Coal-to-Liquids and Coal-to-Gas Creates a Big New Market for Sedimentation and Centrifugation Products

Despite the drop in oil prices, the programs to convert coal-to-liquids and coal-to-gases continues.  Centrifuges, clarifiers, hydrocyclones and other sedimentation equipment will play a major role in both process separation and wastewater purification.

The largest program is in China where more than one billion tons of coal per year are slated for conversion.  Other Asian countries are moving ahead with coal to chemicals plants.  The Ukraine has five plants underway to reduce dependence on Russian gas.

Direct coal liquefaction uses grinding, hydrogenation and separation. Centrifuges and clarifiers provide process separation.  Indirect liquefaction and coal to gas utilize gasification.  The big use of centrifuges and clarifiers are in water and wastewater treatment.

The economics and environmental impact of coal conversion can be greatly enhanced by rare earth recovery.  In the past, an outside source of acid to leach the rare earths has been needed.  McIlvaine Company believes this expenditure can be avoided.

By using the chlorine in coal, the rare earths can be extracted in what the McIlvaine Company believes to be simply the marriage of two proven system.

Making hydrochloric acid from coal is not a new idea. Using this technology for rare earth leaching is new.  The particulate and HCl emanating from the gasifer are captured in a venturi scrubber. This is already the scheme used for the GE gasifier. However, the proposed design recirculates acid to achieve a 30 percent dirty acid concentration.  A bleed stream with the flyash and acid is then sent to a tank for further leaching.  A number of additional separation steps are then needed to produce the rare earths from the flyash.  So this separation is another opportunity for centrifuge and clarifier suppliers.  For more on N005 Sedimentation and Centrifugation World Markets, click on:   http://home.mcilvainecompany.com/index.php/markets/2-uncategorised/119-n005

Power Plants Need to Think Outside the Box in Dealing with Obsolescence

The semiconductor industry has been reinventing itself continually. Moore’s law predicted that the number of transistors per square inch on integrated circuits had doubled every year since the integrated circuit was invented and would continue to do so. The opposite is true for coal-fired boiler power plants in the U.S.  Most were built between 1950-1980 and are no more efficient now than when they were installed.  Whereas the Chinese assume an economic life for a coal-fired power plant of 25 years, the U.S. tends to act as if the economic life is 50 years or more.

Most of the blame for this lack of progress falls on the regulators but some is also due to the philosophy of the operators. They have not been able to think outside the box.  The focus has been on power generation rather than supply of useful products.   A common attitude is “we are not a chemical plant and do not want to be in the chemical business.”  The steam plumes emanating from cooling towers and stacks are a combination of wasted heat and water which could be used by co-generating partners.  Power plants should think outside the box and consider a product mix which includes:

·       Electricity

·       Steam

·       Chemicals

·       Building materials

·       Tipping fees for disposal of solid biomass waste from municipal and other sources.

Steam: There is an initiative to reduce coal-fired power plant CO₂ emissions by 30 percent over the next several decades. This can be achieved by shutting down 30 percent of the capacity or it can be achieved through cogeneration.  Great Rivers Energy has demonstrated that by building the Blue Flint Ethanol plant on-site and through the new Spiritwood plant that it can achieve the 30 percent reduction in greenhouse gases for the combined power and cogeneration sources.

A new hot gas filtration technology produces clean gas at 850^oF.  This will reduce parasitic energy for air pollution control and also allow efficient extraction of the heat in the flue gas. Industrial power plants have embraced this new technology but the power industry has not.

Chemicals: Last week McIlvaine observed that two technologies (leaching rare earths from flyash with hydrochloric acid and two-stage scrubbing producing hydrochloric acid and gypsum) can be combined to supply a very economical route for the U.S. to be self-sufficient in rare earth production. Other options include fertilizers such as ammonium sulfate and various forms of sulfur.

Powders:  Many power plants already produce gypsum used in wallboards. However, there are products with higher revenue potential. Finely, ground pure gypsum can replace precipitated calcium carbonate for paper coatings in magazines and other glossy publications.  Rather than produce gypsum, power plants can produce a chemically fixed landfill product which encapsulates toxics and reduces expenditures for wastewater treatment.

Solid waste tipping fees:  New combustion techniques to gasify municipal solid waste offer a way for utilities to generate revenues from tipping fees, reduce coal consumption and reduce NO_x by introducing the gasified waste as a reburn fuel above the primary firing zone.  Since air pollution systems on coal-fired power plants must already remove air toxics, there would not be any additional pollution control capital expense.

McIlvaine is presenting these options with a series of initiatives including:

·       Weekly webinars:  Hot Topic Hour Schedule and Recordings

·       Free websites:  Continuous Analyses

·       Free knowledge systems for power plant operators:  Power Plant Systems and Components

·       Subscription services for suppliers: Power Plant Air Quality Decisions, Utility Tracking System, Chinese Utility Plans and Utility People

·       Market reports:  FGD World Markets, Utility Mercury Air Reduction Markets,  Fossil & Nuclear Power Generation: World Analysis & Forecast and  Fabric Filter World Markets

Headlines for Utility E-Alert –February 27, 2015

UTILITY E-ALERT

#1212– February 27, 2015

Table of Contents

COAL – US

·       PUCO rejects Deal to have Ratepayers subsidize a Coal-fired Power Plant

COAL – WORLD

·       ECC released for Power Plant in Cadiz, Philippines

·       Siemens upgrades I&C System of GE Steam Turbines in South Korea

·       OPGS Power's 300 MW Coal-based Power Plant Ready

GAS/OIL – US

·       Siemens to supply Gas Turbines for Holland, MI Combined Cycle Power Plant

·       Toshiba Steam Generator in Operation at Kemper IGCC Power Plant

·       El Paso nears completion of First Two 88 MW Gas-fired Units at Montana Power Plant

·       Proposed Natural Gas-fired Power Plant in Texas moves forward

GAS/OIL – WORLD

·       Scottish Parliament Members to call for New Gas-fired Power Station at Longannet, Fife

·       Wärtsilä signs Contract with Shanghai Electric for Emission Reductions to Maltese Power Plant

·       Alfa Laval wins Order to supply Compact Heat Exchangers to Middle East Power Plant

NUCLEAR

·       Construction of Belarusian Nuclear Power Plants on Schedule

·       Kudankulam Nuclear Units 2 and 3 to break Ground in 2015-16

·       GDF Suez wants Areva to deliver Nuclear Reactors

BUSINESS

·       European Commission opens an in-depth probe of GE's takeover of Alstom's Power Division

·       AFS and Filtration News join McIlvaine in creating a New Route to Market for You

·       Major Shifts in the Market for Thermal Treatment of Stack Gases

HOT TOPIC HOUR

·       Mercury Hot Topic Hour February 26 explores Ways to optimize Performance

·       “Mercury Measurement and Capture” Hot Topic Hour continues on March 5^th, 2015

·       Upcoming Hot Topic Hours

For more information on the Utility Tracking System, click on:  http://home.mcilvainecompany.com/index.php/databases/2-uncategorised/89-42ei

“Power Plant Wastewater Treatment Options and Obstacles Expand” – “Hot Topic Hour” March 12, 2015

New effluent guidelines will require investments by utilities to discharge cleaner wastewater.  The air toxic rules are causing airborne metals to be captured in scrubbers. This results in the need to remove selenium, mercury and other toxics from the wastewater discharges.

The difficulty and time to obtain a discharge permit is leading many GTCC plant builders to invest in zero liquid discharge systems.   They may also utilize treated municipal wastewater. New solid waste rules will eliminate power plant ash ponds.

McIlvaine is addressing all the options and obstacles in “Power Plant Systems and Components.”  A series of webinars on power plant water and wastewater are being recorded and included in the service.  Live discussions are enhanced by questions and comments from participants. So join us on March 12 and hear the following presenters:

Jeffrey Tate, President, Agape Water Solutions

Brian M. Clarke, P.E., Water Treatment Project Manager, Kiewit Engineering & Design Co. 

Barbara Carney, Chemical Engineer, Department of Energy, National Energy Technology Laboratory 

Caroline Dale, Principal Engineer - Biological Processes, WATER TECHNOLOGIES, Veolia Water North America 

Click here for the Subscriber and Power Plant or Cement Plant Owner/Operator Registration Form

Click here for the Non-Subscribers Registration Form        

Hot Topic Hour Registration

On Thursdays at 10:00 a.m. Central time, McIlvaine hosts a 90 minute web meeting on important energy and pollution control subjects.  These Webinars are free of charge to owner/operators of the plants. They are also free to McIlvaine Subscribers of Power Plant Air Quality Decisions and Utility Tracking System.  The cost for others is $300.00 per webinar.

See below for information on upcoming Hot Topic Hours.  We welcome your input relative to suggested additions.

Click here for the Subscriber and Power Plant or Cement Plant Owner/Operator Registration Form

Click here for the Non-Subscribers Registration Form           

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You can register for our free McIlvaine Newsletters at: http://home.mcilvainecompany.com/index.php?option=com_rsform&formId=5

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