In January 2016, the U.S. Energy Information Administration, a reporting agency under the Department of Energy, began a new survey that was designed to collect data on biomass production and inventory, including wood pellets. The goal was to survey operating pellet plants across the nation (on a monthly basis for… Read More
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
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
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
During the 60-plus years they have been in use, the inlet tube diameter used in mechanical dust collectors has undergone some dramatic shifts. These changes — from the original 6-inch to the 9-inch and 24-inch sizes used today — have been motivated by the changing role dust collectors have come… Read More
Pulp and paper mill lime kiln ID fans are some of the most difficult to design. Typically, they are oversized and operate with a damper that remains 40–50 percent closed. The pressure loss across the fan inlet or outlet damper can result in a significant waste of energy, meaning that… Read More
Industrial Fans can be one of the most parasitic pieces of equipment on a system. Taking simple steps to minimize the fan’s negative impact can make a tremendous difference on a facility’s energy efficiency… and bottom line. Correctly size your fans. Correctly sized fans are critical to efficiency. If the… Read More
