Power Plant Air/Liquid/Solid Measurement And Flow Instruments –

“Hot Topic Hour” For September 20

The performance of air pollution control systems is no better than the reliability of gas and liquid flow, level control, pH, O₂, CO temperature, flame scanners and even coal flow instrumentation. What are the latest improvements in instrumentation?  How are they integrated to optimize performance?  These are the questions which will be answered by the experts on September 20 at 9:00 a.m. CDT.  This is the next in a weekly series of “Hot Topic Hours” provided by the McIlvaine Company.

Power plants are now faced with handling all new types of liquids and solids to meet air quality requirements.  They must maintain levels of limestone slurry and measure pH in the tough abrasive environment of the recirculation tank.  They must control levels of lime, limestone, and gypsum in solids storage tanks.  They must meter and control the injection of ammonia, activated carbon, sodium bicarbonate and other powders into the gas stream.

Coal plants need to be optimized.  This can only be done if the coal input is accurately measured, if the flame distribution in the boiler is known and adjusted, if the gas velocity and therefore mass is accurately measured.  It is also important to measure the gas composition.

Every extra kWh of electricity produced by a coal plant represents a 50 percent savings from the alternative gas turbine given the present disparity in fuel prices.  Accurate sensing is the key to optimization.  Therefore, the choices utilities make in selecting sensors which are accurate and reliable are very important.  That is why we selected this topic for a “Hot Topic Hour” discussion.

For more information on this and other McIlvaine “Hot Topic Hours”, click on: http://www.mcilvainecompany.com/brochures/FGDnetoppbroch/Default1.htm .

Bob McIlvaine

847-784-0012

rmcilvaine@mcilvainecompany.com