power - october 2011

Vol. 155 • No. 10 • October 2011

Top Plants: Six Winning Coal-Fired Plants

ZLD Fundamentals

SCR Hg Removal Co-benefits

How to Design a CCB Landfill

Redirect Fish Clear of Intakes

RENTECH breaks new trails in the

boiler industry with its focus on custom

engineering and design.

There’s no “on the shelf” inventory at RENTECH because we design and build each and every

boiler to operate at peak efficiency in its own unique conditions. As an industry leader, RENTECH

provides solutions to your most demanding specifications for safe, reliable boilers. From design and

manufacture to installation and service, we are breaking new trails.

CIRCLE 1 ON READER SERVICE CARD

October 2011 | POWER www.powermag.com 1

ON THE COVERCity Utilities of Springfield, Mo., placed its new John Twitty Energy Center Unit 2 into commercial service in January 2011. It includes a steam turbine from Toshiba, digital con-trols from Emerson, boiler island from Foster Wheeler, and dry fluidized bed scrubber and baghouse from Allied Environmental. Stanley Consultants provided detailed design, cost estimating, scheduling, and resident engineering services during construction. Courtesy: Stanley Consultants, photo by Mike Williams

COVER STORY: COAL-FIRED TOP PLANTS30 Coffeen Energy Center, Montgomery County, Illinois

Investments in new equipment and control systems have improved the operation and reliability of this Midwestern plant. They’ve also helped to make it one of the cleanest coal-fired plants in the nation and one that will be well-positioned to meet new emissions regulations.

34 J.K. Spruce 2, Calaveras Power Station, San Antonio, TexasThe largest municipal utility in the U.S. made new coal-fired generation part of its plan to ensure a reliable, diverse, and price-hedged power supply. The low-sulfur-coal plant’s emissions systems are delivering levels below its air permit requirements.

36 John Twitty Energy Center Unit 2, Springfield, Missouri This Powder River Basin coal–fueled facility is the first new coal plant constructed by City Utilities of Springfield since 1976. Despite challenges that included a tight contractor market at the time, flexible contracting approaches resulted in a success-ful project that will ensure sufficient baseload generation at least through 2024.

40 Masinloc Power Plant, Zambales Province, PhilippinesPrivatization, substantial upgrades, and retooling of the plant’s culture have resulted in enormous availability and production gains at this award-winning plant. Most impor-tantly, the changes have improved the reliability of electricity in a power-short country.

44 Plum Point Energy Station, Mississippi County, ArkansasSuccessful completion of this project required engineering and construction ap-proaches that could accommodate a plant site on a major fault line, where seismic acceleration factors are greater than in California. Today, the new plant is helping to put the region on firmer economic footing.

46 St. Johns River Power Park, Jacksonville, FloridaWhen a 1,280-MW late-1980s plant committed to lowering NOx emissions, it faced an undertaking that was complicated by the huge variety of fuels burned by its two units. The number of possible fuel combinations required pilot testing to get the selective catalytic reduction catalyst just right.

SPECIAL REPORTS

PLANT DESIGN

50 CWA 316(b) Update: Fish Guidance and ProtectionProposed rules for once-through cooling water intake structures could affect as many as 670 U.S. power plants. Barriers and screens are familiar options for fish protection at such structures, but technologies using behavior modification are proving highly effective while avoiding the problems created by physical barriers.

WATER TREATMENT

56 Fundamentals of Zero Liquid Discharge System DesignA new approach to handling the soluble salts found in power plant wastewater eliminates the necessity of water pretreatment and thereby avoids the need to in-stall expensive solids-settling and filtration equipment, sludge dewatering equip-ment, and chemical feed/storage facilities.

36

Established 1882 • Vol. 155 • No. 10 October 2011

Connect with POWERIf you like POWER magazine, follow us

online (POWERmagazine) for timely industry

news and comments.

Become our fan on Facebook

follow us on Twitter

44

40

www.powermag.com POWER | October 20112

World Class Quality

(877-4SI-POWER)or go to

www.structint.com/power

Structural Integrity works hard to provide you with innovative, best quality engineering and NDE support including:

Innovative and comprehensive •engineering solutions for Nuclear Plants, Fossil Plants and the Oil and Gas MarketHRSG’s, Flow-Accelerated •Corrosion, high-energy piping, turbine generators and moreAdvanced NDE•

Don’t settle for anything less. Get World-Class Quality from Structural Integrity today at:

FEATURES

POWER VIEWS

64 New EPA Rule Calls for FlexibilityQuin Shea, vice president, environment for the Edison Electric Institute, comments on the Utility MACT rule that is expected to be finalized in November.

MERCURY REMOVAL

66 An SCR Can Provide Mercury Removal Co-BenefitsA new catalyst known as TRAC is showing promise for better performance than conventional selective catalytic reduction catalyst when it comes to mercury oxida-tion activity. It can also be a cost-effective approach to making the most of existing emissions control equipment.

PLANT DESIGN

75 Managing Equipment Data Through Asset VirtualizationImagine being able to walk through your power plant in virtual reality, “touching” an asset and having everything that is known about that asset appear before you. That vision is fast becoming reality.

COAL ASH MANAGEMENT

78 Constructing Maryland’s First Permitted Landfill for Coal Combustion By-productsMaryland is leading the U.S. in reforming its regulations governing coal combustion by-products (CCB). Before the end of this year, a new state-of-the-art landfill will go into operation in the state that could well become the standard for next-generation CCB landfills.

DEPARTMENTS

SPEAKING OF POWER6 Epic Fail

GLOBAL MONITOR8 Germany’s Nuclear Phase-Out Has Widespread Implications8 Ling Ao 4 Starts Up While Sanmen Gets First AP1000 Reactor Vessel10 THE BIG PICTURE: A Solar Switch12 New Peaking Plant to Balance California’s Renewables14 Kuwait Starts First Turbines of 2,000-MW Gas Plant14 Hydro Reservoir GHG Emissions Lower Than Estimated14 POWER Digest

FOCUS ON O&M18 JEA Increases Power Output Through CFB Improvements20 Applying Acoustic Pulse Reflectometry in a Geothermal Plant

LEGAL & REGULATORY28 Too Much of a Good Thing Creates Legal Havoc

By Brian R. Gish, Davis Wright Tremaine

84 NEW PRODUCTS

COMMENTARY92 Shaping America’s Energy Policy

By Richard F. “Dick” Storm, Storm Technologies Inc.

Web ExclusiveThe U.S. Environmental Protection Agency began rolling out its long-anticipated power

plant regulations this year. “U.S. Coal-Fired Power Development: Full Employment

for the Lawyers” at www.powermag.com examines how some utilities have already

shuttered some older plants, citing the new rules as the cause; some are waiting, hop-

ing that knee-jerk reactions of neighboring utilities will allow them to keep operating

their older plants; and only the lawyers are happy with the result.CIRCLE 2 ON READER SERVICE CARD


Visit POWER on the web: www.powermag.com

Subscribe online at: www.submag.com/sub/pw

POWER (ISSN 0032-5929) is published monthly by Access

Intelligence, LLC, 4 Choke Cherry Road, Second Floor, Rock-

ville, MD 20850. Periodicals Postage Paid at Rockville, MD

20850-4024 and at additional mailing offices.

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to POWER, P.O. Box

2182, Skokie, IL 60076. Email: [email protected].

Canadian Post 40612608. Return Undeliverable Canadian

Addresses to: PitneyBowes, P.O. BOX 25542, London, ON

N6C 6B2.

Subscriptions: Available at no charge only for qualified ex-

ecutives and engineering and supervisory personnel in elec-

tric utilities, independent generating companies, consulting

engineering firms, process industries, and other manufactur-

ing industries. All others in the U.S. and U.S. possessions:

$79 for one year, $119 for two years. In Canada: US$84 for

one year, US$124 for two years. Outside U.S. and Canada:

US$179 for one year, US$289 for two years (includes air

mail delivery). Payment in full or credit card information is

required to process your order. Subscription request must

include subscriber name, title, and company name. For new

or renewal orders, call 847-763-9509. Single copy price: $25.

The publisher reserves the right to accept or reject any order.

Allow four to twelve weeks for shipment of the first issue on

subscriptions. Missing issues must be claimed within three

months for the U.S. or within six months outside U.S.

For customer service and address changes, call 847-763-

9509 or fax 832-242-1971 or e-mail powermag@halldata

.com or write to POWER, P.O. Box 2182, Skokie, IL 60076.

Please include account number, which appears above name

on magazine mailing label or send entire label.

Photocopy Permission: Where necessary, permission is

granted by the copyright owner for those registered with

the Copyright Clearance Center (CCC), 222 Rosewood Drive,

Danvers, MA 01923, 978-750-8400, www.copyright.com, to

photocopy any article herein, for commercial use for the flat

fee of $2.50 per copy of each article, or for classroom use

for the flat fee of $1.00 per copy of each article. Send pay-

ment to the CCC. Copying for other than personal or internal

reference use without the express permission of TradeFair

Group Publications is prohibited. Requests for special per-

mission or bulk orders should be addressed to the publisher

at 11000 Richmond Avenue, Suite 690, Houston, TX 77042.

ISSN 0032-5929.

Executive Offices of TradeFair Group Publications: 11000

Richmond Avenue, Suite 690, Houston, TX 77042. Copyright

2011 by TradeFair Group Publications. All rights reserved.

EDITORIAL & PRODUCTION Editor-in-Chief: Dr. Robert Peltier, PE

480-820-7855, [email protected]

Managing Editor: Dr. Gail Reitenbach

Senior Editor: Angela Neville, JD

Contributing Editors: Mark Axford; David Daniels; Steven F. Greenwald; Jeffrey P. Gray;

Jim Hylko; Kennedy Maize; Dick Storm; Dr. Justin Zachary

Senior Writer: Sonal Patel

Graphic Designer: Joanne Moran

Production Manager: Tony Campana, [email protected]

Marketing Director: Jamie Reesby

Marketing Manager: Jennifer Brady

ADVERTISING SALES North American Offices

Southern & Eastern U.S./Eastern Canada/

Latin America: Matthew Grant, 713-343-1882, [email protected]

Central & Western U.S./Western Canada: Dan Gentile, 512-918-8075, [email protected]

International Offices

UK/Benelux/Scandinavia/Germany/

Switzerland/Austria/Eastern Europe: Petra Trautes, +49 69 5860 4760, [email protected]

Italy/France: Ferruccio Silvera, +39 (0) 2 284 6716, [email protected]

Spain/Portugal: Séverine Grolimund, +34 91 553 66 16, [email protected]

Japan: Katsuhiro Ishii, +81 3 5691 3335, [email protected]

India: Faredoon B. Kuka, 91 22 5570 3081/82, [email protected]

South Korea: Peter Kwon, +82 2 416 2876, +82 2 2202 9351, [email protected]

Thailand: Nartnittha Jirarayapong, +66 (0) 2 237-9471, +66 (0) 2 237 9478

Malaysia: Tony Tan, +60 3 706 4176, +60 3 706 4177, [email protected]

Classified Advertising

Diane Hammes, 713-343-1885, [email protected]

POWER Buyers’ Guide Sales

Diane Hammes, 713-343-1885, [email protected]

AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT Audience Development Director: Sarah Garwood

Fulfillment Manager: George Severine

CUSTOMER SERVICE For subscriber service: [email protected], 800-542-2823 or 847-763-9509

Electronic and Paper Reprints: Lori Husted, [email protected], 717-505-9701, x104

List Sales: Statlistics, Jen Felling, [email protected], 203-778-8700

All Other Customer Service: 713-343-1887

BUSINESS OFFICE TradeFair Group Publications, 11000 Richmond Avenue, Suite 690, Houston, TX 77042

Publisher: Brian K. Nessen, 713-343-1887, [email protected]

President: Sean Guerre

ACCESS INTELLIGENCE, LLC 4 Choke Cherry Road, 2nd Floor, Rockville, MD 20850

301-354-2000 • www.accessintel.com Chief Executive Officer: Donald A. Pazour

Exec. Vice President & Chief Financial Officer: Ed Pinedo

Exec. Vice President, Human Resources & Administration: Macy L. Fecto

Divisional President, Business Information Group: Heather Farley

Senior Vice President, Corporate Audience Development: Sylvia Sierra

Senior Vice President & Chief Information Officer: Robert Paciorek

Vice President, Production & Manufacturing: Michael Kraus

Vice President, Financial Planning & Internal Audit: Steve Barber

Vice President/Corporate Controller: Gerald Stasko

www.hitachipowersystems.us [email protected]

Hitachi Power Systems America, Ltd. 645 Martinsville Road Basking Ridge, NJ 07920

Hitachi Power Systems America

AQCS After Market Boilers Nuclear SCR Turbines



SPEAKING OF POWER

Epic Fail

Over the past 18 months, four so-lar energy equipment companies have closed their doors. Each

one blamed poor market conditions for its economic woes, even though each had fundamental weaknesses that went unaddressed. It now appears that the Department of Energy (DOE) did insuffi-cient due diligence before backstopping one of those four companies, Solyndra, with a $535 million loan guarantee.

Solyndra announced on September 2 that it was entering Chapter 11 bank-ruptcy and immediately released the com-pany’s more than 1,100 employees, with no notice. The company opened a massive $700 million dollar manufacturing facility in Fremont, Calif., earlier this year us-ing cash from a $535 million dollar DOE loan guarantee and reportedly $1 billion in venture capital funding. The Treasury Department’s internal Federal Financing Bank loaned the money, so a loan guaran-tee in default is lost cash.

Solyndra joined Hopewell Junction, N.Y.–based Spectrawatt Inc. (an Intel Corp. spinoff) and Evergreen Solar of Marlboro, Mass., both of which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in August. BP Solar closed its Frederick, Md., plant in March of last year.

Great ExpectationsYou may recall that Solyndra was praised by President Obama as a prime example of how green jobs were being created through government backing of promising renewable energy firms. During a well-publicized plant visit on May 26, 2010, the president said, “It’s here, that companies like Solyndra are leading the way toward a brighter, more prosperous future.” He went on to say that “The true engine of economic growth will always be companies like Solyndra” and that their technology was “game-changing.”

The Solyndra technology was far from innovative, much less game-changing. Its plan was to produce tubes lined with thin-film technology solar cells that are mounted in a flat panel-like rack.

Solyndra publicized that this design was better than flat panels because the racks can be inexpensively mounted on a flat surface, like a roof, and because reflected solar energy from a light-col-ored background improves collection ef-ficiency. However, the well-known flaw with this technology is that it is does not scale well—the production costs don’t drop much per unit when produced in large quantities like conventional flat photovoltaic panels. The DOE fell in love with the technology but failed to quan-tify the elasticity of production costs in a highly competitive market where solar panels are a commodity.

The cracks in Solyndra’s façade began to appear well before the president’s vis-it. Solyndra floated the idea of a $300 million initial public offering (IPO) in December 2009, after receipt of the loan guarantee in March of that year. The registration statement prepared by the privately owned company was exam-ined by independent accountant Price-waterhouseCoopers. The accountants’ conclusion was that the company’s huge losses and negative cash flow raised “substantial doubt about its ability to continue as a going concern,” even af-ter a $1.5 billion cash infusion. The IPO was withdrawn in June 2010, a month after the president’s visit, and was fol-lowed by the founder and CEO’s depar-ture on August 19.

The selection of Solyndra for a loan guarantee is all the more distasteful when you realize that the DOE must have known the product stood little chance of commercialization in the first place. When Solyndra’s original loan guarantee application was submitted in 2006, the company had a couple of dozen em-ployees and technology that the mar-ket had already rejected as uneconomic compared with flat panels. By 2009, the company had a couple of hundred em-ployees but was shipping panels sold at about half the cost of production. Dur-ing those three years, many companies considered investing in Solyndra, but there were few takers. Then Solyndra

caught a break. With the loan guarantee in the bag, venture capitalists jumped in with big money, hoping for a bigger score. They believed that they couldn’t fail, especially by investing in a com-pany that proudly wore the president’s personal seal of approval.

Just as irksome to me was the cava-lier attitude of the DOE when it learned of Solyndra’s demise. That same day the DOE released a statement on its web site: “We have always recognized that not every one of the innovative companies supported by our loans and loan guarantees would succeed. . . .” In essence, the DOE dismissed the half-billion-dollar loss as the price of doing business, and without any hint any re-sponsibility. Apparently, failures of this magnitude are an acceptable option at the DOE.

More Failures Will FollowThe Solyndra failure highlights the gov-ernment’s “push-pull-plus” marketing plan for these technologies. The “push” occurs when the government substitutes its judgment of what constitutes a good product for that of the collective free market and then uses public funds to jam the product into an unreceptive market. The “pull” occurs when the government creates artificial market demand, such as state or proposed national renewable en-ergy portfolio standards. The “plus” is the sweetener added to the deals in the form of incentives and tax credits. A marketing plan predicated on the government inject-ing cash every step of the transaction is unsustainable today.

Solyndra was the first loan guaran-tee signed off on by the DOE under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, but that didn’t save the company from filing for bankruptcy protection. Given the many other companies with shaky financials that have received loan guarantees, I expect we’ll see more and larger epic fails like Solyndra in the coming years. ■

—Dr. Robert Peltier, PE is POWER’s

editor-in-chief.

Bleed: 8.125x11, Trim: 7.875x10.75, Live area: 7x10Power Magazine,

GPiLEARN™ is the industry leader in online power plant training. At General Physics Corporation,

we provide you with access to thousands of lessons and exams that will

lower operating costs while providing employee training anytime, anywhere. From apprentice

to seasoned employee, our power plant experts partner with you to create a blended training

program. Put our experience to work for [email protected]

O f f i c e s i n : N o r t h A m e r i c a • L a t i n A m e r i c a • E u r o p e • A s i a

GPE-001292 GPiLearn_PowerMag.indd 1 9/8/11 12:50 PM

Bleed: 8.125x11, Trim: 7.875x10.75, Live area: 7x10Power Magazine,

P E O P L E P R O C E S S E S T E C H N O L O G Y

Power

GPiLEARN™ is the industry leader in online power plant training. At General Physics Corporation,

we provide you with access to thousands of lessons and exams that will

lower operating costs while providing employee training anytime, anywhere. From apprentice

to seasoned employee, our power plant experts partner with you to create a blended training

program. Put our experience to work for [email protected]

O f f i c e s i n : N o r t h A m e r i c a • L a t i n A m e r i c a • E u r o p e • A s i a

“After much due diligence, GPiLEARN™ was the clear choice as our preferred LMS vendor and online content provider.”

— Ed Murphy, Senior Training Consultant, Allegheny Energy

GPE-001292 GPiLearn_PowerMag.indd 1 9/8/11 12:50 PM



Germany’s Nuclear Phase-Out Has Widespread ImplicationsThe German government in July finalized a package of bills that will phase out nuclear’s 23% contribution to the country’s power supply by 2022 and increase renewable generation from the current 17% to 35%. In August, the Federal Network Agency (Bundesnetzagentur) said it wouldn’t rely on power from seven of the nation’s oldest reactors (and another shut down for tech-nical problems) for reserve power this winter, despite warnings from grid operators that the phase-out could result in winter blackouts (Figure 1). Saying the grid would remain “control-lable,” the agency instead urged states to approve more than a dozen new coal and gas plants and transmission upgrades over the next several years.

Meanwhile, the suspension of significant nuclear generation following the Fukushima crisis has forced Germany—a net ex-porter of about 14 TWh—to begin power imports of nearly 4 TWh from the Czech Republic, France, and Austria. And, according to the Dena Energy Agency, a researcher part-owned by the Ger-man government, Germany will have to spend about €10 billion ($14.3 billion) by 2020 to expand the nation’s grid, including adding lines from offshore wind farms in the north to factories in the south, if it is to stop using neighboring networks—funds that will be hard to come by in a fragile global economy.

The phase-out has already had a dire financial impact on the country’s industrial sector. Fears are mounting that the shutdown will increase industrial operating costs by nearly a fifth (and Germany already has one of the highest rates in the European Union), hitting the country’s energy-intensive manufacturing in-dustries such as steel production, chemicals, and cars.

Perhaps nuclear plant owners have been hit the hardest. E.ON in August said it would be forced to cut 11,000 jobs as a result of the government’s decision to shutter the reactors. The closures and a new tax on spent nuclear fuel rods have cost the company €1.9 billion ($2.74 billion), driving it to

declare the first quarterly loss in a decade: a second-quarter loss of €1.49 billion ($2.2 billion). German competitor RWE has also been hard-hit: Net profits for the first half of the year collapsed 40% on the nuclear closures and spent fuel tax. The closures and taxes would cost it almost €900 mil-lion ($1.3 billion), RWE said, but added that to alleviate its current “substantial financial burdens,” the company plans to increase its renewable energy holdings.

Vattenfall has also taken a hit. The Swedish state-owned group operates two German nuclear facilities, Brunsbuettel and Krümmel, though both have been offline since 2007 (one due to a short circuit and the other due to a fire). Neither will be reopened. Vattenfall in July reported that it had taken a charge of 10.2 billion crowns ($1.62 billion) related to the German nuclear plants and had a second-quarter operating loss of 3.2 billion crowns ($490 million).

Ling Ao 4 Starts Up While Sanmen Gets First AP1000 Reactor VesselIn China this August, as Ling Ao Unit 4—the second unit of the Ling Ao Phase II nuclear plant—started commercial operation, Westinghouse and its consortium partners marked the milestone of receiving the reactor vessel for the Sanmen nuclear power plant—the world’s first AP1000—in China’s Zhejiang province.

The start-up of Ling Ao Unit 4 in Guangdong province means that more than 50% of China’s total units in opera-tion are at the Daya Bay Ling Ao complex. Like Ling Ao Unit 3, which began commercial operation last September, Unit 4 also started up before schedule to help meet the region’s surging energy needs.

Built by Alstom and its long-established Chinese partner, Dongfang Electric Corp., the plant uses a CPR-1000, an “im-proved Chinese pressurized water reactor” technology based on an AREVA-derived three-loop design (Figure 2). Alstom said in a statement that of all four units in the Ling Ao nuclear plant, Unit 4 enjoys the highest localization rate. Key components include a GIGATOP 4 pole turbogenerator, moisture separator reheater, the condenser and the low pres-

1. Shutdown at Landshut. In the wake of spring’s Fukushima

crisis in Japan, Germany idled seven nuclear plants built before 1980

and one newer facility at Krümmel for technical problems. Among those

was E.ON’s 1977-built Isar Unit 1 near the city of Landshut (shown

here). The 1988-built Isar 2 continues to be used for baseload supply.

Courtesy: E.ON 2. Made in China. The second reactor of the Ling Ao Phase II nu-

clear plant started commercial operation in August. Courtesy: Alstom


sure heater, and Alstom’s ARABELLE half-speed steam turbine, which is compatible with several reactor types.

Some 700 miles northeast, in China’s Zhejiang province, West-inghouse and consortium partners the Shaw Group, State Nuclear Power Technology Corp. (SNPTC), and Sanmen Nuclear Power Co. received the first AP1000 nuclear reactor vessel from Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction, which manufactured the reactor vessel in South Korea.

When installed in the Sanmen Unit 1 plant, the AP1000 reactor vessel will undergo installation and operational testing before starting commercial operation, which is planned for late 2013. Westinghouse said the vessel’s arrival is a key project milestone for the project. The second AP1000 unit at Sanmen is expected to come online in 2014, and two others under construction in Haiyang, in Shandong province, will start commercial operations between 2014 and 2015.

China’s nuclear building frenzy was paused after the Fukushi-ma accident in Japan this March until the China Nuclear Energy Association completed mandatory safety inspections of existing nuclear plants in the country in August. Its reactor building pro-gram is now expected to continue at full steam. The country, which has 14 reactors already operating and 28 reactors under construction, has ambitious goals to raise nuclear capacity to 40 GW by 2015 from the current 11.88 GW.

Many of China’s future builds will be AP1000 designs, though all will be built by SNPTC under a technology transfer agreement negotiated between the state-owned company and Westinghouse.

Westinghouse may get an overhaul of its own. In September, Louisiana-based engineering firm the Shaw Group exercised its option to sell its 20% stake in Westinghouse to Toshiba for $1.6 billion, forcing the Japanese firm to raise its holdings to 87%. The companies had bought Westinghouse from the British gov-ernment for $5.6 billion in 2006. Kazatamprom and IHI hold 10% and 3% stakes in Westinghouse, respectively.

Shaw has said it will continue to work on projects with Toshiba and Westinghouse building new AP1000 reactors in the U.S. (six are under contract, including at Southern Co.’s $14 billion Vogtle expansion in Georgia) and at the Sanmen

3. The first AP1000 reactor vessel. Westinghouse and

consortium partners received the first AP1000 reactor vessel for the

twin-unit Sanmen power plant under construction in China’s Zhejiang

province. The vessel weighs about 340 tons, is 12.2 meters (40 feet)

long, and measures about 4.5 meters in diameter. Two other AP1000

pressurized water reactors are under construction in Haiyang, in Shan-

dong province. Courtesy: State Nuclear Power Technology Corp.

Conveying Loading Palletising Packaging

Pipe conveyors

Effi cient solutions for long distances.

www.beumer.com

Long distances, great heights, small radii – the pipe conveyors of KOCH, a BEUMER Group company, are grounded in technical know-how/expertise and transport your products quickly, safely and effi ciently from point A to point B. See for yourself and request further information by e-mail: [email protected].

BEU_Power_99x273,4_FoerderBau_KOCH_GB.indd 1 24.03.11 15:21



AES Solar 709-MW Imperial Valley

Solar ProjectImperial Valley, Calif.

AES Solar bought this project from Tessera in February and then asked California regulators in May for approval to change it to PV from Tessera’s flagship SunCatcher Dish Stirling system.

THE BIG PICTURE: A Solar SwitchThe plummeting cost of photovoltaic (PV) panels—resulting from lower costs for high-grade silicon and advancements in thin-film technology, solar storage, and electronic control technologies—has a slew of firms rethinking concentrating solar power (CSP) projects. Although there is a CSP project pipeline (including both CSP and concentrating PV) of more than 9 GW in the U.S., and more than 2.4 GW of those projects have signed power purchase agreements, only 509 MW of CSP have been grid-connected to date (see http://bit.ly/hqmL0W for a detailed list of major projects). Meanwhile, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association, in the first quarter of 2011, grid-connected PV installations in the U.S. surged 66% over the same period in 2010 to reach 252 MW, at a capacity-weighted average price of 5.63 cents/watt. That brought total U.S. grid-connected PV capacity to more than 2.3 GW. Here are some projects (with a combined capacity of 4,056 MW) that have announced a switch from CSP to PV and brief notes about the reasons cited. —Sonal Patel, senior writer

K Road Power663-MW Calico

Solar Farm Barstow, Calif.

K Road bought the project from Tessera last December after Southern California Edison cancelled its power purchase agreement (PPA). K Road has since said it would convert most of the project from Stirling dish to PV due to financing and market conditions for SunCatcher technology.

NextEra250-MW Beacon Solar

Energy ProjectKern County, Calif.

No reason cited.

NRG Solar 92-MW Alpine SunTower

Lancaster, Calif.

NRG in June 2010 said it switched the project from eSolar’s SunTower technology to PV to meet timelines for electricity delivery in the PPAs with Pacific Gas & Electric. Transmission constraints were a secondary consideration.

NRG Solar92-MW New Mexico

SunTower Doña Ana County, N.M.

In June 2010, NRG switched this project to PV to meet solar PPAs with El Paso Electric Co. It also said that construction of eSolar technology would be contingent on Department of Energy (DOE) loan guarantees, which would delay commercial operation beyond the PPA requirements.

Solar Millennium250-MW Ridgecrest

Power PlantKern County, Calif.

The company in January withdrew its applications for this project from the California Energy Commission and U.S. Bureau of Land Management, citing unfavorable study results concerning the impact it could have on native species. The company may consider PV to lessen this impact.

Solar Millennium1,000 MW total

California and Nevada

In August, a spokeswoman said the company is also considering a switch to PV for projects near Palen, Calif., and Amargosa Valley, Nev.

Solar Trust of America

1-GW Blythe Solar Power Project

Riverside County, Calif.

This Solar Millennium subsidiary’s $2.8 billion project received a $2.1 billion DOE conditional loan guarantee commitment earlier this year, but in August the company said the switch was a response to “favorable conditions in the PV and commercial lending markets.”

Running out of time to meet new regulatory

requirements?

NOx reduction now with systems that provide future lexibility

Running out of time to meet new regulatory

requirements?

NOx reduction now with systems that provide future lexibility

© Fuel Tech, Inc. TIFI® Targeted In-Furnace Injection™ and

ASCR™ are registered trademarks of Fuel Tech, Inc. www.ftek.com | 800.666.9688

Fuel Tech designs turn key systems to meet our customer’s

specific needs. Our NOx reduction systems provide flexible

capital solutions using SNCR technology which can be

implemented in weeks, and combined with our ASCR™

Advanced SCR systems for 2014 compliance and beyond.

We understand your needs and the challenges of the world

today. With over 20 years of experience, we’re ready to provide

you with the customized approach that’s best for you. Contact

us today or visit our website for more information.



A s the world leader in f ield heat treating, Team now brings the benef its of Wireless Heat Treating to

the power industry. Lower costs, higher quality, greater safety…you get all the advantages of Wireless Heat Treating in a highly advanced system. Team’s Programmable Logic Controller and SCADA® sof tware provide the brains for its Wireless SmartHeat 400® system. Driven by interchangeable, Internet-enabled laptops, one Team technician controls multiple heat cycles from a single remote location. Real-time temperatures can be monitored via PDA or PC, giving you the peace of mind that the process is being executed exactly as required. From small, complex f ittings to massive turbines, Team Wireless Heat Treating delivers reliable, documented results that save you time and money. For complete information visit w w w.te amindus t r ia ls e r v ice s .com.

Scan code with QR reader app

on smart phone

and Haiyang sites in China. Toshiba, which intends to con-tinue pushing sales of the AP1000 in countries like the UK, India, and Brazil, is reportedly considering new engineering partners for future projects, however, and it could invite new investors into Westinghouse. “Several companies” have al-ready expressed interest, it has said. Shaw will likely focus on upgrading the output of existing nuclear plants.

“Westinghouse continues to believe that the future of the nuclear energy industry is robust, and that a significant num-ber of additional new construction projects around the world will be announced over the next few years,” said Dr. Aris S. Candris, president and CEO of Westinghouse. “To further ensure that we are able to maintain our leadership role in the successful deployment of new plants, and to fulfill the expectations of our customers and other stakeholders, we will continue to identify additional partners and suppliers, in-cluding local construction companies with which we can part-ner while maintaining our collaborative relationship with the Power Group at Shaw to capture and share best practices.”

New Peaking Plant to Balance California’s RenewablesAs utilities in California are scrambling to meet the state’s 33% renewable mandate by 2020, a 49.6-MW peaking plant in Modesto, Calif., built by Finnish firm Wärtsilä for the Modesto Irrigation District, has been commissioned to provide flex-ible, fast-start peaking generation to balance the state’s in-crease in intermittent renewable generation (Figure 4).

The Woodland 3 Generation Project gas power plant, com-missioned in July, is a modular plant that features six gen-erating sets based on 20-cylinder Wärtsilä 34SG engines running on natural gas, which meet the stringent California state permit requirements. The flexible power plant is able to dispatch any or all of the six units and reach full plant output in five minutes or provide 25% power in just two minutes, Wärtsilä said. “The concept represents a multi-unit solution with the highest simple cycle efficiency available in the in-dustry,” the firm added.

4. Flexible peaking. Wärtsilä in July handed over the new Wood-

land 3 Generation Project gas power plant, a 49.6-MW peaking plant

in Modesto, Calif., that has been designed to balance California’s in-

crease in intermittent renewable generation. Courtesy: Wärtsilä

J O I N T H E R E V O L U T I O N

Manheim, PA/800•233•3010Corona, CA/800•317•7111

A Kito Group Company

Do you want a tool or do you want a toy?When you face a tough job, you don’t

want to mess around. You need a tool

that works every time, every day. The

Harrington LB lever hoist is built for

those demanding applications, strong

and reliable to get real jobs done right.

Harrington’s lever hoist is rated the

best in the industry because it can take whatever you dish

out. With a compact low-headroom design and a short steel

handle, this mighty hoist will easily fit anywhere your work

demands. This is the tool that works every day to finish the

job — faster and easier, every time.

•Heavy-duty,allsteelconstruction

•Nickel-plated,corrosion-resistantloadchain

•Easytooperate,transportandstore

•Revolutionaryfreewheelingforone-handedoperation

•Capacityrange¾–9Ton

Join the Revolution and visit us at www.harringtonhoists.com





on smart phone




on smart phone




on smart phone



Kuwait Starts First Turbines of 2,000-MW Gas Plant Kuwait put online the first 1,400 MW of its massive 2,000-MW combined cycle gas turbine Sabiya facility in June to mitigate looming power shortages it faces each summer. The plant—Kuwait’s largest power plant and one of the largest in the Gulf region—is now operating six GE 9FA gas turbines; the remaining 600 MW are expected to come online in 2012 (Figure 5).

The government of Kuwait, which owns the Sabiya facil-ity, last year instituted energy efficiency measures to battle shortages posed by a 2.5% power reserve, including cutting working day hours for public sector employees and install-ing smart meters in residential areas. Before Sabiya’s units came online this June, the country’s power capacity stood at around 11,200 MW, but power demand was expected to surge about 7% to 10% per year.

The country’s ministry of electricity also has other projects in the pipeline, including the 1.5-GW Al-Zour North indepen-dent power and water project. The Sabiya plant was built as part of a $2.65 billion turnkey contract between the govern-ment, GE, and Hyundai Heavy Industries. GE is expected to operate and maintain the plant for seven years from the date it enters full combined cycle commercial operation.

Hydro Reservoir GHG Emissions Lower Than EstimatedA new analysis of 85 hydroelectric reservoirs distributed around the world suggests that these systems emit about 48 million metric tons of carbon annually. That figure is much lower than earlier estimates of 64 million metric tons that were based on studies relying on more limited data and which cautioned that reservoirs of all types could be a major source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

Damming rivers to make reservoirs for hydropower creates flood-ing that emulates lake-like conditions. Decomposing vegetation and soil organic matter in an anaerobic environment within the reservoirs—particularly when they are being constructed—have been thought to cause major emissions of heat-trapping carbon dioxide and methane. Methane is 20 times more effective in trap-ping heat in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide (Figure 6).

Studies like those conducted by Swiss scientists at Lake Wohlen near Bern, Switzerland, last year suggested that sub-stantial amounts of methane are released not only from large tropical reservoirs but also from run-of-river reservoirs in Switzerland, especially in the summer, when water tempera-tures are higher.

But the analysis published in July in the journal Nature

Geoscience found that hydroelectric reservoirs emit less than 16% of total carbon dioxide and methane emissions from all types of human-made reservoirs combined.

The study says that emissions decline as reservoirs age, with cold-water systems stabilizing more than warm-water systems. It also suggests, however, that impacts are not equal across all landscapes: The amount of GHGs generated by hydroelectric reservoirs depends on where they are built, and the analysis indicates that emissions are correlated with latitude and the amount of biomass in the watershed. Res-ervoirs in tropical locations, such as the Amazon, emit more methane and carbon throughout their lifecycles.

POWER DigestSiemens Gets $1 Billion Order to Build Gas Power Plants in Thailand. Siemens on Aug. 17 said it received two or-ders worth $1 billion from Thailand for the engineering, pro-curement, and construction (EPC) of combined cycle power plants. The firm will build Chana Block 2 in the province of Songkhla and Wang Noi Block 4 in the vicinity of Bangkok with Japanese partner Marubeni. Chana Block 2, an exten-sion to the Chana Block 1, will be the first single-shaft power plant built in Thailand based on the Siemens field-proven design, whereas Wang-Noi will be of multishaft configuration. The two plants, built for state-owned utility Electricity Gen-erating Authority of Thailand, will each have an installed capacity of about 800 MW and are scheduled to come online in the summer of 2014.

5. Nation-saving power. Kuwait put online 1,400 MW of its

2,000-MW Sabiya combined cycle gas turbine facility in June to allevi-

ate tight power supplies and to help meet soaring demand the country

sees each summer. Courtesy: Kuwait Ministry of Electricity and Water

6. Hydropower emissions. Hydropower reservoirs like the

UHE FURNAS one owned by Brazilian utility FURNAS may not emit as

much greenhouse gas as had been previously suggested, a new analy-

sis shows. Located in the middle of the Rio Grande, the UHE FURNAS

reservoir is one of the largest in Brazil. It impounds the Grande River

and has a capacity of 22,590,000,000 cubic meters (18,314,011 acre

feet) and a surface area of 1,473 square kilometers (569 square miles).

Courtesy: FURNAS

www.proenergyservices.com/service UNITED STATES l MEXICO l PANAMAVENEZUELA l ARGENTINA l BRAZIL

GHANA l PAKISTAN l ANGOLA

We’ve built a world class team and equipped

them with the facilities, equipment, technology

and resources they need all in one place, on one

centrally-located campus. From here, we work

together to deliver asset development, management

and preservation services for our power producing

customers across the globe.

Discover the Power of One Company.

PROENERG Y SERVICES CORPORATE HEADQUARTERS | SEDALIA, MISSOURI , USA

From here we can service the world.



In addition to EPC, Siemens will supply the main compo-nents, namely, an SGT5-4000F gas turbine, an SST5-3000-se-ries steam turbine, an SGen5-2000H generator, all electrical equipment, an SPPA-T3000 instrumentation and control (I&C) system, and the ancillary and auxiliary systems. Marubeni will be responsible for supply of the heat-recovery steam genera-tor, the main transformers and switchgear, and for erection and installation of the overall plant.

The Wang Noi Block 4 combined cycle power plant will be built as an extension to the existing complex Wang Noi Blocks 1 to 3. The plant will be of multi-shaft design con-sisting of two SGT5-4000F gas turbines, an SST5-5000 steam turbine, three SGen-1000A generators, the entire electrical and I&C (SPPA-T3000) equipment, and the ancillary and aux-iliary systems.

Thailand is the largest per capita power consumer in South-east Asia—owing to high consumption by its steel, textiles, and rubber industries—and currently has an installed power plant capacity of approximately 39 GW. Demand is expected to grow at 3.5% per year, and the government has plans to increase the country’s total installed capacity to 52 GW by 2020. Gas-fired power plants, which already have a major share of the country’s capacity profile, are expected to sup-ply 5% of the country’s power by 2015. Siemens recently posted several orders from the country for the supply of 20 industrial gas turbines.

GE Energy Completes $3.2 Billion Deal to Acquire Converteam. In early September, GE completed its $3.2 billion acquisition of Converteam, a provider of power con-version and automation systems and high-efficiency power electronics, motors, and generators. The acquisition will en-able GE to better replace or improve mechanical processes with high-efficiency electric alternatives, the company said. Converteam’s portfolio includes variable-frequency drives and other power electronics that are widely used in the renewable energy sector, turning intermittent and variable power from solar, wind and, tidal sources into power.

NRG Solar Begins Operations at New Mexico’s Road-runner Facility. NRG Solar, a subsidiary of New Jersey–based NRG Energy, on Aug. 31 began producing power at its 20-MW Roadrunner Solar Generating Facility, a photovoltaic (PV) project in Santa Teresa, N.M., about 10 miles from El Paso, Texas. The plant, the first operated by the company outside California, uses First Solar’s advanced thin-film PV solar modules, which are mounted on single-axis trackers. First Solar, which was the project’s EPC contractor, will also be the operations and maintenance contractor for the 210-acre facility. Power generated by the Roadrunner facility will be sold to El Paso Electric under a 20-year power purchase agreement (PPA).

GDF SUEZ to Expand Brazilian Hydroelectric Plant. GDF SUEZ and International Power, a company owned 70% by GDF SUEZ, on Aug. 18 announced that it would expand the already massive 3,300-MW Jirau hydroelectric project on the Madeira River in Brazil to 3,750 MW, adding six units to the original concession of 44 units. The announcement comes on the heels of new PPAs as a result of the A-3 energy auction held in Brazil on Aug. 17. GDF SUEZ said in a state-ment that power from the six additional units—a total of 209 MW—would be sold at a regulated market price of 102 reals/MWh ($64/MWh) for 30 years, starting in 2014. About 73% of the power that will be produced by the project has been contracted under long-term PPAs, and the balance will

be sold in the free market—mostly to industrial customers. GDF SUEZ and International Power are building the plant (50 units of about 75 MW each) with Energia Sustentavel do Brasil and will transfer the project to Tractebel Energia when fully complete.

Voith Wins Order for 1,850-MW Hydropower Plant in Brazil. Brazil’s per-capita electricity use is expected to rise by almost a third, prompting the South American nation to add 6,920 MW of generating capacity—much of which is hy-dropower—every year during the next decade. The country’s environmental agency, IBAMA, in August granted an environ-mental license to the 1,850-MW Teles Pires hydropower plant on the border of the Mato Grosso and Para states. Following the approval, on Aug. 22, Voith Hydro said it signed a €220 million ($312 million) contract for the supply of 404-MVA generators for the plant’s five Francis turbines, as well as its control and automation systems, its substations, mechanical and electrical balance of plant, associated transmission sys-tem, and the project’s detailed engineering.

MHI, CTCI to Build Three Supercritical Coal Plants for Taiwanese Firm. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. (MHI) and CTCI Corp.—Taiwan’s largest EPC firm—said on Sept. 1 they received a full turnkey order from state-owned Taiwan Power Co. (Taipower) for a project to construct three coal-fired supercritical-pressure power generation units at Taip-ower’s Linkou Thermal Power Plant. The three units (1, 2, and 3), each rated at 800 MW, will replace existing facilities at the plant based on Taiwan’s energy source development plan. Units 1 and 2 are scheduled to come online in November 2015 and November 2016 respectively, and Unit 3 will go online in November 2020. The Linkou Thermal Power Plant is located in northern Taiwan, approximately 12 miles west of central Tai-pei. Each power generation unit consists primarily of a boiler, steam turbine, and generator. MHI will be responsible for the manufacture and supply of the three boilers and three steam turbines. The three generators will be produced by Mitsubishi Electric Corp.

Taiwan’s electricity needs have been increasing every year, along with continuous economic growth supported by robust external demand. Although Taiwan’s power generation busi-ness has been liberalized since 1994, Taipower continues to generate near 75% of all electricity. The company transmits and distributes energy by purchasing electricity produced by independent power producers. In 2010, Taiwan’s total power generation capacity was 40,250 MW.

E.ON Commissions Russian Gas Turbines. E.ON in July officially commissioned two new combined cycle gas turbine units, each 400 MW, at its Surgutskaya GRES-2 power station in West Siberia, Russia. The German company said it is now one of the largest buyers of Russian gas and also the biggest foreign investor in the Russian power market. E.ON said in a statement that the efficiency of each unit at Surgutskaya GRES-2 is 55.9%.

Alstom Signs Contract for 125-MW Solar Steam Tur-bine. Alstom in August signed a contract with U.S. firm Co-bra Thermosolar Plants to supply a 125-MW steam turbine and a generator for a thermal solar plant in Tonopah, Nev., using tower technology. The turbine will be delivered in Sep-tember 2012 and the solar plant will be commissioned by the end of 2013. The project is the application of an innovative solar energy storage technology and will produce 500,000 MWh per year to be sold to Nevada utility NV Energy. ■

—Sonal Patel is POWER’s senior writer. PENNGUARD® Block Lining System

Phone: [email protected] www.hadek.com

Hadek is the expert on power plantchimney and FGD ductwork protection,and a global distributor of thePennguard® Block Lining System.

We deliver:

• Research and feasibility studies

• Detail engineering

• Installation supervision

• Lifetime Performance Monitoring System

• 10 year limited warranty

Acidic condensate. Positive pressure. Thermalshocks. Thermal cycles. FGD may be good for theenvironment but it’s tough on the brick lined flues in your power plant chimney. Fail to protect, and it will soon be tough on your maintenance budget.

Hadek brings you a unique solution: the Pennguard®

Block Lining System. Made from cellular borosilicateglass, the Pennguard® lining is an impermeable,acid-resistant barrier. It is a strong insulator and creates an excellent protection againsttemperature shocks.

Lightweight Pennguard® linings can be applied onthe inside of existing brick flues, quickly and easily,with minimum downtime.

Cost effective, quick-to-install, durable and reliable – it's hard to argue against such a common-sense investment. Find out more by calling us on 412 204 0028.

Pennguard® is a registered trademark of Henkel KGaA and is used with their permission.

FGD...Soft on the environment. Tough on bricks.

PENNGUARD® Block Lining System

PROTECTING POWER

PLANT CHIMNEYS

Phone: 412 204 0028

[email protected] www.hadek.com

Hadek is the expert on power plantchimney and FGD ductwork protection,and a global distributor of thePennguard® Block Lining System.

We deliver:

• Research and feasibility studies

• Detail engineering

• Installation supervision

• Lifetime Performance Monitoring System

• 10 year limited warranty

Acidic condensate. Positive pressure. Thermalshocks. Thermal cycles. FGD may be good for theenvironment but it’s tough on the brick lined flues in your power plant chimney. Fail to protect, and it will soon be tough on your maintenance budget.

Hadek brings you a unique solution: the Pennguard®

Block Lining System. Made from cellular borosilicateglass, the Pennguard® lining is an impermeable,acid-resistant barrier. It is a strong insulator and creates an excellent protection againsttemperature shocks.

Lightweight Pennguard® linings can be applied onthe inside of existing brick flues, quickly and easily,with minimum downtime.

Cost effective, quick-to-install, durable and reliable – it's hard to argue against such a common-sense investment. Find out more by calling us on 412 204 0028.

Pennguard® is a registered trademark of Henkel KGaA and is used with their permission.

FGD...Soft on the environment. Tough on bricks.



JEA Increases Power Output Through CFB Improvements

JEA’s Northside Generating Station in Jacksonville, Fla., Units 1 and 2 were built in 1966 and 1972, respectively, although the Unit 2 boiler had not operated since 1983. Both were heavy oil– and natural gas–fired steam units rated at about 300 MW. The util-ity “repowered” those two units by removing the old boilers and adding new circulating fluidized bed (CFB) boilers (Figure 1) that entered service in 2002. At that time, they were the world’s two largest CFBs, and the plant won POWER’s Plant of the Year Award.

The CFB burns crushed limestone (sorbent), which is inject-ed into the bed where the coal or petroleum coke is burned, absorbing the released sulfur. A polishing spray dryer absorber completes the sulfur-removal process. The low temperature of combustion, about 1,650F, also minimizes NOx production. The bed of ash, solid fuel, and sorbent is fluidized by air accelerated through nozzles located in the bottom of the bed. The fluidizing air also supplies most of the needed combustion air.

As the solid fuel particles burn and reduce in size, the fluidizing air will carry the light particles upward through the boiler with the combustion gases. These particles are then separated in a cyclone and recycled back to the bed, the “circulating” part of the CFB boiler system. Ash is removed from the bottom of the bed through a stripper cooler that recovers heat as new fuel and sorbent are added. A fabric filter removes any remaining particles entrained in the flue gas. Uniquely, steam is superheated in tubes placed in the solids circulating stream and in the flue gas path.

As is often the case, deploying state-of-the-art technology often means that plant upgrades and operational improvements will closely follow emerging technology advancements prompted by actual operating experience. This is what JEA has experienced with the two new CFB boilers.

Solving Operating ProblemsAt Northside, concerns arose about boiler reliability and load reductions principally caused by unstable main steam tempera-tures that were in turn caused by high bed pressures. High bed pressures were caused by too much limestone and ash in the furnace bed and overfiring the CFB. Another side effect of these

off-design conditions was high ammonia consumption. Ammonia is injected into the backpass (cyclone inlet) area of the boiler for additional control of NOx production.

Beginning in 2006, many improvements were made to the plant that included upgrading the air quality control system, im-proving stripper cooler reliability, and optimizing fuel/limestone mixtures. These and other modifications produced immediate benefits. For example, correcting hot combustion spots in the furnace resulted in lower ammonia use, saving $1.5 million per year. Better control of furnace temperatures also reduced coal usage and improved ash quality (ash is resold into the build-ing materials market), resulting in lower cost of generation. In addition, reduced limestone use improved coal combustion and increased boiler efficiency.

Further improvements to the plant were made in the fall of 2009. One major improvement was replacement of the original 1966-vintage steam turbine low-pressure rotor in each unit. Re-design of the integrated recycle heat exchangers (known as “In-trex,” located in the return leg from each cyclone and used for steam superheating) and other modifications have also boosted unit output about 15 MW per unit, producing significantly higher power sale revenue.

Modifying the Intrex The Intrex are integral to the CFB furnaces and function to reduce the height of the bed material in each furnace bed for improved combustion and steam production, operating at about 1,600F to 1,650F. Furnace temperature is directly controlled by changing the solids loading in the upper furnace, by control of the primary and secondary airflow, and by efficient flow of solids over the Intrex tubes.

Heat transfer problems occurred previously in the Intrex units when solids agglomerated on the tubes, reducing the airflow and heat exchanger performance. The solids buildup was first observed during initial furnace start-up in 2002. The replacement cost of each Intrex is about $1 million. Despite the CFB improvements made between 2006 and 2008, Intrex airflow issues continued to limit power generation (Figure 2).

There were other problems related to ash agglomeration. The orig-inal 10-inch damper valves controlling airflow to the Intrex units would stick when completely closed, requiring a 5% limit stop to be placed in the control system to prevent full closure. As a result, un-

1. World record holder. JEA “repowered” two old steam boil-

ers at the Northside Generating Station with circulating fluidized bed

(CFB) boilers. When installed in 2002, the two CFB boilers were the

largest in the world. The steam turbine portion of the plant remained

unchanged. Courtesy: JEA2. Intrex tube shelf problem. The end tube support design

promotes agglomeration under the superheater tube bundle and on the

return wall. Source: JEA

Ash recirculation due to lack up upward air flow

Tube shelf agglomeration

••••••••

• No specialty pipe – Vic-Press is the only solution using off-the-shelf ASTM A-312 Schedule 10S pipe

• Allows for easier supply chain and inventory management

• Type 304 and Type 316

• Vic-Press provides pressure performance up to 500 psi

• Accepted for use on ASME B31.1, B31.3 and B31.9 systems

• In accordance with ANSI Class 150 standards

• NSF 61 Certified up to 180 ̊F/82 ̊C for EPDM and HNBR seal materials

• Pipe wall thickness provides up to 3× greater strength, 2× greater durability and 52% greater flow performance than tube

• Most comprehensive stainless steel line in the industry, from ½" to 24"

For more information, visit www.vic-press.com

Industrial Grade Performance

SUPPLYING THE COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE

FOR SCHEDULE 10SVic-Press™

using standard off-the-shelf Schedule 10S pipe

APPLICATIONS

• Potable water

• Service air/water

• Petroleum oils

• Hydraulic fluids

• Organic fluids

• Lubricants

• Hydrocarbons

• And many more!

THE ONLY PIPE-SIZED PRESS SOLUTION

• No specialty pipe – Vic-Press™ is the only solution using off-the-shelf ASTM A-312 Schedule 10S pipe

• Allows for easier supply chain and inventory management

• Type 304 and Type 316

SURPASSING INDUSTRY STANDARDS

• Vic-Press™ provides pressure performance up to 500 psi

• Accepted for use on ASME B31.1, B31.3 and B31.9 systems

• In accordance with ANSI Class 150 standards

• NSF 61 Certified up to 180 ̊F/82 ̊C for EPDM and HNBR seal materials

ENGINEERED FOR DEMANDING INDUSTRIAL APPLICATIONS

• Pipe wall thickness provides up to 3× greater strength, 2× greater durability and 52% greater flow performance than tube

COMPLETE LINE OF FITTINGS, VALVES AND ACCESSORIES

• Most comprehensive stainless steel line in the industry, from ½" to 24"



desirable inflow at start-up caused overheating of the heat exchanger tubes, contributing to metallurgical damage and premature tube fail-ures. Those 10-inch valves also tended to “hunt,” meaning that they were unstable, especially in the range of 10% to 30% open.

The designers realized well-controlled airflow was essential to ensure good circulation within the Intrex units to prevent ag-glomeration of solids on the tubes and for improved combustion in the CFB. As a result, the Intrex units were redesigned.

Three modifications were implemented during the fall 2009 shut-down: moving the superheater tube support, replacing weir walls with a new design to aid circulation, and using a three-pipe air supply inside of the single, 10-inch-diameter pipe (Figure 3). The original 10-inch air supply line was replaced by three pipes, each equipped with a new 4-inch-high performance butterfly valve designed to pass the same amount of air, but with improved accuracy.

A New Butterfly ValveHigh-performance butterfly valves are traditionally used in throttling applications requiring close flow control, but their accurate operating range is usually limited to a very narrow control range, about 30% to 50% open. When pushed to open wider, operation usually becomes sluggish and unpredictable. Perhaps this is why high-performance butterfly valves were not used in the original Intrex design, which had airflow controlled by the 10-inch damper valves.

Meanwhile, engineers at the Fisher Controls Division of Emerson Process Management were working to broaden the control range of

high-performance butterfly valves. By testing various butterfly valve disk designs in their testing laboratory, they created a disk with an inherent equal percentage flow characteristic. This means that the percentage flow through the valve was proportional to the percent-age valve opening, so there were more predictable flows over a much wider valve travel range, in this case up to 70% open.

Following successful field trials, the new 4-inch control disk valve system was introduced early in 2009, just in time for the new technology to be adopted by JEA. A Fisher spring and dia-phragm actuator operates each of the new valves. Post-upgrade tests confirmed that during normal Intrex operation, the desired pressures in each of the three sections of the air supply plenum were achieved, which improved the flow of bed material. A dozen of the 10-inch damper valves were replaced by 36 of the 4-inch control disk valves on each of the two units. Another advantage was the control disc valve design is the complete shutoff of the air supply to the bed during start-up, avoiding Intrex tube damage.

Final Test Results The redesign and modifications completed in 2009 greatly improved control of the airflow into each of the three Intrex heat exchangers in each of the two units. Ash flow through the Intrex heaters was also improved, reducing tube fouling and producing better heat transfer. The stability of bed levels in each furnace resulted in lower air pres-sures required to fluidize the bed material. The improved fluidization also prevents plugging of the Intrex heat exchangers. Other observed benefits have been reduced emissions of SO2 and NOx and increased load output. The valves can also control accurately at lower flows, making it easier to adjust to lower power loads at night.

Figure 4 shows before and after views of the superheater tubes in one Intrex. One year after the valve modifications were made, the Intrex tubes remain clear and problem-free. Recently, the distributed control system (DCS) monitor of one CFB showed very precise valve opening of 63.69%, 70.02%, and 66.79% on each of three control disk valves serving one Intrex heater. These valve opening readings represent gas flows of 2,056 lb/hr, 1,999 lb/hour, and 1,997 lb/hour, respectively, indicating that the Intrex heaters are operating as designed.

Also shown on the DCS screen was the power output of 308.37 MW for that unit, confirming that the upgraded Intrex system and other plant modifications have produced improved furnace operation and increased power output.

Looking AheadJEA intends to continue its leadership in CFB boiler design and operation with further improvements to the Northside plant. To-day, JEA management believes that more fine-tuning will further increase plant output and efficiency. The next step is restoration of a number of Intrex tube bundles, already scheduled during the fall 2011 shutdown. Other plans call for improvement of secondary and primary air control, limiting Intrex tube temperatures on start-up to 1,050F, and analyzing start-up control factors such as feedwater flow, primary and secondary airflow, bed pressures, and above-bed burner uses to improve the responsiveness of each unit.

—Contributed by Frank Thomas ([email protected]), a reliability engineer, and John Kang ([email protected]), an electric generation

optimization specialist, for JEA.

Applying Acoustic Pulse Reflectometry in a Geothermal PlantAcoustic pulse reflectometry (APR) is a tube inspection method that has been gradually gaining acceptance as a tool for heat ex-changer inspection. Different types of heat exchangers operating

All weir walls modified to Hoover Dam design

Raised return channel floor

Heavy refractory Light refractory

Tube support moved to mid span

Partitioned air supply

Lowest pressure

Middle pressure Highest

pressureActs as support for modified tube shelf

3. Intrex design improvements. In the fall of 2009, a number of

additional design improvements were made to the Intrex. Source: JEA

4. Good results from Intrex upgrades. On the left is Intrex

2C in as-found condition before the 2009 outage. Note the agglomera-

tion formation above the tube shelf. Agglomeration forms above the

tube shelf due to poor fluidization. This buildup causes load reduction

and cyclone plugging. Targeted modifications made in 2009 eliminated

this problem, as shown in the photo on the right. Courtesy: JEA


in different operating environments have different failure mecha-nisms, making some of them more suited than others for inspec-tion by APR. Finned tube heat exchangers are a typical example of heat exchangers particularly conducive to APR inspection.

The reason APR is particularly useful on finned tube heat ex-changers is that it is purely an internal pipe inspection method. This is a limitation where tubes are susceptible to external dam-age by corrosion or abrasion from support plates. In finned tube exchangers, however, the tubes often rest on top of each other, supported by the fins. There are no support plates, and in cases where the external fluid is forced air, there are no hostile chemi-cals on the exterior of the tubes.

Dual-cycle geothermal power plants often employ this type of heat exchangers. In this type of geothermal plant, hot brine heats an organic liquid having a low boiling temperature, turn-ing it into vapor. This higher-pressure gas expands through the turbine, producing power. The lower-pressure gas is then con-densed using finned tube heat exchangers (condensers in this case), which are cooled by air forced across the highly finned heat exchanger tubes by large fans. Thoroughly inspecting these heat exchanger pipes has been problematic, until now.

How APR Works

The theory behind APR is to inject a wideband acoustic pulse into a pipe. This pulse acts as a form of “virtual probe.” As long as the pulse encounters no discontinuities, it continues to propa-gate down the tube. Whenever a discontinuity is encountered—such as a blockage, expansion (due to wall loss, for example), or hole—a reflection is created. The reflected waves propagate back

down the tube, where they are recorded for analysis (Figure 5). The ultimate purpose of tube inspection should be to examine

tubes as rapidly as possible and then analyze the measurements both rapidly and using objective criteria. Keeping this in mind, APR is very well-suited to this task on both counts. The pulse acting as a probe travels through the tube at the speed of sound, resulting in inspection rates much faster than those possible with other techniques. Measurement of a single tube takes only several seconds, and there is no physical probe to push through the tubes or become stuck. The resultant measurements can then be analyzed by appropriate signal processing software, which is faster and more objective than human analysis.


5. Different discontinuities have different signatures. In tubes belonging to heat exchangers, any sensed discontinuity repre-

sents a fault. Source: AcousticEye

Impinging pulse

Reflection from a constriction

Reflection from a dilation

Reflection from a leak


Signal Analysis TechniquesCarrying out the physical measurements on a large number of tubes is the first step toward assessing the material condition of a condenser. Analyzing these measurements to reach actionable conclusions is a daunting task best performed by sophisticated analysis software. Such software can flag problematic measure-

ments and diagnose them or present them for further expert evaluation.

The raw measurements always contain a certain degree of vari-ability, due to ambient noise, internal noise, and fluctuations caused by reflections off residual fouling. Thus, the first step in analysis is to find the “ground level” of noise, defining a noise threshold. Any reflections crossing this threshold are considered to represent faults. To aid in assessing fault sizes, a series of thresholds are calculated so that the size of a fault can be esti-

6. Tubular tests. APR was used to measure the response of 20

different pipes. The length along each pipe from the point of measure-

ment is shown on the horizontal axis, in meters. The noise thresh-

old—signal variability due to ambient, internal, and reflected noise—is

shown with the red lines. The signals with the large peaks from the

horizontal axis represent faults. Source: AcousticEye

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

0

–1

–2

–3

–4

–5

–6

–7

x10ˆ–5 Position: 4.88853817 Value: –0.00002175 Mean: –0.00004 Min: –0.00166 Max:–0.00001

m_140

<Noise top>

<Noise bottom>

m_139

3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18

7. Typical fault detection. A single APR signal was taken from

the 20 shown in Figure 6 to illustrate how the technology can identify

the location of a fault. In this test, the fault is located at 15.3 meters

downstream. Source: AcousticEye

2.7

2.4

2.1

1.8

1.5

1.2

0.9

0.6

0.3

0.0

–0.3

–0.6

–0.9

14.9 15.0 15.1 15.2 15.3 15.4 15.5 15.6 15.7 15.8 15.9 16.0 16.1 16.2


<ThrPB> 25%

<ThrPB> 20%

<ThrPB> 15%

<ThrPB> 10%

<ThrPB> 5%

<Noise top>

<Noise bottom>

m_140


*Vehicle shown with optional accessories. Vehicle options and accessories subject to applicable export laws. Warning: The Polaris RANGER is not intended for on-road use. Driver must be at least 16 years old with a valid driver’s license to operate.

Passengers must be at least 12 years old and tall enough to grasp the hand holds and plant feet firmly on the floor. Drivers and passengers should always wear helmets, eye protection, protective clothing, and seat belts. Always use cab nets. Be particularly

careful on difficult terrain. Never drive on public roads or paved surfaces. Never engage in stunt driving, and avoid excessive speeds and sharp turns. Riding and alcohol/drugs don’t mix. Check local laws before riding on trails. ©2010 Polaris Industries Inc.

OUT HERE, IT’S NOT A TOY.

IT’S A TOOL OF THE TRADE.

THE POLARIS RANGER®

XP 800

Introducing the 2011 RANGER XP 800. The Hardest working Smoothest Riding utility vehicle on the job. The RANGER

XP 800 features optional electronic power steering, 4 wheel independent suspension and True All Wheel Drive, and it

can tow up to 2000 lbs of gear and carry 1000 lbs in the bed, all for half the price of a pickup.

To learn more about the 2011 RANGER XP 800 or to see the full line of hardest working smoothest riding utility vehicles,

visit us online at www.PolarisNationalAccounts.com or call 1-866-778-3724.

MINING

UTILITY

CONSTRUCTION

OIL & GAS

UNIVERSITY

FIRE & RESCUE



mated by observing the highest threshold crossed by the corresponding peak in the signal.

For example, 20 APR measurements are shown in Figure 6. Clearly, most of the sig-nals fluctuate close to the horizontal axis, though some of them exhibit large peaks, which probably represent faults. Adding positive and negative noise thresholds (the red line) helps distinguish random fluctuations from faults.

Finally, observing one of the measure-ments along with the blockage thresholds (Figure 7) shows there is a blockage at 15.3 meters, blocking about 23% of the cross section.

Geothermal Plant Case StudyThe multiple condensers in a geothermal plant were recently inspected by APR techniques. There are multiple condens-ers because multiple, small, standard-size geothermal modules are used. At this plant, multiple condensers are grouped into banks or “units,” each condenser hav-ing 284 finned tubes of about 18 meters in length. The units are placed in long rows, several feet above ground (Figure 8).

A leak of organic gas was found in one of the condensers. In this case the leak was large enough that the pressure dif-ferential caused the leaking gas to freeze into visible clumps at the bottom of the condenser. Further analysis revealed a loss of approximately 70 kilograms of gas per day. The failed unit was shut down and the faulty condenser bank was taken out of service. The unit was put back online a day later, excluding the faulty condenser (Figure 9).

Metallurgical analysis confirmed what was visually apparent: The leaks were caused by advanced corrosion. Such cor-rosion does not normally occur in these tubes because, in operation, they are filled with a noncorrosive organic fluid.

Midwesco® is committed to helping customers respond to today’s environmental challenges while improving operating performance. Whether you need solutions for CAAII, Utility MACT, HAP, NAAQS or PM2.5, our innovative iltration products and services are helping customers achieve compliance every day.

Find out why power producers worldwide rely on Midwesco® for all their air iltration needs. Midwesco®-- Your single source solution partner that balances regulatory requirements to meet the demands of your baghouse/dustcollector -- and your bottom line.

Your Answer For Regulatory Compliance

www.midwescoilter.com

Call 800.336.7300 Today!

PowerGen

Booth# 4242


8. Bank of condensers. This group of

air-cooled condensers is used to condense

the organic turbine exhaust vapor from a

series of small geothermal power systems.

APR was used to track down the location of

several tube leaks in only two days. Source:

AcousticEye

9. Clean pipes first. The presence of

a leak was considered highly irregular given

that the condenser bank was only three

years old. To facilitate inspection, some of

the condenser tubes were removed, reveal-

ing large amounts of corrosion and debris.

Source: AcousticEye

Symphony-Plus_US-Letter.indd 1 13/04/11 09.22

SymphonyTM Plus is the new generation of ABB’s total plant automation for

the power and water industries. Designed to maximize plant efficiency and

reliability through automation, integration and optimization of the entire plant,

Symphony Plus offers a simple, scalable, seamless and secure solution.

Tune to Symphony Plus and experience the power of a well-orchestrated

performance. www.abb.com/powergeneration

ABB Ltd.

Business Unit Power Generation

P.O. Box 8131

8050 Zurich, Switzerland

Tel. +41 (0) 43 317 5380

Symphony Plus Total Plant Automation. The power

of a well-orchestrated performance.

Symphony-Plus_US-Letter.indd 1 13/04/11 09.22CIRCLE 17 ON READER SERVICE CARD


The best explanation for this condition was that water residues had been left in the tubes when the condenser was put into service. The source of these residues was assumed to be the hydrotesting that had been carried out upon installation, three years earlier.

At this point the operator was left with two possibilities: the very expensive prospect of replacing the problematic condensers or cleaning out the corrosion. The operator’s main concern was that, after cleaning, the tubes would be shown to be in such bad condition that they would have to be replaced anyway. The decision was made to first clean out a single condenser unit and inspect the tubes.

The leaking condenser was hydroblasted and then inspected by a commercial service provider, using APR. Several additional holes were found, as were tubes with severe pitting. However, the majority of tubes were in satisfactory condition.

In view of the condition of the tubes after cleaning, and the rapid inspection time available with APR, the operator made two major decisions:

■ To follow the initial approach of cleaning out the entire bank, then inspecting all the tubes with APR, and plugging the prob-lematic ones. A full inspection over a short outage would not be possible with other technologies.

■ To purchase the APR equipment, train several of the company’s own people, and carry out the inspection itself. This was made possible through the high level of automated analysis avail-able in this equipment, which enables technicians to use it properly after a training course of only two days.

The entire bank was hydroblasted and treated with a chemical wash intended to coat the tubes to prevent further corrosion.

The remaining 2,840 tubes in the unit (10 condensers with 284 tubes each) were inspected in two days. In contrast to many condenser types where removal of access plates makes tube ends available to direct inspection, these condensers have a header box, about 12 inches deep, at either end. Opposite each tube is a plug that can be removed to enable inspection. Nevertheless, inserting an eddy current probe across the gap between the plug hole and the tube is awkward and time-consuming. Using APR, an extension tube is fitted to the APR probe, and the inspection is then carried out as usual (Figure 10).

A detailed report was provided in two additional days, recom-mending that about 4% of the tubes be plugged. When the unit was brought back online, losses of organic gas dropped back down to nor-mal background levels and overall plant output increased by 1.5%.

Useful Report ExtractsMany interesting and useful observations were made, based on the measurements. For example, the signals in Figures 6 and 7 were taken from one of the inspected condensers. Numerous positive-negative peak patterns can be seen, indicating the presence of many blockages. Most of these were quite small, having some ef-fect on the efficiency of the unit, but not justifying a complete replacement. Figure 11, on the other hand, shows a typical signa-ture of a hole. A final report was then prepared for each condenser, reporting all faults in graphic and tabular form (Figure 12).

APR has been demonstrated in the field as a viable tool for condenser tube inspection. Both test time and report genera-tion are fast in comparison to existing nondestructive inspection technologies. APR enables 100% inspection of large condenser banks while maintaining very short downtimes. ■

—Contributed by Dr. Noam Amir ([email protected]), chief technology officer, AcousticEye.

10. Easy inspection. When inspecting a condenser with a header

box, an extension tube is fitted to the APR probe to span the box, and

the inspection is then carried out as usual. Source: AcousticEye

11. A hole pattern. An APR inspection returns electronic signatures

that represent faults. Different discontinuities have different signatures.

In this figure, a leaking hole is observed. Source: AcousticEye

12. Fault report. A complete picture of the condenser material

condition can be reported on a single figure based on the individual

reports (see Figure 11). Source: AcousticEye

4.5

3.6

2.7

1.8

0.9

0.0

–0.9

–1.8

–2.7

–3.6

–4.5

–5.417.2 17.415.2 15.4 15.6 15.8 16.0 16.2 16.4 16.6 16.8 17.0


<ThrPB> 5%

<Noise top>

<Noise bottom>m_142

● No fault, or erosion <10% of tubewall depth

● Wall depth erosion / pitting >70%

● Full blockage

● Wall depth erosion/pitting 10%-30%

● Many/massive partial blockages

● Wall depth erosion/pitting 30%-70%

● Holes

513_R&S_Worth_Doing_Ad_PM_PE.indd 1 1/18/11 10:40 PM

If a job’s worth doing, it’s worth doing with Roberts & Schaefer.

222 South Riverside PlazaChicago, IL 60606312.236.7292 www.r-s.com

Offices also in Salt Lake City, Pittsburgh, Australia, Indonesia, Poland, India, Chile and Africa

W I T H M I L L I O N S O F D O L L A R S O N T H E L I N E , W H Y

T R U S T Y O U R P R O J E C T T O A N Y O N E B U T R & S ?

Since 1903, Roberts & Schaefer has been a world leader in the

design, engineering, procurement and construction of bulk material

handling, coal preparation, and fuel blending systems. We provide

total solutions for fuel handling, as well as limestone handling

and grinding for CFB boilers, limestone and gypsum handling

for FGD scrubbers, and ash handling systems. We’ve successfully

completed projects in 40 countries, on six continents, and we’re

just getting warmed up.

Whether it’s complete system development, upgrades,

or modifications, it’s worth making a call to R&S.

513_R&S_Worth_Doing_Ad_PM_PE.indd 1 1/18/11 10:40 PM



Too Much of a Good Thing Creates Legal HavocBy Brian R. Gish

As last winter’s abundant snowfall in the Pacific Northwest melted, rivers swelled and hydroelectric operators enjoyed substantial increases in generation. That bountiful clean

and cheap power generation was a blessing, but it also triggered a host of legal issues.

Free Power, Anyone?So much water flowed down the Columbia and other Northwest rivers in May and June that more hydropower was generated at times than there was electric demand in the region. Due to trans-mission constraints, the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA)—the region’s marketer for federal hydropower and the primary grid operator—could not dispose of all the power flowing into its sys-tem, even when it offered to give the power away for free. Because power going into a system needs to be balanced with power going out of the system, BPA had an “overgeneration” problem.

The seemingly obvious remedy of allowing the river water to spill over the dams rather than run through turbine generators was not available due to environmental restrictions. Spilling wa-ter causes air to be dissolved in the water, and too much dis-solved gas can kill fish, including federally protected endangered salmon in the Columbia River. According to BPA, it was bound by the Endangered Species Act and Clean Water Act to limit spill and concluded that it had no choice other than to run the river flow through turbine generators, which inject less air, but also gener-ated unneeded power.

Hydro Versus WindTo solve its problem, BPA adopted an “Environmental Redispatch” policy, which, in part, claimed authority to unilaterally amend its interconnection agreements with non-BPA generators to allow BPA to shut those generators down whenever regional supply ex-ceeded demand. BPA would then substitute, for free, its excess power for the power that would otherwise have been produced by the shut-down generators.

Although this policy was generally a good deal for thermal generators, which would save fuel costs by shutting down and receiving free power to serve their customers, it was not a good deal for the owners of thousands of megawatts of wind genera-tion that had been recently connected to BPA’s grid. Wind gen-erators have no fuel costs to save, and many lose money when they are not generating because of lost production-based federal tax credits and/or state renewable energy credits (RECs). Thus, BPA’s redispatch policy collided directly with governmental poli-cies encouraging wind power.

BPA could have disposed of its excess power by letting the market decide who could absorb the power most economically, but this would likely have required BPA to pay customers to take the power (that is, “negative pricing”). BPA, however, declared as part of its new policy that it would not pay customers to take

its excess power, because that would impose extra costs on its regular power customers. Instead, BPA decided to use its author-ity over the grid to protect its power customers from additional costs, and to push the responsibility for excess hydropower onto other generators in the region, primarily wind generators with government-provided incentives. Because no one argued that

fish should not be protected, but only who should pay for protec-tion, BPA’s policy was not so much “environmental” redispatch as it was “cost-shifting” redispatch.

BPA’s Remedy Raises Complex IssuesA number of wind generators filed a complaint against BPA at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) under the Federal Power Act, arguing, among other things, that BPA: had no au-thority to unilaterally amend interconnection agreements; was il-legally discriminating against wind projects; was violating “open access” principles by using its transmission grid to benefit its power marketing function; was manipulating the power markets; and was violating the Constitution and other laws by confiscating wind projects’ transmission rights to ship more BPA power out of the region. Interestingly, fishery interests intervened to say that fish could withstand, and even benefit from, higher levels of spill over the dams, and they blamed BPA for advocating for the lower spill limits in other proceedings where they were adopted.

BPA responded to the FERC complaint, arguing, among other things, that FERC had no jurisdiction over BPA to grant the rem-edies requested; BPA was legally authorized to implement its policy; there was no discrimination against wind; and that all appeals of BPA’s actions were required by law to go exclusively to the 9th Circuit Court. In fact, in proceedings separate from the FERC complaint, 10 petitioners filed court appeals of BPA’s actions.

Thus, in Rube Goldberg–like manner, the beneficial high spring river flows in the Northwest have resulted in the forced shutdown of over 97,000 MWh of wind generation; the loss of tens of millions of dollars in tax and REC wind production credits; the initiation of a hotly contested FERC proceeding with approximately 50 partici-pants; the filing of 10 petitions for court review; and the raising of a host of thorny legal and policy issues. As of the date this article was written, the FERC and court actions were pending. ■

— Brian R. Gish ([email protected]) is of counsel in Davis Wright Tremaine’s Energy Practice Group.

BPA’s policy was not so much

“environmental” redispatch as it

was “cost-shifting” redispatch.


TOP PLANTS

Coffeen Energy Center, Montgomery County, IllinoisOwner/operator: Ameren Energy Resources

Bordered on the east by the historic

Route 66 Highway, Montgomery

County, Ill., includes large tracts

of fertile croplands and protected natural

areas. Management and staff at the coal-

fired Coffeen Energy Center work hard to

control air emissions and take other proac-

tive steps to protect the natural resources

of the area.

Recently, Ameren Energy Resources

(AER) invested in new energy center equip-

ment and control systems that have improved

operation and reliability at the Coffeen plant

and helped to make it one of the cleanest

coal-fired plants in the nation.

“Coffeen is located in Montgomery

County, which is mostly rural, with small

towns and limited business base,” Jeff

Coyle, plant manager told POWER in Au-

gust. “The plant provides jobs and a tax

base to the local community, and we work

hard to be a good corporate neighbor.”

As one example of the facility’s efforts,

Coyle explained that “Coffeen Lake is

owned by Ameren, but Ameren has a lease

agreement with the Illinois Department of

Natural Resources to manage it, and the

lake is considered a wonderful year-round

hunting and fishing resource.”

Visitors to Coffeen Lake can find a di-

verse range of wildlife. Muskrats, turtles,

herons, and mussels can be seen in or near

the water. Bobwhites, coyotes, white-

tailed deer, black rat snakes, red-tailed

hawks, and blue jays are also common to

the area.

Plant UpgradesIn February, the plant began a major outage

that involved replacing all 14 of the 1970s-

era cyclones in the Unit 2 boiler and several

other plant improvements. The plant returned

to service in May.

Coffeen’s Unit 1 came online in 1965.

The original engineering firm was Sargent

& Lundy, and Alberici was the original con-

struction company. Unit 2 went commercial

in 1972 with the same engineering and con-

struction partners.

New environmental control systems

have been installed on both units during the

past decade—bringing to more than $1 bil-

lion the investment made in environmental

controls at this site alone. (Additionally,

in the past few years, AER has spent more

Situated in predominantly rural central Illinois, the 1,000-MW Coffeen Energy Center has installed a number of controls in recent years and achieved signifi-cant environmental performance. For example, in 2010 a new scrubber facility was added that reduces SO2 from combustion gases coming from the plant’s two coal-fired boilers. The plant personnel’s continuing commitment to protecting the environment helps to promote a strong relationship between the plant and the local community.

By Angela Neville, JD Courtesy: Ameren Energy Resources

E N E R G I Z I N G T H E W O R L D F O R 1 2 5 Y E A R S

Sometimes the best ideas are just that simple.

WE

ST

IN

GH

OU

SE

E

LE

CT

RI

C C

OM

PA

NY

L

LC

When we designed the AP1000 nuclear reactor, we asked

ourselves which would be more reliable, multiple arrays

of electro-mechanical systems or gravity. To us, the answer

is obvious, which is why the AP1000 nuclear power plant

makes use of the stable forces of nature to keep the nuclear

reactor safe a� er any unforeseen event. No need for electrical

power. No need for cooling water (that is already inside the

robust containment building). No need for an operator to

touch a single button for a full 72 hours.

Check us out at www.westinghousenuclear.com


TOP PLANTS


than $1 billion on environmental improve-

ments on scrubbers, precipitators, new

landfills, and mercury reduction technolo-

gies at its other power plants.) In 2009 and

2010, scrubbers were installed on Coffeen

Units 1 and 2. These sophisticated systems

help to significantly cut the plant’s sulfur

dioxide (SO2) emissions and also reduce

mercury emissions. Reducing SO2 emis-

sions by more than 90%, the scrubbers are

designed to redirect the outlet stack gas

through a spray-tower scrubber design,

where the gas mixes with water, a 20%

limestone mixture, and compressed air.

The SO2 in the flue gas then reacts with the

limestone to produce a gypsum by-product

that can either be sold for commercial use

or placed into a landfill for disposal.

In addition to scrubbers, other recent

environmental improvements at Cof-

feen included an electrostatic precipitator

(ESP) upgrade on Unit 1 and a new ESP on

Unit 2. Though ESPs have been around for

many years, the ones installed at Coffeen

offer the latest improvements that make

them very effective in ash removal. Recent

environmental projects also have included

installation of new selective catalytic re-

duction (SCR) systems on both units and

the addition of other environmental con-

trol equipment and systems that support

cleaner water and air.

Alberici, the construction company in

charge of the project, handled the mechan-

ical installation of two large, state-of-the-

art absorber vessels and related equipment

supplied by Hitachi Power Systems Amer-

ica Ltd., while Sachs Electric of St. Louis

did the electrical portion of the work. Al-

berici worked with Ameren’s engineering

firm, Sargent & Lundy, to deliver this proj-

ect on an aggressive schedule driven by

the need to meet regulatory commitments

while adapting to the economic downturn.

One of the major construction challenges

is the configuration of Lake Coffeen in re-

lation to the plant, according to Coyle. The

1,100-acre lake was created in the early

1960s by building a dam to capture the flow

from the McDavid Creek. The resulting lake

is horseshoe-shaped with the plant sitting in

the middle. The area available for environ-

mental equipment additions is very limited.

“It took a lot of effort to design and con-

struct the interface tying the plant to air,

water, and electrical systems in this small

space,” he said. “Building the new equip-

ment very close to the operating plant and

maintaining operations was also a chal-

lenge. Additionally, the new scrubbers

require as much as two million gallons of

water per day and a state-of-the-art pump-

ing station was installed in a nearby creek

to capture additional water from a larger

watershed area to support operation.”

The plant’s recent large construction

projects at their peak meant jobs for up

to 800 craftspersons along with numer-

ous engineers and other professionals and

added large amounts of money to the lo-

cal economy. Coyle said, “We continue

to infuse significant dollars into the local

economy each year through contracted

work and services.”

Facility OverviewCoyle summed up Coffeen’s efficiency rate

by pointing out that “we expect to produce

more than 7 million MWh net per year.”

The heat rate of Unit 1 is approximately

10,200 Btu/kWh; Unit 2 is about 9,800

Btu/kWh.

The facility has upgraded its rotors over

the past decade, with the most recent im-

provement being a Toshiba high- and inter-

mediate-pressure turbine installed in Unit

2 in 2010. “High-efficiency turbines have

been installed in both units, which have

allowed us to increase generation output

for the same coal use,” Coyle said. “This

has the benefit of offsetting the increased

auxiliary load required by the new scrub-

bers by implementing energy efficient

projects.”

The expectation is that future equivalent

availability will be >90% and the capac-

ity factor will be nearly the same level to

take advantage of the units’ low-cost, low-

emission capability, Coyle explained.

The plant is operated and maintained

by 170 full-time employees (Figure 1).

There is a strong emphasis on plant safety,

which has dramatically reduced accidents

in recent years. Coyle pointed out that the

plant had zero accidents through the first

half of 2011.

Striving for Ongoing Environmental Excellence As part of the recent environmental im-

provements, the plant added new certified

fly ash and gypsum landfills that are used

to store by-products from burning coal.

Coyle explained that 100% of the bottom

ash is reclaimed and beneficially used in

post-combustion aggregate products.

Coyle emphasized that the Coffeen plant

is one of the cleanest fossil plants in the

nation in terms of regulated emissions. He

gave credit for the “very effective” con-

taminant control to a recent investment in

equipment for both units, including over-

fire air systems for NOx control, SCR, ESP,

and wet scrubber technologies.

“Multiple federal and state environmen-

tal regulations have been added since the

plant first came online,” Coyle said. “We

presently operate within stringent Illinois

Multi-Pollutant Strategy requirements and

are well-positioned to meet the new Cross

State Air Pollution Rule.” ■

—Angela Neville, JD, is POWER’s

senior editor.

1. Keeping things under control. In the control room at Ameren Energy Resources’

Coffeen Plant, in central Illinois, operations and engineering personnel discuss the operating

parameters of one of the newly installed scrubbers. Courtesy: Ameren Energy Resources

A K-Tron Company

For more information contact Bob Chase - [email protected] Pennsylvania Crusher Corporation ｰ PO Box 100 ｰ Broomall, PA 19008 ｰ (610) 544-7200

Displacement Feeder.

The Posimetric® Feeder. The First and Only

Posimetric® is a registered trademark of GE Energy (USA) LLC.

Pennsylvania Crusherｩs Posimetric feeders are found in demanding environments such as power plants and cement plants around the world. Our Positive Displacement technology solves material handling challenges where access is difﾙcult, when down time for maintenance is costly, or where accurate feed rate and distribution are most critical.

Positive Displacement feeding technology has been proven on materials ranging from coal, limestone, culm, crushed stone, shale, sand, rooﾙng granules and wood chips. If you have a feeding application, consider the positive beneﾙt you could realize with Positive Displacement feeding.

A K-Tron Company

For more information contact Bob Chase - [email protected] Pennsylvania Crusher Corporation ｰ PO Box 100 ｰ Broomall, PA 19008 ｰ (610) 544-7200

Displacement Feeder.

The Posimetric® Feeder. The First and Only

3 - 2,000 TPH

HIGH AVAILABILITY

TROUBLE FREE

LOW HORSEPOWER

ONE MOVING PART

LOW MAINTENANCE

Posimetric® is a registered trademark of GE Energy (USA) LLC.

Learn more at www.penncrusher.com/positive

Pennsylvania Crusherｩs Posimetric feeders are found in demanding environments such as power plants and cement plants around the world. Our Positive Displacement technology solves material handling challenges where access is difﾙcult, when down time for maintenance is costly, or where accurate feed rate and distribution are most critical.

Positive Displacement feeding technology has been proven on materials ranging from coal, limestone, culm, crushed stone, shale, sand, rooﾙng granules and wood chips. If you have a feeding application, consider the positive beneﾙt you could realize with Positive Displacement feeding.



TOP PLANTS

J.K. Spruce 2, Calaveras Power Station, San Antonio, TexasOwner/operator: CPS Energy

In the U.S., where coal accounts for around

45% of generating capacity, new coal

plants entering commercial service are be-

coming scarce. Moreover, those utilities with

existing coal plants remain very busy install-

ing costly new air quality control systems

(AQCS) and other environmental protection

systems. The cost of coal power is increasing,

but it remains relatively inexpensive.

CPS Energy, based in San Antonio, Texas,

is one utility that continues to rely on coal to

fire about 38% of the electricity consumed by

its customers. In total, CPS Energy has about

2,200 MW of coal-fired capacity in service

today. In addition, the utility purchases the

energy produced by five wind farms, total-

ing 859 MW, making it the largest munici-

pal purchaser of wind energy in the U.S. The

utility also purchases production from the

14-MW Blue Wing photovoltaic solar facil-

ity, the largest in the state of Texas, located

on 113 acres southeast of San Antonio.

Clean Energy StrategyCPS Energy’s Strategic Energy Plan was

adopted by the Board of Trustees in June

2003. The plan set energy conservation

goals, required increased use of renewable

energy sources, and included an expansion

of coal-fired generation.

In early 2005, the utility updated its strate-

gic energy plan to address its future electric-

ity generation needs. The plan was aligned

with a fuel diversification program that would

have the utility utilize coal, nuclear, and natu-

ral gas as well as increase the share of wind

and solar in the energy mix.

With electricity demand climbing at ap-

proximately 3% per year at the time, CPS

Energy’s forecasts indicated that an ad-

ditional 1,300 MW would be required by

2013, and a significant new source of gen-

eration was needed by 2010 to meet that

goal. As the utility had recently invested

in two gas-fired plants, it determined that

a coal-fired unit would be the best option

to meet future electricity demand. A coal

plant would ensure reliable supplies and

diversify the utility’s energy supply by

balancing scarce, high-priced, and volatile

fuels with more plentiful and affordable

ones. Ultimately, a coal plant would pro-

vide significant baseload electricity at low

cost, and this would enable CPS Energy to

pursue a balanced portfolio approach at af-

fordable costs for its retail customers.

Planning Ahead Later in 2005, Alstom Power was awarded

contracts to supply equipment for a new $1

billion, 750-MW coal-fired unit: Spruce 2,

at the utility’s Calaveras Power Station.

Under the contracts, Alstom supplied a

new coal-fired boiler as well as an AQCS,

resulting in a plant that is one of the clean-

est in the U.S. in terms of SOx, NOx, and

particulate emissions.

CPS Energy, the largest municipally owned utility in the U.S. providing both natural gas and electric service, implemented an energy plan in 2003 that required energy conservation measures, use of available renewable energy sources such as wind and solar, and additional coal-fired generation. The $1 billion 750-MW Spruce 2 fits into that plan by being one of the cleanest coal-fired plants in the country.

By Dr. Robert Peltier, PE

Courtesy: Alstom Power

TOP PLANTS


There are also four other units at the

site: the Sommers power plant (two gas-

fired boilers) and the Deely power plant

(two coal-fired units).

The new unit is located next to Spruce

1, a 550-MW coal-fired unit that began

operation at the end of 1992 and was de-

signed with provisions for an additional

unit. Those provisions for a future Spruce 2

included much of the necessary infrastruc-

ture, such as the water treatment build-

ing, machine shop, coal-handling supply

conveyors, and scrubber waste–handling

equipment. That approach saved as much

as $300 million in construction costs for

the new unit.

The process of obtaining a permit from

the Texas Commission on Environmental

Quality to build Spruce 2 was challenging

but ultimately successful. To obtain the

permit, CPS Energy proposed emissions

levels that were stricter than those estab-

lished for SOx and NOx at the time for

other plants in Texas.

The project was handled by Calaveras

Power Partners LP (CPP), a consortium of

Black & Veatch, TIC (The Industrial Com-

pany), and Zachry Construction. Following

an evaluation of bids for the project, CPP

awarded Alstom the contract to supply the

boiler in September 2005 and the contract

for the environmental control equipment a

month later.

Under the first contract, Alstom was re-

sponsible for delivering the complete boiler

island and the selective catalytic reduction

(SCR) equipment. The scope of supply in-

cluded fans, motors, boiler water circulation

pumps, valves, coal mills, bottom ash equip-

ment, and air heaters—essentially, all equip-

ment connected to the air heater outlet.

Under a separate contract for environ-

mental control equipment, Alstom sup-

plied a reverse gas fabric filter to reduce

particulates and a wet flue gas desulfuriza-

tion (FGD) system to remove SO2, hydro-

gen chloride, and hydrogen fluoride.

The Proper Way to Burn CoalThe boiler at Spruce 2 utilizes a subbitu-

minous low-sulfur coal delivered by train

from Wyoming’s Powder River Basin. One

to two trains arrive each day, with each

train comprising 135 cars and carrying

more than 100 tons of coal per car.

Coal is unloaded from the trains to the

coal yard and transported to silos large

enough to provide 12 hours of storage at

the plant. Spruce 2 consumes 425 tons/

hour of coal. The coal is pulverized and

dried in bowl mills before being combust-

ed; five of the six bowl mills are required

to achieve full load.

The boiler is a two-pass design with

straight wall furnace tubing. The design

main steam temperature measured at the

superheater outlet is 1,050F. The in-furnace

NOx control reduces NOx at the boiler out-

let to approximately 0.12 lb/MMBtu. The

SCR, CPS Energy’s first SCR system on a

coal-fired unit, further reduces NOx emis-

sion to about 0.05 lb/MMBtu at the stack.

A reverse gas fabric filter removes par-

ticulate emissions. The fly ash collected is

reused in the cement industry, while the

bottom ash is used for roadbed and other

construction applications; consequently,

there is very little disposal of ash waste

products on site. CPS Energy has been

meeting its particulate emissions and opac-

ity targets since the start of operation.

Upon leaving the baghouse and induced

draft fans, the flue gas enters a wet FGD

for the final stage of cleaning. The wet

scrubber is an open spray tower, wherein

the reactive slurry from the tank portion of

the vessel is recirculated to the top of the

tower and sprayed down onto the gas us-

ing a header with a series of nozzles. SO2

removal occurs as the flue gas is directed

up and through a series of headers or spray

levels that are spraying the limestone-

based reactive slurry. The desulfurized

gas exits the tower and goes to the stack.

The solid by-product from the scrubber

is gypsum. The wet FGD system has also

achieved its design target emissions of less

than 0.06 lb/MMBtu SO2, well below the

levels required by the air permit.

The new unit uses cooling water taken

from the man-made Calaveras Lake. From

the outset, the control room was designed

to house controls for both Spruce units.

Operators can manage operation of the

boiler, turbine, scrubber, and waste-han-

dling system of each unit from this com-

mon control room.

Ready for the PeakThe erection of any coal-fired plant often

presents significant challenges, but the

erection of Spruce 2 by CPP proceeded

well from start to finish. After a construc-

tion period lasting approximately four

years, commercial operation began on

May 28, 2010, just in time to meet the CPS

Energy summer peak season (May through

September), saving $45 million “compared

to power that would have been purchased

from the state grid” for that period, ac-

cording to CPS Energy.

With electricity demand in the U.S. ex-

pected to grow by more than 25% through

2030, coal will continue to be an important

fuel in the country’s energy mix. Reducing

its environmental effects will always be the

key. In fact, CPS Energy says that 25% of

the Spruce 2 price tag was for equipment

to meet environmental regulations. As one

of the cleanest coal power plants in the

country, Spruce 2 demonstrates how coal-

fired plants can continue to have a long-

term role in the nation’s energy mix. ■


editor-in-chief.

1. Younger sibling. CPS Energy completed construction of its second Spruce unit, the

750-MW Spruce 2, just in time to meet the summer 2010 peak demand season (May through

September). The $1 billion plant took 50 months to construct. Courtesy: Alstom Power


TOP PLANTS

John Twitty Energy Center Unit 2, Springfield, MissouriOwner/operator: City Utilities of Springfield, Missouri

City Utilities of Springfield (CU), Mis-

souri, is a community-owned utility

serving 110,000 customers in south-

west Missouri with electricity, natural gas,

and water services. The utility’s electricity

generation resources include the 203-MW

coal-fired Southwest No. 1 (renamed the

John Twitty Energy Center [JTEC] Unit 1 in

May 2011), which entered service in 1976,

and the five-unit James River Power Station

with a total nameplate of 255 MW, whose

units entered service between 1957 and 1970.

In addition, CU owns 359 MW of combus-

tion turbines that satisfy the region’s peak-

ing power requirements. The utility contracts

for another 101 MW under long-term power

purchase agreements. The CU 2010 net peak

demand was 772 MW.

By 2003, increasing electrical demand

from existing and new customers required

CU to add additional generation, especially

because its last plant had been constructed

almost 30 years earlier. After considering

several different generation alternatives, the

decision was made to add a second coal-fired

unit rated at 300 MW to the JTEC because

it appeared to be the best life-cycle cost op-

tion. Construction of the $555 million (total

construction and commissioning cost) proj-

ect designed to burn low-sulfur western coal

began in July 2006 with early construction of

the chimney foundation. Unit 2 was formally

dedicated on November 10, 2010, and in

commercial operation in January 2011. CU

doesn’t expect additional baseload genera-

tion will be needed until 2024 or later.

“With this new unit, we believe that a bal-

ance of reliable, affordable, and responsible

power has been met,” said retired City Utilities

General Manager John Twitty, after whom the

plant was recently renamed (Figure 1). The new

unit is expected to enhance the city’s ability to

bring jobs to the area. “Springfield is open for

business,” said Mayor Jim O’Neal. “And we’ve

got the power to prove it.” A four-year time-

lapse video of the plant’s construction is avail-

able at www.tinyurl.com/cus2010.

Designing a New PlantDesign of the new unit began in 2006. Stan-

ley Consultants was retained as the owner’s

engineer for the project with responsibility

for the detailed design of the entire plant,

cost estimating, scheduling, resident engi-

neering services during construction, start-up

services, and performance testing. Much of

the design ran concurrent with construction

because of the tight project schedule.

Lessening the plant’s environmental foot-

print was a key consideration. The design in-

cluded the plant’s state-of-the-art emissions

reduction technologies: activated carbon

injection for mercury emissions control, a

urea-based selective catalytic converter for

NOx control, and an Allied Environmental

dry fluidized bed desulfurization system with

Courtesy: City Utilities

City Utilities of Springfield elected to add a 300-MW coal-fired plant to its fleet to meet rising demand for electricity. It was the first coal plant constructed by the utility since 1976. An extremely competitive construction market required the utility to adopt new contracting practices to meet a tight project schedule, an approach that proved very successful. The $555 million plant commissioned in January 2011 is expected to cover system growth at least through 2024.

By Dr. Robert Peltier, PE

E M E R S O N . C O N S I D E R I T S O LV E D®.

You Deserve an Ovation.

Congratulations to POWER’s 2011 Top Coal-Fired and Gas-Fired Plants, including the

2011 Plant of the Year, Kansas City Power & Light’s Iatan 2. We’re proud of the fact that so many of you rely on Emerson’s

Ovation™ control technology.

Iatan 2Kansas City Power & Light

John Twitty Energy Center Unit 2City Utilities of Springfield

Plum Point Energy StationLS Power Development

Spruce Unit 2CPS Energy

Coffeen Power StationAmeren

Hopkins Station Unit 2City of Tallahassee

Astoria IIAstoria Energy

To find out how Emerson’s Ovation expert control technology can make

your plant a Top-Notch Performer, visit www.EmersonProcess-Power.com.

®™

The Emerson logo is a trademark and service mark of Emerson Electric Co. ©2011 Emerson Electric Co.Ovation and the Ovation logo are trademarks of Emerson Process Management.

Emerson_You Deserve an Ovation_Power Mag_Layout 1 9/13/11 1:14 PM Page 1

E M E R S O N . C O N S I D E R I T S O LV E D®.

You Deserve an Ovation.

Congratulations to POWER’s 2011 Top Coal-Fired and Gas-Fired Plants, including the

2011 Plant of the Year, Kansas City Power & Light’s Iatan 2. We’re proud of the fact that so many of you rely on Emerson’s

Ovation™ control technology.

Iatan 2Kansas City Power & Light

John Twitty Energy Center Unit 2City Utilities of Springfield

Plum Point Energy StationLS Power Development

Spruce Unit 2CPS Energy

Coffeen Power StationAmeren

Hopkins Station Unit 2City of Tallahassee

Astoria IIAstoria Energy

To find out how Emerson’s Ovation expert control technology can make

your plant a Top-Notch Performer, visit www.EmersonProcess-Power.com.

®™

The Emerson logo is a trademark and service mark of Emerson Electric Co. ©2011 Emerson Electric Co.Ovation and the Ovation logo are trademarks of Emerson Process Management.

Emerson_You Deserve an Ovation_Power Mag_Layout 1 9/13/11 1:14 PM Page 1


TOP PLANTS


baghouse for SO2 control, acid gas emissions

reduction, and particulate control.

Many of the major equipment purchases

were made by CU, including the steam turbine

generator (Toshiba), condenser (Ecolaire), and

the circulating, boiler feedwater, and conden-

sate pumps (Flowserve). Oscar J. Boldt Con-

struction was responsible for erection of the

boiler island supplied by Foster Wheeler, and

Cherne Contracting Corp. handled construction

of the balance of plant. Alberici Constructors

provided major equipment erection, including

the turbine generator. Other major equipment

suppliers included:

■ Boiler: Foster Wheeler

■ Coal silos and mills: Foster Wheeler

■ SCR catalyst: Ceram Environmental

■ Air heater: Alstom Power

■ CFB scrubber, baghouse: Allied Envi-

ronmental

■ PAC system: ADA-ES

■ Chimney: Pullman Power

■ Bottom ash and fly ash systems: United

Conveyor Corp.

■ Coal handling: Brahma Group (equipment

and construction)

■ Cooling tower: Midwest Towers (equip-

ment and construction)

The coal pile was expanded to account

for much-increased coal usage at the plant.

Powder River Basin (PRB) coal is delivered

by unit train using bottom dump railcars that

arrive every 48 hours. Each delivery is about

18,000 tons of coal. Coal is unloaded from

the railcars into hoppers, then to a transfer

tower and stockout conveyors, and then de-

posited on the coal pile. Coal is reclaimed

from the pile, crushed, and conveyed to Unit

2’s storage silos before delivery to the plant’s

pulverizers. A “dead” storage pile is used to

protect against interrupted or delayed deliv-

eries. The Unit 2 boiler burns up to 170 tons

per hour of PRB coal.

Challenges AboundCompliance with all the environmental per-

mits is often the critical path for these large

construction projects. For JTEC Unit 2, the

air permit required CU to begin construc-

tion prior to November 2006 or the permit

would expire. Because the air permit defined

the stack height and diameter, the foundation

was designed based on past project experi-

ence. As seen in the video, construction be-

gan with drilling about 20 piers for the stack

foundation, each more than 25 feet deep,

followed by a continuous pour 10-foot-thick

and 80-foot-diameter chimney foundation.

Procurement of major equipment and com-

modities, such as steel, took place in 2006

when marketplace activity was at historic

highs and contractors had large backlogs. For

example, when soliciting bids for the boiler is-

land installation, of the three firms qualified to

bid, two did not submit proposals. A negotiat-

ed contract with the remaining firm resulted.

Early procurement of major equipment,

along with “open book” construction con-

tracts, allowed significant owner involvement

in the equipment selection and subcontract-

ing processes. Often, nonstandard contracting

approaches were required, such as accepting

bond limits, incorporating target pricing for

payment structures, and negotiating lump sum

contracts with variable risk-sharing provisions.

The cost risk was shared with the major con-

struction contractors on market pricing for ma-

terials and equipment and on labor availability

and productivity. City Utilities served as its

own construction manager for the project.

A hybrid contracting approach was used

for plant construction:

■ Stand-alone work (such as chimney, coal

handling, and cooling tower) used supply

and erect contracts.

■ Substructure work was separately con-

tracted in phases.

■ Separate contracts were signed for boiler

erection and balance-of-plant construction.

Over 90% of the site construction labor

was hired from a 100-mile radius of Spring-

field. Of $160 million spent on labor, 90%

stayed in the region.

Unique Design PracticesTreated municipal wastewater from the South-

west Wastewater Treatment Plant (SWTP) is

used for cooling water makeup and wet flue gas

desulfurization sprays, saving approximately

five million gallons per day of water that would

otherwise have been supplied from underground

aquifers. The water is pumped from SWTP,

located about a mile away, through a 20-inch-

diameter pipe to the plant. Water is stored on site

in a 2.7 million gallon storage tank. The water

quality, especially the chloride levels, required

using SeaCure condenser tubes and titanium

plates in other plant heat exchangers.

Emerson supplied its Ovation distributed

control system for Unit 2. The plant makes ex-

tensive use of digital bus technologies with near-

ly 4,200 I/O points, more than 500 Foundation

fieldbus devices, and more than 100 Profibus DP

devices. The plant also uses Emerson’s Intelli-

gent Device Manager to streamline installation

and the configuration of each field device during

start-up. In addition, the AMS Device Manager

provides diagnostic and predictive maintenance

information during plant operation.

Although not part of this project, Unit 1

controls were also recently upgraded to Em-

erson’s Ovation Expert digital controls. The

new control room constructed for Unit 2 in-

cluded sufficient room to house the control

panels from both units.

The plant was designed using 3-D model-

ing software. This allowed a virtual check for

interferences, particularly between structural

steel, electrical cable tray and conduit, and

piping. The software allowed users to take a

virtual walk through the facility prior to be-

ginning construction. Building information

such as equipment tag numbers, valve num-

bers, and object specifications, were also col-

lected in the 3-D model for future use. ■


editor-in-chief.

1. Same plant, new name. After completion of Southwest 2, City Utilities of Springfield

in May renamed its energy complex the John Twitty Energy Center in honor of the utility’s re-

tired general manager. The energy center has a combined gross output of 503 MW. Unit 2, the

larger structure on the left, is rated at 300 MW. The 203-MW Unit 1, the smaller structure on the

right, was completed in 1976. Courtesy: City Utilities Your Single-Source System Provider

www.williamscrusher.com

Your Single-Source System Provider

Impact Dryer Mill Systems &

Direct Injection Roller Mills for

Producing Limestone Sorbent

for Fluidized Bed Combustors

Roller Mills for Fine Grinding

Activated Carbon to 325 mesh to

Reduce Mercury Emissions

Wood Hogs & Shredders

for Biomass Fuel

Direct Fired Roller Mills for

Coal & Petroleum Coke

Reversible Hammer Mills for

Crushing Coal & Petroleum Coke

for Fluidized Combustors

Roller Mills for minus 325 mesh

Limestone for New / Existing Scrubbers

Single Roll Crushers for

Reducing Bottom Ash

2701 North Broadway

St. Louis, Missouri 63102 USA

Phone: (314) 621-3348

Fax: (314) 436-2639

Email: [email protected] 23 ON READER SERVICE CARD


TOP PLANTS

Masinloc Power Plant,

Zambales Province, PhilippinesOwner/operator: AES Corp.

In April 2008, AES Philippines purchased the Masinloc coal-fired power plant in Zambales Province in the Luzon region. Originally constructed in 1998 as a two-unit, 600-MW plant, the facility uses coal from a variety of sources in the Pacific Rim. After AES finished overhauling much of its equipment, the expanded 660-MW (gross) plant’s availability increased from 48% to 74%, which enabled net electricity production to jump by 129% by 2010.

By Angela Neville, JD

Though somewhat off the beaten path in

Southeast Asia, the Philippines is the

second-largest archipelago in the world

and includes a string of more than 7,000

tropical islands located in the western Pacific

Ocean. With an economy based on an ex-

panding industrial base and a wide range of

agricultural products, the country is increas-

ingly attracting foreign investors.

In 2008, AES Corp. (AES) purchased the

600-MW (gross) Masinloc coal-fired power

plant from the Republic of Philippines’ Pow-

er Sector Assets and Liabilities Management

Corp. (PSALM) for $930 million. AES’s ac-

quisition is one example of a foreign company

making a significant long-term major invest-

ment in the country’s infrastructure. Masinloc

is the Philippines’ first privatized thermal

plant (Figure 1). In addition, last year AES

announced that it has begun developing an

expansion project, Masinloc II, which would

add an another 660 MW and represent an in-

frastructure investment of up to $800 million.

The Philippine Power IndustryThe Philippines has a population of more than

94 million (2010 estimate) and continues to

face important challenges related to sustain-

ing its growing economy. Its government has

prioritized the need to improve employment

opportunities, alleviate poverty, and increase

its production of safe and reliable electricity.

After emerging from a crippling power cri-

sis that occurred in the early 1990s, the Phil-

ippine government embarked on an industry

privatization and restructuring program to

ensure an adequate supply of electricity to

energize its developing economy. This re-

structuring scheme is embodied in Republic

Act No. 9136, the Electric Power Industry

Reform Act (EPIRA).

Enacted on June 8, 2001, EPIRA seeks to

ensure a reliable, secure, and affordable elec-

tric power supply; encourage free and fair

competition; enhance the inflow of private

Courtesy: AES Corp.

© 2011 ConocoPhillips Company. ConocoPhillips, Conoco, Phillips 66, 76, and their

respective logos, and Diamond Class are trademarks of ConocoPhillips Company in

the U.S.A. and other countries. T3-CPL-1428

We’re raising the bar on cleanliness.

If oil cleanliness is critical to your operations, turn to us; our dedicated bulk trailers can be dispatched to supply best-in-class

turbine oils with a guaranteed ISO Cleanliness Code rating of 18/16/13. Our product line includes Ultra-Clean Turbine Oil and

top-tier Diamond Class® Turbine Oil, which is proven to resist varnish formation for more than 35,000 hours in lab tests.

This offering of two premium oils with extended oxidation stability and guaranteed cleanliness is an industry exclusive.

Long-lasting turbine protection starts here. Call 877-445-9198 or visit conocophillipslubricants.com/PowerMag to learn more.

Clean on arrival.

Guaranteed.


TOP PLANTS


capital; and broaden the ownership base of

power generation, transmission, and distri-

bution. PSALM was created to carry out the

mandates established by EPIRA.

The Philippines’ total annual gross power

production is approximately 60,821 GWh.

Its energy industry’s own use of electricity

is approximately 3,935 GWh, including the

consumption of power plants and electricity

used for pumped storage plants. Generation

is fueled by natural gas (32%), coal (25%),

geothermal (17%), hydro (16%), and approx-

imately 10% by oil and renewables (all Inter-

national Energy Agency 2008 estimates).

Operations OverhaulWhen AES bought the Masinloc Plant,

which consisted of two 300-MW units, from

PSALM, it was 10 years old. The plant’s his-

tory of inadequate maintenance and capital

expenditures, which were further compound-

ed by poor operating practices, had placed the

facility in a poor state of repair, and it faced

significant operational limitations. These is-

sues resulted in high equivalent forced out-

age rates, low equivalent availability factors,

and low net capacity factors.

Prior to the plant’s turnover to AES, the

maximum net generation achieved by the

Masinloc Plant was 433 MW on a nameplate

capacity of 600 MW. Given the plant’s opera-

tional history, AES saw an opportunity to initi-

ate a rehabilitation program to transform the

plant and substantially increase its output. The

rehabilitation program had two phases: The

first focused on mechanical and major rotating

equipment, and the second focused on boiler

rehabilitation and environmental controls.

Efficiency and heat rate improvements

were among the most notable achievements.

The plant’s overall efficiency increased by

13%, which reduced the amount of fuel oil

used for start-up. And the AES team reduced

the plant’s overall heat rate by 1,500 points

from the time AES took over the facility,

dramatically increasing its overall efficiency.

Specifically, the turbines’ efficiency improve-

ment cut the plant heat rate by 500 points; the

boiler by 500 points; the condenser system

by 250 points; and the steam and water sys-

tems by 250 points.

These improvements helped to cut the

plant’s carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by

140,000 tons in 2010. Plant management

also took other steps to reduce the facility’s

carbon footprint:

■ Diesel fuel usage for start-ups and daily

operations was cut by 70%.

■ Chemical usage was reduced over 60%.

■ The plant’s coal unloading period was cut

from over eight days to an average of 2.8

days, eliminating 2 MWh of in-house load.

The Masinloc management replaced three

existing electrostatic precipitator (ESP)

fields in each boiler and added a fourth ESP

field to each boiler. This change significantly

reduced the dust and particulate emissions

and allowed a greater amount of ash to be

captured, which in turn is sold to generate

revenue.

Rehabilitation of the coal storage dust

control systems greatly reduced coal dust

emissions. This improvement eliminated the

excessive spontaneous combustion of coal

storage piles, as well as the foul fugitive coal

pile combustion emissions and heavy sulfur

emissions. The ash storage areas also were

improved by implementing better storage

techniques.

Promoting a Culture of Empowerment To make the rehabilitation of the Masinloc

plant sustainable, the AES management team

improved the technical skills of its workers

while fostering a culture of empowerment.

The company led teams through job scope

and skills analysis and equipped them with

the necessary tools to drive improvements

and achieve positive results. Today, through

an empowered workforce that strives for ef-

ficiency and reliability, the operations of the

Masinloc plant are achieving world-class

performance levels.

To implement the new policy, team lead-

ers reinforced a culture of improvement

and continuously reviewed operations and

maintenance performance to confirm the

root cause of every problem in order to en-

hance the safety, planning, and execution of

future tasks. Employees were encouraged to

respond positively to the post-execution re-

views; the process is not viewed as criticism

but as a means of learning.

Making Safety ParamountSafety is AES’s first value, and Masinloc is

a good example of AES living by that value.

At Masinloc, improving personnel safety

performance has been an integral part of

transforming the plant into a top tier facil-

ity. To successfully drive this change, the

AES management team not only promoted

more thorough technical safety skills among

employees but also encouraged a proactive

safety culture. After providing the technical

safety foundation through training sessions,

pre-job planning, and safety walks, the AES

management team had employees focus on

leading safety indicators so they could stop

problems in their early stages. Although there

is always room to improve safety knowledge

and culture, the AES management team has

worked hard to create a culture in which the

employees recognize their part in being re-

sponsible for each other.

Masinloc’s Financial TurnaroundAES’s success in rehabilitating the Masin-

loc plant’s operations has not only made a

positive impact on the local community and

helped the Philippines meet its increasing

demand for energy, but it also had a positive

impact on the company’s bottom line.

During AES’s 2010 annual earnings con-

ference call, AES Executive Vice President

and CFO Victoria Harper noted that the

company’s “strong operating performance

[in Asia] was largely driven by our 660-MW

plant in the Philippines, Masinloc, which

should begin to meaningfully contribute be-

yond its prior operating forecast.”

In 2010, Masinloc’s gross margin improved

by approximately $50 million compared to

2009. In 2011, AES was recognized for its

improvement efforts related to the Masinloc

plant by the Edison Electric Institute with its

annual Edison Award, the electric utility in-

dustry’s most prestigious honor. ■


senior editor.

1. Pacific Rim powerhouse. The Masinloc coal-fired power plant is located about 250 kilome-

ters (approximately 155 miles) northwest of Metro Manila and covers about 137 hectares (approxi-

mately 338 acres), including 11 hectares of land reclaimed from the sea. Courtesy: AES Corp.


TOP PLANTS

Plum Point Energy Station

Mississippi County, Arkansas

Mississippi County, Ark., has long

been known for agriculture and

the hard-scrabble lives of many of

its residents. The county is part of the First

Congressional District in Arkansas, which

has been ranked as the poorest congressio-

nal district in the U.S.

On May 31, 2006, at the groundbreak-

ing ceremony for the Plum Point Energy

Station, then U.S. Congressman Marion

Berry commented on the impact the new

plant located in Osceola would have on the

community: “I would submit to you today

that the Delta is moving forward like it

hasn’t since cotton seed was first unloaded

here,” he said. “It’s like we just discovered

the Mississippi River and all the wonderful

things it brings and businesses just discov-

ered it, too.”

One of the key accomplishments of the

Plum Point Energy Station, which began

commercial operation in August 2010, is

that it is helping to transform this delta

blues region into the center of the new

delta “boom.” The power plant has already

brought additional jobs to the region and is

now providing reliable electricity to sup-

port a growing number of new businesses.

Roger Lenertz, director of major proj-

ects in Black & Veatch’s global energy

business, told POWER in August how

construction of the Plum Point Energy

Station has affected the region. “The eco-

nomic impact of an investment exceeding

$1 billion reaches and benefits a very large

population,” he said. “The project has had

a very marked and positive impact on the

local community.”

The mayor of Osceola was a key driver

in developing the project and helped shep-

herd the local business community’s inter-

actions with the project’s management.

Big Construction Challenge: Fault LineA number of significant construction ob-

stacles made building the plant a chal-

lenge, according to Lenertz. Most were

related to geological and civil engineering

aspects of the location. “The New Madrid

fault line lies directly below the plant,” he

said. “The design seismic acceleration fac-

tors are greater than any in California.”

The site is adjacent to the Mississippi

River in an area with about 900 feet (deep)

of silty, clayey soil (muck). The water ta-

ble is less than 10 feet below the surface.

Courtesy: Black & Veatch

Owners: Plum Point Energy Associates, Missouri Joint Municipal Electric Utility Commission, Empire District Electric Co., East Texas Electric Cooperative, and Municipal Energy Agency of Mississippi

Operator: NAES Corp.

The new 665-MW Plum Point Energy Station is energizing the Arkansas Delta, an area that is ready to supplement its farming heritage by promoting new jobs that offer residents a higher standard of living. But first, the plant’s construction team had to overcome a number of significant challenges related to building a facility in the New Madrid fault zone.


TOP PLANTS


Lenertz emphasized that “whenever one

opens an excavation, you are working in

water and in a difficult soil composition.”

It should be no surprise that dewatering the

construction area was very challenging.

Lenertz explained that a large power

plant requires deep, massive foundations.

The rotary car dumper required a substruc-

ture that extended 85 feet below the sur-

face for the handling equipment.

“Any large power plant represents a

complex project. This one provided some

additional unique challenges,” he said.

“The project team used some very special-

ized engineering and construction tech-

niques to overcome these challenges.”

For example, the use of the buck-

ling resistant brace at the plant serves as

a structural shock absorber. This brace

substantially reduced the amount of steel

required to protect the facility from high

seismic acceleration and helps limit poten-

tial damage to the energy station from an

earthquake over the next 50 years.

People PowerThe construction team had to meet the var-

ious regulatory environmental restrictions

governing construction. For example, they

took extraordinary measures during con-

struction to reduce volatile organic com-

pound emissions (by using a high-solids

siloxane paint) and to minimize ground-

water disruption during construction. The

owners brought in their environmental

specialists very early in the project and

exercised diligent monitoring and control

over its environmental aspects. Black &

Veatch’s design engineers and the owners’

professionals worked together to make sure

prudent measures were always in place.

This project employed many local

workers. Site construction staff peaked

at more than 1,600 people, and the work

took place over the course of about four

years. Many craft workers received train-

ing, as new craft workers were beginning

their construction careers. This sizeable

construction project meant a lot to the lo-

cal area’s economy and helped generate a

major growth spurt for businesses.

Plant ProfileThe plant’s performance test demonstrated

a heat rate that was lower than 9,100 Btu/

kWh, Lenertz explained. The unit’s actual

generating capacity exceeded the guaran-

teed value of 665 MW by more than 2%.

The data were generated under test condi-

tions just before commercial operation be-

gan in August 2010.

Flue gas treatment performance test re-

sults show the facility’s emissions control

systems are exceeding guaranteed removal

rates. These technologies include:

■ A selective catalytic reduction system for

nitrogen oxides control.

■ A dry flue gas desulfurization system

(scrubber) for sulfur dioxide removal.

■ A carbon injection system for mercury

removal.

■ A fabric filtration system (baghouse) for

particulate material removal.

Toshiba manufactured the steam tur-

bines and shipped them to Osceola from

Tokyo. The steam generator was also

manufactured by a Japanese company,

IHI, which has utilized manufacturing

facilities in a number of areas in South-

east Asia. Alstom provided the air quality

control system scrubber and the baghouse.

Thermal Engineering Inc. manufactured

the condenser, which was shipped from

Missouri. The transformers were manu-

factured in Korea by Hyundai Heavy In-

dustries, a major supplier to the power

industry. Emerson provided its state-of-

the-art Ovation distributed control sys-

tem. Black & Veatch utilized its global

procurement system to select and procure

the plant’s equipment.

Equipment installed at the new plant

includes:

■ Geomembrane liners (ESI)

■ Continuous emissions monitoring systems

(Forney)

■ Compressed air system (Ingersoll Rand)

■ Cooling tower (GEA Cooling Technol-

ogies)

■ Steam turbine generator (Toshiba)

■ Condensers (Thermal Engineering)

■ Deaerators (Ecodyne)

■ Feedwater heaters (Thermal Engineering)

■ Fly and bottom ash handling system (Unit-

ed Conveyor Corp.)

■ Wastewater treatment equipment (Siemens

Water Technology)

The owners contracted NAES Corp. to

operate the plant, and it has been doing

so from the start of its commercial opera-

tion. The operations and maintenance staff

includes more than 80 permanent staff

members on site, plus some contract per-

sonnel. In addition, temporary workers are

brought in for plant outages or key mainte-

nance periods.

Regional Economic Impact “Having low-cost, reliable power is para-

mount to any economy in today’s world,”

Lenertz said. “Can you think of any eco-

nomic activity or even personal life activi-

ties that do not require electrical power?”

The U.S. is retiring many coal-fired

power plants because they are at the end

of their operating lives, do not have high

efficiency, and do not have the necessary

environmental controls to meet the new

standards, he pointed out. However, “lost

power must be replaced, or the strong sup-

ply that we have enjoyed over the decades

will be disrupted.” The Plum Point Energy

Station is a major, baseload unit that helps

fill that need.

The city of Osceola actually owns a

small piece of the plant as an investor. The

electrical power gets distributed to a num-

ber of other states, where others members

of the plant ownership group sell it to their

respective customers.

“The Plum Point Energy Station has be-

come a fixture in the local area, and the

people in the area are proud of its place

in their community,” Lenertz said. “The

revenues from employment, ongoing oper-

ational needs, etc. will continue to contrib-

ute to the local area’s economic well-being

over the long-term life of the plant.” ■


senior editor.

1. From the bottom up. A worker

stands beneath the header where the down-

comers terminate at the bottom of Plum

Point’s pulverized coal boiler. Courtesy: Black

& Veatch


TOP PLANTS

St. Johns River Power Park, Jacksonville, FloridaOwner/operator: St. Johns River Power Park

St. Johns River Power Park (SJRPP)

consists of two identical 640-MWnet

coal-fired baseload generating units

placed into service in 1987 and 1988. SJR-

PP is jointly owned by Jacksonville Elec-

tric Authority (JEA) and Florida Power

& Light Co., which each take 50% of the

plant’s generation.

The plant is fueled with coal delivered

from Kentucky and West Virginia that is

carried to the plant by four utility-owned

unit trains. The plant enjoys a million tons

of coal storage capacity, enough to keep it

operating for 90 days. Coal is reclaimed

and forwarded to each unit by enclosed

2,100-foot-long conveyors. Coal can also

be delivered by ship or barge to the St.

Johns River Coal Terminal and then for-

warded to the plant by a 3.2-mile-long

conveyor system at the rate of about 1,500

tons/hour, through seven transfer stations.

Both units were configured with the

latest air emissions systems when con-

structed: A flue gas desulfurization (FGD)

system removed 90% of the sulfur dioxide,

and an electrostatic precipitator removed

more than 97% of solid particulates from

the flue gas before it was released to the

atmosphere through a common 640-foot

stack. Uniquely, the FGD system is config-

ured with two operating absorption vessels

and one spare vessel for increased plant re-

liability. Bottom ash, fly ash, and synthetic

gypsum by-products from the plant’s two

FGD systems are either marketed for use

in construction materials or landfilled on

site. Plant cooling for each unit is provided

by a single 460-foot-tall natural draft cool-

ing tower using makeup water originating

in the St. Johns River.

Selecting the CatalystIn 2006, SJRPP began preparations to up-

grade the air quality control system of each

unit with a selective catalytic reduction

(SCR) system to reduce NOx emissions.

SJRPP retained Black & Veatch to perform

the engineering, procurement support, and

construction management services for the

SCR upgrade project. Tackticks (now a part

of FuelTech Inc.) provided process consult-

ing services to SJRPP.

The first step was to select an SCR ca-

pable of reliable and economic operation on

A recent NOx reduction project added selective catalytic reduction equipment to each of the two 640-MW, mixed coal–fired units at the St. Johns River Power Park. The selection of precisely the right catalyst required extensive long-term testing with “mini” reactors. Once the right catalyst formula was identified, the actual retrofit project was completed in a mere 23 months, an aggressive project schedule that required overcoming many design and construction challenges.

By Dr. Robert Peltier, PECourtesy: Black & Veatch

MAGENTA (MI) - ITALY

via Robecco, 20

Tel. +39 02 972091

Fax +39 02 9794977

e-mail: [email protected]

www.stf.it

BURMEISTER & WAIN ENERGY A/S

DK - 2820 Gentofte.Denmark

jaegersborg Alle 164

Tel. +45 39 45 20 00

Fax +45 39 45 20 05

e-mail: [email protected]

www.bwe.dk


TOP PLANTS


a variety and combination of fuels, including

domestic bituminous coals, Columbian coal,

and petcoke. Since 2004, combustor modifi-

cations allowed burning 100% petcoke in up

to eight burners (two pulverizers) and coal

in the remaining 16 burners. The high vana-

dium and sulfur in the petcoke, high arsenic

and low calcium in the domestic coal, and

high silica (up to 18% ash) in the Columbian

coke made design and selection of the SCR

problematic.

High arsenic levels can accelerate the

rate of catalyst deactivation, and sulfur

concentration determines the catalyst min-

imum operating temperature that is a factor

in the production of visible SO3 emissions.

Increased vanadium in the fuel (vanadium

is also an active metal in the catalyst) will

increase the production of SO3 emissions,

further complicating the already complex

SCR selection process. Further confus-

ing the fuels selection, at SJRPP fuels are

direct-bunkered (a specific fuel goes to a

specific set of burners, as the fuels are not

mixed prior to burning), meaning that no

benefit could be realized for any individual

fuel characteristics that might “cancel out”

when blended with other fuels with differ-

ent characteristics.

Given the large number of combinations

of fuel mixtures possible, the only defini-

tive approach to characterizing combina-

tions of fuels and their interactions was to

perform pilot testing. Therefore, a series

of baseline or characterization tests were

designed to establish actual flue gas oper-

ating conditions at various plant operating

conditions.

In February 2006, Clean Air Engineer-

ing began tests to define flue gas flow and

temperature distributions, emission con-

centrations, boiler operating conditions,

and fuel and ash analyses at nine different

fuel and load combinations. Other plant

operating data from the plant information

system were also added to the test data-

base. The result of the test program was a

definitive design basis for the SCR system;

the maximum allowable percentage of pet-

coke in different fuel mixes that produce

temperatures at the SCR less than 850F

(limited bymaterial properties) is known,

NOx production goals are met, and the ex-

pected concentration of SO3 produced re-

mains low.

The next step was physical testing of

catalyst offerings from three suppliers in

the actual gas path to confirm predicted

performance, such as catalyst activity and

the mechanical design of the reactor. The

suppliers provided “mini” SCR reactors

that were placed in the actual flue gas path,

in three separate locations for 2,100 oper-

ating hours spread over six months.

The test process ensured that each was

secured in the gas pass in exactly the same

orientation and each catalyst spent the

same number of hours in each of the three

test locations. When the test was complet-

ed, the catalysts were shipped back to the

suppliers for activity and oxidation rate

testing.

Based on this rigorous testing regimen,

Ceram Environmental Inc. was selected as

the catalyst supplier for the project. The

confidence developed by Ceram during test-

ing resulted in a performance guarantee of

85% NOx reduction and an 18,000-hour life

when using 70% coal and 30% petcoke.

Unexpectedly, petcoke was later

dropped from SJRPP’s future fuel plans,

which meant that the design fuel would be

a combination of domestic coals—a more

difficult operating requirement. The con-

cern was that the catalyst deactivation rate

would greatly increase given the new mix

of elements in the flue gas, thereby reduc-

ing catalyst life. Ceram repeated the in-

situ testing and determined that a change

in catalyst chemistry was possible without

any commercial impact to the project. NOx

reduction and catalyst life guarantees were

maintained while burning 100% bitumi-

nous coal.

Project ChallengesConstruction of the two SCR additions

was completed in just 23 months, for both

units. Given the compact area of the site

and poor access to the space between the

boiler and stack, the SCR reactors were

positioned to the east and west of each

boiler-airheater center line, two 50% reac-

tor modules per unit (Figure 1). In addi-

tion, locating SCR steel support structures

directly behind each boiler, in a “tradition-

al” SCR arrangement, would have required

an additional outage for each unit (instead

of the two outages that are typically seen

with large complex retrofit projects). The

one-outage approach also required as

much pre-outage construction of ductwork

and the SCR reactor as possible.

A further complication of using this re-

actor arrangement was the need for double

isolation dampers on the inlet and outlet of

the SCR. Coupled with the need for large

particle ash (LPA) screens, this added

complexity to the ductwork and SCR re-

actor arrangement. Existing above- and

below-grade utilities in the vicinity of the

SCR units (such as cooling water piping),

along with the requirement to design the

structures to withstand 120-mile-per-hour

hurricane winds and high groundwater

levels, further complicated design of the

structures and foundations.

Adding an SCR also increases the pres-

sure drop of the plant’s gas path, reducing

the performance of the plant fans, espe-

cially at high loads. At SJRPP, each unit

has four induced draft fans with the re-

quirement to operate three to achieve full

load. In order to keep that operating flex-

ibility, the rotors and motors of each fan

were replaced, leaving the fan housing and

foundations in place. Because of the pos-

sibility of pressure drop increasing dur-

ing operation (for example, plugged LPA

screens), SJRPP wanted to maintain as

much fan margin as possible. The forced

draft and primary air fans were also modi-

fied by adding fan tips while keeping the

existing motors.

A significant challenge overcome af-

ter the SCR systems entered service was

the production of LPA. Under certain op-

erating conditions, ash particles can ag-

glomerate to form larger particles that

can physically plug the catalyst. The LPA

capture design process began with both

computational fluid dynamics and physi-

cal flow modeling. The result was that a

set of aerodynamic baffles were added to

the economizer outlet to divert most of the

LPA from the flue gas path into the econo-

mizer hoppers. Also, the LPA screen was

coated with a special erosion-resistant ma-

terial designed to withstand the erosive ef-

fects of the high-silica Columbian coals.

Commissioning of both units went

smoothly. Tuning of the ammonia injec-

tion grid took less than 8 hours before the

required outlet NOx and NH3 slip require-

ments were achieved. The LPA screen and

flow baffles have also performed as de-

signed. ■


editor-in-chief.

1. Double play. Two 50%-sized SCR reac-

tor modules were placed east and west of the

boiler-airheater centerline. Also included were

double isolation dampers on both the inlet and

outlet and large particle ash screens on the in-

let of each module. Courtesy: Black & Veatch

Up to 70% less water consumption…

Diamond Power’s

HydroJet®-Retractable Boiler Cleaning Systemthe next generation in furnace wall cleaning

This fully-retractable system provides 3X more cleaning coverage per

device, up to 70% less water consumption, improved heat rate performance

compared to previous water cleaning systems and lower installation costs.

Contact your Diamond Power representative or visit us online to learn more.



PLANT DESIGN

CWA 316(b) Update: Fish Guidance and ProtectionThe U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has proposed new Clean Wa-

ter Act section 316(b) regulations for once-through cooling water intake structures. Comments on the proposed rules closed in August, and a fi-nal rule is expected mid-2012. The EPA estimates that at least half of the power plants using once-through cooling will be required to implement a best technology available solution in coming years. That typically means barriers and screens, but you may want to consider other options.

By Kaveh Someah, Ovivo USA LLC

The U.S. Environmental Protection

Agency (EPA) recently proposed regu-

lations, under section 316(b) of the

Clean Water Act (CWA), designed to reduce

the mortality of fish and other aquatic life

entering cooling water intake structures of

existing power plants. CWA 316(b) “requires

that the location, design, construction, and

capacity of cooling water intake structures

for facilities having NPDES [National Pol-

lutant Discharge Elimination System] per-

mits reflect the best technology available

(BTA) for minimizing adverse environmental

impact.” An NPDES permit, which requires

compliance with CWA 316(b), is required for

any “point source” discharge into the “navi-

gable waters” of the U.S. Most states are au-

thorized to issue State Pollutant Discharge

Elimination System permits.

The proposed rule covers “roughly 1,260

existing facilities that each withdraw at least

2 million gallons per day of cooling water,”

according to the EPA. The agency estimates

that this rule will affect about 670 power

plants. Comments on the proposed rulemak-

ing closed on August 18, 2011, and a final

rule is expected in July 2012. The current

rulemaking process will be interesting to

watch. Twice, prior CWA 316(b) rulemak-

ings (2004 and 2006) were successfully chal-

lenged in federal court and were remanded

for corrections.

The proposed rule comes in three parts.

First, existing facilities that withdraw at least

25% of their water from an adjacent water

body used exclusively for cooling purposes

and that have a design intake flow of great-

er than 2 million gallons per day would be

subject to an upper limit on the number of

fish killed by “impingement” against intake

screens or other parts at the facility. Impinge-

ment occurs when fish and other organisms

“are trapped against screens when water is

drawn into [a] facility’s cooling system,” ac-

cording to the EPA.

The owner of the facility will be required to

select a technology to reduce those organism

deaths, including reducing “its intake velocity

to 0.5 feet per second.” Fish can swim away

from the structure in water flowing at this ve-

locity. This rule no longer allows restoration

of a facility as a compliance alternative.

The second component of the new rule

pertains to large users of once-through cool-

ing water, at least 125 million gallons per day,

which probably means all power plants using

once-through cooling, whether it is ocean,

river, or lake water. Those users must con-

duct studies that will determine site-specific

technology alternatives, including conversion

to the use of closed-cycle cooling (cooling

towers), that will reduce aquatic organism

mortality. The BTA option selected for use at

a particular facility will be determined on a

case-by-case basis.

The third and last requirement states that

new units constructed at existing plants will

be “required to reduce intake flow to a level

similar to a closed cycle, recirculation sys-

tem.” In essence, new units must use cooling

towers to handle the additional load, or the

equivalent.

The EPA requires BTA compliance within

eight years of the new rule’s effective date.

Also, the EPA estimates that more than half

of the facilities affected by the rule already

use technologies that will likely put them

into compliance, although the EPA estimates

covered all industrial plants, not just power

plants. The rule does not apply to “new fa-

cilities,” defined as those plants that began

construction after January 17, 2002.

Today’s Technology OptionsMany plants continue to move forward and

implement voluntary plans to meet the origi-

nal guidelines set by the EPA’s 2004 Phase

II Rule, specifically aimed at large power

plants, which was suspended in July 2007.

That rule required many existing facilities

that were withdrawing their cooling water

from rivers, oceans, and the Great Lakes to

reduce their entrainment and impingement

of aquatic organisms by an estimated 60%

to 90%.

There are a number of technology options

that can be used to comply with the Phase II

Rule and BTA as defined by the pending rule.

BTA is usually a combination of physical or

nonphysical barriers: fine mesh intake trav-

eling or passive screens, modification of ex-

isting screens for fish collection and return,

special angled or louvered bar racks, or the

addition of behavioral modification for fish

guidance or deterrence.

Recent studies and field-testing of each

option have produced positive results that

are close to the desired levels previously

set by the EPA. Each technology offers

its own set of challenges and advantages.

However, in our experience, deploying a

combination of two or more technologies

has proven to be the most effective ap-

proach to reaching a plant’s fish mortality

reduction goals.

The use of physical barriers such as fish

gates or rock barriers is the least desirable

method because such barriers create an ob-

stacle to waterway navigation and require

frequent maintenance. Passive screens can be

effective, but they have limited applications.

The use of fine mesh screens will result in ve-

locities greater than those set by the EPA, and

high debris loading on the screen will reduce

its effectiveness.

Impinged fish often come in a wide vari-

ety, often 50 to 100 species of juvenile and

adult fish. Delicate pelagic (silver) fish such

as shads, smelts, and herring are often the

There are only two datesyou need to remember once a year –

Your anniversary and calibration of your dissolved oxygen sensors

The Hach Orbisphere K1100 dissolved oxygen sensor is virtually maintenance free.

Unlike other oxygen sensors, the K1100 only requires one calibration and two minutes of maintenance per year.

Watch the video to see just how fast it is.

866-450-4248 • www.hach.com/K1100

1M116DL

Register for

FREE Webinar at:

www.hach.com/power

7.875x10.75 PowerMag K1100.qxp:7.875x10.75 PowerMag K1100.qxp 7/7/11 12:09 PM Page 1

There are only two datesyou need to remember once a year –

Your anniversary and calibration of your dissolved oxygen sensors

The Hach Orbisphere K1100 dissolved oxygen sensor is virtually maintenance free.

Unlike other oxygen sensors, the K1100 only requires one calibration and two minutes of maintenance per year.

Watch the video to see just how fast it is.

866-450-4248 • www.hach.com/K1100

1M116DL

Register for

FREE Webinar at:

www.hach.com/power

7.875x10.75 PowerMag K1100.qxp:7.875x10.75 PowerMag K1100.qxp 7/7/11 12:09 PM Page 1



PLANT DESIGN

bulk of the impinged fish. These smaller,

weaker swimming fish are unable to escape

the intake current and are drawn in to the in-

take screen.

Technologies growing in favor are those

that use behavioral modification, a system

that uses stimuli such as electricity, sound,

light, and air bubbles. The results obtained at

several power stations and other water intakes

over the past 10 years have proven such tech-

nologies to be effective in protecting many of

the juvenile or mature fish species.

Multi-Purpose FenceThe bio-acoustic fish fence (BAFF) system

is a novel approach to blocking fish from im-

pinging on intake structures. The pneumatic

nonphysical barrier system introduces sound

and, in some cases, light into a bubble cur-

tain. This wall of sound, light, and bubbles is

very effective in guiding and deflecting fish.

Sound Fence. The BAFF system con-

sists of series of sound projector arrays

(SPA) connected to a source signal genera-

tor via a series of amplifiers by special un-

derwater cables. The sound projectors are

designed to transmit sound into water for

varying water depths.

The difference in effectiveness of the

BAFF is attributed to differences in specie

sensitivity, principally the anatomy of the

hearing mechanisms. Sound is detected in all

species by the otolith organs of the inner ears.

The hearing range of most fish falls within

the audible range to humans, maximum sen-

sitivity lying in the sub-3-kHz band down to

infrasound (less than 20 Hz).

An acoustic fish deterrent (AFD) system

exploits fish hearing sensitivity in the 20 Hz

to 500 Hz range. Low-frequency sound (10

Hz to 3 kHz) is used for all species other

than clupeids (small river fish like herring);

for clupeids, either low-frequency sound or

ultrasound (a frequency above the limit of

human hearing, about 20 kHz) has been used

with good results.

The sensitivity of fish to sound frequency

can be depicted on an audiogram that de-

scribes the detectable sound pressure thresh-

old to different frequencies (Figure 1). A

well-designed BAFF is a deterrent for up

to about 80% for many teleost species (ray-

finned bony fish possessing a developed

swim bladder) and for up to 90% to 100% for

the most sensitive species, such as herring.

The AFD has been extensively tested

in various power plant applications, usu-

ally with good results. For example, at the

Hartlepool Nuclear Power Station, located

in northeast England, an AFD was 79% ef-

fective in deflecting herring but only 55%

effective with whiting. Scotland’s Blantyre

Hydroelectric Plant tests were effective on

74% of the salmon and 92% effective on

mixed cyprinid species (soft-finned fresh-

water fish). And testing at Electrabel’s

Doel Nuclear Power Station, Units 3 and

4, located in Belgium, found the follow-

ing diversion effectiveness: herring (95%),

sprat (88%), bass (76%), smelt (64%), and

gobies (46%).

Light Fence. High-intensity flashing light

has been found to be effective as a fish deter-

rent. The BAFF can include a narrow line of

high-intensity flashing lights that are located

near the SPA. A special signal generator and

accumulator powers the light bars. Operat-

ing results at several stations have proven the

effectiveness of light stimuli on various spe-

cies, especially juvenile American shad.

Air Bubble Fence. At the base of the SPA

and the high-intensity light bar, a bubble cur-

tain is created by using specially designed dif-

fuser tubes to create a dense and continuous

air curtain. The number of SPAs, light bars,

and the length of the curtain of air bubbles

are selected based on specific site conditions.

An air bubble curtain is the most basic stimu-

lus successfully used as a fish deterrent, with

deflect efficiencies up to 98% reported, but

fish quickly adapt to bubble curtains alone,

so they become less effective over time.

When using SPA or high-intensity light

bars alone, neither the sound nor the light

is concentrated. Instead, the bubble curtain

creates an intense and largely contained

field. The result is an electromagnetic or

pneumatic sound transducer coupled to a

bubble curtain, causing the sound waves to

propagate within the rising curtain of bub-

bles. Water, which is more transparent in the

bubble sheet, allows light to reach the sur-

face even in turbid water (Figure 2).

The novel method of entrapping sound

and light inside the specially developed in-

1. Fish hearing test results. The reference for the figure is a relative “loudness” value

of 1.0, which translates into ±0 dB as the baseline. Because the scale is logarithmic, at –10 dB,

the relative loudness is reduced to 0.5 of the baseline; at –20 dB, 0.25 and so on. A sound level

measurement of 1 pascal is equivalent to a sound pressure level (SPL) of 94 dB, the volume

level we actually hear. This graph allows us to estimate the SPL hearing threshold of various fish

species for different frequencies. For example, cod can detect very low sound levels in the 100

Hz to 250 Hz frequency range. Source: A.D. Hawkins, “The Hearing Abilities of Fish,” Hearing

and Sound Communication in Fishes, 109-33 (Springer-Verlag, 1981).

+20

+10

0

–10

–20

–30

–40

–50

–60

–70

So

un

d p

ress

ure

th

resh

old

(d

B r

e.1

Pa

)

Frequency (Hz)

30 50 100 200 500 1,000 2,000 5,000 10,000

Salmon

Dab

Cod

Catfish

2. Virtual fence. A typical sound projector

array with a high-intensity light bar with a cur-

tain of bubbles forms an effective fish fence.

Source: Ovivo USA LLC


PLANT DESIGN

tense small air bubbles provides a significant

deterrent in the immediate area of the barri-

ers, but it also results in sound pressure lev-

els only about one-tenth of that found in the

center of the curtain at a distance of 5 meters

(m/16.4 feet) from the barrier. The formation

of the sound, light, and bubble curtain creates

a sharp and intense barrier to divert the fish

as they approach the barrier.

Case Study: Lambton Power StationThe effectiveness of the SPA and high-inten-

sity lights was evaluated at Ontario Power

Generation’s Lambton Station located on the

St. Clair River, during 2004 and 2005. The

demonstration proved the system was effec-

tive in deterring gizzard shad.

The Lambton Power Station was expe-

riencing operational problems resulting

from gizzard shad impingement. Follow-

ing the initial demonstration, the plant

installed a system consisting of 18 SPA

and nine high-intensity light bars. A large

number of gizzard shad were present in

the discharge during testing and were con-

centrated in the dimensions of the thermal

plume. It was reported that these fish were

the source of fish impingement at Lamb-

ton, especially during winter months.

Gizzard shad reside in the warm cooling

water discharge during winter and leave in

spring (April to May). In tests conducted

during the day and at night, the SPA and

high-intensity light barrier were effective

in deterring the gizzard shad (Figure 3).

Case Study: Sacramento DeltaIrrigation offtakes, pumping stations, and

natural predations in California’s Sacramen-

to Delta have significantly reduced the popu-

lation of chinook salmon, which are now

protected under the Endangered Species Act.

Temporary porous rock barriers were used

in the past to stop the chinook from travel-

ing toward a major pumping station on the

San Joaquin River in the Northern California

Sacrament Delta. However, the rock barrier

also stops boats from navigating the river and

3. Effective barrier. This photo shows the fish barrier being installed before the cooling

water intake at Ontario Power Generation’s Lambton Power Station. Courtesy: Ontario Power

Generation, Kinectrics Inc.

Your Vision

Is Our Mission

© 2011 Taggart Global LLCNORTH AMERICA | SOUTH AMERICA | AFRICA | ASIA | AUSTRALIA

CORPORATE HEADQUARTERS4000 Town Center Blvd.

Canonsburg, PA 15317

Telephone: 724-754-9800

www.taggartglobal.com

World Leader in Material Handling

and Coal Preparation

Taggart’s proven and innovative EPC solutions deliver increased efficiencies to clients

worldwide in the areas of design, construction, commissioning and operation of mineral

processing plants, bulk material handling facilities, ports and terminals, blending and

storage systems and many more.

Call or visit our website to learn how Taggart can help accelerate your return

on investment and execute your projects on-time and on-budget.



PLANT DESIGN

is detrimental to certain other fish species. A

better solution was required.

In 2007, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation

(USBR) constructed a scale model test at its

Hydraulic Laboratory in Colorado, where the

effectiveness of the BAFF using SPA, high-

intensity light bars, and an air bubble curtain

was tested (Figure 4).

The data collected from the USBR flume

testing was used to design a full-scale 112-

m barrier that was later installed by the

California Department of Water Resources

(CADWR) at the Head of Old River, lo-

cated in Lathrop, Calif. (Figure 5). The

configuration of the BAFF unit consisting

5. Barrier installation. A close-up of the

bio-acoustic fish fence before installation at the

Head of Old River. Courtesy: Ovivo USA LLC

4. Scale-model testing. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation tested a scale model of the Head

of Old River located in the Sacramento Delta to determine the effectiveness of the bio-acoustic

fish fence at its Hydraulic Laboratory in Colorado. Courtesy: U.S. Bureau of Reclamation

Mitigation Solutions for the EGU & ICI MACT

425 Apollo Drive

Lino Lakes, MN 55014

651-780-8600

[email protected]

Complete Custom Engineered Systems

and Portable Test Units

What You Need, When You Need It!

Multi-PollutantEmissions

Mitigation

Dry

Sorbent

Injection

www.nol-tec.com



PLANT DESIGN

of an SPA, lights, and air bubble curtain

installed on the San Joaquin River at the

Head of Old River Divergence is shown in

Figure 6.

The effectiveness of the BAFF system

was tested by randomly releasing approxi-

mately 1,000 acoustically tagged hatchery

smolts in batches over time about 15.5

miles upstream of the barrier, as part of

the CADWR Vernalis Active Management

Program. The travel of each tagged fish

was monitored by series of hydrophones,

located near the barrier. The travel path

of the smolts fitted with acoustic tags was

tracked as the barrier was turned alternate-

ly on and off over time (Figure 7).

At the conclusion of the tests, the deter-

rence efficiency of the active BAFF barrier

was estimated at 81.4%. The BAFF was

put into operation in April 2009 during

the chinook salmon migration. In March

2011, CADWR deployed another, similar

328-yard-long BAFF system at the Geor-

giana Slough in Walnut Grove, near Sac-

ramento. ■

—Kaveh Someah (kaveh.someah@ ovivowater.com) is general manager

of the energy group for Ovivo USA LLC, formerly Eimco Water Technologies.

6. Modular design. A segment of the bio-acoustic fish fence being installed. Courtesy:

Ovivo USA LLC

7. Altered paths. The location of the bio-acoustic fish fence is illustrated by the straight line.

The yellow line represents the travel path of the tagged smolts with the barrier turned on (left)

and turned off (right). Courtesy: Ovivo USA LLC

Potential is limitless.

An idea has no momentum until talented people start chasing it. It’s then that

one begins to glimpse what’s possible, and the future begins to take shape.

Today, we are thousands of people sharing ideas, dedicated to finding new

ways to meet the needs of an ever-demanding Power sector. Which is why,

when it comes to nuclear, natural gas, coal, renewables, hydroelectric and

electric delivery systems, more people are turning to us to get it done.

We are URS.

For more information, please contact 609.720.2000.

POWER

INFRASTRUCTURE

FEDERAL

INDUSTRIAL & COMMERCIAL

URSCORP.COM



WATER TREATMENT

Fundamentals of Zero Liquid Discharge System DesignPower plants often produce wastewaters that contain salts, such as those from

wet gas scrubbing, coal pile run-off, and leachate from gypsum stacks. Evaporation of those liquid wastes in a modern zero liquid discharge sys-tem produces clean water that is recycled into the plant plus a solid prod-uct suitable for landfill disposal. Here are the options to consider.

By William A. Shaw, PE, HPD LLC

In most power plants, the largest wastewa-

ter producer is the cooling water system.

Historically, natural evaporation of the

cooling tower blowdown from holding ponds

has been very successful, particularly in the

western U.S. This approach to waste liquid

disposal is a simple but effective example of

a zero liquid discharge (ZLD) system. The

downside is that the water is permanently lost

from the system through natural evaporation,

and the remaining residue must be periodi-

cally cleaned from the pond.

Because cooling tower blowdown is rela-

tively dilute, generally less than 10,000 mg/L

total dissolved solids (TDS), reverse osmosis

(RO) membranes are often used to pre-con-

centrate the cooling tower blowdown prior to

concentrating the liquid in an evaporator; the

remainder is reduced to solids in a crystal-

lizer. The salts present in cooling tower blow-

down, for example, are usually composed of

sodium sulfate and sodium chloride with

small quantities of calcium, magnesium, sul-

fate, and bicarbonate. All of these salts can be

readily crystallized by evaporation.

However, wastewater from wet flue gas

desulfurization (wet FGD) systems and in-

tegrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC)

plants contains highly soluble salts, such as

calcium and ammonium chlorides, and cer-

tain heavy metal salts, which are not so easy

to crystallize by evaporation. Conventional

ZLD evaporation-crystallization processes

for wet FGD and IGCC waste streams require

clarification and extensive pretreatment. Usu-

ally, the wastewater must be treated with lime,

soda ash, and other chemicals to replace the

calcium, magnesium, ammonium, and heavy

metal ions with sodium ions so that a crystal-

line solid can be produced. The pretreatment

equipment and chemicals increase the ZLD

system footprint as well as the capital cost

and system maintenance requirements.

Burning or gasifying coal or petcoke pro-

duces a gas that can contain sulfur dioxide,

hydrochloric acid, hydrofluoric acid, NOx,

fly ash, and many other chemical species. In

coal-fired power stations, wet FGD systems

are used to remove those pollutants from the

flue gas. Similarly, a gas-scrubbing step is

used in most coal and petcoke gasification

processes. Most use wet scrubbing, in which

an alkaline agent dissolved in water reacts

with and removes those noxious constituents

from the flue gas. Wet FGD typically requires

a continuous blowdown to limit the accumu-

lation of corrosive salts and suspended solids

absorbed from the gas stream.

The composition of wet FGD wastewaters

varies widely, although they are primarily

chloride solutions. There may also be a large

concentration of nitrate or formate, depending

on the conditions of combustion. The domi-

nant anion in the wastewater depends on the

sorbent used as the reagent in the wet FGD;

typically, it is calcium carbonate (limestone),

sodium hydroxide (caustic soda), ammonium

hydroxide, calcium hydroxide (slaked lime),

or magnesium hydroxide.

Therefore, wet FGD and IGCC wastewa-

ters are typically solutions of highly soluble

salts such as calcium chloride or sodium for-

mate, usually in the range of 5,000 to 40,000

mg/L TDS. Discharge of these wastewaters is

usually regulated due to the presence of rela-

tively small amounts of toxic contaminants,

such as heavy metals, selenium, boron, and

organics. Often, some type of treatment is

required to reduce or eliminate these toxins

from the wastewater before discharge to the

environment.

Pretreatment Is Often RequiredIn the power generation industry, treatment

for the removal of small concentrations of

regulated inorganic contaminants in waste-

water often includes precipitation and set-

tling processes.

Typically, wastewater is fed to a series of

reactor tanks, where heavy metal ions can

be precipitated as insoluble hydroxide and

sulfide salts by adding caustic soda or lime,

and sodium sulfide or proprietary organosul-

fide. Ferric chloride or alum and specialized

polymers are typically added to coagulate the

precipitates and form large flocs, which will

quickly settle in a clarifier.

Often, two precipitation/flocculation stag-

es are included, due to the wide variation in

the optimum pH values for the precipitation

of the metals present. The settled metal pre-

cipitates are collected from the bottom of the

clarifier and filtered. This treatment process

works well to reduce the suspended solids,

metals, and acidity in the wastewater, but it

leaves in solution the highly soluble salts,

including calcium, magnesium, sodium, and

ammonium combined with chloride and ni-

trate, as well as any organic compounds.

Biological treatment prior to discharge can

reduce the nitrates, ammonia, organics, and ox-

ygen demand, as certain bacteria can use these

molecules as food, converting them to water,

CO2, and N2. Some bacteria are capable of re-

ducing oxidized anions of certain toxic metals

(such as selenates and arsenates) to the insolu-

ble metal. Common bacteria used in commer-

cial biological treatment systems, however, do

not affect the concentration of most chloride

salts; in fact, wastewaters containing highly

soluble calcium and/or magnesium chloride

often must be diluted to avoid killing the bac-

teria. Chemical and biological treatment meth-

ods also produce costly sludges.

As the rules for discharging wastewater be-

come more stringent, physical, chemical, and

biological treatment methods may not reduce

concentrations to the part per trillion levels re-

quired for discharge of some chemical species,

such as mercury and selenium. Membrane-

based technologies are often used to recover

water in recycle/re-use and ZLD schemes.

However, membranes are generally limited

to the treatment of dilute wastewater streams.

In the case of treating wastewater from wet


WATER TREATMENT

FGDs, for example, the option of using RO

membranes must be eliminated because the

osmotic pressures rise beyond accepted lim-

its due to the high concentration of dissolved

salts (30,000 to 60,000 mg/L). Once the

dissolved salt concentration in wastewater

reaches a few percent by weight, evaporation

must be used to achieve further recovery of

water and concentration of salts.

Understand the ProcessWhen the conventional treatment methods

discussed above are unable to treat purge

streams high in chlorides, evaporation of the

purge stream is favored. The attractiveness of

evaporation as a way to treat wet FGD blow-

down is that, in theory, all of the dissolved

species, whether benign, hazardous, or toxic,

can be separated completely from the water.

Also, the process produces a stable solid that

can be landfilled, and a high-quality distilled

water is returned for reuse in the plant.

The first steps in the evaporation process

are chemical addition (feed tank), preheat-

ing (feed preheater), deaeration, and primary

evaporation (brine concentrator), as shown in

Figure 1.

The wastewater flows to the evaporator

feed tank, where acid is added to neutralize

bicarbonate alkalinity so that the solution

can be preheated in plate heat exchangers.

Proprietary antiscalant formulations are usu-

ally added to avoid scaling in the preheaters

with calcium carbonate. The preheated purge

stream is then deaerated using steam from the

evaporator (the red line in Figure 1) to drive

off dissolved carbon dioxide from the alka-

linity reduction, dissolved oxygen, and any

other non-condensable gases (the red vertical

vent). Venting these gases reduces the poten-

tial for corrosion of the evaporator vessel.

Most of the water evaporation occurs in a

falling film evaporator (inside the brine con-

centrator vessel) that is seeded with calcium

sulfate to minimize scale formation. Wet

FGD wastewater is typically saturated with

calcium sulfate, which will tend to precipi-

tate and form scale on the evaporator tubes.

When calcium sulfate seed crystals are pres-

ent, the dissolved calcium sulfate precipitates

preferentially on the seed crystals rather than

the evaporator tubes.

The process also requires electric-

ity to drive a mechanical vapor compression

1. Evaporation process. Most of the water evaporation occurs in a falling film evaporator (inside the brine concentrator vessel) that is seeded

with calcium sulfate to minimize scale formation. The process also requires a lot of electricity to operate the vapor compressor, about 18 to 35 kWh

per metric ton of water evaporated. To minimize the size and cost of the vapor separator and compressor, evaporation occurs at atmospheric pres-

sure. The process flow diagram and a photo of the system are shown. Source: HPD LLC

2. Crystallizer process. The falling film evaporator will concentrate wastewater but will not crystallize large quantities of dissolved salts, so

additional processing is required. A crystallization of the solids occurs in the forced-circulation evaporator-crystallizer. The remaining solids-heavy

waste stream is then sent to a solids dewatering system to remove any remaining water. The process flow diagram and a photo of the system

are shown. Source: HPD LLC

Chemicals

Feed

Feed tank

Recovered water Feed preheater

Level tank

NCG vent

DeaeratorBrine concentrator

Compressiondevice

Concentratedbrine

Seed recycleRecirculation

pump

Crystallizer vapor body

Steam

NCG vent

Crystallizer heater

Recovered water

FeedCrystallizer feed tank

Solids to disposal

Recirculation pump

Dewatering device

Recovered water

Cooling water

Surface condenser


WATER TREATMENT

(MVC) cycle. Because MVC recycles the

latent heat of vaporization, the energy input

is quite low—in the range of 18 to 35 kWh

per metric ton of water evaporated. To mini-

mize the size and cost of the vapor separator

and compressor, evaporation occurs at atmo-

spheric pressure.

The Cost of CrystallizingThe falling film evaporator will concentrate

wastewater, but it will not crystallize large

quantities of dissolved salts. Crystallization

occurs in the forced-circulation evaporator-

crystallizer, an evaporator design especially

suited to the propagation and growth of crys-

tals within the bulk solution (Figure 2). The

evaporator/crystallizer is integrated with a

solids-dewatering device (such as a centri-

fuge or pressure filter), which separates the

salt crystals from the product slurry. The

mother liquor is returned to the crystallizer

for further concentration.

The forced-circulation evaporator is usu-

ally driven by an external source of steam.

The steam heating is required because of the

high boiling point rise (BPR) of the solution

at the high concentration when crystallization

of the dissolved salts takes place. The crystal-

lizer requires slightly more than a metric ton

of steam to evaporate a metric ton of water.

For most wastewaters containing 1% to

5% dissolved solids by weight, it is relatively

easy to remove 75% to 95% of the water in

a falling film evaporator. When highly sol-

uble salts are present in the wastewater, the

last 5% to 25% of water may be difficult to

evaporate and require further processing, as

discussed in the following section. As water

is evaporated from a solution, the concentra-

tion and ionic strength of the salts increase,

as does the boiling temperature of the solu-

tion. The increase in boiling temperature of a

solution above that of water at a given pres-

sure is called the BPR. The BPR increases as

the concentration of dissolved salts increases

when evaporating water from a solution.

Calcium chloride is the main dissolved

salt in wet limestone FGD blowdown. As the

concentration of calcium chloride increases

in the solution, so does the boiling point tem-

perature (Figure 3). The two curves intersect

at the solubility limit of calcium chloride in

a boiling solution. Figure 3 also shows that

calcium chloride is very soluble in water; as

a solution is concentrated by evaporation at

1 atmosphere (atm), its boiling point contin-

ues to rise, until the solubility limit of about

75% by weight is reached and calcium chlo-

ride dihydrate (CaCl2 • 2H2O) crystallizes out

from solution. Figure 3 further shows that a

saturated solution of calcium chloride at a

pressure of 1 atm has a boiling temperature

of almost 350F, a BPR of 138F.

At this high temperature, calcium chlo-

ride, like magnesium chloride and ammoni-

um chloride, undergoes hydrolysis in water;

that is, it releases hydrochloric acid that will

aggressively attack steel. The rate of hydroly-

sis increases with the temperature, so materi-

als of construction for the evaporator vessels

and heat transfer surface must be carefully

selected to resist the extremely corrosive na-

ture of these salts at high concentrations and

temperatures. Experience shows that suitable

corrosion-resistant materials at these temper-

atures and concentrations are very expensive

noble alloys, such as palladium-alloyed tita-

nium and high nickel-chrome-molybdenum

alloys. The requirement for such expensive

materials makes the use of a final crystallizer

economically challenging in most wastewa-

ter ZLD applications.

A Lower-Cost ApproachOn projects where the use of a crystallizer

is not economically feasible, a falling film

evaporator will recover 75% to 95% of the

water and concentrate the wastewater that can

then be sent to an evaporation pond. If your

project requires a full ZLD system, there are

several options to consider when exploring

ways to handle the remaining 5% to 25% of

the original volume of wastewater (produced

by the system shown in Figure 1). For exam-

ple, it may be possible and economically at-

tractive to construct a surface impoundment

to store the concentrate and let nature handle

the evaporation.

Another alternative is spray drying to re-

move the remaining moisture from the con-

centrate that produces a dry product suitable

for landfill disposal. A spray dryer does burn

fuel oil or natural gas and will probably re-

quire an air emissions permit.

Other methods of drying the evaporator

concentrate include flakers, prilling towers,

and other methods common to industrial salt

production. The common drawback to drying

technologies is that they are quite energy-in-

tensive (as high as 1,500 kWh per metric ton

of water removed) for the small amount of

water evaporated.

For wet FGD wastewater where calcium

and magnesium chloride salts predominate,

a pretreatment process may be preferable.

Chemical softening using lime (calcium hy-

droxide) and soda ash (sodium carbonate)

can be used to remove most of the magne-

sium and calcium ions in the wastewater as

precipitates of magnesium hydroxide and cal-

cium carbonate (Figure 4). These precipitates

3. Depressed boiling point. This figure illustrates the relationship of the boiling tem-

perature for pure calcium chloride solution against its solubility curve at atmospheric pressure.

As the weight percentage of the calcium chloride increases in solution, the boiling point of the

solution rises. This fundamental property of salt solutions is an important design parameter.

Source: HPD LLC

Boiling point

Solution

CaC12 • H2O

& solution

CaC12 • 2H2O

& solution

CaC12 • 4H2O

& solution

Solution & ice

Ice & CaC12 • 6H2O

CaC

1 2 •

6H

2O

& s

olut

ion

CaC

1 2 •

6H

2O &

CaC

1 2 •

4H

2O

CaC

1 2 •

4H

2O &

CaC

1 2 •

2H

2O

CaC

1 2 •

2H

2O &

CaC

1 2 •

H2O

180

160

140

120

100

80

60

40

20

0

–20

–40

–60

356

320

284

248

212

176

140

104

68

32

–4

–40

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80

Calcium chloride weight (%)

Tem

p. (

C)

Tem

p. (

F)


WATER TREATMENT

settle in a clarifier, and the resulting sludge is

dewatered and then disposed of in a landfill.

The net result of the softening process is that

sodium ions are substituted for most of the

calcium and magnesium ions, so the softened

stream becomes mainly an aqueous solution

of sodium chloride.

The softened stream is next evaporated

in a falling film evaporator and water is re-

covered, as discussed earlier. The final con-

centration step is using a forced-circulation

evaporator-crystallizer, in which the sodium

chloride crystallizes at a relatively low tem-

perature and concentration (its solubility

is 28.3% by weight at its boiling point of

227.6F at 1 atm). The solid sodium chloride

produced is mixed with the softener sludge

and is disposed of in a landfill.

The drawbacks to this scheme for ZLD are

the cost of the additional equipment required

to soften the wastewater, the cost of chemi-

cals and sludge disposal, and the additional

complexity of the overall process. On the

other side of the ledger, this process allows

the use of less-expensive alloys in major pro-

cess equipment.

A New, Low-Temperature Approach HPD has developed a new ZLD process

employing the approach used in industrial

crystallization of very soluble chloride salts:

Operate the evaporator at low pressure. Low-

ering the operating pressure allows water

from the waste stream to evaporate at lower

temperatures. The chemistry of wet FGD and

IGCC wastewater favors the formation of

many hydrates and double salts that precipi-

tate at lower concentrations as the temperature

of the solution is lowered. The BPR of solu-

tions is usually less at lower temperatures.

When the waste stream, consisting of high-

ly soluble salt solutions, is concentrated at low

temperature, dissolved solids will precipitate

and crystallize at relatively low concentra-

tion. Using the phase diagram of pure calcium

chloride solution (Figure 3), we see that sever-

al hydrated salts can form from calcium chlo-

ride solution, depending on the temperature.

The concentration at which these hydrated

salts form decreases with the temperature. For

example, calcium chloride dihydrate forms at

350F from a solution having a concentration

of 75% by weight calcium chloride, but at

115F, it will solidify from a solution having a

concentration of only 56%.

Low operating temperatures have many

advantages. First, they reduce acid hydroly-

sis at high chloride concentration, allowing

less-noble alloys to be substituted for the

high–Ni-Cr-Mo alloy materials of construc-

tion usually required for a crystallizer train

processing highly soluble chloride brines.

The low process temperature also eliminates

Biomass Handling Equipment

Complete Engineered Systems

Pulverized Coal Boiler Conversions

CFB Boiler Feed Systems

CANADA: Vancouver, BC

Je�rey Rader CanadaUnit 2, 62 Fawcett RoadCoquitlam, BC V3K 6V5 CanadaPhone: 604.299.0241Fax: 604.299.1491

SWEDEN: Stockholm

Je�rey Rader ABDomnarvsgatan 11, 163 53 SPÅNGAStockholm, SwedenPhone: +46 8 56 47 57 47Fax: +46 8 56 47 57 48

For information on how Je�rey Rader Corporation can solve your Biomass Handling needs, visit us at www.je�reyrader.com/pow

Silos

Wood Hogs

Disc Screens

Open Storage

Closed Storage

Truck Dumpers

Material Handling for

Biomass Power Generation

UNITED STATES CANADA SWEDENUNITED STATES CANADA SWEDEN

USA: CORPORATE HEADQUARTERS

Je�rey Rader Corporation398 Willis RoadWoodru�, SC, USA 29388Phone: 864.476.7523Fax: 864.476.7510

CANADA: Montreal, Quebec

Je�rey Rader Canada2350 Place Trans-CanadienneDorval, Quebec H9P 2X5 CanadaPhone: 514.822.2660Fax: 514.822.2699

Chain Conveyors

Bucket Elevators

Screw Conveyors

Screw Reclaimers

Pneumatic Conveying


implement and reconigure with minimal business disruption. So your energy assets can be as

AGILE EAM.

REOUIRED FOR PAS-55 COMPLIANCE.

Rate payer organizations, investors and stakeholders need the most bang for their buck, and

are already asking about PAS-55, the new standard for asset lifecycle management. But only

the most agile enterprise asset management (EAM) software will let you comply with this

mandate. Only IFS Applications is comprehensive enough for PAS-55 but agile enough to

implement and reconigure with minimal business disruption. So your energy assets can be as agile as your thinking.

www.youragile55.com

IFS—FOR AGILE BUSINESS



WATER TREATMENT

the need to pretreat the feed brine to the ZLD

process. Eliminating pretreatment avoids sol-

ids settling and filtration equipment, sludge

dewatering equipment, and chemical feed/

storage facilities, substantially reducing the

footprint of the overall water treatment facil-

ity. It also avoids producing a sludge waste

product that is expensive to dewater and dis-

pose in a landfill.

By operating under vacuum, the boiling

temperature of the solution is reduced from

that at atmospheric pressure, and a solid can

be obtained at a relatively low concentration.

For example, the BPR is also lower when

operating under vacuum at low temperature:

At 75% calcium chloride the BPR is 135F,

but at 56%, the BPR is only 56F. Therefore, a

saturated solution of calcium chloride (58%

by weight) will boil at 140F if the vapor pres-

sure is maintained around 0.5 psia, which is

well within the capability of typical indus-

trial vacuum systems. The BPR of saturated

calcium chloride solution at these operating

conditions is 60F. This means that the water

vapor that evaporates from the solution will

be 60F less than the boiling temperature of

the solution, or 80F.

A Simple Treatment SystemHPD has used these low-temperature proper-

ties of very soluble salts found in plant waste-

water to design a unique low-temperature

crystallization process known as the CoLD

Process (Crystallization of high-solubility

salts at Low temperature and Deep vacuum).

This crystallization process is derived from

methods used in the industrial production of

very soluble chloride salts.

The CoLD process is very simple, yet it

is the only method that results in direct crys-

tallization of highly soluble salts, including

chlorides, nitrates, and salts of organic acids.

The CoLD process combines a conventional

vacuum-forced circulation crystallizer with

conventional heat pump technology to take

advantage of the reduced solubility and BPR

of high-solubility salts at low temperature.

Direct crystallization of calcium chloride,

magnesium chloride, ammonium chloride,

or other high-solubility salts using the CoLD

process eliminates the need for extensive

pretreatment of the wastewater with lime,

soda ash, and other chemicals to replace the

calcium, magnesium, and ammonium ions

in the wastewater with sodium ions so that a

crystalline solid can be produced.

Figure 5 is a schematic of a CoLD crystal-

lizer designed to operate at low temperature

and pressure. In this system, the heat required

to boil the solution (it no longer requires a sep-

arate source of steam) and the cooling neces-

sary to condense the water vapor are supplied

by a closed-cycle heat pump. The refrigerating

fluid is heated by compressing it in the refrig-

erant compressor. Electrical energy, which

drives the compressor motor, provides the

work that is the source of heat for the crystal-

lizer. Part of the heat imparted to the refrigerant

by the compressor is transferred to the process

solution in the crystallizer heat exchanger by

the condensation of the refrigerant.

The liquid refrigerant flows through an

expansion valve into the condenser, where it

evaporates by heat transferred from condens-

ing water vapor from the crystallizer. The cy-

cle is closed as the refrigerant flows back to

4. Lime-soda ash-softening process. In wet FGD wastewater, for example, where

calcium and magnesium chloride salts predominate, chemical softening using lime (calcium

hydroxide) and soda ash (sodium carbonate) can be used to remove most of the magnesium

and calcium ions before the wastewater enters the evaporation process shown in Figure 1.

Source: HPD LLC

Feed

Initial clarifierLime

Mix tank Mix tank

Mix tank

Polymer Soda ash ClarifierTo evaporator

Seed sludge

UnderflowUnderflow

ThickenerFilter pressMg(OH)2 & CaCO3 sludge

5. CoLD crystallizer. HPD’s new crystallizer is designed to operate at low temperature and pressure. The heat required to boil the solution

and the cooling necessary to condense the water vapor are supplied by a closed-cycle heat pump. The process flow diagram and a photo of the

system are shown Source: HPD LLC

Crystallizer vapor body

Vacuum pumpRefrigerant

Refrigerant compressor

Surface condenser

Vapor

Recovered water

Dewatering device

Solids to disposal

Crystallizer feed tank

Crystallizer heater

Recirculation pump

Expansion valve

Feed


WATER TREATMENT

the compressor. The energy input is roughly

70 kWh per metric ton of water evaporated.

Besides a lower BPR, the lower operat-

ing temperature results in a much lower acid

hydrolysis rate for acid salts such as calcium

chloride. The low-temperature operation

makes selection of the materials of construc-

tion easier when dealing with mixtures of

chloride salts, which are subject to hydro-

lysis. Low operating temperature translates

into a much less aggressive solution, so high-

nickel or high–molybdenum alloy construc-

tion materials are not required.

Laboratory testing has proven the effec-

tiveness of this process on typical waste-

waters containing highly soluble salts. The

solution depicted in Figure 6 is that of a typi-

cal wastewater from a coal-fired power plant

wet FGD system. After evaporation at low

temperature (131F), the wastewater was sep-

arated into high-quality distilled water and a

stable solid suitable for landfill.

Eliminating the need for water pretreat-

ment avoids the need to install expensive sol-

ids-settling and filtration equipment, sludge

dewatering equipment, and chemical feed/

storage facilities—essentially, all the equip-

ment shown in Figure 4. It also avoids high

chemical consumption and extensive sludge

production and the resulting cost of chemi-

cals, dewatering, and landfill disposal. The

CoLD process produces a solid product con-

sisting only of the solids originally contained

in the wastewater plus a small amount of acid

required to eliminate the bicarbonate alkalin-

ity in the equalized wastewater.

The low operating temperature in the

crystallizer reduces the need for high-alloy

materials of construction that are usually

required for a crystallizer train processing

high-chloride brine. Direct crystallization of

high-solubility salts using the CoLD process

also eliminates the need for inefficient and

expensive drying equipment to produce a

solid product for disposal. ■

—William A. Shaw, PE (bill.shaw@ veoliawater.com) is a senior process

engineer for HPD LLC, a Veolia Water Solutions & Technologies company.

6. Final results. The low-temperature (131F) crystallization of typical wet FGD purge water

(left) produces high-quality distilled water and a stable solid suitable for landfill disposal (right).

Courtesy: HPD LLC

SEAL STRIP SOLUTIONS

Most orders shipped within 24 hours

www.houstondynamic.com

• J-Strips• L-Strips

• Custom Strips• Refurbish Seal Housings

8150 Lawndale, Houston, TX 77012

PHONE 713.928.6200

FAX 713.928.2903

CIRCLE 35 ON READER SERVICE CARD CIRCLE 36 ON READER SERVICE CARD


POWER VIEWS

Quin Shea, vice president, environment for the Edison Electric Institute, comments on the Utility MACT rule that is expected to be finalized in November.

New EPA Rule Calls for Flexibility

The short-fused deadlines, extent of cov-

erage, and complexity of new air emis-

sions regulations proposed by the U.S.

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

have been cited by several utilities as the rea-

son for recently announced plant closures.

Here’s how the Edison Electric Institute’s en-

vironmental point man sees the situation.

Which new air emission rule is the utility industry most concerned about?Shea: The electric power industry values a

healthy environment. Every year, electric

companies comply with hundreds of federal

and state environmental laws and regula-

tions. They spend billions of dollars on envi-

ronmental measures and operational controls

to protect human health and the environment.

At the same time, the industry takes great

pride in its capability to meet the nation’s

ever-growing demand for electricity in a reli-

able and affordable manner.

Maintaining this balance between protect-

ing the environment and keeping the lights

on is the main job for every electric company.

In that vein, it is very important that our in-

dustry and the EPA work closely together on

the range of rules that the EPA is promulgat-

ing for utilities.

Because of the proposed Utility MACT

rule’s complexity and timing, we are urging

the EPA to give electric utilities greater flex-

ibility in implementing it. Greater flexibility

will help to achieve the desired results. And

it will do so without raising compliance costs

or compromising electric system reliability.

What is the Utility MACT rule?Shea: The Utility “Maximum Achievable

Control Technology,” or “Utility MACT

rule” as it is commonly called, is the EPA’s

first-ever proposed rule to regulate power

plant emissions of mercury and other hazard-

ous air pollutants (HAPs). This new rule rep-

resents one of the agency’s most ambitious

undertakings, both in scope and in potential

impact.

The Utility MACT rule will create nation-

al emission standards for HAPs under section

112 of the Clean Air Act (CAA). The EPA

proposed its MACT rule in March 2011, and

the agency is scheduled to put the rule into

final form in November 2011.

The new rule will affect almost all of the

country’s existing coal- and oil-based gener-

ating units—approximately 1,350 boilers at

525 power plants. Once the rule is issued,

power generators will have up to three years

to install the necessary emissions control

technology. They must reduce their HAPs

emissions to a level equal to or better than

the average emissions of the best-performing

12% of the plants for which the EPA has

emissions data. For those planning to build

new coal- or oil-based generating units,

planned emissions must be based on the best-

performing existing source.

What options do utility plant owners have, if any?Shea: If plant owners decide not to install

the necessary control technology, they have

two options. They can choose to replace or

repower their coal- or oil-based generating

unit with another fuel source, such as natural

gas or biomass. Alternatively, they can shut

down the unit and, if needed, expand trans-

mission capacity to maintain system reliabil-

ity. The three-year time limit applies to these

options as well.

The EPA predicted most facilities would

be able to comply with the Utility MACT

rule within the three years. The agency has

said, however, that a one-year extension

would likely be an option for utilities that are

unable to meet that deadline.

In our comments on the proposed Utility

MACT rule, we emphasized that if a plant

owner does decide to comply by shutting

down a generating unit, then that unit should

be shut down within the three years allotted

after the effective date of the final rule. This

timeframe should be extended only if it is

determined that operation of the unit is re-

quired for reliability purposes and the utility

demonstrates that the reliability issue is be-

ing diligently addressed.

What additional flexibility do utility plant owners require?Shea: For those plant owners that wish to

choose one of the other compliance options,

we also emphasized the need for flexibility in

our comments to the draft rule. We urged the

EPA to extend the compliance deadline by an

additional year, as allowed under the CAA.

This extra time will be needed for each of the

compliance options.

In the instances where a plant owner

wants to install control technologies, they

will need their state regulatory agencies to

issue permits as well as approve the design,

engineering, siting, permitting, and financing

of these controls before actual construction

begins. And according to the National Asso-

ciation of Regulatory Utility Commissioners

(NARUC), a retrofit timeline for multimil-

lion dollar projects may take up to five-plus

years.

If a plant owner decides to close a unit

and upgrade existing transmission systems

or build new systems to ensure continued

reliability, utility experience indicates that

the entire process of siting, planning, permit-

ting, and constructing transmission generally

takes more than three years, and typically

takes four to eight years to complete.

Another factor that calls for more time

is that the Utility MACT rule will require

an unprecedented number of power plants

to install controls at nearly the same time.

Although the EPA acknowledges that the

control technology industry would have to

“ramp up quickly,” the agency does not take

into consideration the reality that manufac-

turing delays could occur given the increased

volume of orders.

In addition, once the Utility MACT rule

takes effect, NARUC has cautioned that a

retrofit timeline may need to be lengthened

due to the large number of multimillion dol-

lar projects that will be in competition for the

same skilled labor and resources.


POWER VIEWS

What also has to be taken into consid-

eration when determining how much time

it will take to install the necessary controls

is that utilities schedule power plant main-

tenance—including retrofits and installa-

tion of environmental controls—during the

spring and fall months. This is because peak

demand on their system generally occurs

during the summer and winter months, and

electric utilities must have enough genera-

tion facilities online to meet the maximum

demand on their systems. As a result, the

majority of utilities will not be able to work

year-round to install control technologies to

reduce mercury and HAPs.

What was the EPA’s response to your suggestions?Shea: The EPA has suggested a willingness

to consider extensions on a unit-by-unit ba-

sis. But the number of generating units need-

ing additional time likely will be sufficiently

large that a case-by-case review of individual

requests for extensions actually could delay

overall compliance.

Given these realities, we plan to ask the

president to issue an executive order using

the CAA “exemption authority” for power

plant owners or operators who are unable

to comply with the Utility MACT require-

ments within four years (the standard three-

year compliance period plus the EPA’s

optional one-year extension). We will ask

the president, or any designated agency or

department, to grant these extensions in

the instances where a utility is making a

diligent, good-faith effort to comply but

the control technology is unavailable, or

in those instances where the appropriate

national, state, or regional grid operator,

North American Electric Reliability Corp.,

or state regulators certify that an extension

of time is necessary to address reliability

and economic impact issues.

What other steps to reduce mercury and HAP emissions are utility plant owners taking?Shea: It is important to emphasize that al-

though we are asking for greater flexibility

in implementing the new MACT rule, elec-

tric utilities are not opposed to reducing their

emissions of mercury and HAPs. In fact,

electric utilities have made significant strides

over the last two decades in reducing the in-

dustry’s overall emissions.

Coal-based power plants—which still

generate nearly half of the nation’s elec-

tricity—emit about 70% less sulfur di-

oxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOx)

emissions today than they did in 1990. And

in the eastern United States, we have cut

ozone-related summer NOx emissions by

80% during the same period. What is truly

remarkable, however, is that while these

emissions reductions were taking place,

electricity demand grew 38%. Other reg-

ulations being proposed by the EPA also

will lead to SO2, NOx, mercury, and other

emissions being reduced by 80% to 90% in

most eastern states compared to 1990.

In addition, companies also are invest-

ing in advanced generating technologies

to reduce emissions even further. And we

have begun exploring methods for captur-

ing and storing carbon emissions.

The EPA’s Utility MACT is as complex

as it is far-reaching. With greater flexibil-

ity in complying with it, we believe that

the new MACT rule will achieve its objec-

tives, while working to lower compliance

costs, increase system reliability, and pre-

serve valuable economic resources. ■

—Dr. Robert Peltier, PE, POWER’s editor-in-

chief, conducted and edited this interview.



MERCURY REMOVAL

An SCR Can Provide Mercury Removal Co-BenefitsComplying with various state (and expected federal) requirements governing

mercury removal from the stack gas of coal-fired power plants has usually been achieved by adding an expensive activated carbon injection system. Now there is another alternative: a catalyst that features higher mercu-ry oxidization activity than conventional catalysts while maintaining the same SO2 to SO3 conversion activity—and all at a lower operating cost. Full-scale installations are under way at several Southern Company plants that burn a variety of coals.

By Anthony Favale, Stephen Guglielmo, and Peter Jin, Hitachi Power Systems America Ltd.; Yoshinori Nagai, Babcock Hitachi, K.K., Japan; and Corey Tyree, Southern Company Research & Environmental Group

In March 2005, the U.S. Environmental

Protection Agency (EPA) announced two

final rules for air pollution that apply to

coal-fired power plants: the Clean Air Inter-

state Rule (CAIR) and the Clean Air Mer-

cury Rule (CAMR). CAIR was intended to

reduce nitrogen oxides (NOx) and sulfur ox-

ides (SOx) emissions that contribute to high

levels of ambient O3 and particulate matter

(PM2.5). CAMR separately addressed the re-

duction of mercury (Hg) emissions from U.S.

power plants. Although CAMR was eventu-

ally vacated, the release of state rules requir-

ing mercury reduction continued.

These prior federal rules have been re-

placed by new regulations focused on haz-

ardous pollutants (HAPS), such as the Utility

MACT (maximum achievable control tech-

nology) Rule proposed in March 2011 and

slated to become final in November 2011.

In particular, mercury is a major focus of the

new regulations, creating new mercury emis-

sion control challenges for power generating

station owners. In particular, the draft Utility

MACT Rule requires that mercury emissions

meet a concentration level of 11 lb/TBtu for

coal with a heating value less than 8,300 Btu/

lb and 1 lb/TBtu for coals with a heating val-

ue equal to or greater than 8,300 Btu/lb for

existing units. For new units, the targets are

a function of generation: 0.040 lb/GWh for

coal less than 8,300 Btu/lb and 0.00001 lb/

GWh for coals equal to or greater than 8,300

Btu/lb—about one-thousandth the levels re-

quired for existing units.

The challenge for coal-fired plant owners

is to select the most cost-effective and reli-

able method to meet these new, aggressive

mercury reduction standards.

A number of technologies have been

shown to reduce mercury emissions, such as

activated carbon injection (ACI) and halogen

injection (which reduces the speciation of

Hg). However, these systems potentially cre-

ate other problems, such as adding to the cost

of installing and operating the equipment, as

well as the time and cost to maintain it.

There are also other negative economic

consequences of mercury control. For exam-

ple, ACI may increase carbon in the fly ash,

reducing its marketability. In our experience,

sometimes the easiest and most cost-effective

way to control mercury is to leverage the

co-benefit of the air quality control system

(AQCS) equipment already present.

Different Forms of MercuryIt is well known that increasing the propor-

tion of oxidized mercury (Hg2+) existing in

the form of water-soluble mercuric chloride

(HgCl2) allows for high Hg emission re-

duction because HgCl2 can be removed in

downstream equipment such as a particulate

control device (PCD) and the wet flue gas

desulfurization (FGD) system. Therefore, to

increase the proportion of Hg2+ upstream of a

wet FGD system will facilitate higher over-

all mercury removal for the plant. Selective

catalytic reduction (SCR) catalyst has dem-

onstrated the ability to increase Hg2+ by con-

verting elemental mercury (Hg0) to Hg2+ in

coal combustion flue gases.

In general, an SCR catalyst can oxidize

elemental form mercury (Hg0) to its oxidized

form (Hg2+) in gaseous form and particulate

form (Hg(P)); however, the mercury oxidation

rate on the SCR catalyst correlates with the

SO2 oxidation/conversion rate to SO3 that can

cause air heater fouling, flue corrosion, and

visible stack plumes. Several downstream SO3

mitigation technologies have become com-

mercially available in recent years, but these

systems can have high initial and operating

costs, performance limitations, and mainte-

nance concerns. Therefore, an SCR catalyst

with high Hg0 oxidation activity and a low SO2

to SO3 conversion rate is economically opti-

mal, especially for U.S. coal-fired plants using

high-sulfur coal. (See “SO3’s Impacts on Plant

O&M, Part I,” Oct. 2006; “Part II,” Feb. 2007;

and “Part III,” Apr. 2007 in POWER’s archives

at www.powermag.com.)

The effect of SCR catalyst on Hg0 oxida-

tion appears to depend on the coal type. Pow-

er plants burning high-chlorine (Cl) coals,

such as U.S. eastern bituminous coals, tend to

show relatively high Hg0 to Hg2+ conversion

across the SCR, whereas plants burning low-

Cl coals, such as Powder River Basin (PRB)

coals, tend to show limited or no Hg0 to Hg2+

conversion across SCR catalyst. In such ap-

plications, an enhanced mercury oxidation

catalyst capable of achieving higher mercury

removal across the plant’s AQCS would be

highly desirable. (See “Determining AQCS

Mercury Removal Co-Benefits,” July 2010.)

SCR Catalyst Designed to Oxidize HgThrough extensive research and develop-

ment, pilot testing, and field demonstration,

Hitachi has successfully developed a new

type of SCR catalyst, TRAC, which satisfies

the high–Hg0 oxidation and low–SO2 oxida-

tion requirements for low-chlorine coal-fired

power plants. TRAC has been successfully

tested and demonstrated in several slipstream

pilot facilities in the U.S. It has been com-

mercially available with full mercury oxida-

tion guarantees since its first installation in a

640-MW PRB-fired U.S. plant in 2008.

Since 2008, TRAC catalyst with high mer-

cury oxidation activity has been supplied to

several utilities worldwide, including South-

FD-PwerguardAd-8.125x11.125-Bleed-May2011-final.pdf 1 5/24/11 9:20 AM

“No Injuries to Anyone, Ever!”800-537-4483

Guardian

Guardian AR

Fire retardant compound that delivers increased resistance to abrasion

and cover wear. Meets Class 2 RMA and ASTM requirements.

High quality Grade II compound with excellent abrasion and cover wear

properties. Meets Class 2 RMA and ASTM requirements.

Conveyor Beltletting you down?

Let PowerGuardkeep your energy flowing!

Fenner Dunlop’s PowerGuard® was developed to

combat the harshest above ground coal handling

and power generating environments. PowerGuard

consistently delivers reduced cost, less downtime,

higher pro�ts and greater safety. Fenner Dunlop’s

compounds, Guardian and Guardian AR, are

speci�cally formulated to �ght the e�ects of dust

suppression chemicals that deteriorate belt covers.

Use Fenner Dunlop and you have a belt that will

keep your energy �owing!

®

FD-PwerguardAd-8.125x11.125-Bleed-May2011-final.pdf 1 5/24/11 9:20 AM



MERCURY REMOVAL

ern Company’s Plant Miller Units 1 and 2

and Plant Barry Unit 5.

By adding active catalyst components to

conventional catalysts to increase Hg0 oxi-

dation activity, the SO2 to SO3 conversion

activity will also increase at the same active

sites in the catalyst components (Figure 1).

The fundamental reaction mechanisms of Hg

oxidation and SO2 to SO3 conversion across

SCR catalysts were investigated in a Hitachi

laboratory to ascertain the most appropri-

ate catalyst composition and manufacturing

methods for the new catalyst.

Figure 2 illustrates test results for Hg0 oxi-

dation of the TRAC catalyst and conventional

catalyst at Hitachi’s Environmental Research

Center in Akitsu, Japan. Test results have

demonstrated that the Hg0 oxidation activ-

ity of TRAC catalyst was 1.4 to 1.7 times

higher than that of the conventional catalyst

while improving NOx removal activity and

maintaining the same SO2 to SO3 conversion

activity.

Plant Pilot Testing on PRB CoalTo ascertain the performance of the TRAC

catalyst in an actual operating unit, a slip-

stream reactor (SSR) was installed at a north-

ern U.S. power plant with an SCR system in

2003. The 640-MW plant has a wall-fired

boiler and was burning 100% PRB fuel

during testing. Following the SCR, the flue

gases pass through an air heater, an electro-

static precipitator (ESP), and then a wet FGD

system (Figure 3). The testing was conducted

from December 2005 to April 2007.

The SSR, with four layers of TRAC cat-

alyst, designed for 90% NOx removal, was

installed next to the existing SCR reactor.

The TRAC catalyst is specifically designed

for subbituminous fuels containing very

low amounts of chlorine. In order to repre-

sent actual SCR operating conditions, the

inlet duct of the SSR is connected direct-

ly to the inlet of the full-scale SCR, just

1. Relationship between SO2 conversion and Hg0 oxidation across activ-ity for a conventional catalyst. Source: Hitachi Power Systems America Ltd.

2.0

1.5

1.0

0.5

0.00.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0

Conventional catalysts

SO2 conversion activity ratio

Hg

0 o

xid

ati

on

ac

tivi

ty r

ati

o

The Platts UDI World Electric Power Plants Database (WEPP) is an inventory of over 160,000 generating units including more than 70,000 plants of all sizes and technologies in more than 225 countries. Operators include regulated utilities, private power companies, and commercial and industrial autoproducers (captive power).

This unique database is the largest global power plant information resource available and has been published in its current format since 1990.

For more information about Platts UDI databases and directories, visit www.udidata.com.

To purchase the UDI World Electric Power Plants Database, visit www.WEPP.Platts.com

or call your nearest Platts oice.

North America EMEA Latin America Asia-Paciic

+1-800-PLATTS8 (toll-free) +44-(0)20-7176-6111 +54-11-4804-1890 +65-6530-6430

+1-212-904-3070 (direct)

Find cogen power plants in India, list new coal-ired projects in Europe, track hydroelectric projects in Brazil, and more ...

New Release!

UDI World Electric Power Plants Database – The Original Global Reference


MERCURY REMOVAL

above the first layer of catalyst. This gas

contains an adequate amount of ammonia

for the de-NOx process, so no halogen in-

jection was used during the testing.

In addition to mercury oxidation, inlet

and outlet NOx and ammonia slip are mea-

sured simultaneously in order to ascertain

the interaction between mercury oxidation

and de-NOx at various conditions and time

intervals. The commercial ammonia (NH3)

injection system placed at the SCR inlet

flue was injected at the commercial NH3/

NOx mole ratio.

Each layer of SSR catalyst is equipped

with air sootblowers, which are operated

automatically or at user-specified inter-

vals. The SSR is also equipped with elec-

trical heaters to keep the same temperature

across all catalyst layers. An induced-draft

(ID) fan and gas flow control damper is

provided at the SSR outlet in order to al-

low adjustment of the amount of gas flow

through the SSR. Instrumentation is pro-

vided in the SSR at various locations to

measure temperature, catalyst pressure

drop, and total gas flow. A local control

panel is used to provide user interface at

the SSR, and a programmable logic con-

troller is included for communication with

the plant distributed control system. All of

this data is acquired and stored on an hour-

ly basis for future trending and analysis.

Table 1 show the representative coal and

flue gas data from this testing. Based on

measurements taken during about 1,000

hours of operation, hydrochloric acid

(HCl) concentration in the flue gas was

very low (1 to 4 ppm) due to low chlorine

content (33 mg/kg) in the PRB coal, which

is a good representation case for mercury

oxidation for a low-chlorine coal-fired

power plant.

To address the primary objective of this

test program, mercury sampling was peri-

odically conducted at test ports through-

out the test program. The SSR is equipped

with test ports at the inlet, outlet, and an

intermediate point for performing mea-

surements using the Ontario Hydro Meth-

od. Along with mercury speciation, other

measurements simultaneously recorded

include HCl concentration at the SSR in-

let, ammonia and NOx concentration at the

SCR inlet and outlet, and total gas flow.

The mercury sampling activities in this

test program were divided into five major

events: January, April, July, and December

2006 and April 2007. Figure 4 summarizes

Hg speciation profiles at each sampling

point across the SSR.

One of the major objectives of this SSR

testing is to quantify the mercury oxida-

tion rate over a long period. The SSR dem-

2. Hg0 oxidation of TRAC catalyst at the Hitachi pilot-scale test facility. Source: Hitachi Power Systems America Ltd.

100

90

80

70

60

50644 680 716 752 788

Temperature (F)

Hg

ox

ida

tio

n (

%)

Conventional TRAC TRAC

3. Schematic of SSR test configuration. Source: Hitachi Power Systems America Ltd.

Coal analysis Flue gas analysis

Heating value (Btu/lb as received) 8,280 Inlet NOx (ppm) 260–300

Moisture (% as received) 30% O2 (% dry) 2.9

Ash (% as received) 5.2% CO2 (% dry) 15

Sulfur (% as received) 0.3% H2O (%) 12.6

Chlorine (ppm) 33 HCl (ppm) 1–4

Hg (ppm) 0.1

Boiler

De-NOx AH

DESP

fan

WFGD

Stack

SSRSCR

reactor

(actual)

IDControl valve

DP

TF

TF

1st layer

2nd layer

3rd layer

4th layer

SSR pilot

Table 1. Coal and flue gas analysis during slipstream reactor testing. Source: Hitachi Power Systems America Ltd.


MERCURY REMOVAL

onstration test for the PRB-firing plant

showed very good mercury oxidation. It

was observed that a significant amount of

Hg0 was oxidized to Hg2+ across the cata-

lyst in the SSR for all sampling events,

even with very low Hg0 content level at the

inlet of the SSR. Hg oxidation capability

of the TRAC catalyst remained robust af-

ter one year of operation. More than 80%

mercury oxidation was achieved across the

catalyst in the SSR after 8,000 hours of op-

eration, although HCl concentration in the

flue gas for PRB firing was very low.

Figure 5 shows the mercury oxidation

rate during 8,000 hours of testing. HCl

concentration at the inlet of the SSR was

changed with each test run within the

range shown in Table 1. Hg oxidation

rate for the TRAC catalyst remained high

during a one-year test period under low–

chlorine level condition, even though the

results indicate a gradual decrease in mer-

cury oxidation over time. The mercury ox-

idation deterioration rate of TRAC catalyst

was the same as that for de-NOx. Robust

mercury oxidation performance and supe-

rior durability of the TRAC catalyst were

observed and confirmed through the SSR

testing. Therefore, full-scale commercial

application of the TRAC catalyst became

the next logic step.

Pilot Plant Testing at Southern CompanyA large-scale pilot test was subsequently

conducted at Southern Company’s Mercury

Research Center (MRC) using low-sulfur bi-

tuminous coal in 2009. This plant is equipped

with an AQCS downstream of the SSR, as

shown in Figure 6. At the MRC, flue gas is

extracted from the outlet of an actual low-

sulfur coal-fired boiler and introduced into

the SSR-AQCS system by an ID fan, and

then returned to the air heater outlet duct.

The tested SSR consisted of two layers of

4. Slipstream reactor mercury speciation measurements. Source: Hitachi

Power Systems America Ltd.

50

40

30

20

10

0

Initial (January, 2006)

Co

nc

en

tra

tio

n (

pp

m)

Particle Hg Oxidized Hg Elemental Hg

Co

nc

en

tra

tio

n (

pp

m) 50

40

30

20

10

0

2,000h (April, 2006)

50

40

30

20

10

0

3,550h (July, 2006)

Co

nc

en

tra

tio

n (

pp

m)

50

40

30

20

10

0

5,640h (December, 2006)

Co

nc

en

tra

tio

n (

pp

m)

50

40

30

20

10

0

Approximately 8,000h (April, 2007)

Inlet Middle Outlet

Co

nc

en

tra

tio

n (

pp

m)

5. Mercury oxidation efficiency with operating hours at SSR. Source: Hi-

tachi Power Systems America Ltd.

100

80

60

40

20

0

Hg

ox

ida

tio

n e

ffic

ien

cy

(%)

0 2,000 4,000 6,000 8,000 10,000

Operating hours

Data Condition

Gas flow rate (lb/hr) 50,500

Temperature (F) 626–752 (698)

NOx (ppm) 180–230

Chlorine (ppm) 110–350 (130)

Bromine (ppm) 0–50 (0)

NOx removal (%) 90

Ammonia slip (ppm) 2

Note: ( ) indicates the standard operating condition.

Table 2. Test conditions at the Southern Company Mercury Re-search Center. Source: Hitachi Power

Systems America Ltd.

Sampling point


MERCURY REMOVAL

full-scale catalyst modules. The flue gas

velocities and temperatures were fully con-

trolled during testing. Table 2 shows the mer-

cury oxidation test conditions, and Figure 7

illustrates the outline of the SSR. At this test

facility, Hitachi was also able to confirm the

performance differences between its typical

conventional SCR catalyst and TRAC under

actual flue gas conditions.

Figures 8 and 9 show mercury oxidation

activity for both conventional SCR cata-

lyst and TRAC against halogen concentra-

tion and flue gas temperature. As can be

seen in both figures, TRAC has excellent

mercury oxidation performance at both

lower halogen concentration and high flue

gas temperature zones compared with con-

ventional catalysts. The results illustrate

the superior performance of TRAC under

all tested operating conditions.

Full-Scale Commercial Application The first commercial application of TRAC

involved adding a full layer of catalysts to

a full-scale replacement reactor at the same

PRB-fired plant where pilot testing had been

conducted earlier.

The three-layer replacement reactor con-

sisted of three layers with a spare, empty

fourth layer. For testing, the first layer of ex-

isting honeycomb catalyst was removed and

a layer of TRAC catalyst was installed as the

fourth layer. Table 3 shows the coal and flue

gas analysis data during testing.

The TRAC catalyst was supplied and

installed in the reactor, and the operation

started in June 2008. Hg speciation pro-

files at the wet FGD inlet and outlet (stack

inlet) locations were recorded by using

6. Schematic of the pilot test facility at Southern Company’s Mercury Research Center. Source: Hitachi Power Systems America Ltd.

BoilerAH

AHSCR EP FF Fan

7. The arrangement of the two lay-ers of catalyst installed during pi-lot testing at Southern Company’s Mercury Research Center. The cata-

lyst volume was 6.7 m3. Source: Hitachi Pow-

er Systems America Ltd.

14m

8. Mercury oxidation activity of the catalyst versus halogen concentra-tion. Source: Hitachi Power Systems America Ltd.

1.2

1.0

0.8

0.6

0.4

0.2

0.0

Re

lati

ve a

cti

vity

ra

tio

0 100 200 300 400

CI (ppm)

Temp. 370 C

Br:0 ppm

TRAC

Conventional

9. Mercury oxidation activity of the catalyst versus flue gas tempera-ture. Source: Hitachi Power Systems America Ltd.

1.4

1.2

1.0

0.8

0.6

0.4

0.2

0.0

Re

lati

ve a

cti

vity

ra

tio

320 340 360 380 400

Temperature (C)

TRAC

Conventional

420

Br:5 ppm

CI: 125-150 ppm


MERCURY REMOVAL

the plant’s mercury continuous emission

monitoring (CEM) system. The effect of

TRAC catalyst on Hg oxidation was deter-

mined by comparing the results during two

Hg sampling events, in April 2008 (before

TRAC replacement) and in June 2008 (af-

ter TRAC replacement). For both events,

Hg speciation profiles at the wet FGD inlet

and outlet were measured and recorded.

The effect of TRAC catalyst on Hg spe-

ciation was determined by comparing the

results obtained during the April 2008 sam-

pling event before TRAC replacement (exist-

ing three layers without TRAC) and during

the June 2008 sampling event after TRAC

replacement (existing two layers plus one

TRAC layer). Mercury speciation profiles at

the wet FGD inlet and outlet for each sam-

pling event are shown in Figure 10.

The presence of TRAC catalyst signifi-

cantly affected the Hg speciation profile

at the inlet of the wet FGD system. In the

absence of TRAC catalyst (existing three

layers without TRAC), the ratio of Hg2+/

Hg (total) at the inlet of the wet FGD aver-

aged about 40%. The presence of TRAC

catalyst increased this ratio to about 70%.

By observation, the presence of the TRAC

catalyst significantly increased Hg2+ level

at the inlet of the wet FGD system.

As a result of the increased Hg2+ at the

wet FGD inlet, total Hg removal across the

wet FGD increased from 30% (before TRAC

replacement) to 70% (after TRAC replace-

ment). Results from the full-scale application

are in good agreement with SSR testing re-

sults and demonstrate that the Hg0 oxidation

Table 3. Coal and flue gas analysis for first commercial application of TRAC. Source: Source: Hitachi Power Systems America Ltd.

Coal analysis Flue gas analysis

Heating value (Btu/lb as received) 8,120–8,400 Inlet temperature (F) 723–741

Moisture (% as received) 28.7–31.0 Moisture (%) 11.0–13.8

Ash (% as received) 4.9–5.7 O2 (% dry) 2.9–3.1

Volatile matter (% as received) 17.9–33.6 CO2 (% dry) 16.0–16.6

Sulfur (% as received) 0.27–0.36 NOx (ppm) 297–336

Chlorine (ppm) 25–54 HCl (ppm) 0.42–0.57

Fluorine (ppm) 33–61 HBr (ppm) 0.01–0.13

Hg (ppm) 0.1 Cl2 (ppm) 0.04–0.07

10

8

6

4

2

0

Hg

(µ

g/d

scm

)

April 2008 June 2008

Hg(2+) Hg(0)

Wet FGD inlet

80

60

40

20

0

Hg

(µ

g/d

scm

)


Existing 3 layers without TRAC

Existing 2 layers with one layer of TRAC

10

8

6

4

2

0

Hg

(µ

g/d

scm

)


Wet FGD outlet/stack inlet

80

60

40

20

0

Hg

re

mo

val

(%)


Existing 3 layers without TRAC

Existing 2 layers with one layer of TRAC

10. Effect of TRAC catalyst on Hg oxidation and removal across the wet flue gas desulfurization system before and after TRAC replacement. Source: Hitachi Power Systems America Ltd.

11. Mercury CEM system data collected before (left column) and after (right) one layer of TRAC replaced a conventional layer of catalyst. Source: Hitachi Power Systems America Ltd.

700

600

500

400

300

200

100

0

Po

we

r (M

W)

4/22 4/27 5/2 5/7

100

80

60

40

20

0

Hg

(2+

) /Hg

(T)

(%)

4/22 4/27 5/2 5/7

700

600

500

400

300

200

100

0

Po

we

r (M

W)

5/26 5/31 6/5 6/10

100

80

60

40

20

0

Hg

(2+

) /Hg

(T)

(%)

6/15 6/20 6/25 6/30

5/26 5/31 6/5 6/10 6/15 6/20 6/25 6/30


MERCURY REMOVAL

activity of the TRAC catalyst was signifi-

cantly higher than that of the conventional

catalyst with low-chlorine coal. Figure 11

presents the Hg CEM results before and after

TRAC replacement.

The superior performance benefits of

TRAC have been demonstrated, but what

about the costs? The economics of adding

TRAC catalyst are illustrated in Table 4. For

most eastern bituminous coal applications,

the existing catalyst is sufficient to oxidize

the mercury. However, some units can ben-

efit from an extra boost of mercury oxidation

with one or two layers of TRAC. For PRB

applications, TRAC can help to minimize the

amount of ACI required and thereby save the

cost of mercury oxidation.

The most cost-effective mercury control

strategy is to use existing equipment in order

to comply with new standards. In particular,

Southern Company has evaluated mercury

oxidation across catalysts with enhanced

mercury oxidation, such as TRAC. This strat-

egy requires that the oxidation be maintained

across a range of temperatures, fuel halo-

gen contents, and NOx control levels. Such

a catalyst would allow utilities to reduce or

eliminate the need for halogen injection and

simultaneously comply with stringent NOx

emission standards.

Based on pilot-test results, Southern

Company moved forward with full-scale

applications of TRAC catalyst at several

generating facilities burning PRB and bi-

tuminous fuels. ■

—Anthony C. Favale, PE ([email protected]) is the director

of SCR products; Stephen Guglielmo ([email protected])

is the northeast sales manager; and Dr. Peter Jin, PE ([email protected].

com) is SCR engineering manager for Hitachi Power Systems America Ltd.

Yoshinori Nagai ([email protected]) is the general manager of reserch and development for Babcock Hitachi, K.K., Japan. Dr. Corey A. Tyree ([email protected]) is a project

manager in Southern Company’s Re-search & Environmental Affairs Group

in Birmingham, Ala.

Coal type

3 regular

layers

1 TRAC plus 2

regular layers 3 TRAC layers

Eastern bituminous

Hg oxidation @ air preheater outlet (APH; %) 90 92 95

Rate of activated carbon injection (ACI; lb/MACF) 10 6 0

Cost of ACI ($/yr) 7,600,000 4,600,000 0

Powder River Basin

Hg oxidation at APH outlet (%) 30 63 80

Rate of ACI (lb/MACF) 1.5 1.0 0.5

ACI cost ($/yr) 1,140,000 760,000 380,000

Notes: Assumes $0.75/lb for untreated activated carbon. MACF = million actual cubic feet.

Table 4. Economics of TRAC catalyst for a typical 680-MW unit. Source: Hitachi

Power Systems America Ltd.

Visit www.powermag.com/powerconnect to update or add your information and sell your products to qualifi ed buyers in the power generation industry!

Want to stand out from the other companies?Make the most of your listing and take advantage of upgrade options:

h Increased exposure year-round online and in the POWER magazine December Buyers’ Guide issue

h Add your company logo

h Include additional categories

h Include an online link to your website and a personal email

h Gain priority listing and jump to the top of selected categories

IT’S TIME to renew or add your company’s listing in the

If you have any questions or are interested in upgrading your listing,

please contact Diane Hammes at [email protected] or at 713-444-9939


PLANT DESIGN

Managing Equipment Data Through Asset VirtualizationAsset “virtualization” extends and combines the technologies of 3-D visualiza-

tion and virtual reality to a new, practical level for the life-cycle manage-ment of power industry equipment. All pertinent data for a component, subsystem, or plant is associated with, stored, and accessed through as-built 3-D digital models of the actual plant that are constructed using laser scanning techniques.

By Costantino Lanza, INOVx Solutions Inc. and Jason Makansi, Pearl Street Inc.

The next wave in digital technology

and power plant knowledge manage-

ment is integrating complex plant op-

erations and maintenance (O&M) into the

virtual reality environment, or asset virtu-

alization (AV).

The value of earlier initiatives applying

variations of AV is already evident. Entergy,

for example, applied the technology for mov-

ing huge, complex pieces of equipment during

outages at its nuclear plants, converting pa-

per-based procedures and processes to digital

ones, and reducing worker radiation exposure.

Other nuclear plant owner/operators have also

applied the technology for similar objectives

(see “Laser Scanning Produces 3-D Plant Da-

tabase,” November 2008 and “Modeling and

Simulation Tools Reduce Plant Outage Dura-

tion,” November 2009 in the POWER archives

at www.powermag.com).

The vision articulated in this article is to

anchor the power plant’s overall asset man-

agement program with 3-D models of the as-

built equipment.

The Vision of Asset VirtualizationImagine being able to walk through your

power plant in virtual reality, “touching” an

asset and having everything that is known

about that asset appear before you. Further-

more, imagine mixing and matching infor-

mation from different sources so that you

achieve insights never before possible—for

example, dynamically color the plant equip-

ment based on the probability of failure ver-

sus the consequence of failure (Figure 1).

INOVx and others have mastered a highly

precise 3-D representation of the physical

world and extended it to include complete

access to all available data. Experience to

date shows that the greatest value of AV is

enabling new work processes to improve dai-

ly work habits for safety, compliance, opera-

tions, and maintenance.

Safety aspects are of particular interest

given the recent events in Japan and cata-

strophic events at energy facilities in the U.S.

Being able to clearly see plant conditions

during a crisis—before it happens—improves

planning and emergency response, especially

when addressing previously unexpected cir-

cumstances. Having a virtual world in which

to review actions allows the best plan to be

put forward and then rehearsed away from

immediate danger and damage.

3-D Virtual Models in Engineering. Al-

though 3-D technology in computer-assisted

design (CAD) systems has been used for over

a decade, the models and documentation cre-

ated in the design do not serve O&M tasks

over the life of the assets. This is because

the “as-designed” CAD representations al-

most always deviate from “as built” or field

conditions. Over time, they become less and

less representative of the actual plant and

equipment. The 3-D models typically are

not updated as modifications are made to the

process equipment, nor is it cost effective to

maintain these CAD models.

A plant requiring a major planned outage

recently faced this exact situation. Documen-

tation of the facility was substantially out of

date. To support the upgrade project, a high-

fidelity, location-accurate 3-D model of the

facilities and equipment was created by on-

site laser scanning and subsequent modeling.

Every object was identified and labeled in

accordance with the actual equipment. The

model served the project in many important

ways:

■ Engineers “walked” the scanned images

of the as-built model and identified dis-

crepancies in existing process and instru-

mentation diagrams (P&IDs). The P&IDs

were corrected and made suitable for en-

gineering work at a fraction of the labor

otherwise required.

■ Using the 3-D virtual model, engineers

were able to identify and clearly commu-

nicate throughout the upgrade process.

■ When new plant components were de-

signed, these were “clashed” against the

laser scan images (also referred to as point

clouds) to ensure no interference.

■ Tie-in points were accurately determined

from the 3-D virtual model, and the new

design was fabricated and installed with

zero rework.

These benefits were not only experienced

at this specific plant but also have been re-

peated at other plants. Importantly, with ac-

curate 3-D virtual models, many engineering

tasks can be converted from a field exercise

with paper and pencil to an office task, where

1. More information made available. This example illustrates how it is now possible

to dynamically view risk profiles across an industrial complex using color. Source: INOVx

0 0 0 4 9 13

0 0 0 0 0 0

0 0 2 0 2 4

2 4 0 28 30 64

61 49 49 149 74 382

63 53 51 181 115

Consequences of failure

Pro

ba

bil

ity

of

fail

ure


PLANT DESIGN

field conditions can be explored, accurate

measurements taken, and general produc-

tivity dramatically improved. Consider the

desire to limit the exposure of workers to

radiation at nuclear plants as a means of im-

mediately monetizing the value of converting

field work to office work.

Figure 2 shows two accurate laser images

of a plant. These are full 3-D images with ev-

ery pixel accurately known in 3-D space to

better than 5 mm. Though the images can be

rotated, panned, and zoomed to any perspec-

tive, the included images represent a small

sample of what is possible.

3-D Virtual Models for Outages. Plant

outages are complex endeavors with myriad

distinct work packages involving significant

internal staff, and often hundreds (and some-

times thousands) of contractors and suppliers.

3-D virtual models of the affected facilities en-

hance communications and ensure team famil-

iarity with tasks and their environment without

time-consuming walkthroughs of the facility.

Specific views that support and inform

each individual work package are easily iso-

lated from the clutter of the real world and the

full 3-D virtual model. These are shared with

the staff, supporting workers, and contractors.

They capture and share knowledge about the

plant and planned work tasks. These views

are also combined for added perspective. For

example, structural steel views are combined

with piping views so that proper access and

routing can be planned and communicated

to outage staff. When needed, scaffolding

plans can be overlaid on the views to ensure

suitability. Nuclear plants have already docu-

mented significant savings in scaffolding

alone in applying 3-D virtualization. In pe-

troleum processing plants, savings have been

documented on the order of 10% of the total

cost of the outage. This includes being able to

reduce the total down time by one-tenth.

3-D Virtual Models in Plant Mainte-

nance. In one petroleum refinery the issue

of temporary leak repairs was addressed. The

specific concern was, “How to ensure that the

temporary repairs are made permanent in the

most efficient manner, by taking full advan-

tage of both planned and unplanned outages?”

Before the virtual model, it was very chal-

lenging to identify all eligible temporary leak

repairs. With the virtual model, a temporary

repair database is dynamically linked to the

3-D virtual model, and all opportunities for

permanent repair are immediately highlighted

within the boundary of any outage activity.

Other applications of the 3-D virtual

model for plant maintenance are many and

varied. The impact on best practices is sig-

nificant. Maintenance personnel are able to

quickly locate lines, equipment, and instru-

mentation and familiarize themselves with

components’ location before going to the

field to perform their work. Work orders are

precisely linked to the target equipment or

system and, through that connection, to the

most current asset data. The model is a natu-

ral tool for organizing and visualizing main-

tenance history, operational data, test results,

and analysis.

Work order planning is greatly facilitated

by the 3-D model. Planners can develop li-

braries of work packages for routine tasks

that are supported by their respective views

of the 3-D model. The net result is greater

productivity and quicker repairs, resulting in

shorter downtimes and greater utilization of

the plant.

3-D Virtual Models in Inspection and

Plant Integrity. In the past, inspection

circuits were documented using 2-D iso-

metric drawings with manual placement

of the thickness or corrosion monitoring

locations (TML/CML). In parallel, a data-

base was kept showing corrosion rate, date

of last inspection, and other data for each

point. The challenges in coordinating and

maintaining accuracy under this system

should be obvious.

Today, inspection circuits are generated in

3-D as a subset of the overall virtual model.

TML/CML points are called out in their exact

geospatial location and linked dynamically to

the source data. Even more important, these

inspection points are determined by using

the 3-D virtual model, permitting risk-based

techniques to be used that reduce the number

of inspection points by over 50% without in-

creasing plant operating risk. This has a dou-

ble benefit of reducing the total hours spent

inspecting the plant by 20% to 30% while in-

creasing its reliability and safety (Figure 3).

Inspectors use the 3-D virtual model to

determine scaffolding needs as well as ac-

cess limitations and safety requirements.

As one inspector from Shell Oil put it,

“One hour using the virtual model saves

me 8 hours in the field.”

2. Believe it or not. Yes, these are laser scans, not photos. Courtesy: INOVx

3. A 3-D model of a corrosion inspection loop. The computer rendering has

replaced hand-drawn 2-D isometrics drawings. Courtesy: INOVx


PLANT DESIGN

3-D Virtual Models in Plant Opera-

tions. There are many opportunities to uti-

lize the 3-D virtual model in operating a

plant. Operating procedures can be more eas-

ily created and reviewed because the model

provides a true “in plant” perspective at the

user’s desktop. Familiarizing personnel with

facilities and procedures is greatly simplified.

How many times have we been in the plant

discussing an operating change when nobody

can hear what anyone is saying because of

ear plugs and rotating equipment noise?

Safety procedures, including isolation

device locations, can be documented in full

3-D and full context. Hazard and operability

(HAZOP) analysis can be performed with

greater clarity and with accurate asset docu-

mentation. The location of persistent alarms

can be visualized in their physical context.

Creating work orders is a much more precise

activity because the virtual model provides

an easy way to tie the work order to the piece

of equipment of interest instead of the unit

level. Importantly, the virtual model also

provides a common basis for communication

between operations and maintenance.

How It WorksThe path to AV is surprisingly easy. The

steps are:

1. Identify the specific uses that will be

improved with AV, and plan the imple-

mentation.

2. Create the 3-D virtual model of the plant

facilities.

3. Add intelligence to the model by naming

all the components and connecting them to

the existing enterprise information stores.

4. Establish the new work flow and processes.

5. Assess the implementation and explore

new potential uses.

Start by reviewing the area of potential

benefits, understanding the priorities and

value, and planning the implementation. This

involves reviewing current work practices,

as well as suspected areas of improvement.

Plant personnel are intimately involved in

this step.

Next, the “as-built” 3-D virtual model of

plant facilities and assets is created. If a 3-D

design model is available, it is used, but only

as the starting point. If one does not exist, then

conventional laser scanning technology (wide-

ly available from many vendors) is used.

Modeling software is employed to convert

the laser scan point cloud into 3-D objects.

The end result is a visual, navigable, multi-

perspective 3-D model that accurately and

precisely reflects the actual facilities. The

3-D virtual model software must be capable

of accepting updates at any time from new

laser scans, altered CAD information, and

direct model changes to reflect field condi-

tions. Furthermore, changes must be auto-

matically propagated (or inherited) to views,

documents, and integrated systems to ensure

that all asset information and the 3-D virtual

model accurately reflect the plant.

By tagging objects, components, struc-

tures, circuits, and sub-systems, the model

shapes gain context and can be used for

searching, sorting, and linking to relevant

data from all other enterprise information

systems. Data is not copied, but accessed

dynamically. O&M systems are tapped,

resulting in a comprehensive digital asset

management environment anchored by 3-D

graphics of the actual equipment

There are several very valuable by-prod-

ucts of this step. For one, the existing doc-

umentation is reviewed and redlined. For

example, P&ID are traced and redlined. Ex-

perience tells us that, on average, one to four

errors are discovered on each P&ID. Indeed,

many facilities commission projects just to

update their P&ID, which often cost millions

of dollars just for this work.

Another by-product is the breakdown of

existing information silos. One has imme-

diate access to information that crosses the

silos with minimal effort. There is only one

“version of reality” for all to access.

Once the AV environment is in place, we

are ready to establish the new work flow

and practices. These will flow naturally as

plant personnel and managers make use of

the system.

Market and Application Drivers In addition to the application drivers noted

earlier, industry standards, safety, and eco-

nomics will accelerate deployment of AV in

the power industry. Some of these include:

■ An emerging international standard for

asset management, PAS 55, effectively

mandates AV “best practice.” Publically

Available Specifications (PAS) are avail-

able from the British Standards Institution.

■ Compliance with North American Electric

Reliability Corp.’s reliability standards

can be facilitated with AV.

■ Utilities and owner/operators of large

portfolios of power stations are actively

rationalizing their equipment databases,

which are often in multiple and confusing

paper and digital formats.

■ The fossil-fired power industry—especial-

ly large, baseload assets—will likely take

the cue from nuclear plants and begin us-

ing AV for many facets of outage planning

and conduct.

■ AV helps plants deal with the “brain drain”

issue by providing ways to capture tribal

and expert knowledge before it “leaves the

door” (retires).

■ Safety programs and inspections will only

increase in the wake of recent energy fa-

cility disasters (including the Gulf oil spill

last year, the gas pipeline rupture and ex-

plosion in California last year, the power

plant explosion in Connecticut, the nuclear

plant crisis in Japan this year, and so on).

Issues and ChallengesAs with implementing anything new, one can

expect issues and challenges in adopting and

implementing AV. Here are some of them:

■ The general state of as-built asset infor-

mation is poor. We have already noted that

most P&IDs have errors. In fully imple-

menting AV the inconsistencies must be

addressed, which is challenging. But the

end result is a new level of accuracy and

confidence in asset information.

■ The varying level of detail in existing 3-D

virtual models. Even starting with an

engineering 3-D CAD model, one will

find different organization and level of

detail. For example, are pipe supports

modeled? Are small bore lines includ-

ed? How are internals modeled? The

needed detail must match the applica-

tion or need. Achieving the right level

for each use requires effort.

■ Resistance to change is ever-present.

Young staff expect to use 3-D models; ex-

perienced staff resist.

What to Expect in the FutureAV is in its infancy. The technology will

keep improving, largely driven by the con-

sumer market, where economies of scale

come into play. Laser scanning technology

will become cheaper, faster, and more ac-

curate. Modeling technology will become

more automated. New technologies such as

“augmented reality” will permit the merging

of 3-D virtual models with live video feeds,

thus providing an intelligent live view of

the plant. Equipment will be annotated and

linked. Staff, who will carry radio frequency

identification badges, will also be identified

in the video. Plant information can be over-

laid, for example, with manufacturer’s name

and real-time conditions (such as tempera-

ture and name of the fluid in the pipe). We

expect many new and unexpected uses will

emerge in the years to come. ■

—Costantino Lanza is CEO of INOVx Solutions Inc. Jason Makansi (jmakansi@

pearlstreetinc.com) is president of Pearl Street Inc. This article is based on a

conference paper presented to the 54th Annual ISA Power Industry Division

Symposium, May 2011.


COAL ASH MANAGEMENT

Constructing Maryland’s First Permitted Landfill for Coal Combustion By-productsConstellation Power Source Generation Inc., which owns and operates three

coal-fired power plants in Maryland, has contracted with Charah Inc., an ash management company, to build a landfill to strict environmental re-quirements for the disposal of its plants’ coal combustion by-products that can’t be recycled for other uses.


Coal-fired power plants produce approx-

imately 40% of the electricity gener-

ated in Maryland. Constellation Power

Source Generation Inc. (CPSGI), an affiliate

of Baltimore-based Constellation Energy,

owns and operates three of these plants that

help meet the growing demand for electricity.

Although more than half of the coal combus-

tion by-products (CCBs) produced by these

three plants is recycled for reuse in products

such as cement and concrete, not all can be

reused due to a lack of market demand. The

remainder is placed in landfills permitted to

dispose of such materials.

Overview of Coal Combustion By-productsApproximately 43% of CCBs were recycled

for “beneficial uses” in 2008, according to the

American Coal Ash Association. The remain-

der were landfilled, placed in mine shafts, or

stored on site at coal-fired power plants.

The University of North Dakota has ex-

tensively researched the characteristics of

different types of CCBs typically produced

by coal-fired power plants. Here are the main

types of CCBs the university has identified:

■ Boiler slag is a molten ash collected at the

base of slag tap and cyclone boilers that

is quenched with water and shatters into

black, angular particles having a smooth

glassy appearance.

■ Bottom ash consists of agglomerated ash

particles formed in pulverized coal boilers

that are too large to be carried in the flue

gases. Consequently, they impinge on the

boiler walls or fall through open grates to

an ash hopper at the bottom of the boiler.

Bottom ash is typically gray to black in

color, is quite angular, and has a porous

surface structure.

■ Fluidized bed combustion (FBC) materials

consist of unburned coal, ash, and spent bed

material used for sulfur control. The spent

FBC material (removed as bottom ash) con-

tains reaction products from the absorption

of gaseous sulfur oxides (SO2 and SO3).

■ Flue gas desulfurization (FGD) materi-

als are derived from a variety of processes

used to control sulfur emissions from boiler

stacks. These FGD systems include wet

scrubbers, spray dry scrubbers, sorbent in-

jectors, and a combined sulfur oxide (SOx)

and nitrogen oxide (NOx) process. Sorbents

include lime, limestone, sodium-based

compounds, and high-calcium coal fly ash.

■ Fly ash is the coal ash that exits a combus-

tion chamber in the flue gas and is captured

by air pollution control equipment such as

electrostatic precipitators, baghouses, and

wet scrubbers.

Charah’s Decision to Develop a CCB LandfillIn the fall of 2007, CPSGI voluntarily began

hauling and placing its nonbeneficially re-

used CCBs at privately owned lined landfills

in Virginia and western Maryland as part of

a consent decree signed with the Maryland

Department of the Environment (MDE).

At that time, CPSGI’s evaluation of alter-

native disposal locations to manage its CCBs

in a manner that ensured the health, safety,

and welfare of the community intensified. In

addition, CPSGI was determined to secure a

disposal site for its sole use, as a monofill for

CCBs. To facilitate this evaluation, CPSGI

turned to Charah Inc., a Louisville, Ky.–

based leading ash management provider for

the coal-fired electric utility industry. Charah

was initially tasked with evaluating long-

term, cost-effective CCB disposal opportuni-

ties, including beneficial mine reclamation,

industrial waste landfills, and additional

beneficial reuse applications. In 2008, more

than 300 sites in four states were evaluated

for environmental, regulatory, capacity, and

operational feasibility.

By late 2008, Charah presented CPSGI

with a recommendation to purchase and de-

velop an existing, unused 65-acre industrial

waste landfill, located in Baltimore City, just

miles away from the plants. The site identi-

fied by Charah was already permitted as an

industrial waste landfill and was located with-

in a heavy industrial zoning district separated

from any residential land use. In addition, no

private wells were located within the vicinity

of the site. The site conformed to CPSGI’s

strict environmental requirements and pro-

vided for long-term and cost-effective CCB

disposal. The site would also reduce CPSGI’s

carbon footprint by decreasing CCB disposal

hauling distances and travel times.

CPSGI accepted Charah’s site recom-

mendation and shortly thereafter secured an

option to purchase the property. Having suc-

cessfully completed the site selection process,

and having met the day-to-day needs of CPS-

GI, Charah was then tasked with providing

the design and engineering for converting the

industrial waste landfill into a newly permit-

ted landfill for disposal of CCB materials.

Permitting ProcessWhile CPSGI and Charah were evaluating

alternative disposal locations for CPSGI’s

CCBs, the MDE began reforming its regu-

latory program and issued a 68-page report

detailing proposed action on regulations as-

sociated with CCBs. The purpose of this ac-

tion was to establish requirements pertaining

to the generation, storage, handling, process-

ing, disposal, recycling, beneficial use, or

other uses of CCBs.

FLX-11059_Domin.Prtnr_FP4c.indd 1 7/7/11 3:16 PM

F L E X C O . C O M

Name:

Dan Wagoner, Superintendent

Engineering & Maintenance,

Dominion Terminal Associates

On Partnering With Us:

“I don’t think you can do any better than Flexco.”

Dan relies on Flexco because he knows lost material is lost revenue.

Dominion Terminal Associates, the second-largest coal exporter in the U.S., was

experiencing problems with spillage at its transfer points. As Dan put it, “We looked

into it and we saw we were losing a lot of time and money with cleanup and lost coal.”

He decided to talk to Flexco.

Our team designed and installed transfer chutes that worked within Dominion’s existing

stacker-reclaimer units. The new systems not only cut down on spillage and delivered

soft, centered loads to the belts –– they also reduced dust, plugging and wear. Today,

reclaimed tonnages are up and transfer issues are down.

“We feel comfortable moving more tons per hour now,” Dan says. “Two million tons

have gone through the Flexco system, and it’s worked very well.” To increase the

performance of your system, call 1-800-541-8028 or visit our website today.

Dave Wood - Flexco - North American Sales Manager; Dan Wagoner - Dominion Terminal Associates - Superintendent Engineering & Maintenance;

Steve Kaluzny - Flexco - Project Manager; Wesley Simon-Parsons - Dominion Terminal Associates - Civil & Environmental Supervisor

Transfer Chute Systems

With over 25 years of design

experience, Flexco’s solutions

optimize material transfer for

reliable throughput.

FLX-11059_Domin.Prtnr_FP4c.indd 1 7/7/11 3:16 PM



COAL ASH MANAGEMENT

At this time the MDE announced that

“Additional controls are needed to en-

sure that we protect the public health and

the environment. While the U.S. Envi-

ronmental Protection Agency (EPA) has

been developing a proposal to regulate the

disposal and use of coal combustion by-

products since 2000, no federal program

currently exists. Therefore MDE believes

it is necessary to move forward with our

own regulatory program (1).”

In February 2008, both Charah and

CPSGI submitted comments and recom-

mendations to the MDE on the proposed

regulations. The MDE’s CCB regulations

were published on November 21, 2008, in

the Maryland Register, and they took ef-

fect on December 1, 2008. The regulations

provide a regulatory framework for the

disposal of CCBs and the use of CCBs for

mine reclamation. Disposal facilities now

need to meet all the standards required for

industrial solid waste landfills, including

a leachate collection system, groundwater

monitoring, the use of liners, and routine

analysis of CCBs. Requirements were also

specified for CCB transportation and air

quality controls.

To comply with the new MDE regula-

tions, Charah navigated the site design and

engineering, permitting, and construction

process with the State of Maryland and

City of Baltimore over a period of over two

years. Throughout the process, Charah and

CPSGI actively included the participation

of the public and environmental groups,

allowing all parties’ concerns to be voiced

and addressed. Multiple community asso-

ciation meetings, public hearings, and col-

laboration meetings with nongovernmental

environmental groups were held.

“There was never any question that the

site design was outstanding,” CPSGI Proj-

ect Manager Beth Pittaway said. “MDE

was ahead of other agencies, including

EPA, when they implemented the regu-

lation. Even after design and operations

plans were accepted by MDE, CPSGI

met with national and local environmen-

tal group representatives to address their

concerns. The project gained their support

with some minor operational changes and

increased bonding on the site for long-term

care and closure.”

The project resulted in Maryland’s first

permitted CCB landfill following enact-

ment of the state regulations. “This project

serves as a model of how industry and state

regulators worked together to implement

practical, safe, and environmentally con-

scious CCB regulations,” stated Charles

Price, Charah’s president and CEO. “Addi-

tionally, the design conforms to the EPA’s

proposed approach [to coal ash disposal]

under Subtitles C or D [of the Resource

Conservation and Recovery Act].”

“Coal will continue to be a viable part

of the country’s generation mix. This site

is a great example of how the by-products

of coal-fired generation can be addressed

in an environmentally responsible way,”

said John Long, president of Constellation

Power Generation, the Constellation En-

ergy affiliate that oversees the company’s

Maryland-based coal plants. He added,

“we’ve always been keenly aware of the

need to manage coal combustion byprod-

ucts in a manner that ensures the health,

safety and welfare of our community. For a

lot of reasons this site was one that allowed

us to meet our own high expectations.”

Property Characteristics and Engineering Design The property presented a unique and natu-

ral environmental buffer, as it is situated

over a 100-foot-thick clay base at a per-

meability of 1 x 10-7 cm/sec or less. This

buffer allowed Charah to place 60-mil

high-density polyethylene (HDPE) liner

directly on the graded subbase (Figure

1). The liner preceded installation of the

leachate collection system, which consists

of a network of 8-inch perforated HDPE

pipes surrounded by coarse aggregate, all

encased in filter fabric.

The leachate system also includes a 12-

inch drainage layer and 12-inch protection

layer. Both specify a minimum hydrau-

lic conductivity of 4 x 10-3 cm/sec. The

leachate collection system was designed to

maintain the leachate depth over the bot-

tom liner to no more than one foot. The

pipe network drains to a leachate sump

that discharges into a double-lined collec-

tion basin on site. The leachate collection

system is equipped with a telemetered and

audiovisual alarm system to provide con-

tinuous monitoring. Once collected, the

leachate will be transported to an approved

wastewater treatment facility.

Long-Term Design and PermittingUpon reaching fill capacity, the cells will

be closed by placing a 24-in clay cover lay-

er on top of the CCBs and a 40-mil HDPE

liner system over top of the cover layer

(Figure 2). A geocomposite drainage layer

will be installed above the 40-mil liner,

followed by 18 inches of protective soil, 6

inches of topsoil, and vegetation. This will

provide a fully encapsulated system and

will promote stormwater flow across and

off of the landfill to the designed stormwa-

ter conveyance infrastructure.

A permanent stormwater management

(SWM) system will be implemented to

closely maintain the predevelopment run-

off characteristics after site development

and to enhance water quality at permitted

discharge points, as designated according

to the National Pollutant Discharge Elimi-

nation System (NPDES) under the Clean

Water Act. Design parameters will provide

1. The final act. Layout of a typical land-

fill used for the disposal of coal combustion

by-products (CCB). Courtesy: Constellation

Power Source Generation Inc. (CPSGI)

Leachate collection system

Liner system

Final cover system

Groundwater monitoring well (typ)

CCBs

Existing clay base (over 100 feet deep)

Patapsco aquifer

2. Topping it off. Upon reaching fill capacity, the cells of the CCB landfill will be closed by

placing a 24-inch clay cover layer on top of the CCBs and a 40-mil HDPE liner system over top

of the cover layer. Courtesy: CPSGI

Vegetation

6” topsoil

18” protective soil layer

Final intermediate cover

24” compacted clay (k=1x10-7 cm/sec)

Prepared subgrade surface

Existing clay base (over 100 feet deep) (k10-7 cm/sec) Groundwater (Patapsco aquifer)

Geocomposite drainage layer

Geomembrane

12” protective layer

12” drainage layer

GeomembraneCCBs


COAL ASH MANAGEMENT

protection of natural resources by integrat-

ing erosion and sediment (E&S) controls

with SWM practices, minimizing site

imperviousness, taking advantage of the

natural hydrology, and implementing the

use of smaller controls to capture and treat

stormwater closer to the source.

For monitoring during and after CCB

placement, the site is surrounded by six

perimeter groundwater monitoring wells.

An active groundwater monitoring plan

requires semi-annual sampling to docu-

ment groundwater quality, to demonstrate

that the background groundwater quality is

not affected by present operations on the

property, and to record groundwater qual-

ity directly downgradient of the limits of

CCB placement. Groundwater levels in the

wells are monitored monthly.

Long-term engineering design includes

the development of future cells and the

installation of mechanically stabilized

earthen walls for the environmental conser-

vation of existing wetlands located onsite.

The landfill is expected to accommodate

approximately 7 million tons of CCBs

over a projected lifespan of 22 years.

“The design of this project incorpo-

rates the environmental criteria which will

be the standard for next-generation CCB

landfills,” said Bobby Raia, Charah’s proj-

ect coordinator. “As we move forward with

the design and permitting associated with

the development of future cells and the

overall landfill expansion, we will contin-

ue to provide innovative and environmen-

tally beneficial solutions to CPSGI.”

Current Project StatusWith several years of evaluation, design

and engineering, and permitting complet-

ed, approval was granted by the MDE for

the first two of six cells. In March, Charah

began construction of the new CCB land-

fill, which is expected to take between eight

and 10 months to complete. Construction

efforts include the excavation of more than

1,000,000 cubic yards of clay, the deploy-

ment of nearly 12 acres of HDPE liner, and

installation of the leachate collection sys-

tem (Figures 3 and 4).

Charles Price, Charah’s president and

CEO, added that “the uniqueness of this

project not only lies in the site’s charac-

teristics and design but also in the part-

nership between CPSGI and Charah. Our

involvement from the beginning of this

project, starting with site selection, has

forged a knowledgeable, trustworthy, and

transparent relationship with CPSGI.”

Charah expects to begin placement of

CCB material in the initial cell by October

2011 (Figure 5).

3. The landfill’s layout. The CCB landfill site features side slopes at 2:1 extending 60

feet vertically. Crews deploy liner from the top to the bottom of the cell floor. Once in place and

shingled properly to ensure free drainage from panel to panel, fusion welding commences.

Courtesy: Photography by David Starling of CPSGI

4. Installing the liner. Crews complete the installation of a 60-mil textured HDPE liner

at the site of the future CCB landfill in Maryland. Upon installation, welds are tested for their

conformance with the technical specifications by third-party testing. The test must be submit-

ted for approval to third-party construction quality assurance personnel and the MDE. Courtesy:

Photography by David Starling of CPSGI

5. Successful teamwork. Charah President and CEO Charles Price (left) and CPSGI Pres-

ident John Long discuss the 60-mil textured HDPE liner used at the CCB landfill called “Lot 15.”

Courtesy: Photography by David Starling of CPSGI


COAL ASH MANAGEMENT

Upon completion of construction,

Charah will begin the landfill management

phase, providing day-to-day operations

that will include hauling, placement, and

compaction of CCBs produced by CPS-

GI’s plants. Trucks owned and operated by

Charah will haul CCBs from the plants to

the landfill and will feature a cable-type

tarp system that encapsulates the CCBs,

thus avoiding and controlling any potential

for dusting during transit. After placing the

CCBs within the active working area, and

prior to leaving the landfill site, trucks will

travel through a self-contained truck and

wheel wash system. The system includes

a wash unit and recycling/filtration tank

designed to clean and remove any CCB

residue that may remain on the truck prior

to returning to the public roadways. Any

potential for onsite dusting will be further

controlled by watering the access road,

and other landfill areas as needed, via wa-

ter truck (Figure 6).

To secure the active area and avoid dust-

ing after hours, Charah will apply hydro-

mulch on a daily basis across the exposed

CCB surface. Hydro-mulch is a hydrated

straw mulch that contains tacking agents

that allow the material to adhere to the

CCBs. The hydro-mulch will provide an

initial barrier that will mitigate any pos-

sible wind or stormwater runoff erosion.■


senior editor.

6. Hands-on management. CPSGI

Project Manager Beth Pittaway (left) and

Charah Project Coordinator Bobby Raia review

and discuss the landfill’s liner layout drawings

prior to the final installment of liner. Courtesy:

Photography by David Starling of CPSGI

Proven Experience - Your Choice for World-Class Turbine Expertise

NAES - the leading provider

of services to the power

ｪWﾐWヴ;ピﾗﾐｷﾐS┌ゲデヴ┞く

WｴWﾐゲ;aWデ┞がケ┌;ﾉｷデ┞がヴWﾉｷ;Hｷﾉｷデ┞がゲIｴWS┌ﾉWが ;ﾐS WqIWﾐI┞ ﾏ;ﾆW ; SｷdWヴWﾐIWがﾉﾗﾗﾆデﾗ NAESく

A ﾐW┘ ﾏ;ﾐ;ｪWﾏWﾐデデW;ﾏ ;ﾐS ｷﾐS┌ゲデヴ┞ ヮヴﾗ┗WﾐヮヴﾗaWゲゲｷﾗﾐ;ﾉゲ ;ヴW SWﾉｷ┗Wヴｷﾐｪ W┝IWﾉﾉWﾐデ I┌ゲデﾗﾏWヴゲWヴ┗ｷIW ┘ｷデｴゲ;aWがﾗﾐどピﾏW ヮWヴaﾗヴﾏ;ﾐIW ﾗa ┞ﾗ┌ヴ IﾗﾏH┌ゲピﾗﾐ ;ﾐS ゲデW;ﾏデ┌ヴHｷﾐW ｷﾐゲヮWIピﾗﾐゲ ;ﾐS ヴWヮ;ｷヴゲく

FﾗヴﾏﾗヴW ｷﾐaﾗヴﾏ;ピﾗﾐが Iﾗﾐデ;Iデ NAES ;デヴヲヵくΓヶヱくヴΑヰヰﾗヴ Wﾏ;ｷﾉゲ;ﾉWゲをﾐ;WゲくIﾗﾏく

EﾐWヴｪ┞ PWﾗヮﾉW M;ﾆｷﾐｪ EﾐWヴｪ┞ F;IｷﾉｷピWゲ Wﾗヴﾆどど BW─Wヴwww.naes.com Follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter @NAESCorp


“The design of this

project incorporates

the environmental

criteria which will

be the standard for

next-generation

landfills.”

—Bobby Raia, Charah project

coordinator


NEW PRODUCTSTO POWER YOUR BUSINESS

NERC CIP Information and Security E-Learning SeriesGlobal Training Solutions Inc. released an interactive, self-paced, and fully customizable electronic training program to achieve compliance with the North American Electric Reliability Corp.’s (NERC’s) Critical

Infrastructure Protection (CIP) security standards. The company designed its NERC CIP Information Security E-Learning Series on open-web standards, sharable content object reference model (SCORM) compliance, and advanced technical concepts. It says that through its program, system operators can earn a fraction of their continuing education credit hours for NERC requirements.

Courses incorporate text, voice, video, animation, simulation, interactive sessions, testing, and reporting. The e-learning series is part of a complete awareness and training program that promotes and reinforces critical security principles, the company says. The program also incorporates a variety of other security awareness aids such as posters, calendars, brochures, newsletters and e-mail tips. (www.globaltrainingsolutions.ca)

High-Horsepower, High-Pressure Water Jet PumpsThe new NLB 605 series of water jet pump units from NLB Corp. gives users a powerful combination of ultra-high pressure and high horsepower in a rugged unit they can convert to a variety of operating pressures. The range of the NLB 605 Series has been expanded to include eight operating pressures from 4,000 psi to 40,000 psi (275 bar to 2,800 bar), with engines of up to 600 hp (447 kW). Diesel and electric models are available. Offering flows as low as 20 gallons per minute (83 liters per minute), the units can be converted from one pressure to another in about 20 minutes and are easy to maintain. (www.nlbcorp.com)

High-Flow Gas Regulators for Pipeline MonitoringThe BelGAS division of Marsh Bellofram Corp. introduced Type P627, a high-performance, spring-loaded, direct-operating high-flow gas regulator that is designed to control both low- and high-output pressure in oil and gas applications. Designed for maximum durability, Marsh Bellofram BelGAS Type P627 regulators are compact and offered in multi-position body and spring case configurations. Units offer installation versatility, ease of operation, and set pressures, as well as a wide range of available flow capacities and spring ranges. Regulators are also available in an external pressure registration model (P627M) and with optional National Standard of Corrosion Engineers–compliant construction. (www.marshbellofram.com)


NEW PRODUCTS

Inclusion in New Products does not imply endorsement by POWER magazine.

Preventing Dust Accumulation on BeamsBeamCap’s signature product, the BeamCap, prevents dust accumulation on I-beams, structural steel members, pipes, cable trays, and other difficult-to-clean areas. BeamCap pieces completely enclose the structures, eliminating horizontal surfaces where dust consistently builds up. This eliminates the need for cleaning in hard-to-reach places and greatly reduces the potential for fires and secondary explosions. The aluminum enclosures also resist and protect against corrosive elements. The patent-pending BeamCap is attached by using industrial-strength magnets so that installation does not require a welder, a hot-work permit, or even a drill. In addition to simple installation, the use of magnets makes it easy to comply with the OSHA requirement that covered surfaces be periodically inspected. (www.beam-cap.com)

Robotic Underwater Debris RemoverAqua-Vu, a provider of portable underwater viewing systems, introduced the Claw 360, a device designed for the detection and removal of objects in an underwater environment. The Claw 360 incorporates a Sharp 520 color camera that can rotate 360 degrees to scan the environment. Lighting is provided by high-intensity LEDs that rotate with the camera. The camera is coupled with a robotic retrieval claw capable of retrieving objects as small as nuts and bolts or items up to 40 pounds. The control side of the Claw 360 employs a 7-inch LCD color monitor with onboard digital video recorder in an impact-resistant housing. The housing itself acts as the cable spool, holding 75 feet of heavy-duty marine-grade cable with a break strength of 200 pounds. The system comes complete with rechargeable battery yielding up to eight hours of use. Capable of operating in temperatures up to 165 degrees, the Claw 360 can be used to detect and remove obstructions, debris, errant tools and parts from underwater environments as preventative maintenance. ( www.aquavu.com)

Nut, Bolt, and Flange Face Corrosion ProtectionAdvance Products & Systems’ new Kleerband Flange Protectors and Radolid Protection caps protect bolts, nuts, and flange faces on raised-face or full-face flanges in conditions where extreme corrosion occurs, such as at gas plants, pump stations, and above- and below- ground installations. Kleerband is a patented transparent polymer band with grease injection fittings and a relief vent plug that allows 360 degrees of continuous inspection. The flange protectors are used for preventing corrosion from developing between flanges on piping systems, and they enable visual inspection of the flange surface without removing the flange protector. Radolid Protection Caps with volatile corrosion inhibitors (VCI) protect nuts and bolts from destructive corrosion. (VCIs are a class of colorless vapor corrosion-inhibiting compounds that block the corrosive effects of electrolytes.) The caps, available in ¼-inch to 3 ¾-inch sizes, are easily pressed onto nuts and bolts by hand. (www.apsonline.com)

LUNCH SPONSORS

OPENING RECEPTION SPONSORS USB DRIVE SPONSOR

GRAND SPONSOR DIAMOND SPONSOR PLATINUM SPONSORS

GOLD SPONSORS

Promoting the Safe, Effi cient, and Economic Use of Sub-Bituminous Coals by Generating Companies.

REGISTER NOW at www.asiansbcusers.com with code POWERto receive 10% off a full conference registration

CO-HOSTS ORGANIZERS

Founding Members

BADGE LANYARD SPONSOR

KIOSK BOOTH SPONSOR

ANNUAL MEETING Harbour Grand Hong Kong Hotel HONG KONGNovember 1-2, 2011

HOT TOPICS & CASE STUDIES THAT WILL BE DISCUSSED IN HONG KONG INCLUDE: the bene ts of switching to sub-bituminous coals

coal handling and the challenges facing the seaborne power plants

lessons learned from actual incidents in power plants

re risk control including a method to reduce spontaneous combustion

optimizing the combustion process in the boiler

Need help? Need a job?

LINEAL RECRUITING SERVICES

Contact Lisa Lineal in confidence

www.Lineal.com • [email protected] free 877-386-1091

Electric Power Systems & Service Specialists Se habla Español

Opportunities in Operations and Maintenance,

Project Engineering and Project Management,

Business and Project Development,

First-line Supervision to Executive Level Positions.

Employer pays fee. Send resumes to:

POWER PROFESSIONALS

P.O. Box 87875Vancouver, WA 98687-7875

email: [email protected]

(360) 260-0979 l (360) 253-5292www.powerindustrycareers.com

JOHN R. ROBINSON INC. Since 1907Condenser and Heat Exchanger

Tools & ServicesPh. 718-786-6088Fax: 718-786-6090

Email: [email protected]

www.johnrrobinsoninc.com

CONDENSER BRUSHES-PLUGS-SCRAPERS

IN STOCK – SHIP TODAY – MADE IN USA

READER SERVICE NUMBER 202

POWER PLANT BUYERS’ MART


George H. BodmanPres. / Technical Advisor

Ofice 1-800-286-6069

Ofice (281) 359-4006

PO Box 5758 E-mail: [email protected]

Kingwood, TX 77325-5758 Fax (281) 359-4225

GEORGE H. BODMAN, INC. Chemical cleaning advisory services for

boilers and balance of plant systems

BoilerCleaningDoctor.com

NEED CABLE? FROM STOCK

Copper Power to 69KV; Bare ACSR & AAC Conductor

Underground UD-P & URD, Substation Control – Shielded and Non-shielded, Interlock Armor to 35KV, Thermocouple

BASIC WIRE & CABLEFax (773) 539-3500 Ph. (800) 227-4292

E-Mail: [email protected] SITE: www.basicwire.com


READER SERVICE NUMBER 203 READER SERVICE NUMBER 204 READER SERVICE NUMBER 205

LUNCH SPONSORS

OPENING RECEPTION SPONSORS USB DRIVE SPONSOR

GRAND SPONSOR DIAMOND SPONSOR PLATINUM SPONSORS

GOLD SPONSORS

Promoting the Safe, Effi cient, and Economic Use of Sub-Bituminous Coals by Generating Companies.

REGISTER NOW at www.asiansbcusers.com with code POWERto receive 10% off a full conference registration

CO-HOSTS ORGANIZERS

Founding Members

BADGE LANYARD SPONSOR

KIOSK BOOTH SPONSOR

ANNUAL MEETING Harbour Grand Hong Kong Hotel HONG KONGNovember 1-2, 2011

HOT TOPICS & CASE STUDIES THAT WILL BE DISCUSSED IN HONG KONG INCLUDE: the bene ts of switching to sub-bituminous coals

coal handling and the challenges facing the seaborne power plants

lessons learned from actual incidents in power plants

re risk control including a method to reduce spontaneous combustion

optimizing the combustion process in the boiler

Combustion Turbine Engineer

Associated Electric is currently seeking applicants for

a Combustion Turbine Engineer position at our Dell

power plant in Dell, Arkansas; all levels within the job

progression will be considered and compensation

would be commensurate with experience. This engineer

will provide support for all of AECI’s combustion

plants in the region. A few primary duties will also

include providing engineering expertise to plant and

department personnel regarding combustion turbine

operations and maintenance. This position will provide

project management responsibilities associated with

maintenance outages and capital funded projects at

combustion turbine sites.

For conidential consideration, an application must

be completed. To learn more about Associated and

apply online visit our web site at www.aeci.org. Up to

four supporting documents may be uploaded to the

application (i.e., cover letter, résumé, references, etc.).

E-mail: [email protected]

A S S O C I A T E D E L E C T R I C C O O P E R A T I V E I N C .

2814 S. Golden, P.O. Box 754 • Springield, Missouri 65801-0754 • (417) 881-1204

An Equal Opportunity Employer M/F/D/V

E-Verify participant

Website: www.aeci.org


Power Classifi ed Advertising

DIANE HAMMES

Phone: 713-444-9939 Fax: 512-213-4855 [email protected]



Need a Thorough Mix?Ash, coal, sludges, what do You need to mix?

Get a thorough mix with:Pugmill Systems, Inc.

P.O. Box 60Columbia, TN 38402 USA

ph: 931/388-0626 fax: 931/380-0319www.pugmillsystems.com

READER SERVICE NUMBER 207 READER SERVICE NUMBER 208



CONDENSER OR GENERATOR AIR COOLER TUBE PLUGSTHE CONKLIN SHERMAN COMPANY, INC.

Easy to install, saves time and money.

ADJUSTABLE PLUGS-all rubber with brass insert. Expand it, install it, reverse action for tight fi t.

PUSH PULL PLUGS-are all rubber, simply push it in. Sizes 0.530 O.D. to 2.035 O.D.

Tel: (203) 881-0190 • Fax:(203)881-0178E-mail: [email protected] • www.conklin-sherman.com

OVER ONE MILLION PLUGS SOLD

24 / 7 EMERGENCY SERVICE

BOILERS20,000 - 400,000 #/Hr.

DIESEL & TURBINE GENERATORS50 - 25,000 KW

GEARS & TURBINES25 - 4000 HP

WE STOCK LARGE INVENTORIES OF:Air Pre-Heaters • Economizers • Deaerators

Pumps • Motors • Fuel Oil Heating & Pump SetsValves • Tubes • Controls • CompressorsPulverizers • Rental Boilers & Generators

847-541-5600 FAX: 847-541-1279WEB SITE: www.wabashpower.com

FOR SALE/RENT

POWER

EQUIPMENT CO.

444 Carpenter Avenue, Wheeling, IL 60090

wabash

800.290.5460 I [email protected]

The YGS Group is the authorized provider of custom reprint products from POWER.

integrated publishing solutions

Develop greater corporate awareness and showcase yourfeatured editorial from this industry respected publication.

Presentations

Event Collateral

Media Kits

Direct Mail

Online Marketing

Recruiting Packages

Place your positive press directly in the hands of your customers andassociates with custom reprints from POWER.

BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY FOR THE GLOBAL GENERATION INDUSTRY

Vol. 151 • No. 10 • October 2007www.powermag.com

Top Plants: Four model coal-fired plants

Shock therapy KOs boiler fouling

Stop your boiler from sucking air

SS tube specs begin at the mill


Buildings available up to

300' wide.

Low in cost per square foot.

Natural daytime lighting.

Easy to relocate.

Expandable.

Sustainable Design-Build Solutions

Call one of our ClearSpan specialists at 1.866.643.1010

or visit us at www.ClearSpan.com/ADPM.

fabric structures





Turbine Controls

Woodward, GE, MHCParts and Service

TurboGen • (610) 631-3480 [email protected]


GAS TURBINES FOR SALE

• LM6000 • FRAME 9E • FRAME 5

50/60Hz, nat gas or liq fuel,installation and service available

Available for Immediate Shipment

Tel: +1 281.227.5687

Fax: +1 281.227.5698

[email protected]


PRODUCT Showcase

READER SERVICE NUMBER 218READER SERVICE NUMBER 217

Power Industry Content for:• Operators• Mechanics• Electricians• I & C Technicians• Coal Handling Personnel

• New Hires• Performance Engineers

• Chemists

• OSHA/Environmental

• Combined Cycle• LM6000• Waste-to-Energy• Hydro• Wind• Scrubbers• SCR/SNCR• NERC

For More Information 888.843.4784

[email protected]

Industry leader in cost-effective, online power plant training

www.gpilearnwbt.com

GPE-001281 PowerMag_Showcase ad.indd 1 9/8/11 12:48 PM


Boiler Efficiency Gas Turbines Steam Turbines Gas Expanders Cooling Towers Chimneys HRSG Insulation Condensers Gas Compressors Cogeneration Duct Design Heat Exchangers Restriction Orifice Fanno Flow Fans Pipe Networks Flash Tanks Gravity Drain Flow Pumps Steam Heaters Psychrometrics Steam Properties Desuperheaters Space Heating Deaerators Piping Pressure Loss

CU Services LLC Ph 847-439-2303

[email protected]

www.cuservices.net

The Energy Analyst Award Winning

Power Plant Software

norit-americas.com

To help make his life purer, safer and healthier, use Norit’s DARCO® Hg and

DARCO® Hg-LH lignite powdered activated carbon. Both are proven to

be highly effective in removing mercury from flue gas emission streams.

Purity for life.

READER SERVICE NUMBER 221READER SERVICE NUMBER 220

Easily prevent dust accumulation

on I-beams, structural steel

members, pipes, and cable trays.

Simple Installation

www.beam-cap.com

[email protected]

256-225-1300

got dust?



ADVERTISERS’ INDEXEnter reader service numbers on the FREE Product Information Source card in this issue.

ABB Ltd. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 www.abb.com/powergeneration

Albemarle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 www.albemarle.com

Alcatel-Lucent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 www.alcatel-lucent.com/smartgrid

Ambitech . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63 . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 www.ambitech.com

AREVA. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69 . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 www.areva.com

Babcock & Wilcox . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Cover 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 www.babcock.com

Babcock Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 www.babcockpower.com

Beumer Group. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 www.beumer.com

Carboline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 www.carboline.com

CMP Coatings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 www.cmp.co.jp/en

ConocoPhillips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 www.conocophillips.com

Diamond Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 www.diamondpower.com

Emerson Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 www.emersonprocess.com

Fenner Dunlop. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67 . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 www.fennerdunlopamericas.com

Flexco . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79 . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 www.flexco.com

Fuel Tech . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 www.ftek.com

General Physics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 www.etaproefficiency.com

HACH….. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 www.hach.com

Hadek . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 www.hadek.com

Harrington Hoists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 www.harringtonhoists.com

Hitachi Power Systems. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 www.hitachipowersystems.us

Houston Dynamic Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63 . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 www.houstondynamic.com

IFS North America . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61 . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 www.ifsworld.com/en-NA

Jeffrey Rader. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 www.jeffreyrader.com/power

Midwesco Filter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 www.midwescofilter.com

NAES Corp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83 . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 www.naes.com

Nol-Tec Systems. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 www.nol-tec.com

Paharpur. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59 . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 www.paharpur.com

Pennsylvania Crusher . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 www.penncrusher.com

Polaris America . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 www.polarisnationalaccounts.com

ProEnergy Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 www.proenergyservices.com/vision

Rentech Boiler . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Cover 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 www.rentechboilers.com

Roberts & Schaefer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 www.r-s.com

STF S.p.A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 www.stf.it

Structural Integrity. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 www.structint.com

Taggart Global. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53 . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 www.taggartglobal.com

Team Industrial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 www.teaminc.com

Tyco Flow Control. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 www.tycoflowcontrol.com

URS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 www.urscorp.com

Victaulic. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 www.victaulic.com

Westinghouse. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 www.westinghousenuclear.com

Williams Patent Crusher. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 www.williamscrusher.com

Page

Reader Service Number Page

Reader Service Number

3. FOR POWER PRODUCERS (check all that apply)What forms of energy are used at your power plants? For non-power producers, what forms of energy is your company interested in?o Coal – Ao Oil – Bo Natural Gas – Co Nuclear – Do Hydro – Eo Waste – Fo Renewables – Go Other________________________

Do you wish to receive a FREE* subscription to POWER? o YES o NO

Would you like to receive your magazine digitally (email required) or in print? o Digital o Print

Signature ______________________________________ Date ___________________________

Name _______________________________________________________________ Title _______________________________________________________

Company _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Company address ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

City ______________________________________ State ___________________Zip/Post Code ___________________ Country ______________________

Phone No. ________________________________ Fax No. ______________________________Mobile/Cell No. ____________________________________

E-mail __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

PROCESS MANUFACTURINGo Chemicals – 3Ao Petroleum – 3Bo Food – 3Co Paper – 3Do Rubber, stone, glass, clay – 3Eo Metal producing – 3Go Mining – 3Fo Metal fabricating – 3Ho Machinery (electrical mechanical) – 3Io Transportation equipment – 3Jo Lumber, wood products – 3Ko Textiles – 3Lo Other ___________________________

o Investor – Owned Utility – 1Ao IPP/Cogen – 1Bo Rural Electric Co-op 1Co Municipal Utility – 1D o Federal/State Electric System – 1E

o CONSULTING ENGINEERING FIRMS,

INCLUDING CONSTRUCTION, ARCHITECT-

ENGINEER FIRMS – 2A

2. PRIMARY JOB FUNCTION (check one)o General or Corporate

Management – A o Engineering, Operations or Maintenance – Bo Library or Company – C o Other

SUBSCRIBE TO POWER MAGAZINE

HA2009

REPLY ONLINE AT www.submag.com/sub/pw or Fax to: 832-251-1709

ALL questions MUST be answered to qualify for a FREE subscription.

1. DESCRIBE YOUR COMPANY’S BUSINESS (check one):ELECTRIC POWER PRODUCER

o If you prefer not to receive promotional mailings from other companies, please check box.* Publisher reserves the right to determine qualifications for free subscription.


COMMENTARY

Shaping America’s Energy PolicyBy Richard F. “Dick” Storm

America’s energy and environmental policies have been dys-functional for decades. Obsessively moving toward “green” has made America weaker and has damaged our econo-

my. During POWER’s first 100 years (1882–1982), the magazine chronicled the U.S. growing into the strongest industrialized economy in the world. America designed and built products for the world using raw materials and energy from within our own borders. Now we are in a recession and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) “War on Coal” continues. Does anyone get the connection? Ever-worsening regulations are killing jobs by the thousands.

Past Turning Points in U.S. Energy ProductionRemember when America took risks and led the world in energy innovation? Let’s review some of the past milestones.

The pace-setting power stations Eddystone and Philo are ul-trasupercritical power plants that were designed in the 1950s. Hailed as the most efficient coal power plants in the world when they were launched, these plants were designed for over-40% thermal efficiency.

Then Admiral Hyman G. Rickover and President Dwight D. Eisenhower followed through on the “Atoms for Peace Initia-tive” to commercialize the success of the Navy nuclear propul-sion systems, which were to be applied to electricity generation for peaceful purposes. The Shippingport nuclear power plant be-gan operations in the early 1960s, and larger commercial nuclear plants were on the drawing boards. By the mid-1960s, it was said that nuclear power was such a technological breakthrough that “electricity will be too cheap to meter.” America went on to build more than 100 commercial nuclear plants, most of which are still operational. U.S. nuclear plants remain economical and have earned an enviable safety record.

Then came oil embargos, followed by volatile natural gas pric-es. The high oil and gas prices resulted in a surge in building new coal plants from 1975 to 1985. The nuclear fleet grew until 1978, when the Three Mile Island accident created a major setback. In recent years, nuclear power morphed into the politically correct, carbon-free fuel. However, the tsunami in Japan in March and the resurgence of anti-nuclear groups around the world seem to have once more stalled future nuclear plant development.

The Need for Energy Policies That Promote Our EconomyU.S. energy policy should promote the use of all fuels. America is the Saudi Arabia of coal. If mining permits, EPA regulations, and common sense energy policies were practiced, then power engineers could replace our aging coal plants with new clean coal plants exceeding 40% thermal efficiency. This would be an efficiency improvement of about 7 percentage points above the existing coal fleet.

It is absurd that environmental activists can shape the U.S. energy policy based on ideology alone, with little concern for keeping electricity prices reasonable and our economy growing. Why don’t environmental activists embrace new, more efficient clean coal plants? America should be replacing our aging fleet with new, more efficient, clean coal plants. Will we ever learn?

My concern is that the same type of political correctness that nearly killed nuclear power after Three Mile Island may harm the future of clean coal plants. If the U.S. rebuilt the aging 300+ GW coal fleet with all new, clean ultrasupercritical coal plants, it would employ well over three million Americans. Jobs and a strong America are related to the utilization of homegrown energy, including the mining of coal and raw materials; con-struction; and the production of steel, cement, copper wire, gen-erators, boilers, balance-of-plant equipment, and environmental controls. Compare the number of jobs created to build, operate, and maintain new coal plants with the “green jobs” of erecting foreign-built windmills or solar power facilities.

If we want to restore economic prosperity and renew manufac-turing in America, then we need reasonably priced electricity to supply power to manufacturing plants. Keeping electricity costs reasonable for residential consumption is nice, but to restore manufacturing jobs in America, reasonably priced wholesale electricity, which is available on a 24/7 basis, is needed. This point seems to be forgotten in the national dialog on America’s energy future.

Educating the American Public About Electric Power ProductionI think each of us who understands power production has a re-sponsibility to educate our friends, neighbors, and elected of-ficials. There are millions of citizens who believe reasonably priced, reliable electricity is an entitlement. The right thing for human advancement is to use the God-given natural resources that have made “living better electrically” a way of life in the developed world.

In my opinion, we should build green power where it is practi-cal and economic to do so, such as on the roofs of buildings and parking garages. I support the building of nuclear plants and combined cycle gas plants, where economically justified. Energy engineers understand that when the sun sets and the wind is calm, the U.S. needs reasonably priced, dispatchable power to energize what is left of America’s manufacturing might.

I urge the readers of POWER to do your part in educating the public and our elected officials on the true facts of how we can continue to “live better electrically” and keep America strong. I promise to do my part. Will you? ■—Richard F. “Dick” Storm ([email protected]) is CEO/senior

consultant of Storm Technologies Inc. in Albemarle, N.C.

DISCOVER SOLUTIONS to the Biggest ChallengesFacing the Power Industry

Coal. Gas. Nuclear. Renewables. It’s All Covered.

BALTIMORE CONVENTION CENTER

WWW.ELECTRICPOWEREXPO.COM

14TH ANNUAL

MAY 15-17,

2012

BALTIMORE, MD

H┞ ヮヴWゲゲｷﾐｪﾗﾐW H┌─ﾗﾐく

It’s that easy. First, add The Babcock & Wilcox Company (B&W) to your contact list. Then,

call us. We provide complete air quality control system upgrades, services and replacement

parts for the life of your equipment, regardless of the original manufacturer. Benefit from

improved removal efficiencies, increased reliability and simplified maintenance processes.

Eliminate the challenges of multiple suppliers and specialists. Contact us today to arrange a

consultation with a B&W environmental field specialist.

Uヮｪヴ;SWゲづ RWH┌ｷﾉSゲづ Cﾗﾐ┗Wヴゲｷﾗﾐゲづ RWヮﾉ;IWﾏWﾐデ P;ヴデゲづ TWゲピﾐｪ ;ﾐS IﾐゲヮWIピﾗﾐゲづ Tヴ;ｷﾐｷﾐｪ

;ｷヴケ┌;ﾉｷデ┞ Iﾗﾐデヴﾗﾉゲ┞ゲデWﾏSWヴ┗ｷIW ┞ﾗ┌ヴ WﾐピヴW

DISCOVER SOLUTIONS to the Biggest ChallengesFacing the Power Industry

Coal. Gas. Nuclear. Renewables. It’s All Covered.

BALTIMORE CONVENTION CENTER

14TH ANNUAL

MAY 15-17,

2012

BALTIMORE, MD

H┞ ヮヴWゲゲｷﾐｪﾗﾐW H┌─ﾗﾐく

© 2011 The Babcock & Wilcox Company. All rights reserved.

It’s that easy. First, add The Babcock & Wilcox Company (B&W) to your contact list. Then,

call us. We provide complete air quality control system upgrades, services and replacement

parts for the life of your equipment, regardless of the original manufacturer. Benefit from

improved removal efficiencies, increased reliability and simplified maintenance processes.

Eliminate the challenges of multiple suppliers and specialists. Contact us today to arrange a

consultation with a B&W environmental field specialist.

Uヮｪヴ;SWゲづ RWH┌ｷﾉSゲづ Cﾗﾐ┗Wヴゲｷﾗﾐゲづ RWヮﾉ;IWﾏWﾐデ P;ヴデゲづ TWゲピﾐｪ ;ﾐS IﾐゲヮWIピﾗﾐゲづ Tヴ;ｷﾐｷﾐｪ

1-800-BABCOCK (222-2625)

www.babcock.com/pggcapabilities3

;ｷヴケ┌;ﾉｷデ┞ Iﾗﾐデヴﾗﾉゲ┞ゲデWﾏSWヴ┗ｷIW ┞ﾗ┌ヴ WﾐピヴW


power - october 2011

Documents