FABRIC
FILTER
NEWSLETTER
April, 2021
No. 546
MARKETS
Huge Changes in the Filter and Filter Media Markets
Any forecasts for filter and filter media revenues are likely to be outdated
within months. The reason is that major changes are taking place in the industry
at an unprecedented rate. Drivers include
· The coronavirus pandemic
·
Wildfires, drought, and global warming
· Nationalism replacing international cooperation and trade
· New fibers and media
· Opportunities in gas phase removal for particulate filters
· Process and safety justification of higher filtration efficiency
· Water reuse
· The campaign to eliminate coal fired power generators
· Cost of recovery of oil from shale
· Single use systems for biopharmaceuticals
There is presently a shortage of MERV 13 filters as buildings try to comply with
COVID regulations. The MERV 13 media can also be used in many other
applications. Meltblowns, nanofibers, other non wovens and membranes are all
competing options in a number of gas and liquid applications.
This graph prepared a few months ago may be made obsolete due to a safe bubble
initiative which could result in billions of people wearing highly efficient
masks. This would make the short term mask market the largest segment in the
history of filtration.
There is the possibility to actually suck the CO2 out of the air using the Drax
concept and possibly even shale fracturing with CO2 generated from biomass
combustion.
A new class of inexpensive ambient air and liquid monitors allows measurement of
individual toxic elements such as cadmium. This in turn drives the market for
more efficient filters to eliminate these elements in the environment.
There are major changes in geographical activity as well as market shares for
the suppliers and end users. Who would have predicted the problems of GE and
ExxonMobil or the rise of Sinopec who in just eight weeks became one of the
world’s largest meltblown suppliers.
Suppliers of filters and media are challenged to identify the low hanging fruit
which needs to be immediately picked but also the high insect free fruit which
ultimately result in the largest profits.
McIlvaine has a way to clear the fog and obtain the latest insights on the
market. An hour long webinar shows participants the size of any of the markets
they select.
This is accompanied by an explanation of the geographical, process, and
regulatory drivers. Discussion among participants is also encouraged
The cost of the webinar is offset by discounts when any of the market reports
are purchased within the following 90 days.
CEMENT
Ernst Rohner, BWF Envirotec, explained in Modern Cement Plants magazine
in most cement production cases, pulse jet cleaned filter systems with textile
filter elements serve to dedust product and exhaust gas flows. The article deals
with the possibility of analyzing and increasing the performance of these filter
systems.
Existing filter systems often do not work at their energetic optimum. This
increases the overall costs and harms the environment. The BWF Envirotec service
team offers a solution in the form of filter system optimization with specially
developed measuring probes. These can be used in practically every pulse jet
cleaned filter system with vertically installed filter bags.
The
measurement does not interfere with the control of the filter system but does
provide meaningful data in real time. The optimal operating point and the lowest
total costs can be determined immediately from the received data.
With large filter systems, such as a cement kiln filter, the costs of the
measurement campaign can ideally be carried out as part of other services
provided by the BWF Envirotec service team, such as filter bag assembly, filter
house maintenance and leakage tests.
Nigeria’s Lafarge Africa has committed US$8m to change its current electrostatic
precipitator to a baghouse at its Ewekoro plant.
As a result, the company is planning to shut down the plant’s kilns for at least
six months to make the improvement, according to The Punch.
Khaled El-Dokani also noted alternative fuels currently make up 40 per cent of
the plant’s fuel mix, while the target is for the company’s plants to be
operating on at least 35 per cent by 2023.
BIOMASS
Andritz to
Supply Biomass Boiler Plant to Fjernvarme Fyn Produktion A/S in Odense, Denmark
Andritz has received an order from the Danish energy company Fjernvarme Fyn
Produktion A/S to deliver a new biomass boiler plant complete with auxiliary
equipment for their “Bio Blok 2” project.
The plant will be located on Fjernvarme Fyn’s existing combined heat and power
plant site in Odense, on the island of Funen in Denmark, some 170 km west of the
capital Copenhagen. This new plant will supply district heat to the Odense area
and is also prepared for electricity production at a later stage. Start-up of
the boiler is scheduled for 2023.
The “Bio Blok 2” project is an important part of Fjernvarme Fyn’s goal of
abandoning the use of coal at their combined heat and power plants by 2022 and
contributing to the national objective of a 70 percent reduction in CO2 emissions
by 2030. Fjernvarme Fyn (fjernvarmefyn.dk) delivers about 97 percent of the
district heat requirement in Odense, providing heat for more than 100,000
households and large greenhouses.
The Andritz scope of supply includes a biomass-fired boiler with flue gas
cleaning and a flue gas condenser with absorption heat pump technology. Based on
the Andritz EcoFluid bubbling fluidized bed design, the boiler combines high
efficiency with excellent environmental performance. The flue gas condenser with
heat pump technology after the boiler significantly increases the district heat
output and, therefore, improves the plant efficiency.
This new plant will be fueled by wood chips as the main fuel and wood, olive
and/or sunflower shell pellets as secondary fuel. The plant is capable of
supplying close to 180 MW of heat to the district heating network and reaching
record efficiency of almost 120 percent.
This order from Fjernvarme Fyn once again demonstrates Andritz’s strong global
position in the supply of state-of-the-art and environmentally friendly biomass
boilers.
IRON AND STEEL
The upgrade, which will cost $3 million, will help protect the environment and
public health in the surrounding area by reducing particulate matter (PM)
emissions, the EPA said.
The company has also agreed to pay a $475,000 civil penalty, split evenly
between the state of Indiana and U.S. government. These actions will resolve the
alleged violations of the Clean Air Act, the EPA said
The EPA alleged that SDI was violating the Clean Air Act by failing to comply
with its Title V permit. SDI owns and operates two steel facilities in Butler:
the Iron Dynamics Division and its Flat Roll Division.
During an inspection and record review, EPA identified multiple violations at
each plant, a news release said. The violations included a failure to capture
all emissions from three ladle metallurgical stations and route them to a
baghouse, as required by the company’s Title V operating permit. The failure to
control these emissions resulted in excess emissions of PM, which contains
microscopic solids that are so small they can be inhaled and can cause serious
health problems, the EPA said
The EPA’s consent decree with SDI resolves the alleged violations, the
environmental agency said. Specifically, the consent decree requires SDI to
upgrade the capture and control of emission from the ladle metallurgical
stations by constructing and operating a new or expanded baghouse. This new or
expanded baghouse will reduce PM emissions and protect public health, the EPA
said.
COMPANY NEWS
Auburn FilterSense Announces Enhancements to Their Particulate Monitors
2017 saw the merger of Auburn Systems and FilterSense LLC, to
create the World’s leading manufacturer of Charge Induction particulate monitors
and intelligent filter control systems for Dust Collectors including Baghouses,
Cartridge Filters and Cyclones. Together, Auburn FilterSense combines over 60
years of experience and application knowledge from over 75,000 global
installations bringing unmatched technology, application knowledge and support
to help prevent emission excursions and improve operations.
Supporting their global customers from our manufacturing
facility in Beverly MA, and European office based in the UK, they have developed
further enhancements to their instruments and control systems making particulate
monitoring for plant operators more effective than ever before:
Bluetooth connectivity to make configuration, interrogation, and observation of instruments simple without the need to
Automatic instrument and sensor health checks
to meet and surpass manual instrument checks required under
USEPA MACT regulations or international standards such
as European EN 15859.
Prediction and Identification of bag / cartridge failure to a row level - allowing proactive dust collector maintenance before catastrophic failure and associated excursions of environmental limits.
INSIGHT
(IoT) software allowing simple intuitive remote web-based
instrument and plant observation, data logging, automatic
reporting and alarm notification to PC’s and mobile devices,
ideal for localized and centralized management.
As
part of the consolidation of their product line, Auburn Systems’ Triboflow,
Triboguard, U3000 Series (U3200, U3300, U3400, and U3600) dust monitors,
together with FilterSense’s EM30 and EM70 instruments have now been or will
shortly be discontinued. (Excluding hazardous zone variants.)
For the continued trouble-free monitoring of your
compliance and process applications, please contact them to discuss the
available options and time limited offers which expire on April 30th to upgrade
these legacy instruments.
Donaldson Expands iCue™ Connected Filtration Service for Industrial Collectors
Donaldson Company, Inc. has announced new capabilities and user experience
updates to the company’s iCue™ connected filtration service, which enables
facility teams to closely track collector performance and respond in real-time
to maintenance notifications. Based on customer feedback, Donaldson made several
iCue service updates to continue improving and streamlining functionality for
manufacturing facilities around the world.
The latest iCue enhancements include:
Particulate Monitoring Sensor – The updated sensor continuously tracks particulate material levels in the outlet stack of collectors, so maintenance teams can more accurately monitor and assess the air quality in their plants.
Partner View – This feature allows iCue service subscribers to give third-party, certified dealers and service centers access to their dashboard when collector maintenance or repair questions arise.
Pulse-Jet Cleaning Valves – With this latest update, iCue connected monitoring can detect when a valve is not fully functioning and send a notification for filter performance to be assessed.
“Dust collection is a critical component of any manufacturing operation and we
continue enhancing our iCue service to meet expanding customer needs,” said Wade
Wessels, Global Director of Connected Solutions for Donaldson. “Facility teams
can count on the iCue service to deliver timely data and insights to efficiently
maintain equipment, comply with regulations, address issues before they
escalate, and save valuable time and money.”
The updated particulate monitoring sensor makes it easier for manufacturing
environmental health and safety teams to improve compliance tracking and
validation and maintenance teams to quickly determine if any filters are damaged
or installed improperly.
Donaldson has also expanded iCue™ Remote Monitoring Filtration Service. The
pulse-jet filter cleaning system helps maximize filter lifespan in an industrial
collector. The iCue service can now accurately detect when a pulse-jet valve is
not working properly, which can lead to a decrease in filter life, a compressed
air leak and an increase in facility energy consumption. By proactively managing
filter health, filter life and other operational benefits increase.
In addition, the iCue service is more user-friendly, thanks to a new Partner
View feature. Now third-party maintenance teams from Donaldson’s certified
dealers and service center network can access customer user dashboards to help
monitor real-time performance data and respond more quickly to issues that
require maintenance attention.
The iCue connected filtration service is compatible with all brands of
industrial collectors, including those that operate with a positive air pressure
system. It is also simple to install: a compact gateway box is fastened to the
outside of a facility collector and IoT technology and secure cloud
communications run the service. An annual subscription includes hardware,
automated reports, real-time maintenance alerts and a web-based dashboard that
displays new and historical data
REGULATIONS
EU’s Tougher Standards on Combustion Plant Air Pollution Will Take Effect This Year
The European Union (EU) has introduced tougher restrictions on large combustion
plants with the implementation of their new BREF guidance this year. The
reference document was published in August 2017 and tightened controls regarding
the emissions of dust, nitrogen oxides (NOx), sulfur dioxide (SO2),
mercury, particulate matter (PM) and carbon monoxide (though only regarding
gas-fired power plants for CO).
With large combustion plants having four years to bring their operations up to
speed and equip them with the requisite technologies to achieve compliance, the
BREF requirements will become legally binding from August this year. That means
that implicated parties have just over four months to ensure that they have the
right monitoring mechanisms in place to ensure they do not exceed thresholds and
incur fines as a result.
EPA Finalizes
Rule to Curb Cross-State Pollution
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued an update and
finalized a pollution rule that will require reductions in ozone emissions from
power plants in 12 states this year.
The update to the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR), issued March 15, is
designed to curb emissions of nitrogen oxide (NOx)—primarily from
coal-fired power plants—ahead of a July deadline for states to comply with the
2008 ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) established during the
Obama administration.
A federal judge last year ordered the EPA to act by March 15 to reduce
cross-state pollution from seven states specified in a lawsuit brought by New
Jersey, New York, and other states. Power plant emissions this summer will help
determine whether states face additional regulatory requirements moving forward.
Monday’s ruling follows several prior regulations, along with litigation, going
back more than a decade regarding interstate pollution. The Clean Air Act, as
part of its “Good Neighbor” provision, requires upwind states to address
emissions because that pollution causes air quality problems in other states.
“Millions of people across the Eastern U.S. suffer because of the coal plant
pollution that blows into their communities from neighboring states. The update
to the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule is a common-sense step to help them,” said
Graham McCahan, Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) senior attorney, in a statement
Tuesday. “We can do much more, though. We urge EPA to build on this foundation
and strengthen smog protections for all Americans who live near coal plants or
in downwind states.”
The updated rule requires power plants in 12 states to reduce their NOx emissions
by improving the operation of NOx pollution controls that are already
in place, and by upgrading NOx pollution controls. NOx is
a major component of ground-level ozone, better known as smog, and contributes
to the inability of downwind states to meet an EPA health-based smog standard
set in 2008.
The EPA has identified 22 downwind states in the CSAPR (some states are
considered both upwind and downwind). The update issued Monday is in response to
a court order requiring the agency to strengthen protections for those states
and will require that coal units in 12 states – Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky,
Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania,
Virginia, and West Virginia—use the upgraded and more-effective pollution
controls already installed, and also update those controls. The agency has noted
that coal-fired power plants with pollution controls may not operate them
regularly or may not use them to full capacity.
The update requires those plants to begin reducing pollution immediately after
the rule is legally effective, which is 60 days after its publication in the Federal
Register. It is ultimately expected to reduce NOx pollution
from those plants by 19% over 2019 levels, according to the EPA. The agency said
the rule is expected to provide an estimated $2.8 billion in health and
environmental benefits.
The EPA noted that more than one-third of all coal-fired power plants in the
Eastern U.S. have, to date, not installed modern pollution controls for NOx,
and thus are not subject to the update. The EDF in a news release Tuesday said,
“EPA will need to take further action to protect Americans from the more than
250,000 tons of NOx, and more than 300 million tons of climate
pollution, those plants emitted in 2018.”
LignoTech Florida,
LLC, Lignosulfonate Plant
Nassau County, Florida
Applicant: The
applicant for this project is LignoTech Florida, LLC (LTF). The applicant’s
authorized representative and mailing address is: Michael P. Dempsey, Managing
Director, LTF, Lignosulfonate Plant, 6 Gum Street, P.O. Box 16839, Fernandina
Beach, Florida 32034-1901.
Facility Location: The
applicant operates the existing Lignosulfonate Plant, which is in Nassau County
at 10 Gum Street, Fernandina Beach, Florida.
Project: LTF
submitted a complete air construction permit application on January 29, 2021, to
authorize a revision to the permitted control equipment and particulate matter
emission rates for the three Product Storage Silos (regulated under EU 003) due
to continuous failures from the first constructed silo with the original type of
fabric filter for the bin vent filter (baghouse). The grain loading factor for
the Product Storage Silos is being increased from 0.002 grains per dry standard
cubic foot (gr/dscf) to 0.005 gr/dscf, and the specified fabric filter type is
changed from polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) filters to nano-fiber filters. This
grain loading standard was based on a best available control technology (BACT)
determination issued in the original PSD permit. Through this permitting action,
the permittee is also requesting to add an operational restriction to limit the
operation of the Product Storage Silos to only two Silos operating at the same
time, which aids in restricting the potential to emit (PTE) of EU 003 given the
minor increase in particulate matter (PM) emissions from the revised grain
loading factor.
The project is subject to
preconstruction review for the Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) of
Air Quality in accordance with Rule 62-212.400, Florida Administrative Code
(F.A.C.). Based on the current air permit application, the project will only
result in emissions increases of 0.6335 tons per year of PM. However, based on
the original PSD analysis, the authorized construction of the Lignosulfonate
Plant resulted in significant net emissions increases for PM, PM with a mean
diameter of 10 microns or less (PM10), and PM with a mean diameter of 2.5
microns or less (PM2.5).
https://www.fbnewsleader.com/classified/legals/public-notice-intent-issue-air-permit