FGD WORLD MARKET
UPDATE

November 2012

McIlvaine Company
www.mcilvainecompany.com

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Court Vacates Cross-State Air Pollution Rule
Great Plains Plans Emissions Control at La Cygne, Montrose, and Sibley
B&W Beijing to Supply Boilers and Wet FGD to 1200 Thai Binh II in Vietnam
NE, WY, and MI SIPs for Regional Haze
AES Gener’s Angamos Power Plant in Chile
Minnesota Power Given Time to Create Plan for Taconite Harbor and Hoyt Lakes
Settlement with Dairyland Power Coop. Results in $150 Million in APC Equipment
Extension of Deadline for Promulgating Area Designations for SO2 NAAQS
China Adopts World-Class Emissions Standards for Coal-fired Power Plants
Beneficial Byproducts from Coal are Important
CFB Scrubber at Whelan 2 Consistently Performing at Performance Testing Levels for SO2 and Opacity
China and U.S. Need to Share Information on Furnace Sorbent Injection
"FGD Scrubber Components" was the Hot Topic on November 8, 2012
Wisconsin Power & Light to Add FGD at Edgewater 5
Progress Energy to Retire Cape Fear and H. B. Robinson in 2012
Neumann Systems Scrubber for Martin Drake Is Back on Track
Orot Rabin 5 and 6 FGD Retrofit Utilizes Multi-functional Chimney Configuration
Allied Environmental to Install CFB Scrubber/Fabric Filter at Big Stone
Allied Environmental to Supply CFB Absorber/Fabric Filter to Empire District Ashbury
EPA Proposes to Revise the NAAQS for Fine Particles
Shaw to Install DSI System at Boardman
Minnesota Power Says Further Study Needed Before Old Units Are Retired
B&W PGG to Supply SDA Systems for 835 MW Campbell 3
Scrubber at 800-MW Big Sandy on Hold
Miller FGDs Completed Ahead of Schedule and Within Budget
Emission Controls Planned for 585-MW Boswell 4
Kincaid to Retrofit SBC Injection
Ameren Wants until 2020 to Meet SO2 Limits
Weston 3 to Retrofit ReACT
Status of FGD in India
ERG Delivered Polishing FGD for Ferrybridge Carbon Capture Project
ADA-ES CyClean System for Cyclone-fired Boilers Firing PRB Coal
Dry Scrubber Users 2012 Conference


Many projects are detailed in monthly updates under Industry Analysis in this Report’s Chapters. Click on the links below to view information on these projects.

Fossil and Nuclear Power Generation: World Analysis and Forecast




Court Vacates Cross-State Air Pollution Rule
In an opinion issued August 21, two judges on a three-judge panel for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia rejected and vacated EPA’s Cross-State Air Pollution Rule. This rule was finalized in July 2011, and required 28 states in the East, Midwest, and South to reduce emissions of SO2 and NOx that cross state lines and worsen air quality in downwind states.

"EPA's Transport Rule exceeds the agency's statutory authority in two independent respects," wrote Judge Brett Kavanaugh of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in the decision. The rule violates the Clean Air Act by requiring states to reduce their emissions by more than their own significant contributions to downwind states' nonattain¬ment of air quality standards, according to the decision. And the agency did not allow states the opportunity to meet their "good neighbor" obligations before imposing its own Federal Implementation Plans, Kavanaugh wrote.

The Cross-State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR) was EPA’s attempt to fix an earlier version, the 2005 Clean Air Interstate Rule (CAIR), which was thrown out by the D.C. Court of Appeals in 2008. Analysts suggested that it would take several years to rewrite the rule that was rejected. In the meantime, the Court said that “EPA [will] continue to administer CAIR pending its development of a valid replacement.”

Great Plains Plans Emissions Control at La Cygne, Montrose, and Sibley
Great Plains Energy and its subsidiary, Kansas City Power & Light (KCP&L) said they will spend approximately $1 billion to bring three coal-fired power plants into compliance with U.S. Environmental Protection Agency emissions rules, but that estimate may change. The work includes a wet scrubber, baghouse and activated carbon injection on Unit 1 and a SCR system, wet scrubber, baghouse, activated carbon injection, overfire air, low NOx burners on Unit 2 at La Cygne coal-fired power plant; a full air quality control system (AQCS) on Unit 3 at the Montrose coal-fired power plant and a scrubber and baghouse on Unit 3 at the Sibley coal-fired power plant.

B&W Beijing to Supply Boilers and Wet FGD to 1200 Thai Binh II in Vietnam
Babcock & Wilcox Beijing Co. (BWBC) has secured a $300 million subcontract from Daelim Industrial Co. to supply equipment for PetroVietnam’s 1200-MW Thai Binh II power plant which is being built in Vietnam. Under the terms of the contract, BWBC will design and manufacture two 600-MW boilers, boiler auxiliaries and two wet FGD units for the coal-fired power plant. Zhejiang Tiandi Environmental Protection Engineering Co., a licensee of B&W, will supply both wet FGD units for the project. BWBC General Manager Paul Li said, "We look forward to delivering reliable equipment using B&W's technology and doing our part to make the Thai Binh project a success." The two units are expected to be completed and in operation in 2016.

NE, WY, and MI SIPs for Regional Haze
EPA partially approved and partially disapproved the Nebraska SIP for regional haze (Final). EPA says the state improperly rejected DSI for Gerald Gentleman 1 and 2. EPA’s FIP relies on the Transport Rule as alternative to BART for SO2 for Gerald Gentleman 1 and 2.

EPA proposed a limited approval/disapproval for Wyoming’s SIP because of the NOx BART for Jim Bridger 3 and 4. The SIP and FIP require the following controls: Jim Bridger 3, 4—SCR, Naughton 3—SCR, Laramie 1, 2, 3—SNCR, Dave Johnston 3—SNCR, and Wyodak 1—SNCR.

EPA proposed a limited approval/disapproval for Michigan’s SIP. The FIP requires St. Mary's Cement to install SNCR.

AES Gener’s Angamos Power Plant in Chile
AES Gener recently completed construction of twin coal-fired (blend bituminous and subbituminous) 260-MW units at Angamos in Chile. POSCO Engineering & Construction was the EPC contractor, Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction supplied the boilers with low-NOx burners, and Ansaldo Energia provided the steam turbines. The plant has seawater cooling towers.

The AQCS includes ESP, fabric filter and a spray dryer absorber to remove 95 percent of the SO2. This plant was the first of its kind in South America and was designed to meet Chilean standards from 2010. Emission limits are NOx 500 mg/Nm3, SO2 200 mg/Nm3 and PM10 50 mg/Nm3.

Minnesota Power Given Time to Create Plan for Taconite Harbor and Hoyt Lakes
The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission went on record saying they believe it’s in everyone’s best interest — economically and environmentally — to retire or repower Minnesota Power’s old power plants at Taconite Harbor and Hoyt Lakes by the end of 2016. But the commission stopped short of ordering that move, instead giving Minnesota Power until March 1 to come up with a plan for the power plants on which the board can take action.

“We’re really pleased with today’s action,” Amy Rutledge, Minnesota Power spokeswoman, said. “Everyone agrees that some timely decisions are coming on these facilities and what their future is. … But we really needed more time to look at the impacts on our reliability, our customers’ rates … and the socioeconomic impacts on the communities where these facilities are located.”

Settlement with Dairyland Power Coop. Results in $150 Million in APC Equipment
The U.S. EPA and the U.S. Dept of Justice (DOJ) announced a Clean Air Act (CAA) settlement with Dairyland Power Cooperative (DPC) that will cover the utility’s three power plants in Alma and Genoa, WI. DPC has agreed to invest approximately $150 million in pollution control technology. The settlement will also require that DPC spend $5 million on environmental mitigation projects and pay a civil penalty of $950,000.

Under the settlement, DPC must install air pollution control (APC) technology on its three largest units, will be required to continuously operate the new and existing pollution controls and will be required to comply with stringent emission rates and annual tonnage limitations. The settlement also requires DPC to permanently retire three additional coal-fired units at the Alma plant, which have been out of operation since last year. The actions taken by DPC will result in annual reductions of SO2 by 23,000 tons and NOx by 6000 tons from 2008 levels, in addition to significant reductions of particulate matter emissions. This settlement covers all seven coal-fired boilers at DPC’s three power plants.

Extension of Deadline for Promulgating Area Designations for SO2 NAAQS
The EPA announced that it is using its authority under the Clean Air Act (CAA) to extend by up to one year the deadline for promulgating initial area designations for the primary SO2 National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) that was promulgated in June 2010. With this extension, the EPA is now required to complete initial designations for this NAAQS by June 3, 2013.

China Adopts World-Class Emissions Standards for Coal-fired Power Plants
China’s new state-of-the-art national air pollution standards for thermal power plants went into effect January 1, 2012, replacing standards that had been in effect since 2003. Not only are these standards much more stringent than the previous standards, but they bring Chinese power plant regulation generally in line with developed world standards. This is true for both new and existing power plants. The new Chinese law gives existing power plants a 2½-year grace period to meet the new standards, but then all existing plants will be subject to the new standard. Older plants will also see a tightened standard (and sometimes stricter than the U.S. or the EU).

There are separate standards for oil and natural gas-fired power plants, with the oil standards being at least as strict as coal and the natural gas standards much stricter. However, since most of China’s power generation comes from coal, the coal standards are the most relevant to addressing China’s air pollution challenges. The chart in Figure 1 compares China’s new standards to the U.S. and EU standards for coal-fired power plants.

Figure 1 - China, EU, and U.S. Coal-fired Power Plant Standards
(all units mg/m3)


China European Union United States
NOx New Plants 100 500 until 12/31/2015, then 200 117
Existing Plants
(defined in China as built 1/1/04-12/3/11,in U.S. as built after 2/28/05) 100 500 until 12/31/2015, then 200 117
Existing Plants
(defined in China as built before 1/1/04, in U.S. as built before 2/28/05) 200 500 until 12/31/2015, then 200 160 (built between 1997-2005) 640 (built between 1978-1996)
SO2 New Plants 100 200 160 (built after 2005)
Existing Plants (28 provinces)
four provinces with high-sulfur coal 200
400 400 160 (built between 1997-2005) 640 (built between 1978-1996)
Particulates New and Existing Plants 30 50, with an exception of 100 for low-quality coal (e.g., lignite) 22.5
Mercury New and Existing Plants 0.03 0.03 (A German standard only. No EU-wide standard) New: 0.001 (bituminous, gangue), 0.005 (lignite)
Existing: 0.002 (bituminous, gangue), 0.006 (lignite)


Not only are the new standards strict, but they are even more stringent for new power plants in large regions that have the most serious air pollution problems. In regions designated by China’s Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP) as having severe air pollution problems, the limits will be 50 mg/m3 for SO2, 100 mg/m3 for NOx and 20 mg/m3 for particulates.

These new regulations are a major commitment to environmental investment by China. The Chinese government estimates compliance with the new MEP standards will require power companies to invest about $41 billion to upgrade pollution abatement equipment, and the annual operating cost for NOx control equipment alone will be around $9.6 billion (RMB 61.2 billion). To pay for the investment, on December 1, China’s National Development and Reform Commission raised electricity prices for industrial users by RMB 0.03 (or 0.47 U.S. cents) per kWh. This increase includes RMB 0.008 for NOx control. This supports both the costs of the environmental investments and operating costs, and it raises the price of coal-fired power, increasing the incentives for efficiency and making renewable energy more competitive.

Beneficial Byproducts from Coal are Important
Participants in the McIlvaine Hot Topic Hour July 26 agreed that beneficial reuse of the more than 100 million tons of coal ash is important enough to affect U.S. competitiveness in the world. In the Hot Topic the week before it was established that the U.S. is burning 21 quads of coal today and that EIA and McIlvaine predict it will be burning 21 quads in 2035. How the ash disposal issue is addressed will be critical to the cost of electricity.

Tom Adams, Executive Director of American Coal Ash Association (ACAA), updated the group on the latest regulatory developments. A house bill allowing coal combustion wastes to be treated similarly to municipal wastes, passed the house and was favorably viewed in the Senate. However it appears that passage would be delayed until 2013. In the meantime there is substantial cost to the nation in deterring progress in beneficial reuse of the coal combustion byproducts.

Robert Spoerri, President and CEO of Beneficial Reuse Management LLC, says gypsum “has now been demonstrated to provide agronomic, economic and environmental benefits to farmers when used as a soil amendment and nutrient source.” For those utilities producing FGD gypsum, this emerging market represents a beneficial use opportunity that could reduce disposal costs and generate revenue. Gypsum improves certain crops such as peanuts and tomatoes. The number of no till farmers using gypsum has tripled. Gypsum holds water, preventing run off and nutrient loss.

While there are significant challenges to developing this new market, interest and demand is growing and now is a good time to assess the opportunity. The potential use of gypsum for agricultural uses is as much as 0.5 tons/yr x 329 million acres. Even realization of a small portion of this potential would have a big effect on the market.

Robert Tang, President and CEO of CEFCO Global Clean Energy LLC, explained that the recently-patented CEFCO process separately captures all emitted pollutants and CO2 in flue gas into distinct end-product groupings: metals (including mercury) into neutralized and sellable form; SOx into potassium sulfate fertilizer; NOx into potassium nitrate fertilizer, and CO2 into a bicarbonate solid which can be liberated as "pure" food-grade CO2 for many practical uses, including making Syngas and Liquid Fuels.

Dr. Robert (Bob) B. Bruce, President of Innogyps Inc., believes that higher value gypsum products can be produced. Although it would appear that FGD gypsum usage has plateaued, a simple analysis of the basic economics of the gypsum industry shows how more FGD materials can be sold for better prices, improving both the environmental and financial position of FGD scrubber operators. High quality plasters are one of the potential products.

The market in China is just emerging. The current five year plan incorporates closure of old gypsum mines and a switch to FGD gypsum. Given the huge amount of limestone used in Chinese FGD scrubbers and the growing recognition of the fire retardant benefits of wallboard, there is going to be rapidly increasing beneficial use of Chinese FGD gypsum

Amy Evans, Director of Technology at Marsulex, discussed the commercially-viable process for FGD using ammonia as a reagent and producing commercial grade ammonium sulfate (AS). The benefits of the AS-WFGD technology include: operational reliability and SO2 scrubbing equal to or greater than conventional wet FGD; offsets to a portion of the yearly operating costs derived by the sale of the AS fertilizer by-product; and the CO2 friendly nature of the process as, unlike calcium-based wet FGD, no CO2 is produced in the SO2 absorption process.

There is now considerable experience with the system — Dakota Gasification, Syncrude, some Chinese installations and now a big installation in Poland. A chart of the difference between purchased ammonia and ammonium sulfate sales price over time reveals that it is consistently around $100/ton. This is enough to make byproduct sales a major factor in total costs and to make the system competitive with others in areas where ammonia is available and there is a demand for the fertilizer.

CFB Scrubber at Whelan 2 Consistently Performing at Performance Testing Levels for SO2 and Opacity
A Circulating Fluidized Bed (CFB) Scrubber was installed at Public Power Generation Agency’s new 250-MW PRB-fired Whelan Unit 2 (WEC2). The Allied Environmental Solutions CFB scrubber is based on Lurgi technology. The process can achieve greater than 98+ percent SO2, SO3/H2SO4, HCl and HF capture on high sulfur fuels with greater reliability and less maintenance than either wet or semidry spray dryer absorber systems. The process is totally “dry,” reported Mark Bleckinger of Black & Veatch, Marty Stange of Public Power Generation Agency, and Paul Petty of Allied Environmental Solutions at the Mega Symposium 2012.

The utilization of reagent (hydrated lime, either delivered by truck or hydrated on-site from pebble lime) is improved by evaporative cooling of the flue gas to within 30o F of adiabatic saturation and retaining the calcium in the process for typically 30 minutes of contact with the SO2. Above the venturis, cooling water spray is injected independently from the introduction of fresh reagent and recirculated byproduct.

Typical Allied CFB scrubber characteristics are as follows:

• Extremely long solids retention time that allows high concentrations of gaseous pollutants to be absorbed with very efficient lime utilization.

• Continuous abrasion of the lime particle surface, removing inactive calcium sulfate (CaSO4) surfaces that cover active lime particle cores.

• Operating temperatures with a close approach to the water dew point can be achieved, providing a high utilization of the reagent.

• Wastewater can be used for water injection, which improves desulfurization and dust collection. The water injection is independent from the reagent feed required for desulfurization.

• High turndown to below 30 percent maximum continuous rating (MCR) can be achieved through the use of clean-gas recirculation or other similar proven means.

The Whelan system employs a vessel constructed of carbon steel, seven venturi nozzles, a gravity-feed type air-slide system for ash recycle, pebble lime as reagent, a Pfeiffer multi-chamber lime hydrator, mechanical classifier, and hydrated lime silo with seven day storage capacity.

The results of performance testing are shown in Figure 2. Over the first year of operation WEC2 has been able to consistently maintain SO2 and opacity emissions levels at or near the levels seen during the initial compliance tests. Maintenance includes:

Figure 2 - Compliance Testing Results at Whelan 2 CFB Scrubber

Constituent Units PSD Permit Limit Compliance Test Result

PM (filterable) lb/MBtu <0.004
PM (total) lb/MBtu 0.018 0.004
SO2 lb/MBtu 0.12 0.09
H2SO4 lb/h 0.8 0.6
HF lb/MBtu 0.0004 0.0003
HCl lb/h 1.8 0.7
Opacity % 20 3.4


• The spray water lances are pulled out every Tuesday and Thursday for inspection and cleaning.

• The hydration system is checked on a weekly basis for buildup of material and cleaning of the individual components is completed as required. When the hydration system trips off-line, it requires intensive maintenance to clean out.

• At every outage, flyash is vacuumed from the scrubber inlet ductwork, downstream of the ESP. Typically, two to three feet of flyash is removed using a vacuum truck.

It has been noted that the CFB scrubber system is able to mitigate upset conditions such as spikes in coal sulfur levels or an interruption in hydrated lime feed. It is believed that this is due to the residual mass of hydrated lime, flyash and byproducts within the CFB scrubber and pulse jet fabric filter. The large amount of recirculating material contains a large amount of reactive hydrated lime, allowing the CFB scrubber to mitigate upset conditions for short periods of time without significant impacts on outlet SO2 emissions.

China and U.S. Need to Share Information on Furnace Sorbent Injection
The markets for dry injection of sorbents are accelerating due to the new air toxic rules for coal-fired boilers in the U.S. However, much of the experience with this technology resides in China. In fact furnace sorbent injection (FSI) was installed on two pulverized coal-fired boilers at the Nanjing Xiaguan Power Plant in 1998 and operated for 10 years. Thirty suppliers are furnishing FSI systems for small and medium size boilers. Guangzhou Yueshou has installed 45 systems with a combined capacity of 1620 MW. In general these systems use ground limestone which is calcined in the furnace. The most common boiler on which they are applied is the CFB.

Regulations requiring much greater SO2 efficiency have been promulgated for both small and large boilers. This means that those with low removal efficiency FSI system will be looking for better solutions. Plants with wet scrubbers which are not meeting the new standard are also looking at sorbent injection rather than the expense and more importantly the lost production from the construction period necessary to add extra spray sections to the wet scrubbers.

Chinese and U.S. companies need to compare notes relative to a number of issues. Existing precipitators are negatively impacted when the SO3 is absorbed and makes the flyash more resistive. The additional particulate load presents issues relative to removing the combined ash and reagent from the precipitator hoppers. The use of trona rather than lime can positively impact precipitator performance but can result in salability issues for the flyash.

Fabric filters are unaffected by changes in ash resistivity. Furthermore the capture of SO3 is important to prevent acid condensation and plugging. However, very few power plants in China or the U.S. have fabric filters.

There are a number of innovative ways to utilize sorbents introduced. Furnace injection is one. Another is injection ahead of the air preheater (primarily for SO3 capture) and a third is ahead of the scrubber where the unreacted sorbent reaching the scrubber will then be utilized in the scrubber recycle.

"FGD Scrubber Components" was the Hot Topic on November 8, 2012
Although this Hot Topic Hour was originally intended to focus on components for the typical FGDs being constructed today, we broadened the subject matter to include two new technologies that we felt would be of considerable interest to our audience: A proven method for removing aerosols and particles down to 0.1 microns that can be installed after an FGD and a new proven technology that could replace conventional scrubbers.

The first speaker, Doug Reinke, Vice-president of Sales & Marketing at Augusta Fiberglass, did focus on FRP fiberglass components for FGDs, ducts and stack liners. He presented an overview of Augusta’s innovative technology and impressive capabilities to fabricate very large FRP components, either in the field or in their shop. In the last eight years, they have made 53 stack liners in the field with individual sections up to 52 feet in diameter and 42 feet tall that are then assembled (stacked up) to the desired height. They have also produced over 11 miles of FRP ducts. Tanks up to 45 feet in diameter can be fabricated at their plant and transported over the road. Doug pointed out the advantages of FRP and how on-site manufacture and assembly can be very cost effective.

Following Doug’s presentation was Chris Pedersen, Chief Executive Officer of Kimre, Inc. He described Kimre’s patented technology that utilizes an interlaced mesh of small diameter thermoplastic fibers for process fluid separation and particulate removal. The thermoplastic fibers eliminate problems associated with corrosion, contamination, and erosion. The lightweight material is flexible, offers exact fit and is easy to install, remove, and maintain. Chris showed examples of the filters being easily cleaned with a high-pressure water jet and even being crushed by car tires to remove dried plaster in them. After this rough cleaning treatment the filters resume their original shape and performance. The media will continue to perform as originally designed for up to 25 years even after many cleaning operations.

Kimre offers the AEROSEP® Multi-Stage Aerosol Separation System to collect submicron particulates which are hygroscopic using the principles of condensation scrubbing. Aerosols as small as 0.2 microns in diameter pass through gas conditioning stages and particle growth stage within the AEROSEP® system before being collected by a final entrainment separator stage.

Chris cited many examples dating back to 1988 where this technology has been applied in very difficult environments for aerosol and sub-micron particulate removal. Kimre has until now been focused on industrial chemical applications including aerosol and particulate scrubbers at phosphoric acid, urea and fluorine plants, tail gas scrubbers at sulfuric acid plants and scrubbers at waste incinerators. Chris would now like to promote their SFX™ and AEROSEP® technologies for sub-micron aerosol and particulate removal to coal-fired power plants and is looking for a partner for this industry.

The final speaker was Rob Fredell Vice-president for Business Development at Neumann Systems Group, Inc. He described their wet flue gas desulfurization technology called NeuStream® SO2 capture and processing system. The system uses an advanced flat-jet liquid gas contactor and a proven dual-alkali capture system -- sodium-based absorbent fluid and a low-cost calcium reagent for precipitation (lime, limestone). The technology has been in use since 1980. Up to 97 percent SOx removal, up 98 percent HCl and 90 percent Hg2+ can be achieved for plants burning either low or high sulfur coal. The technology has been validated by EPRI at a 20 MW coal-fired power plant and EPRI concluded that it can be easily scaled up for larger plants.

Rob described the many advantages that this technology has over any other FGD system or technology except perhaps DSI. DSI is more cost-effective for plants expected to operate for only five years or less. The NeuStream® is about a tenth the size of other scrubbers and modular so it can be quickly and easily assembled on-site. But more importantly it uses considerably less water, has zero water discharge and has significantly less parasitic power loss than other FGDs. Rob presented charts that showed that the capital cost for the NeuStream® was about 50 percent less than for other conventional scrubber systems and the operating cost was about 60 percent that of conventional scrubbers.

The entire November 8 recording can be heard at:
FGD Scrubber Components 85 minutes Password: hth263

Bios, Abstracts and Photos can be seen at
BIOS, ABSTRACTS, PHOTOS - NOVEMBER 8, 2012.htm

The individual presentations are as follows:

 FGD Scrubber Components - Webinar - Hot Topic Hour November 8, 2012

 AEROSEP® Sub-Micron-Aerosol Removal technology by George "Chris" Pedersen, Kimre - Hot Topic Hour November 8, 2012.

 FRP Fiberglass Components for FGDs by Doug Reinke, Augusta Fiberglass - Hot Topic Hour November 8, 2012

 Advanced wet flue gas desulfurization technology known as NeuStream®, by Rob Fredell - Hot Topic Hour November 8, 2012

Wisconsin Power & Light to Add FGD at Edgewater 5
Wisconsin Power & Light says it will shut down its coal-fired power plant at Cassville in southwest Wisconsin and it plans to add FGD at a coal-fired facility in Sheboygan. Alliant asked the Public Service Commission for the okay to add around $400 million in pollution controls at Edgewater 5 in order to reduce SO2 emissions by 90 percent. It will shut down Edgewater 3 as well as the Cassville facility (Nelson Dewey). The company says it’s still deciding whether to shut down Edgewater 4 or re-tool it to burn natural gas.

Progress Energy to Retire Cape Fear and H. B. Robinson in 2012
Progress Energy Carolinas, a subsidiary of Duke Energy, will accelerate the retirement of one North Carolina coal-fired power plant previously slated for closing in 2013 and will retire the utility's only coal-fired unit in South Carolina. The 316-MW Cape Fear coal-fired power plant and the 177-MW H. B. Robinson 1 coal-fired power plant will be retired Oct. 1, 2012. Both will remain online through the summer season to help meet heightened electricity demand.

Neumann Systems Scrubber for Martin Drake Is Back on Track
Citizen complaints temporarily caused a slowdown on the project to install scrubbers at Martin Drake. The Colorado Springs Utilities (CSU) board of directors voted earlier this summer to slow down the project while the utility studied the option of shutting the power plant down. However a green light has been given based on the fact that this power plant provides the lowest cost electricity of any in the CSU system. Neumann planned to start construction on the project in June and to begin testing the full-sized NeuStream system in the first quarter of 2014. CSU has to meet new SO2 emissions requirements set by the EPA by 2017.

Orot Rabin 5 and 6 FGD Retrofit Utilizes Multi-functional Chimney Configuration
Israel Electric Corp. (IEC) is in an advanced implementation stage of a project which incorporates installation of environmental measures at ten existing coal-fired units by 2016. Each unit will be equipped with firing system upgrades, FGD and flue gas conditioning systems (FGC).

Units 5 and 6 at Orot Rabin Power Station (2 x 575 MW) will incorporate a new unique multi-functional chimney configuration. See Figure 4. The key advantage of this application is the compact space footprint involving land saving of 30 percent at the Mediterranean Seashore, reported Zvi Steg and Ari Grinberg of Israel Electric Corp. at PowerGen Europe, June 2012.

FIGURE 4. Unique Compact Application




Full multi-disciplinary engineering was performed by Israel Electric Corp., Engineering Division. Commonwealth Dynamics is the stack erection contractor and Doosan is the FGD system supplier. Foundations have been completed and the chimney shell is currently in the advanced stages of construction. The project is scheduled to be commissioned in April 2014.

Units 5 and 6 of the Orot Rabin power station will incorporate a unique multi-functional chimney configuration. The application will include installation of FGD auxiliary systems in the bottom plenum (32-m diameter) of a 250-meter stack, utilizing full capacity of its infrastructure, while implementing two conventional FRP flue gas ducts (7-m diameter each) at the chimney upper part, one for each unit.

Stack outline will incorporate:

• Multi-compartment limestone and gypsum storage systems,
• Limestone truck loading, conveying, grinding, slurry preparation and storage systems,
• Gypsum dewatering systems, conveying systems and truck unloading station,
• Quenching water tank.

Bleed pumps will direct slurry from absorber vessels to primary and secondary hydro-cyclones located in the stack. Wet limestone will be directed in a gravitational manner to vacuum belt filters situated beneath, dried and conveyed to a storage facility of the Euro silo type (3400 m3), as part of the multi-compartment storage region.

Allied Environmental to Install CFB Scrubber/Fabric Filter at Big Stone
The co-owners of the 475-MW Big Stone power plant have awarded Allied Environmental Solutions, Inc. a contract to engineer, design and supply two Circulating Fluid Bed (CFB) Scrubber/Pulse Jet Fabric Filter (PJFF) systems. The scrubber and fabric filter systems are to comply with South Dakota Board of Minerals and Environment approved rules implementing the South Dakota Regional Haze State Implementation Plan (SIP), which requires Big Stone to install and operate a new BART compliant air quality control system to reduce emissions of particulate matter, SO2 and NOx. The new air quality control system must be installed by 2017.

The contract, valued in excess of $40 million, includes two CFB scrubber/PJFF systems, a lime hydration plant to convert pebble lime to hydrated lime and an ash removal and storage system. Allied will be working with Sargent & Lundy, who is the owners’ and balance-of-plant engineer for the project.

Allied Environmental to Supply CFB Absorber/Fabric Filter to Empire District Ashbury
Allied Environmental Solutions, Inc. has also been awarded a contract to engineer, design and supply a CFB scrubber/PJFF system for the Empire District Electric Company’s coal-fired Asbury Power Plant. Mr. Blake Mertens, Vice President – Energy Supply for the Empire District Electric Company, stated, “This addition at the Asbury Power Plant comes as a result of federal clean air mandates and will allow us to continue to utilize this historically lower-cost, reliable generation source to meet the energy needs of our customers.”

Allied’s contract, valued at in excess of $20 million, is with the joint venture of Alberici Constructors, Inc. and Stanley Consultants which are teaming to perform the lump sum Engineer, Procure, Construct (EPC) contract, which has a value of more than $100 million. The contract calls for the new air emissions controls to be operational by February 2015.

Previously, Alberici, Stanley and Allied worked on an air quality control project at the John Twitty Energy Center in Springfield, MO, that was viewed as extremely successful by plant owner City Utilities Springfield Missouri (CUSMO).

EPA Proposes to Revise the NAAQS for Fine Particles
On June 14, 2012, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed to strengthen the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for fine particulate matter (PM2.5). The agency also proposed to retain the existing standards for coarse particulate (PM10). For fine particulate, this proposal would:

• Strengthen the annual health standard for fine particles by setting the standard at a level within the range of 12 micrograms per cubic meter (µg/m3) to 13µg /m3. The current annual standard, 15µg/m3, has been in place since 1997.

• Retain the existing 24-hour fine particle standard at 35µg/m3. EPA set the 24-hour standard in 2006.

• Set a separate fine particle standard to improve visibility, primarily in urban areas. EPA is proposing two options for this 24-hour standard at 30 deciviews or 28 deciviews.

• Retain existing secondary standards for PM2.5 and PM10 identical to primary standards to provide protection against other effects, such as ecological effect, effects on materials, and climate impacts.

For coarse particulate, this proposal would retain the existing 24-hour standard. This standard, with a level of 150µg/m3, has been in place since 1987.

EPA anticipates making attainment/nonattainment designations by December 2014, with those designations likely becoming effective in early 2015. States would have until 2020 (five years after designations are effective) to meet the proposed health standards. Most states are familiar with this process and can build off work they are already doing. EPA will issue final standards by December 14, 2012.

Shaw to Install DSI System at Boardman
The Shaw Group Inc. has been awarded a contract by Portland General Electric to install emissions reduction equipment at the 585-MW coal-fired Boardman Station in northeastern Oregon. Shaw will engineer, procure and construct a dry sorbent injection (DSI) system and balance of plant equipment to reduce SO2 emissions from the power plant.

Minnesota Power Says Further Study Needed Before Old Units Are Retired
Minnesota Power wants to further study a Minnesota Commerce Dept.'s proposal to shut down three of its oldest coal-burning power plants. "To shut down units without a thorough and systematic analysis could put customers at unnecessary risk of higher rates and potential service reliability impacts and have a negative socio-economic effect on host communities," Minnesota Power said in a statement. Earlier this month, the Commerce Dept.'s Energy Resources Division recommended that state regulators require Minnesota Power to shut down its Laskin Units 1 and 2 and Taconite Harbor Unit 3 by 2016. The state agency also said that unless circumstances change, Minnesota Power should shut down its 53-year-old Boswell Unit 1 by 2020. It also said the utility should update the economics of removing Boswell Units 1 and 2 in its current resource plan.

B&W PGG to Supply SDA Systems for 835 MW Campbell 3
Babcock & Wilcox Power Generation Group Inc. (B&W PGG) has been awarded contracts valued at approximately $55 million to design and supply environmental control equipment and design and engineer a boiler economizer for Consumers Energy’s 1450-MW coal-fired J.H. Campbell Generating Complex near West Olive, Michigan. B&W will supply four spray dry absorber (SDA) systems for the 835 MW Campbell Unit 3. B&W also will supply a lime preparation system, ash handling systems and a B&W V-Temp economizer for the power plant.

Scrubber at 800-MW Big Sandy on Hold
American Electric Power withdrew its request to spend $940 million to install environmental equipment to keep its 800-MW Big Sandy 2 coal-fired unit running. Citing changing market conditions over the last few months, AEP spokesman Ronn Robinson said Kentucky Power is "re-evaluating all options." Robinson said the company has determined more generation will be available in the Kentucky market in the 2015-16 time frame than previously thought. "That allows us to review our options and that may still include installing a scrubber," Robinson said. "We can revisit it."

Miller FGDs Completed Ahead of Schedule and Within Budget
Alabama Power contracted Advatech to furnish the FGD systems and supervise the Stebbins absorber installation on 2640-MW Miller units 1 through 4 as part of Southern Co.’s strategy to meet existing requirements that call for additional SO2 reductions at Alabama Power plants.

The double-contact flow scrubber (DCFS) technology installed at Plant Miller is capable of achieving up to 98 percent removal efficiency of SO2 when firing PRB coal. The project included four single-tower DCFS with Jet Air Sparger technology for oxidation. The system uses pre-ground limestone and produces pure wallboard-quality gypsum, and the gypsum by-product is of suitable quality to be sold for commercial use. The plant also uses an SCR system to reduce NOx and electrostatic precipitators to reduce particulate matter.

Southern Co. performed all construction activities except for the absorber plus engineering for balance of plant, and Advatech supplied the FGD engineering and technology. Both companies worked as an integrated team and developed a streamlined expediting and quality program for critical equipment.

The integrated team was able to commission all four units either on or ahead of schedule and within budget. Commercial operation of the units was originally planned over two years, but the new schedule required the team to start up all four units in 13 months. Three of them started up within four months of each other.

Emission Controls Planned for 585-MW Boswell 4
Boswell Unit 4 (585-MW) will reduce emissions of mercury, particulates and SO2, said ALLETE Chairman, President and CEO Al Hodnik. Multi-emission reduction plans and permit applications will be filed with federal and state regulators soon. With requirements for a 90 percent mercury reduction on Boswell Unit 4 by 2018 already in state statute, Minnesota Power has been analyzing a Unit 4 retrofit as pending EPA regulations affecting coal-fired units across the nation are finalized.

Kincaid to Retrofit SBC Injection
Kincaid Generation LLC, a subsidiary of Dominion Resources Inc., awarded the KBR Power & Industrial Group a contract to provide engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) services for a dry sorbent injection (DSI) system to reduce SO2 at its 1158-MW Kincaid coal-fired power plant in Illinois. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. The project will include sodium bicarbonate (SBC) rail unloading facilities, SBC truck unloading facilities, Nol-Tec Systems “Sorb-N-Ject” DSI system, and onsite SBC milling and storage. The project is scheduled for completion in late 2013.

Ameren Wants until 2020 to Meet SO2 Limits
Ameren Corp asked Illinois for more time to meet the state's emissions limits for the utility's coal-fired power plants, as weak power prices makes it uneconomic to pay the high cost of installing environmental controls. "Current market prices simply do not allow further investment in pollution control equipment at this time," Steven Sullivan, President and CEO of Ameren Energy Resources, said in a statement. Ameren asked the Illinois Pollution Control Board to extend the compliance dates for reducing SO2 emissions to Dec. 31, 2020.

Ameren said it has spent more than $1 billion on pollution control equipment that satisfies the state's SO2 emissions limits until 2015 but noted those limits are significantly reduced on Jan. 1, 2015. In February, Ameren announced the deceleration of its planned scrubber project at its 1197-MW Newton coal-fired power plant. "If the requested relief is not granted, we will have to seriously consider mothballing two of our three remaining unscrubbed energy centers on January 1, 2015," said Sullivan. The three unscrubbed energy centers are 1197-MW Newton, 715-MW Edwards and 1002-MW Joppa.

Weston 3 to Retrofit ReACT
Wisconsin Public Service Corp. (WPSC) plans to install a $250 million emissions control system at Weston 3 power plant. WPSC has requested approval from the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin to install Regenerative Activated Coke Technology, or ReACT, at its coal-fired Weston 3 power plant, according to a WPSC news release. A by-product from ReACT is sulfuric acid, commonly used in the fertilizer, paper-making, and other industries.

ReACT will reduce emissions of SO2 and mercury by more than 90 percent and emissions of NOx by more than 20 percent. The technology has been used in Japan and was demonstrated by the Electric Power Research Institute at a power plant in Nevada. Construction will take about three and one half years. The technology is less costly and uses a fraction of the water that wet scrubbers do. Hamon Research-Cottrell Inc. will provide the technology and do the engineering and construction.

Status of FGD in India
FGD is normally not used in power plants in India as Indian coal has a low sulfur content of 0.3 to 0.5 percent. Regulations of the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoE&F) stipulate dispersion from tall stacks. In coal-fired units of 500 MW and above and at stations with total capacity of 1500 to 2000 MW, space must be provided for future FGD installation. In sensitive areas, the MoE&F may require FGD.

Three power plants in India have FGD systems—Tata Power Trombay, Dahanu Power Plant in Maharashtra and Udipi power plant (Karnataka). FGD systems are being built at JSW Ratnagiri, NTPC Bongaigaon, NTPC Vindhyachal V and Adani Power Mundra III.

ERG Delivered Polishing FGD for Ferrybridge Carbon Capture Project
ERG (Air Pollution Control) Ltd has installed a £0.75 million FGD unit at the Ferrybridge power station as part of a one percent slip stream carbon capture pilot project. The ERG system acts as a final flue gas “polishing” stage to reduce SO2 and particulate concentrations to required levels before the flue gas is passed to a downstream “post combustion carbon capture” unit which will remove 100 tonnes of carbon per day. The main components of the ERG system are a two-stage “polishing” tray scrubber and a direct contact packed tower cooler. ERG also supplied recirculation pumps, a fan, scrubbing liquor storage tanks, and ancillary instrumentation and control equipment. The unit will treat about 30,000 m3/hr of flue gas and will remove 80 to 90 percent of the SO2 and particulates. The unit was scheduled to be operational in 2011. The scrubber and the cooler are each 9 meter tall and 2 meter in diameter and are constructed from GRP/polypropylene.

ADA-ES CyClean System for Cyclone-fired Boilers Firing PRB Coal
Helmkamp Construction Co. completed the installation of 14 CyClean Refined Coal Facilities at power plants in ten states. CyClean is ADA-ES’s patented refined coal technology that enhances combustion and reduces emissions of coal burned in cyclone boilers. The process uses a simple storage and conveying system to add a cost-effective granular additive after the coal leaves the power plant’s crusher house, evenly distributing it before combustion. Currently, ADA-ES has two CyClean facilities in operation for two years with Associated Electric Cooperative Thomas Hill and New Madrid.

Most cyclone-fired boilers have switched from their design fuel to PRB coal. This has been done to reduce SO2 emissions, lower NOx levels and reduce fuel costs. These boilers were designed for high sulfur Midwestern bituminous coal and using PRB in them is not without some issues. Common problems experienced by cyclone-fired power plant operators burning PRB coal that can be alleviated with CyClean are:

• Slag layer in cyclone barrel is too thin for good combustion
• “Eyebrows” of slag build up in cyclone
• Slag freezes in the “monkey hole” and won’t tap easily
• More coal burns in suspension and increases flyash loading
• Incomplete combustion raises LOI in flyash
• Less bottom ash produced
• Must blend in bituminous “kicker” coal to unclog slag tap
• Only one or two PRB coals are “acceptable” fuels
• Unit cannot operate at lower load levels without slag tap freeze-up.

Dry Scrubber Users 2012 Conference
The Dry Scrubber Users Association (DSUA) has announced its 5th annual conference, Survive: Managing Dry Scrubber Operations and Maintenance in Troubling Times, to be held September 18-20, 2012 at the Westin Providence in Providence, RI. The objective of the conference is to help operation and maintenance managers identify, prioritize and find solutions to the unique problems faced by today’s power plants. In addition to presentations and breakout sessions, there will be a tour of Brayton Point Unit 3. The cost of attending the conference for non-members is $645 which includes a one year membership to the DSUA and full access to the DUA website on which all prior conference presentations are posted. See calendar.


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