Hot Topic Hour Recordings

HOT TOPIC HOUR RECORDINGS

The following Hot Topic Hours have been recorded (both audio and video) and are available for viewing. The number of participants ranges from 20 to 40. The number of participating utilities ranges from 1 to 10. Each session includes presentations by world experts on the specific title subject. Some of the worlds largest companies have participated in each session. Very current graphs and diagrams are included. There is a good mix between discussions and presentations. The sessions utilize valuable visual branches of the McIlvaine Decision Trees. You will need a password to view.
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October 2, 2008	Greenhouse Gas Strategies for Coal-fired Plant Operators 157 minutes MORE
September 25, 2008	Air Pollution System Cost Escalation 71 minutes MORE
September 18, 2008	Wet Lime vs. Limestone 75 minutes MORE
September 11, 2008	Mercury Monitoring 73 minutes MORE
September 4, 2008	Precipitator Power Supplies 113 minutes MORE
August 21, 2008	Fertilizer and Sulfuric Acid 120 minutes MORE
August 7, 2008	Limestone Size Reduction 113 minutes MORE
July 31, 2008	Mercury Control 305 minutes MORE
July 24, 2008	Holistic NOx Control 128 minutes MORE
July 17, 2008 - 1pm	Valves for Power Plant Steam/Cooling 83 minutes MORE
July 17, 2008 - 10am	Gypsum Dewatering 114 minutes MORE
July 10, 2008 - 1pm	Pumps for Power Plant Steam/Cooling 93 minutes MORE
July 10, 2008 - 10am	Particulate Choices for High Sulfur Coal 74 minutes MORE
July 3, 2008	Spray Driers vs. CFB 66 minutes MORE
June 26, 2008	Limestone Scrubber Design 96 minutes MORE
June 12, 2008	Mercury Monitoring 97 minutes MORE
June 5, 2008	Coal Gasification 108 minutes MORE
May 29, 2008	Measurement and Control of PM2.5 131 minutes MORE
May 22, 2008	CO₂ Capture 133 minutes MORE
May 15, 2008	Air Toxics 160 minutes MORE
May 1, 2008	Co-firing Biomass 104 minutes MORE
April 24, 2008	Mercury Control 119 minutes MORE
April 17, 2008	Corrosion Materials Options 84 minutes MORE
April 10, 2008	Optimization Systems 109 minutes MORE
April 3, 2008	Calcium Reagents 83 minutes MORE
March 27, 2008	SO3 Issues and Answers 116 minutes MORE
March 20, 2008	Particulate Choices for Low Sulfur Coal 81 minutes MORE
March 13, 2008	SCR Catalysts 69 minutes MORE
March 6, 2008	Mercury Monitoring 92 minutes MORE
February 21, 2008 - 9:00am	Dampers, Expansion Joints 76 minutes MORE
February 21, 2008 - 1:00pm	Pumps 90 minutes MORE
February 7, 2008	Oxidation and Mixing 60 minutes MORE
January 31, 2008	Mercury Control 90 minutes MORE
January 24, 2008	Valves 63 minutes MORE
January 17, 2008	NO_x Reagents 107 minutes MORE
January 10, 2008	FGD Wastewater Treatment 126 minutes MORE
December 20, 2007 1:00 pm	Mercury CEMS Update 64 minutes MORE
December 20, 2007 9:00 am	Coal Selection and Impact on Emissions 108 minutes MORE
November 29, 2007	Corrosion Materials for Scrubbers and Stacks 203 minutes MORE
November 8, 2007	Spray Nozzles for Air Quality Systems 82 minutes MORE
October 25, 2007 1:00 pm	Mercury Control Update 106 minutes MORE
October 25, 2007 9:00 am	Air Preheaters and Heat Exchangers 115 minutes MORE
October 18, 2007	SO₃ Reduction Technology and Cost 100 minutes MORE
October 11, 2007	Catalyst Performance on NO_x, SO₃, Mercury 84 minutes MORE
September 27, 2007	Booster Fan Design and Materials 120 minutes Installation of SCR and FGD requires fan upgrades. Where should these fans be placed? Should they be axial or centrifugal? Should you replace blades or the whole fan? Should you add another fan in series? What compromise between fan efficiency and maintenance is best? If you cool the gas down to 70°F for subsequent CO₂ sequestration shouldn't you place your fan at this point and save lots of energy? MORE
September 20, 2007	Measurement and Flow Instrumentation for APC 98 minutes 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? MORE
September 13, 2007	Filter Media Selection for Coal-fired Boilers 83 minutes There is a wide choice of media for coal-fired boilers including woven glass, nonwovens, and membranes. There are scrim options. Which selection is best for each of the different applications including particulate control from low sulfur coal p.c. boilers, high sulfur coal, spray driers, and those with activated carbon injection? What role does SO₃ play in media selection? MORE
September 6, 2007	Mercury CEMS and RATAs 58 minutes Every eight weeks we are reviewing the rapid developments in mercury continuous emission monitoring systems. How reliable and accurate are the CEMS now being sold? What is the status of the instrumental reference method and the whole basis for determining the accuracy of the CEMS. What role do sorbent traps play? How are CEMS being used as process analyzers to control ACI introduction? MORE
August 30, 2007	Wet Lime vs. Limestone FGD 92 minutes With the increasing costs of limestone systems, are lime based systems now more economical. If 99% efficiency is required are you forced to select lime? Can a lime system be installed in a much shorter time frame than a limestone system. To reduce the comparative capital cost can you regionally grind limestone and eliminate the ball mills at the plant? MORE
August 23, 2007	Precipitator Power Supplies and Components 108 minutes How significant are the new developments in power supplies in improving precipitator efficiency and reducing energy consumption? What are the latest developments with rappers, plates, and other components? What design changes are needed to deal with very dirty coals encountered in many areas of the world? Is pre-charging a viable option? MORE
August 16, 2007	Fertilizer and Sulfuric Acid FGD Byproducts 93 minutes There are systems which make ammonium sulfate and sulfuric acid. Several commercial orders have been recently executed. How competitive are these systems. What is the additional investment? How reliable are they? Is there a market for these products including dilute sulfuric acid? MORE
August 9, 2007	Mercury Removal Status and Cost 133 minutes The first commercial ACI system is removing 90% of the mercury but has dealt with minor problems. What is the current status of this system? Are other systems up and running? What is the latest test data with brominated carbons? Where do we stand with mercury removal in the scrubber? What about impact on gypsum and flyash? What is being done in Europe? Will there be a shortage of carbon? The near term deadlines and the uncertainties make it desirable to hold this discussion bi-monthly. MORE
July 12, 2007 1:00 pm	Mercury CEMS Problems and Resolutions 80 minutes MORE
July 12, 2007 9:00 am	CEMs for Measurement of Ammonia, SO₃ and Low Level NO_x125 minutes Two challenges for the CEM supplier industry are measurement of SO₃ and NO_x at very low levels. What continuous SO₃ measurement is necessary to control flow of removal additives? Can NO_x analyzers accurately measure the 0.07 lbs/MMBtu or less that represents the limit in many permits? What are the cost and reliability of CEMS for these two applications? How do you measure ammonia slip? MORE
July 5, 2007	Limestone Size Reduction 87 minutes Is wet or dry grinding the better route? Do you need redundant mills? How do you maintain control of particle size and output? Will there be enough mills to supply the FGD systems being built around the world in addition to all the new cement plants? Should suppliers be allowed to quote turnkey systems instead of just equipment in order to obtain the lowest installed cost? MORE
June 14, 2007	Mercury Cost and Performance 87 minutes This will be the third Hot Topic Hour covering the commercial availability and cost of mercury control technology. there is a rapid gain in experience as a number of commercial systems are becoming operational. What is the reliability experience? How much is it costing? What is projected sorbent consumption in the dry injection systems. Which sorbents are most successful? What chemicals are being added to wet systems? What is the removal efficiency? MORE
June 7, 2007	Gypsum Dewatering 99 minutes What percent solids do you want in your gypsum? Do you use a centrifuge or a belt filter for dewatering? What are the differences between belt filters? What will be the expected belt life? Do you use a thickener or cyclones or go directly from the recycle system to the filter? Are there going to be enough large belt filters to supply the need? What is the quality of Chinese made equipment? MORE
May 31, 2007	Co-firing and Gasifying Biomass 154 minutes Due to the heightened interest in the U.S. and the actual use in the EU we will be covering the air pollution ramifications of co-firing biomass and also gasification and use as a reburn fuel. In the latter mode it would reduce both NO_x and mercury while increasing electrical output. Details of the huge initiative to use four percent of the available cropland in the UK to replace 10 percent of the coal at the Drax plant will be provided. MORE
May 24, 2007	Reagent Utilization for NO_x Control 167 minutes How important is flow distribution in maximizing reagent effectiveness? Are static mixers desirable? Are combination SNCR plus SCR systems an effective way to maximize utilization? How important is ammonia slip as a limitation on efficiency? How do you measure ammonia slip? How do you use your existing CEM system to maximize reagent effectiveness? How important is duct design and overall system layout in maximizing reagent utilization? Should the catalyst manufacturer, the A/E or the EPC take the lead in the flow distribution decisions? MORE
May 17, 2007	Measurement and Control of PM_2.5116 minutes This will be the second Hot Topic Hour on this subject. Measurement, using a dilution method rather than Method 202 would reduce the errors. Where does this new method stand? What are the latest regulatory initiatives both in the U.S. and elsewhere? What percentage of PM_2.5 is condensibles? How will this influence the decisions on particulate control equipment? Will mass monitors replace opacity monitors? Are they proven? Which designs work best? Do SO₂ scrubbers improve PM_2.5 capture? MORE
May 10, 2007	Optimization Systems 152 minutes Can optimization software and instrumentation increase electrical output, reduce CO₂ and pollutant emissions, as well as bringing down costs? How important is measurement of coal flow? How critical are in-furnace measurements? What software approaches are effective? What data inputs are necessary and how accurate will they be? Are there clear demonstrations of improvements? Can reagent utilization also be improved? How is LOI controlled? How can particulate emissions be reduced with optimization? Who are the suppliers of the programs and the instrumentation? Do you also need smart pumps, valves, and other components? MORE
April 26, 2007	Particulate Choices for High Sulfur Coal 83 minutes This will be the second Hot Topic Hour on this subject. The first one focused on major problems at one plant where bags are plugging due to sulfuric acid mist. Is a baghouse better than a precipitator? What precautions are needed to avoid maintenance problems? What are the multi- pollutant options to distribute particulate capture over several units in the train? How does the additive choice affect particulate performance? MORE
April 19, 2007	Dampers/Expansion Joints 100 minutes Where are guillotine dampers preferable to butterfly dampers? How do you deal with large quantities of flyash? How much seal air is required for various designs? What are the costs of alternative approaches? What materials of construction should be considered in the high temperature zone, medium temperature, and in the wet low temperature zones? How reliable are damper designs? What are safety considerations? What maintenance is necessary and desirable? MORE
April 12, 2007	Mercury CEMS 115 minutes This will be the third review of mercury CEMS. How many vendors have instruments which are commercially available? Who are the system integrators with enough experience? How reliable will the systems be? How accurate will they be? Should sorbent traps be considered in addition to or instead of CEMS? What is the latest on regulatory requirements? Does particulate mercury need to be addressed? Are the intermittent test methods accurate enough to validate CEMS performance? What about speciation of mercury? MORE
April 5, 2007	Pumps 106 minutes Are there going to be enough large (greater than 20,000 gpm) pumps available for all the FGD limestone slurry recycle needs of the U.S., China, and other countries? In addition to Warman and GIW who else should be considered? Is one reason to switch to lime just to reduce the pump size and allow Flow Serve, ITT and others to bid? What about the quality of Chinese pumps? What materials of construction are best for FGD recycle? How important is chloride content of the slurry? What are the considerations in selection of pumps for other applications such as grinding, intake water, wastewater, etc.? What maintenance is necessary and desirable? MORE
March 29, 2007	Oxidation and Mixing 89 minutes Should you use a simple venturi eductor or a more sophisticated system for oxidation and mixing of gypsum slurry in the FGD recycle tank? How do you maximize gas dispersion and suspension of particles? What are the compressor options available? What mixer and agitator designs are proving themselves? What are the cost implications in terms of power and initial capital cost for the various options? What are the other mixing applications? What operational and maintenance guidelines should be followed? MORE
March 22, 2007	Valves 130 minutes Should you use a knife gate or a butterfly valve for FGD recycle slurry service? What are the costs and operational problems with each? What valve types should be used in the grinding system? What other special valve designs should be considered for FGD wastewater? How do you deal with corrosion? What valves are best for fabric filter pulse jet service? What pressures are required? Should special valves replace rotary valves for dust collector ash conveying? What are the maintenance and operational guidelines? MORE
March 15, 2007	NO_x Reagents 207 minutes What differences in anhydrous ammonia quality are important to operations and maintenance? What about future availability with 12 month operation? What is the price differential between aqueous, anhydrous, and urea? What options are available for onsite conversion of urea to ammonia? What are the safety concerns and how do you address them? What are the best guidelines for on-site storage? What packages are available from suppliers? MORE
March 1, 2007	Calcium Reagents 121 minutes How does limestone quality affect efficiency and maintenance? What is the trade off between particle size, power input and efficiency? What about regional grinding facilities? How far will you have to ship high quality stone? Will enough lime be available? Can you contract long term at an attractive price? How can you increase the utilization? What are the criteria to make wall board quality gypsum? Will markets for other by-products impact the decision between lime and limestone? MORE
February 22, 2007	SO₃ Issues and Answers 191 minutes A lively discussion of this issue was held for 2.5 hours on September 28. We will again revisit the three main options which are additives, air heater modifications, and wet precipitators. What are the impacts of each on total boiler system performance and on emissions of other air pollutants? Can the precipitator performance be negatively affected by additives. Do some technologies take out more mercury and other toxics than do others? Will there be enough trona to handle the needs? What will happen to the price of lime? How many WESP fields do you need? How do you measure SO₃? How low do you need to go not only to meet the regulations but to ensure generator availability? MORE
February 15, 2007	Mercury Control Cost and Performance 115 minutes Will mercury control systems be available and will suitable guarantees be offered to allow utilities to meet compliance dates as early as 2009? How much full scale experience is there with injecting bromine or chlorine ahead of the SCR to maximize Hg oxidation? What is the current status of the units using activated carbon injection? What is the required ratio of carbon in lbs/MMft³? How much better are impregnated carbons? What is the impact on flyash sales? Is there a combustion problem with the TOXECON design? What about mercury catalysts and mercury regenerable sorbent approaches? Are any of these technologies commercial? This is the 2^nd Hot Topic Hour on this subject. MORE
February 1, 2007	Chinese FGD/SCR Program and Impact on the World 95 minutes By 2010 China plans to operate more FGD systems than any other country in the world. China also plans to install SCR at a rate greater than any other country (from a small base now). What is the impact of this huge demand on the supply of systems and components? Will Chinese based companies eventually become world-wide suppliers of detailed design, systems, and components? Presently nearly all the systems are being designed under license from offshore companies. Will this change? What is the quality of the systems and components presently being installed.? How well are they being operated. What is the McIlvaine role in China? MORE
January 18, 2007	Comparison of Limestone Scrubber Designs 147 minutes What are the advantages and disadvantages of the three basic limestone scrubber designs, tray tower, and sump scrubber? Which is better for high sulfur coals? Which is better for ultra high efficiency? Do variations in the designs of the spray tower scrubbers make a difference? Can a spray tower handle 18 fps velocity? How important are mist eliminators? Does nozzle selection make a difference? Which design lends itself best to varying loads? Does one design make better gypsum crystals than another? Can one design utilize larger limestone particles than another? MORE
January 11, 2007	Corrosion Materials Options 6 hours Part 1 180 minutes, Part 2 88 minutes, Part 3 90 minutes A variety of materials are available for the scrubber vessels, WESPS, piping, ductwork, and stack. They include carbon steel with rubber or plastic lining, ceramic tiles laid in concrete, high nickel stainless steels, other stainless steels, and FRP. Why do the Japanese and Germans prefer the linings? What is the recent experience in China and elsewhere? Are some of the newer alloys better? Will the nickel prices continue to rise? Will certain alloys remain in short supply? How important are scrubbing slurry chloride levels in the selection? MORE
December 7, 2006	Air Pollution Investment Opportunities 71 minutes The air pollution control industry is finally making nice profits. However, finding the right company for your investment is not easy. Is air pollution control a big enough opportunity to influence the stock prices of the conglomerates? Are there small public companies that are attractive? Is there the possibility to roll up a number of small private companies? What categories look most attractive - mercury, NO_x, SO₂ or particulate? Which products look most attractive - systems, components, services or consumables? MORE
November 16, 2006	Mercury CEMS: Commercial Availability 110 minutes Reynaldo Forte of EPA provided the very latest insights on mercury CEMS including CAMR requirements, technical issues and next steps in improving performance in challenging environments. Thermo Electron, ADA-ES, Tekran, and Sick Maihak provided the latest in hardware development. Cooper detailed a CEMS which measures mercury as well as other metals. Discussion of cost and availability was revealing. MORE
November 9, 2006	Spray Drier FGD vs. CFB 105 minutes Lots of facts and figures were presented in the international discussion of dry scrubbers Circulating dry scrubbers of which circulating fluid beds are one sub segment were claimed to fit a niche of medium efficiency with medium sulfur coals that is in between the spray driers on the low end and wet systems on the high end. However there was considerable debate as to the performance of each type. Operational problems and reagent consumption were also discussed at length. MORE
November 2, 2006	Impact of PM_2.5 on Power Plant Choices 130 minutes Top experts from EPA and the supplier community discussed the very worrisome question of measuring and controlling PM _2.5. The present monitoring method is flawed and there are some promising replacements. But in the meantime utilities are forced to comply with tough limits but uncertain verification. The latest information on the development of the instruments and the regulations was provided along with analyses of various technologies for capturing fine particles MORE
October 19, 2006	Particulate Choices for Low Sulfur Coal 134 minutes Resistivity of coal increases as sulfur decreases. Therefore the lower the sulfur the more favorable the cost comparison is between the fabric filter and the precipitator. But are there cases where a precipitator should be considered? What about filter and bag selection? Is reverse air an option or is pulse jet the universal choice? What bag materials and coatings are appropriate? What are the optimum air-to-cloth ratios? What does ACI injection for mercury removal do to the design? MORE
October 12, 2006	SCR Catalyst Choices 115 minutes What is the latest projection for catalyst life in SCR? Should you consider cleaning rather than replacement? What are the optimum catalyst selections for SO₃ minimization and mercury oxidation? Is honeycomb better than the plate design. What pitch is best for coal plants. Is catalyst poisoning a problem? MORE
September 28, 2006	SO₃: Generation, Removal and Efficiency Requirements 172 minutes The Hot Topic Hour phone/web conference on September 28 focused on SO₃ and the problems it causes due to plume visibility, particulate limit exceedance, and operating problems for air heaters and dust collectors. Now an additional problem has arisen. SO₃ may interfere with mercury capture. This it was also addressed. MORE
September 21, 2006	FGD Wastewater Treatment Requirements 80 minutes How much is it going to cost to treat wastewater from your FGD system? Are you going to have to install biological treatment to remove selenium or other pollutants? If you are using DBA to enhance FGD efficiency, will this trigger additional treatment requirements? What about mercury in the wastewater? All these questions and more were addressed by Siemens U.S. Filter, GE-Zenon and many others. MORE
September 14, 2006	Are Mercury Control Technologies Commercially Available? 114 minutes Some of the best minds and most experienced individuals in the mercury control business provided utilities and A/Es with the latest information in the 2-hour “Hot Topic” Hour. Panelists included Mike Durham, Sid Nelson, Tony Licata, Tony Favale and others. MORE
August 10, 2006	FGD Project Delay Factors 64 minutes There are lots of orders being place for limestone scrubbing systems. Delivery times are being extended. Will this continue? What are the critical components which could stretch out the project e.g., pumps, ball mills, vessel fabrication? What about construction labor and OEM staffing? How long will it take if you order an FGD system today? How much will this affect the cost of the project? MORE

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