
Don Labbe,
a Consulting Control Engineer for Invensys Operations Management’s “Smart Firing
Control System.” When pulverized coal is fed to a utility boiler a phenomenon
sometimes referred to as “roping” occurs. Roping impacts the distribution
of coal flow to the coal pipes supplying the burners. The roping
characteristics are unique mill-to-mill, change with mill wear and are dependent
on primary air flow and coal type. Coal maldistribution, in turn, causes some
regions of the furnace to have more fuel and some to have less fuel. Typically,
the secondary air flow control is configured to be evenly distributed to the
burners via the respective registers. Thus, these coal flow imbalances result in
O2 imbalances with regions of high CO and unburned carbon in oxygen
depleted areas and high NOx in regions of higher O2.
Advanced Process Control (APC) applications such as multivariable model
predictive control and neural networks are frequently applied to bias furnace
air flow distribution and address O2 imbalances and regions of high
CO. However, coal roping and other phenomena creates a need for a recalibration
of air pollution control (APC) models the air register positions related to the
higher level variables such as excess O2, CO, NOx, and
even heat rate.
A novel solution, the Smart Firing Control System, has been developed for
periodically testing the APC system online without operator intervention and
gradually adapting the models to capture the characteristics of these shifting
relationships. This solution has contributed to significant additional boiler
efficiency improvements above and beyond the original APC application.
Peter Spinney,
Director of Marketing and Technology Assessment at NeuCo Inc., will present “Comprehensive
Boiler Optimization for Emissions, Efficiency, and Availability.”
Danny S. Storm,
President/COO Storm Technologies, Inc. and Richard (Dick) F. Storm,
CEO/Senior Consultant, Storm Technologies, Inc., will discuss a general approach
to optimizing combustion. Coal-fired boiler optimization is a broad phrase that
includes optimization for boiler efficiency, steam plant heat rate, reduction of
emissions, increased reliability, fuel flexibility and maximizing capacity. This
presentation will cover the general approach to applying the fundamentals so
that a comprehensive optimization plan can be achieved. For example, even
steam turbine efficiency is affected by boiler combustion optimization. Why?
Three factors are: operation for precise control of steam temperatures,
optimization of de-superheating spray water flows to the super-heater and
reheater. These are boiler controllable performance factors but impact
unit heat rate. There are about 22 controllable boiler heat rate
variables. These will be discussed in this webinar.
The speakers on Thursday, October 11, 2012 will be:
Keith Moore,
President of Castle Light Energy Corporation
Ati Manay,
PMP, P.E., Product Manager of “SMART Clean” at
Clyde Bergemann Power Group Americas, will discuss
“On Load Boiler Cleaning Optimization Technologies and its Integration
into Boiler Back End Equipment Temperature Control.” His presentation will
include:
•
Review of best available On Load Cleaning Optimization Technologies, SMART
Feedback Devices, and their integration into different optimization goals for
the power boilers.
•
Case study on tube life and reliability optimization
•
Case study on SCR temperature control
•
Case study on Plant Heat Rate Optimization
•
Case studies on Fuel Flexibility
Stephen Storm,
Principal and Owner of both Stephen Storm, Inc. and SX Powertech, LLC, will
present “Inter-relationships of Combustion,
Efficiency, Reliability & Air Pollution Control.” When assessing the
inter-relationships of combustion, efficiency, reliability and air pollution,
the evaluation must be "holistic" and comprehensive in nature. The control of
combustion and heat transfer with large steam generators is contingent upon how
well the fuel, air and flue gas is distributed, while also managing the
combustion byproducts. Then, the performance and reliability of the air
pollution control equipment is subject to the quality and volume of gas being
treated. With that being said, the purpose of this presentation is to
share experiences, observations and industry challenges.
To register for the Hot Topic on Thursday, September 27, 2012 at 10:00 a.m. and
Oct. 11, 2012 at 10:00 a.m. Central time, 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.
|
2012 |
|
DATE |
SUBJECT |
|
September 27 |
Coal-fired Boiler Optimization –
Part 1 |
Power |
October 11 |
Coal-fired Boiler Optimization –
Part 2 |
Power |
October 18 |
Air Preheaters & Heat Exchangers
|
Power |
October 25 |
Instrumentation for air, gas,
water, liquids (forecasts,
market shares, growth segments). |
Market Intelligence |
November 1 |
Cooling Towers and Cooling Water
Issues |
Power |
November 8 |
FGD Scrubber Components |
Power |
November 15 |
Dampers and Expansion Joints for
Coal-fired and Gas Turbine Power
Plants |
Power |
November 29 |
Catalyst Selection for NOx
and Other Gases |
Power |
|
|
|
December 6 |
Boiler Feed and Cooling Water
Treatment |
Power |
December 13 |
Co-firing Sewage Sludge, Biomass
and Municipal Waste |
Power |
|
2013 |
|
January 10 |
Update on Oxy-fuel Combustion |
Power |
January 17 |
Production of Fertilizer and
Sulfuric Acid at Coal-fired
Power Plants
|
Power |
January 24 |
Gypsum Dewatering |
Power |
January 31 |
Filter media (forecasts and
market drivers for media used in
air, gas, liquid, fluid
applications, both mobile and
stationary). |
Market Intelligence |
February 7 |
Valves for Power Plants, Boilers
and Water Treatment Facilities |
Power |
Niche Experts and Decisive Classification Will Boost the U.S. and World
Economies
Utilization of newly retired individuals as niche experts in combination with a
decisive classification system will boost the world’s economy and effectively
utilize the otherwise unemployed. This is the conclusion of the McIlvaine
Company based upon several years of experience with the program.
In an increasingly complex world, knowledge resides in more and smaller niches.
The world’s progress will be accelerated to the extent that:
a.
Individuals with specific expertise are identified
b.
This expertise is made available to those who need it
c.
These individuals become more focused and can make an ever greater
contribution
Decision making is a series of classifications. A decisive classification system
provides the list of choices at each step in the series. Niche experts are
identified to help make the right choice at each of these classification steps.
The result is much better decision making and effective utilization of the
world’s knowledge.
For the first time in history a significant portion of the unemployed are
knowledge workers. Due to longer life spans there are large numbers of
potentially productive retirees. These individuals can contribute to the
development of the decisive classification systems relative to their knowledge
niche and can be remunerated for the advice that they can offer.
The system is already being employed for environmental decisions. An example
involves reducing nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions from the coal-fired
boilers. The Chinese are implementing a very ambitious program and need to build
on the expertise in the U.S. and Europe. Among the many steps is one to
determine how to maintain the catalyst which is integral to the reduction
process. There was no decisive classification. So McIlvaine assembled the
catalyst manufacturers and experts and joint agreement was obtained that there
are only three viable options. The definitions and translations to Chinese were
then undertaken.
Other Children of: |
|
Parent |
Descriptor |
|
|
Chinese
Descriptor |
Definition |
Catalyst Maintenance |
Cleaning Catalyst |
|
|
催化剂除灰 |
A dry process that utilizes
vacuum and compressed air to
mechanically remove as much of
the fly ash accumulation as
possible. |
Catalyst Maintenance |
Regeneration Catalyst |
|
|
催化剂再生 |
“Catalyst cleaning” followed by
a wet chemical process to remove
decay compounds plus
re-impregnation of the catalytic
compound(s). |
Catalyst Maintenance |
Rejuvenation Catalyst |
|
|
催化剂复原 |
“Catalyst cleaning” followed by
a wet chemical process to remove
some decay compounds with
minimum removal of catalytic
compound(s). There is no
re-impregnation of the catalytic
compound(s). |
Anyone seeking guidance about cleaning catalyst can quickly find this
classification and experts who can advise on each of the options. These appear
in the McIlvaine Global Decisions Orchard (GDO).
The experts who have been working in this area include individuals from 25-80
years of age. They include experts on the Chinese problems and experts on the
international solutions. So far the most valuable contribution has been by
semi-retired individuals working as niche experts.
For more information on: Niche Experts, click on:
Niche Expert System
For more information on the specific initiative in China, click on:
Facilitating
Knowledge Sharing Between China & Other Countries
For
more information on the Global Decisions Orchard, click on:
Free News and Analyses
East Asia Will Buy 36 Percent of the Scrubbers Next Year
The market for scrubbers, adsorbers, absorbers and biofilters will reach $6.6
billion next year. Thirty-six percent of this revenue will be East Asia.
This is the latest forecast in the McIlvaine Scrubber/Adsorber/Biofilter
World Markets. (www.mcilvainecompany.com)
Scrubber/Adsorber Revenues ($ Millions)
World Region |
2013 |
Africa |
234 |
CIS |
186 |
East Asia |
2,458 |
Eastern Europe |
226 |
Middle East |
221 |
NAFTA |
1,214 |
South & Central America |
487 |
West Asia |
470 |
Western Europe |
1,106 |
Total |
6,602 |
|
|
In East Asia, mining, chemical, iron and steel, waste incineration, pulp and
paper and refining will be the major applications for the technology. Food and
beverage, electronics and odor control for municipal wastewater plants will also
be substantial applications.
Unlike the United States, countries in East Asia (as well as Europe) believe
that burning trash in waste-to-energy plants is greener than burying it in
landfills. China is expanding its capacity faster than any other country.
Scrubbers are used at all the plants.
Scrubbers are used for both particulate control and gas absorption. Adsorbers
are used mainly for gas treatment when the loadings are low. Biofilters
are used to capture organic emissions from municipal sewage treatment plants and
food processing. Absorbers are used to capture gaseous emissions.
The report does not include absorbers used for process mass transfer in
chemicals and refining. It does not include scrubbers used for flue gas
desulfurization in power plants. The reason is that this is very large and is
covered in a separate McIlvaine report.
The biggest growth market involves purifying the stack gases for ships burning
bunker fuels. Wärtsilä Hamworthy, announced an agreement with Wilh. Wilhelmsen
ASA, the global rolling cargo operator, to retrofit their vessel MV Tamesis with
a Krystallon Exhaust Gas Cleaning System (EGCS). Alfa Laval also has some
recent contracts and a successful operation on the DFDS’ Ficaria Seaways. This
system treats the exhaust gas of a 21-MW MAN main engine and is currently the
largest scrubber in operation in the market.
For more information on Scrubber/Adsorber/Biofilter World Markets, click
on:
http://www.mcilvainecompany.com//brochures/air.html#n008
Here are the Headlines for the September 14, 2012 – Utility E-Alert
UTILITY
E-ALERT
#1092 – September 14, 2012
Table of Contents
COAL – US
COAL – WORLD
GAS/OIL / US
GAS/OIL WORLD
BIOMASS
CO2
NUCLEAR
BUSINESS
§
Fuel Tech to supply SNCR for Three US Industrial Boilers
§
STEAG Energy Services surpasses 40,000 m3 of Regenerated Catalyst at
the Kings Mountain, NC Facility
§
The Carlyle Group to acquire Cogentrix Energy Assets and Power Project
Development and Acquisition Platform
§
Valve Industry Expecting Greater Growth than Predicted by McIlvaine
HOT TOPIC HOUR
For more information on the Utility Environmental Upgrade Tracking System,
click on:
http://www.mcilvainecompany.com/brochures/energy.html#42ei.
As the following articles illustrate the use of biogas to generate energy is
becoming quite popular. McIlvaine tracks these installations in Renewable
Energy Projects and Update.
Now Available: Guidance Document for Introducing Renewable Gas from Landfills
into Pipelines
Gas Technology Institute (GTI) recently made publicly available a report titled
“Guidance Document for the Introduction of Landfill-Derived Renewable Gas into
Natural Gas Pipelines.”
The integration of renewable gas from non-traditional sources can provide
significant benefits including cost-effectively reducing greenhouse gas
emissions and increasing available resources. An initiative launched by GTI is
establishing parameters for evaluating the suitability of biomethane products —
derived from dairy waste and landfills — for safe and proper introduction into
existing natural gas pipelines and to assure compatibility with existing
supplies.
Sponsored by the natural gas industry, the U.S. Department of Transportation
(DOT) and members of the Solid Waste Association of North America, these
projects have been adding to the industry’s understanding of the chemical and
biological composition of renewable gas.
The newly-released Landfill Guidance Document provides analytical and other key
information to pipeline companies and natural gas local distribution companies
(LDCs) so that parameters specific to clean biomethane can be identified to
support a productive discussion between these parties and the suppliers for
contract development. The document includes a list of constituents and
methodology for testing, as well as statistical analysis of the acquired data.
It provides information about specific instrumentation for identifying and
monitoring trace constituents, and cleanup technologies for removing them.
Previously, under the sponsorship of a consortium of gas companies, including
Operations Technology Development (OTD) — and working with a number of
universities and dairy farms in the Northwest, Midwest and Western U.S. — GTI
scientists developed the first national biogas guidance document for introducing
methane from dairy waste into existing pipelines, entitled “Pipeline Quality
Biomethane: North American Guidance Document for Interchangeability of
Dairy Waste Derived Biomethane.”
New York’s Largest On-Farm Biogas Power Project Generate Renewable Energy for
Nearly 1,000 Homes
U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) joined state and local officials at the grand
opening of New York State’s largest on-farm, “co-digestion” biogas power
project, making an important boost to the state’s renewable energy production
and sustainability efforts. The facility is located at Synergy Dairy, a
2,000-head dairy farm in Covington, Wyoming County, southwest of Rochester.
CH4 Biogas LLC built, owns and operates the project under the name Synergy
Biogas LLC. The Synergy Biogas LLC plant is also is the state’s first biogas
project specifically designed for the co-digestion, or processing, of animal and
food wastes. The biogas created in the 120,000-gallon co-digester is fueling a
GE ecomagination-qualified, Jenbacher J420 biogas engine to generate 1.4 MW of
renewable electricity.
By anaerobically digesting waste from local food processors in addition to the
dairy’s cow manure, the 425-ton-per-day, mixed waste facility is more cost
effective. The facility has created about a half dozen jobs while enhancing the
efficiency of the 30-employee farm’s operations and sustaining area food
manufacturers and haulers.
The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) is
providing $1 million in incentives for the facility.
GE’s Gas Engines Driving Major Expansion of Landfill Gas-to-Energy Plant in
Chile
GE announced that six of its Jenbacher specialty gas engines will be installed
at the Loma Los Colorados Landfill in Chile as part of a major expansion of the
site’s existing landfill gas-to-energy (LFGTE) plant. The landfill is located 63
kilometers northwest of Santiago and is the country’s largest municipal solid
waste operation, which receives about 60 percent of the solid waste from
Santiago.
The 8.4 MW plant expansion known as “Lomas Los Colorados II” features six of
GE’s 1.4 MW ecomagination-qualified J420 Jenbacher units. GE will install the
units adjacent to seven GE Jenbacher gas engines already at the site.
GE expects the new Jenbacher units to enter commercial service between 2012 and
2014, in line with landfill gas production. Combined, the 13 landfill gas-fueled
engines are expected to generate a total of 18 MW of renewable power, enough to
support the needs of about 75,000 homes to Chile.
ENER-G Powers Nissan Car Factory in Mexico with Landfill Gas Capture Project
ENER-G Natural Power and its sister company Biogas Technology are generating
clean electrical energy from biogas for use by Nissan at its manufacturing site
in Aguascalientes. The power generated is being sold over a long-term power
purchase agreement with the car maker.
Nissan is the first automotive plant in Mexico to use electricity from biogas,
and it is the first project of its kind for any Nissan manufacturing plant in
the world. The Nissan production site, which makes March, Versa and Sentra cars,
receives 2,475 MW of clean energy — sufficient to produce 37,000 vehicles per
year.
The £4.4-million investment by the ENER-G group will reduce carbon dioxide
emissions at the landfill site by approximately 90,000 tons per year. This is
equivalent to the environmental benefit of 17,409 acres (7,045 hectares) of pine
forest.
The 104-acre (42-hectare) landfill site, which is owned by the Municipality of
Aquascalientes, receives household, commercial and industrial waste. A total of
3.9 million tons of waste is currently deposited at the site, which has been in
operation for ten years.
The two-phase biogas generation project started in 2006 when ENER-G group
company Biogas Technology was appointed by the Municipality of Aquascalientes to
collect and destroy the biogas emissions by flaring. These emissions are
comprised of mainly methane gas, a greenhouse gas which is 21 times more
damaging to the environment than carbon dioxide.
The second phase of the project involved ENER-G Natural Power installing two
1.6-MW biogas generators as part of a six-month build program. This has involved
arranging the sale of electricity to Nissan Mexicana and arranging transport to
the site over a distance of approximately 20 km. The clean electricity is
transported via overhead lines through a supply contract with the Federal
Commission of Electricity.
Due to the effect of “thin” air at the high altitude of the San Nicholas site,
ENER-G Natural Power was required to install an oversized 3.2-MW system to
achieve the desired de-rated capacity of 2.5-MW electrical capacity. The biogas
supply is expected to last for at least 15 years.
Waste Management’s Mahoning Landfill to Produce Green Energy from Everyday Waste
Green energy will soon be helping to power homes, following Waste Management’s
announcement on the groundbreaking of a gas-to-electric facility at Mahoning
Landfill in New Springfield, OH.
Once construction is completed, Waste Management’s Mahoning Landfill is designed
to generate 4.8 MW of electricity, enough to power over 3,500 homes. The plant
will be operational by the end of this year. Methane gas, which is produced in
the landfill from the decomposition of waste, will be channeled into engines
that are used to create electricity.
Waste Management owns or operates over 130 landfill gas-to-energy facilities in
North America. Waste Management pioneered landfill gas-to-energy technology over
two decades ago and operates more facilities than any other company in the
United States.
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
----------
You can register for our free McIlvaine Newsletters at:
http://www.mcilvainecompany.com/brochures/Free_Newsletter_Registration_Form.htm.
Bob McIlvaine
President
847-784-0012 ext 112
rmcilvaine@mcilvainecompany.com
www.mcilvaine@mcilvainecompany.com
Copyright © 2012 McIlvaine Company. All Rights Reserved
191 Waukegan Road Suite 208 | Northfield | IL 60093
Ph: 847-784-0012 | Fax: 847-784-0061
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