Woodyards can be classified into three main categories: automated, manual, and semi-automated. Deciding on which approach best suits a facility’s needs requires careful evaluation of several criteria: Volume – the amount of fuel storage and throughput Size – the footprint for the woodyard Budget – capital outlay vs. operating costs… Read More
Fuel Handling Considerations when Converting to Biomass
With the Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Power Plan causing such a stir, coal-fired utilities are likely weighing their options and looking for alternatives that could help them reduce their carbon footprint. One fairly straightforward strategy that takes advantage of ample, affordable, and available fuel that also qualifies as a renewable… Read More
The EPA Clean Power Plan
On June 2, 2014, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued the Clean Power Plan, which sparked discussions all across the power generation industry. With so many opinions out there, it’s sometimes difficult to determine what the plan says. If you visit the EPA website, you’ll learn that the plan is… Read More
Cost-Effective FD Fan Optimization for Generating Stations
Today, many older power plants are operating under conditions that are different from when they were originally constructed. The plants have been modified over the years to meet evolving demands, but these changes have often been approached in a piecemeal fashion, introducing inefficiencies into the total system. In many of… Read More
Outage Season Duct Modifications to Increase Plant Efficiency
System losses, other than those of the boiler and ancillary equipment of the boiler, are normally a result of the total pressure losses from friction in the ductwork, elbows, changes in duct cross-sectional area, and losses associated with emissions control equipment. A certain amount of loss is unavoidable, but losses… Read More
Ways To Boost Industrial Fan Performance During Outage Season
Many factors drive modern plants to make process equipment changes during outage season. Two of the most common are 1) demands for increased production and 2) process variable changes. Centrifugal fans used throughout the power production process are frequently the subjects of these changes. What follows is an account of… Read More
The TVA Major Industrial Program in a Nutshell
Last fall, we completed an air handling project for the Steel Dynamics steel plant in Columbus, Miss., that earned them a $2.5 million check from the Tennessee Valley Authority and the state of Mississippi. The plant updates also promise to save the plant about $2 million a year when maintenance reduction… Read More
Understanding Mechanical Draft Fan Efficiency Ratings
While there is a lot of talk about draft fan efficiency improvements, we often lose sight of how efficiency is derived and defined. Moreover, RFPs often call for efficiency ratings without stipulating qualifications and constraints. As a result, competing fans are evaluated according to incongruous efficiency ratings and projects are… Read More