Fossil Fuel-fired Power Plants can be a Positive rather than a Negative
Contributor to Water Quality
Operators of coal-fired power plants and gas turbine combined cycle power plants
can utilize municipal wastewater for cooling and other needs. When they also
eliminate discharges through zero liquid discharge (ZLD) technology they become
positive rather than negative contributors to water quality. Water lost through
evaporation can be greatly reduced by heat extraction from the flue gas before
it reaches the scrubber. This also reduces total CO2/MW and
makes the plant greener in every sense.
The markets and technology for this approach will be discussed in a free webinar
on February 25th at 10:00 a.m. CST.
The various geographical markets will be analyzed. China is embracing ZLD in
its power plants as well as its coal-to-chemical facilities. Gas turbine
combined cycle power plant developers in the U.S. are selecting ZLD not only in
arid areas but generally to avoid the need to obtain water discharge permits.
ZLD is the preferred option in Saudi Arabia and surrounding countries.
The availability and cost of treated municipal wastewater will be reviewed. In
general, power plants are near enough to municipal treatment plants to make the
use practical.
Technologies to minimize evaporation losses will also be discussed. The
potential is being increased by new developments such as catalytic filtration at
850oF.
China is making the largest investment in ZLD. Huaneng Group, China’s largest
power producer, has constructed a 1.3 GW state-of-the-art ultra-supercritical
coal-fired power plant at the Changxing Power Station in Zhejiang Province.
Aquatech has supplied ZLD systems for a number of power plants and
coal-to-chemicals plants. Enel has purchased several systems from Aquatech for
its Italian coal-fired power plants. Aquatech has a Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD)
plant in a coal-to-chemicals facility in Inner Mongolia. The ZLD plant
incorporates HERO™ (High Efficiency Reverse Osmosis) and a Thermal
Brine Concentrator. The plant will treat 2400 m3/day of wastewater
and reuse 92.5 percent of it, producing 2000 m3/day of process water
and 220 m3/day of distilled water for various end user applications.
China has some ZLD systems using evaporators but is leaning toward the cheaper
route of using flue gas to evaporate liquid in the sludge. The spray drier
approach is being offered by Mitsubishi, URS and other international companies.
The various approaches for evaporation of water from slurries will be analyzed.
One option is a falling film evaporator (inside the brine concentrator vessel)
that is seeded with calcium sulfate to minimize scale formation.
Mechanical vapor recompression (MVR) is the method by which a blower, compressor
or jet ejector is used to compress, and thus, increase the temperature of the
vapor produced. In this way, the vapor can serve as the heating medium for the
ZLD solution being concentrated. The efficiency and feasibility of this process
lies in the efficiency of the blower or
compressor and the heat transfer co-efficient attained in the heat exchanger
contacting the condensing vapor and the boiling ZLD liquid. Several different
blower and compressor options will be reviewed.
The discussion will also include the co-combustion of sewage sludge and the use
of gasified sludges as reburn fuels in coal-fired boilers.
A full review of the options for coal-fired power plants is provided in 44I
Power Plant Air Quality Decisions.
A full review of options for gas turbines is part of
Gas Turbine
and Combined Cycle Decisions. Both of these services are free of
charge to power plants and by subscription for others.
Daily Project Posting in McIlvaine Oil, Gas, Refining Supplier Program
Oil/Gas/Shale/Refining E-Alert
January 2016 – No. 1
This alert is being issued twice per month for suppliers in flow control and
treatment who are coordinating market research with targeted pursuit of the
larger and longer term orders.
PROJECTS
The following projects each will result in millions of dollars of orders for
flow control and treatment products. Each project has been rated. The
opportunity size is rated from 1-10 with 1 being small and 10 being very large.
The timing for flow and treatment orders has been provided by year e.g., T 16 =
timing of order is 2016.
Israel Approves Natural Gas Exports to Egypt
Israel's government has given the go ahead to begin exporting natural gas to
Egypt, signaling a potential improvement in relations between two countries
which have been at loggerheads over energy supplies.
Chile's ENAP, Japan's Mitsui to Partner on $3.1 Bln Natural Gas Generation (08)
Chile's state oil company ENAP said on December 23 that it has inked an
agreement with Japan's Mitsui & Co to develop two natural gas power generation
projects that will have a combined installed capacity of some 1,200 megawatts.
Investment in both projects that will be developed in Chile will total around
$1.3 billion ENAP said. In late October, ENAP's chief executive Marcelo Tokman
told Reuters that the state-owned company was aiming to pick a strategic partner
before year end to develop natural gas power generation projects.
Nigeria's NNPC Issues 2016 Crude Oil Contracts worth $13.5 Bln (08)
Nigeria's NNPC has issued its 2016 crude oil term contracts to 21 companies,
going directly to international refineries, trading houses and local downstream
firms, according to a list obtained by Reuters. The contracts cover 991,000
barrels per day (bpd) of oil, worth $13.5 billion at current crude oil prices,
which is roughly half of Nigeria's crude oil production of just under 2 million
bpd. The list includes refiners such as Spain's Cepsa, Italy's Saras, India's
IOC and ENOC of the Emirates, as well as trading houses Trafigura, Mercuria and
Vitol and international oil companies ENI, Total, Exxon and Shell. The remainder
are Nigerian downstream and NNPC trading companies. The list is pared down from
the final 2015 contract list, which comprised 43 companies and did not include
any global traders.
UK's Coryton Oil Storage to Open in 2016 with Global Glut Boost
The Thames Oilport terminal near London will open next spring, its operator
Greenergy said on December 21, as a rising glut in oil supplies has made storage
one of the industry's most attractive investments.
Finland and Estonia to Start Planning Gas Pipeline (06, T17)
The European Commission, Finland and Estonia signed a deal on December 22 to
start planning for a gas pipeline between the two countries, the Finnish
government said. The pipeline, called Balticconnector, will improve energy
security in Finland, which now totally depends on pipeline gas imports from
Russia, he added. The Commission and the two countries have signed an agreement
on a 5.4 million euros grant for studies needed to launch construction works of
the undersea gas pipeline across the Gulf of Finland. European Commissioner for
Climate Action and Energy Miguel Arias Canete said the deal marked an important
step for connecting the gas markets of the eastern Baltic Sea region with the
rest of the EU. Finland and Estonia agreed in October to submit a joint funding
application for a pipeline estimated to cost 250 million euros, and expects it
to be built by 2019. The pipeline will allow the transportation of gas in both
directions and, together with a planned gas link from Lithuania to Poland, will
help end the isolation of the Finnish gas market, the Commission said in a
statement. Once completed, the two links will allow Finland and the Baltic
states to diversify their gas sources and deal with any potential supply
shortages in the future, it added. While the Baltic States have access to global
liquefied natural gas (LNG) markets via an import terminal opened in Lithuania
last year, Finland remains an isolated market. The Polish-Lithuanian link is
planned to start operations by end-2019.
Thai PTT Plans to Invest $8.2 Bln over the Next Five Years (08)
Thailand's biggest energy firm PTT Pcl plans to spend 297 billion baht ($8.2
billion) over the next five years, mainly on building infrastructure such as
natural gas pipelines, its chief executive said on December 25. The board has
approved the five-year investment plan, which does not include a budget for
potential acquisitions, Tevin Vongvanich said. The investment budget for next
year is 50.8 billion baht, he added, broadly similar to the company's 2015
spending of about 50 billion baht. "Over the next three years, the volumes of
oil and gas will be lower in line with a fall in oil prices while demand will
continue to grow," he said. "There will be oversupply until 2017," he added.
Domestic demand for energy is expected to increase by 2 percent next year, with
Thai GDP growth seen at 3.7 percent next year - up from 2.8-3.0 percent this
year, the CEO said. PTT's core subsidiaries include PTT Exploration and
Production, PTT Global Chemical and Thai Oil.
Argentina Signs $500 Mln Gas Production Deal with Dow Chemical (07, T16)
Argentina's state-run energy company YPF said on December 15 it has entered a
$500 million joint venture with Dow Chemical to drill for natural gas next year
in the Vaca Muerta shale formation in Patagonia. A spokesman for the company
said the investment will be split evenly between Dow and YPF during 2016.
Production will come from Vaca Muerta's El Orejano field. "By the end of 2016,
production at El Orejano could triple to reach an average 2 million cubic meters
per day," a YPF statement said, adding that the investment comes atop an earlier
$350 million joint venture between the two companies. YPF estimates the Vaca
Muerta deposit contains 661 billion barrels of oil and 1,181 trillion cubic feet
of natural gas, making it one of the biggest shale reserves in the western
hemisphere.
CB&I to Provide Construction Services for Lake Charles MEG Plant (07, T17)
CB&I announced on December 21 it has been awarded a contract valued in excess of
$365 million by Lotte Chemical Louisiana, LLC to provide construction services
for a monoethylene glycol (MEG) facility in Lake Charles, Louisiana. The MEG
facility will be located adjacent to the ethane cracker, as announced by a joint
venture between Axiall Corporation and Lotte Chemical Corporation. "This project
is the second of two important petrochemical initiatives Lotte Chemical is
developing in the region, and CB&I is pleased to have been selected for both
projects," said Philip K. Asherman, CB&I's President and Chief Executive Officer
China Sets CO2 Reporting Standards Ahead of Market Launch
China issued national standards for industrial firms to report their greenhouse
gas emissions as part of the country's plan to launch a national carbon market
in 2017. The new standards, issued by the National Development and Reform
Commission (NDRC) on December 23, will enable the China to create a statistical
system for greenhouse gas emissions and support the establishment of a national
carbon trading scheme.
New LNG Supply to Create Structural Changes in Asia-Pacific Gas Market
Last month, Goldman Sachs cut its forecast for next year's liquefied natural gas
(LNG) prices in Asia by 13 percent, stating that LNG prices will likely drop a
further 23 percent by 2018.
China's Record Fuel Exports Are Bearish for Oil Markets
It's tempting to view the growth in China's crude oil imports this year as
mainly a result of increased strategic stockpiling, but that overlooks the
rising importance of refined product exports. The stockpiling matters to crude
oil markets as every barrel put into storage is ultimately positive for demand,
as that barrel is effectively consumed insofar as it is taken out of the market.
However, every barrel refined in China and exported as fuel is simply a barrel
that isn't bought elsewhere, as Chinese exports compete and replace fuel
produced in other refining centers, such as India, Singapore and the Middle
East.
These projects are covered in more detail and are integrated in a database which
is part of Oil, Gas, Shale and Refining Markets and Projects. This semi-monthly
report is available as part of this service or as a stand-alone subscription.
The Oil/Gas/Shale/Refining E Alert is issued twice per month to registered
subscribers. It is not to be resent to others. Each subscriber must be
registered. The first subscription is $950/yr. and additional subscribers are
$90/yr. The newsletter is free for those who subscribe to
N049 Oil, Gas, Shale and Refining Markets and Projects.
There is a 30 percent discount for those building an Opportunity Creation
package with one or more of the market reports and one or more of the E Alerts.
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
#1259 – February 12, 2016
Table of Contents
COAL – US
·
TVA completes Scrubber installation at Gallatin, TN Power Plant
·
B&W awarded $18 Million Contract for Reheater Replacement at Coal-fired Pawnee
Generating Station
·
Regulator fines Duke Energy nearly $7 Million for Coal Ash Spill
COAL – WORLD
·
ICVL launches Tender for 200 MW Pit-head Power Project in Mozambique
·
SSE may close Three Units at Fiddler’s Ferry Coal-fired Power Plant
·
Coal-fired Power Station expansion in Jerada, Morocco
·
Safi 1,386 MW Coal-fired Power Station under Construction in Cap Ghir Safi,
Morocco
·
Dr. Narla Tata Rao 800 MW Power Plant Expansion in Andhra Pradesh, India
·
Proposed 552 MW Coal-fired Power Station in Lanao del Norte Province,
Philippines
·
Adani's Coal Mine clears Australia Environmental hurdle
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.
Bob McIlvaine
President
847-784-0012 ext. 112
rmcilvaine@mcilvainecompany.com
www.mcilvainecompany.com