PRECIP 
NEWSLETTER 

December 2009
No. 407

One of the many challenges facing the U.S. electric generation industry is reconciling the dual imperatives of profitable business practices and strong workplace safety. The dedicated staff at Ameren’s Hutsonville Power Station, located in Hutsonville, IL, have successfully worked together to increase their facility’s efficiency while looking out for their fellow workers, writes Angela Neville in Power.

Last May, along with the 2009 Electric Power Conference and Exhibition held in Rosemont, IL, the PRB Coal User’s Group (PRBCUG) recognized two (one large, one small) PRB Coal Plants of the Year. Bob Taylor, former PRBCUG chairman, presented the Small Plant of the Year Award to members of the Hutsonville staff.

Greg Musch, the production superintendant in Hutsonville, described the operations of the 162-MW intermediate-load, PRB coal-fired plant. “The first unit at Hutsonville went online in 1940, followed by the second in 1941,” he said. “Later, the 80-MW Unit 3 went online in January 1953, and the 82-MW Unit 4 went online in May 1954. Units 3 and 4 are GE turbines/CE tangential-fired boilers. In 1981, Units 1 and 2 were retired.”

The first delivery of PRB coal occurred in September 2004. A blend of 25 percent PRB and 75 percent bituminous coal was used after the Illinois Environmental Protection agency (IEPA) permit requirements were met. The sulfur emission credit price escalation was one of the main driving factors. Currently, the plant uses 100 percent PRB coal.

The total cost of the PRB transition included $6.9 million for in-plant adaptations and $4.5 million for coal yard upgrades. Total conversion time was four years.

Musch elaborated on the new fuel-handling challenges that plant employees faced. The first challenge was controlling dust while still utilizing existing coal-handling conveyors, transitions and coal-crushing equipment. The use of surfactants, water spray, sealed conveyor transitions, electrical system modifications and an aggressive cleaning schedule permitted the safe handling of PRB fuel.

Musch also pointed out that after the plant began using PRB coal, the boiler area required more frequent use of sootblowers. Flyash also tended to accumulate and eventually built up large snowdrifts of flyash that reduced boiler airflow capability. Therefore, boiler wall blowers and long lance sootblowers were added to the backpass horizontal tube bank sections as well as the ESP inlet and outlet turning vanes.

Due to the properties of PRB flyash, annual explosive cleaning is now required to clean the backpass horizontal tube bank sections of the boiler. Changes to the plant’s regular housekeeping duties were also necessary as a result of switching to PRB coal. These included the launch of a new, more aggressive and accountable cleaning schedule and weekly inspections by an outside corporate safety professional.

As more power plants follow the example of award-winning facilities like Hutsonville, the trend toward smarter ways of handling jobsite risks should produce improved results for workplace safety.

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