·        “Dry Sorbents and Systems and Material Handling in Coal-fired Power Plants” is the “Hot Topic Hour” on June 7 and June 21, 2012

·        Headlines for the May 25, 2012 – Utility E-Alert

·        $390 Billion Investment in Coal-fired Boilers Next Year

·        World Scrubber Market to Exceed $6.6 Billion Next Year

·        Business Turns to Solar

“Dry Sorbents and Systems and Material Handling in Coal-fired Power Plants” is the

“Hot Topic Hour” on June 7 and June 21, 2012

 Because we have had so much interest in this subject, we scheduled two sessions in order to keep the Hot Topic Hour within 90 minutes and to accommodate all of the persons who desired to make a presentation. All persons that register for the first session on June 7^th will automatically be registered for the second session on June 21^st at no additional cost.

 Dry Sorbent Injection (DSI) is a process in which a powdered sorbent material such as Trona (sodium sesquicarbonate, a naturally occurring mineral mined in Wyoming), sodium bicarbonate, hydrated lime or activated carbon is injected into the flue gas from fossil-fueled boilers to control acid gases, such as sulfur dioxide (SO₂), hydrogen chloride (HCl), sulfuric acid (H₂SO₄) and more recently mercury (Hg). Although DSI has been used for more than twenty years, now that the U.S. EPA has finalized the MATS rule establishing low limits on Hg, HCl and filterable particulate matter (fPM) emissions for all U.S. coal- and oil-fired power plants greater than 25 MW, DSI is gaining even greater attention.

 DSI advantages include lower equipment costs (first cost) as well as decreases in operations and maintenance costs and a lower life cycle cost than other pollution control technologies. DSI can be an effective, low cost, multi-pollutant control solution that can help plants meet or even exceed their MATS and CSAPR emission limits. DSI is a viable alternative for units in which the investment for wet or dry flue gas desulfurization (FGD) cannot be justified and for power plants that just need to improve the performance of existing pollution control equipment.

 However, DSI is not as simple as it may appear. The relationship between various acid gases and other controlled gases in the flue gas can be very complex. DSI can also have an impact on the performance of other existing control equipment and vice-versa. Careful study is necessary to select the sorbent and sorbent particle size that will achieve control goals at the lowest operating cost. Study is also necessary to determine how the sorbent will affect or be affected by other emission control equipment installed.

 Selection of the correct delivery system components is also critical. Dry materials can solidify and plug critical conveying tubes and injection devices. And to obtain the lowest sorbent usage (and usually cost), the sorbent particle size needs to be appropriate to the flue gas conditions and the sorbent needs to be uniformly delivered to the gas stream.

 The speakers listed below will address the issues related to sorbent selection (which sorbent, which particle size and when it is cost effective and appropriate to use and when it is not) and the design, installation, operation and maintenance of DSI systems for various applications, provide suggestions for reducing acquisition, installation, operation and maintenance costs while improving efficiency and update us on new technology or designs under development to improve the performance and reliability of DSI systems. They may also compare DSI system costs and performance to other control technologies that could be used.

Note: Speakers are listed for each day alphabetically by company and not necessarily in the order in which they will be presenting

 Speakers on Thursday June 7, 2012 at 10 a.m. (Central time) will be:

 Chetan Chothani, CEO Breen Energy Solutions, will present “Dry Sorbent Injection and Gas Co-Fire / FLGR for Small to Medium Plants.”  Small to medium size coal-fired power plants without SCRs and scrubbers face a difficult choice in meeting MATS and CSAPR regulations, particularly with natural gas prices hovering at record lows. This unique combination of technologies provides these plants with an alternative to stay economically viable while meeting regulations and it makes DSI relevant as part of a combined technology solution. Gas co-fire provides fuel flexibility, FLGR (Fuel Lean Gas Reburn) provides NO_x reduction and DSI provides SO₂ and SO₃ mitigation while keeping overall dust loading constant on the ESP.

 David Escott, Power Market Manager at FLSmidth, Inc, will present “Dry Sorbent Injection – Ten Years After.” The year was 2002.  It was the beginning of the first wave of DSI.  The goal was to eliminate SO₃ and the blue plume associated with the combination of high sulfur coal, SCR and wet scrubbers.  FLSmidth had been developing and optimizing its metering and delivery systems for a few sorbents to help remove the plume.

 Flash forward to the year 2012 … It is less about the “stack-up” or the equipment under the silo, and more about the optimization of the acid gas removal process.  It is no longer just SO₃; we have the MATS rule addressing HCl and Hg; we may have CSAPR and regional decrees for SO₂, and we still have SO₃, though it is mitigated more for improved mercury removal. We need to validate that DSI is the correct technology: there are a greater number of proven technologies including dry FGD that have closed the gap in capital and operating cost differences between DSI and FGD.  We need to match the sorbent to the application.  In 2002 it was simply a matter of cost, availability and ESP performance.  Now we must consider sorbent affinity for HCl and HF vs. SO₂ – and the final sorbent selection may depend upon how much of each must be removed.

 Finally, largely due to MATS, the APC device has a greater influence on the system design.  There is a larger emphasis on fabric filters to achieve PM targets.  A filter can serve to improve sorbent efficiency through enhanced capture in filter cakes, and in fact, fabric filters can be designed to improve the development of the filter cake. Reduced sorbent consumption minimizes the cost difference among sorbents and stand alone “polishing” filters allow scalped ash to be kept separate from scrubber / injection byproducts.

 In this presentation we will investigate the decisions and evaluations that help steer our customers towards today’s DSI system, which might include ultra-fine milled sorbent injection with activated carbon injection and a fabric filter.

 Blaz Jurko, Gebr. Pfeiffer, Inc, (GP), will discuss technology for dry sorbent material preparation / grinding

·         Limestone grinding

·         Lime hydration

·         Gypsum grinding / calcining

·         Dry sorbent product fineness

·         Precise material separation / classification

The emphasis of the presentation will be on their experience in dry grinding and material preparation and ability of this technology to closely match the dry sorbent injection process requirements.  GP can offer many options on the precise material fineness in order to follow the process specifications.

Marcus (Marc) Sylvester, Vice President of Sales for Midwest Energy Emissions Corporation, will discuss their patented “Sorbent Enhancement Additives” technology for mercury control and handling concerns with the most recent commercial installation.  Midwest Energy Emissions Corporation (ME2C) is a global company with a focus on mercury capture programs, utilizing patented technologies to control mercury emissions from major utility and industrial boilers.  ME2C has worked closely with the Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC) of the University of North Dakota to develop and deploy the best performing and most cost effective mercury control technologies in the world. ME2C’s mercury reduction program is designed to achieve greater than 90 percent capture at less than one-half the cost of brominated activated carbon.

Lew Benson, SO₂ Group Leader at Nalco/Mobotec, will discuss modeling of dry sorbent injection including CFD and chemical reaction modeling.

Speakers on Thursday, June 21, 2012 at 10 a.m. (Central time) will be:

Tony Licata, Vice President of Babcock Power Environmental, Inc, will discuss the “Impact of Mixing on Performance of Dry Sorbent Injection (DSI) /Activated Carbon Systems.”  Most people in the industry expect that DSI will play a significant role in the planning and implementation strategies for air quality compliance in the next few years. To date most of the published papers and technology interest has centered on which sorbent to use -- lime or sodium and types of injection equipment.  There has been little interest in the optimization of mass transfer. Optimization of sorbent utilization may impact the viability of DSI on many projects. This presentation will discuss methods of enhancing mass transfer and the impacts of poor gas/sorbent mixing.

Mike Tate, Technical Manager of Research & Development for Graymont, Inc, will address the following questions:  What are the key properties of hydrated lime that impact sorbent performance?  How can these properties affect the design of sorbent injection systems?  His presentation will describe lime characteristics and how they should be considered in the design of lime handling and storage systems.

Curt Biehn, Manager of Technical Sales & Marketing at Mississippi Lime, will present “Meeting Regulatory Needs with Hydrated Lime DSI.”  The presentation will highlight hydrated lime's performance for SO₃ mitigation in a variety of scenarios.  Examples of full-scale applications that used hydrated lime to meet 2015 MATS guidelines will be provided.  Comments on hydrated lime's flexibility towards injection location optimization will also be presented.

Yougen Kong, P.E., Ph.D., Technical Development Manager at Solvay Chemicals, Inc, will present “Dry Injection of Sodium Sorbents for HCl and SO₂ Mitigation - Effects of Using Mills.”  The presentation will describe the technologies of milling trona and sodium bicarbonate, pros and cons of each technology, capital and maintenance costs of mill systems and good system design principles. The dry injection of sodium bicarbonate or trona is a low-cost solution and has shown over 99 percent removal of HCl and 95 percent removal of SO₂.  The trona shipped out of production has a mean diameter of about 30 µm and can be used as is.  On the other hand, the sodium bicarbonate has a mean diameter of about 150 µm and needs to be milled before being injected into the flue gas.  While it is optional to mill trona, milling trona can reduce the particle sizes and thus improve the dispersion of trona particles inside the flue gas.  Better mixing between the particles and flue gas, in combination with higher surface areas of finer trona particles, can result in better mitigation performance of HCl and SO₂.  Since sodium bicarbonate out of production is too coarse to be injected directly into the flue gas, it needs to be milled in order to have good mitigation performance of HCl and SO₂.

Steve Baloga, P.E., Southern Air Solutions Corporation, will present “Dry Reagent Injection for Utility MATS, ICI Boiler and Portland Cement Kiln NESHAP Compliance.”  Since Steve does not represent trona or DSI equipment providers, he will give an unbiased assessment of trona for DSI and associated issues based on experience gained over many trials.  Results of trona injection for SO₂ and HCl reduction for a utility boiler with ESP, an industrial boiler with ESP and a cement kiln with FFBH will be presented.  The effect of particle size reduction for trona will be discussed.  In the course of the presentation, additional considerations will be mentioned that users must consider when evaluating sodium based reagents: impact on PM emissions (including PM_2.5/CPM), impact to Hg emissions, impact to flyash quality, flue gas temperature limitations, material handling considerations (avoiding pre-calcination), removal and potential leaching of volatile HAP metals in trona laden flyash and cement alkali silica reactivity issues related to sodium sorbents.

To register for the Hot Topic Hour on June 7 and June 21, 2012 at 10 a.m. (Central time) click on:  http://www.mcilvainecompany.com/brochures/hot_topic_hour_registration.htm.

McIlvaine Hot Topic Hour Registration

On Thursday at 10 a.m. Central time, McIlvaine hosts a 90 minute web meeting on important energy and pollution control subjects. Power webinars are free for subscribers to either Power Plant Air Quality Decisions or Utility Environmental Upgrade Tracking System. The cost is $125.00 for non-subscribers. Market Intelligence webinars are free to McIlvaine market report subscribers and are $400.00 for non-subscribers.

Here are the Headlines for the May 25, 2012 – Utility E-Alert

UTILITY E-ALERT

#1076 – May 25, 2012

Table of Contents

COAL – US

• Suit charges Schiller and Mount Tom Water Discharge Permits need Updating

COAL – WORLD

• IHI, CTCI and Sumitomo have Turnkey Contract for 2x800 MW Supercritical Talin 1 and 2 in Taiwan
• 250 MW Margherita Power Project in Assam, India still On Hold
• New Bids for 1320 MW Gulbarga, Karnataka, India, Power Project
• Coal India asked to Sign Fuel Supply Agreement with 3x250 MW Bongaigaon in Assam, India
• 300 MW Arandis Coal-fired Power Project may have Precedent over 800 MW Gas-fired Kudu in Namibia
• Korea Electric Power to build 250 MW Power Plant in Sendou, Senegal
• BHEL to supply ESPs for 1320 MW Solapur in Maharashtra, India
• NTPC allotted Land for Khargone Power Plant in Madhya Pradesh, India
• Aboitoz expanding Power Capacity in the Philippines
• NTPC going after Overseas Coal
• Empee Group planning 1320 MW Power Plant in Tamil Nadu, India
• 4,000 MW Bhedabahal Ultra-mega Power Project (Orissa, India) may be awarded this Year
• ABB Symphony Automation Systems are being installed at 4 x 500 MW Supercritical Coal-fired Boryeong Power Plant in South Korea
• Jharkhand (India) clears Power and Mining Projects
• Surana Power likely to begin Power Generation at 420 MW Raichur (Karnataka, India) Next Year

GAS / OIL – US

• PSEG puts Seawaren Addition on Hold
• 650 MW CPV Valley Energy Center to Move Ahead
• PSEG starting up Six Gas Turbines with Four Foot Deep Catalyst Beds

GAS / OIL – WORLD

• APR Energy has 100 MW Contract in Latin America and Additional Contract Extensions for Temporary Power SolutionsGE to supply Gas Turbines to Cogeneration Plant in Mexico
• Iraq has Bids to build 1500 MW Anbar Power Plant
• Inelectra International and TSK Electronicay Electricidad to build 382 MW Ashuganj Combined Cycle in Bangladesh
• Plans underway for 450 MW Domunli Power Plant in Ghana
• Daelim to supply Boilers, Turbines for 1200 MW Thai Binh 2 in Vietnam
• CH2M HILL Consortium to build Combined Cycle Power Plant for Ichthys LNG Project in Australia
• GE ships 12 Gas Turbines to Dorad Energy Power Plant in Israel
• Bangladesh Soliciting Bids for 200-850 MW LNG-fired Power Project at Chittagong LNG Facility
• Tamil Nadu to set up 500 MW Gas-fired Power Plant

CO₂

• Scotland Pushing Carbon Capture to Help Unlock US$300 Billion in North Sea Oil

NUCLEAR

• Czech Republic committed to Nuclear Power Plants at Dukovany and Temelin
• Point Lepreau Nuclear Power Plant has Radioactive Spill but should return to Service this Fall

BUSINESS

• Myanmar to build Power Plants with US, Japanese, and South Korean Firms
• Alstom and EVN to build Gas Turbine Reconditioning Workshop in Phu My, Vietnam
• Reserve in Texas may drop below 10 Percent by 2014
• Investment in Fossil and Nuclear Plants will exceed $736 Billion in 2013
• Ten Top Growth Markets in Air, Water and Energy
• U.S. Industrial Air Emitters to Spend $1 billion/yr for Air Pollution Control Over the Next Five Years on More than 2000 Specific Projects
• Discuss the latest Challenges at Power-Gen Europe with McIlvaine Editors

HOT TOPIC HOUR

• Unhealthy Status of Carbon Capture Programs conveyed in the Hot Topic Hour on May 24, 2012
• How Big Will the Air Pollution Market be in the Next Few Years?  Find Out on May 31 at 10 a.m.
• Upcoming Hot Topic Hours

For more information on the Utility Environmental Upgrade Tracking System, click on: http://www.mcilvainecompany.com/brochures/energy.html#42ei.

$390 Billion Investment in Coal-fired Boilers Next Year

Power generators will spend $390 billion in 2013 for new coal-fired boilers. Direct costs of equipment will be $260 billion while indirect costs will be $130 billion.  This is the latest forecast of the McIlvaine Company in its Fossil & Nuclear Power Generation: World Analysis & Forecast.

There will be a mix of subcritical, supercritical and ultrasupercritical boilers. Most of the units installed by international suppliers will be ultrasupercritical. The capital investment is somewhat higher in the ultrasupercriticals, but the savings in the size of the air pollution control equipment makes the cost differential relatively small.

Most of the units which will be installed will utilize wet cooling. However, some units in China and elsewhere will install dry cooling systems. These add as much as 5 percent to the total plant investment.  On the other hand, the cost of the Chinese plants will be only 60 percent of the cost for the same plant in the U.S. or Europe.

 All new plants will have high efficiency particulate control (electrostatic precipitators or fabric filters).  Most will be equipped with flue gas desulfurization systems.  A substantial number will also incorporate selective catalytic reduction for NO_x control.

 Most of the new plants will use extensive wastewater treatment and some water recovery. A few will include zero liquid discharge which raises total capital costs by 4 percent. Many plants will be burning lower quality fuels. This increases the plant investment by more than 10 percent compared to the plants burning bituminous coals.

 The investment in new coal-fired power plants in 2013 will exceed the investment in gas turbines and nuclear plants combined.

 For more information on Fossil & Nuclear Power Generation: World Analysis & Forecast, click on:  http://www.mcilvainecompany.com/brochures/energy.html#n043.

 World Scrubber Market to Exceed $6.5 Billion Next Year

In 2013 sales of scrubbers, absorbers, adsorbers and biofilters will exceed $6.5 billion according to the latest forecast in the McIlvaine online report, Scrubber/Adsorber/Biofilter World Markets. (www.mcilvainecompany.com)

($ Millions)

East Asia will be the regional leader with purchases of just under $2.4 billion. This region is investing heavily in basic industry. Furthermore, environmental regulations are forcing investments at existing plants.  Steel plants in China, semiconductor plants in Taiwan and pulp mills in Indonesia all require scrubbers for particulate and acid gas removal from the stack discharges.

One of the biggest new markets in the coming five years will be for SO₂ scrubbers to capture the exhausts from large vessels burning low quality fuels. The major ship builders are located in East Asia.

In the Middle East, the biggest markets are in oil and gas including refining.  Hydrogen sulfide must be removed from extracted gas.  Refining of oil requires scrubbers for catalytic crackers and many other applications.

In Europe, waste-to-energy remains one of the bigger markets. Scrubbers capture the hydrogen chloride and sulfur dioxide formed in the combustion of garbage.

This forecast does not include the scrubbers used to treat coal-fired power plant flue gas.  This application is covered in a separate McIlvaine report.  However, this forecast does include the scrubbers used in the processes converting coal to liquids or gases.  The tough regulations being forced on coal-fired power plants in the U.S. will reduce the demand for coal. The resultant availability of substantial coal supplies will lead to significant construction of facilities to convert coal into liquids and gases.  This will be a growth market for the scrubber industry.

For more information on Scrubber/Adsorber/Biofilter World Markets, click on:  http://www.mcilvainecompany.com//brochures/air.html#n008        

Business Turns to Solar

From chocolate factories to onion growers commercial groups have turned to solar power. Each month McIlvaine’s Renewable Energy Projects and Update reports on these installations.

Mars Chocolate North America Unwraps New Solar Garden at Ethel M Chocolate Factory

Mars Chocolate North America, makers of Las Vegas’ own Ethel M. Chocolates, announced the grand opening of a new solar garden at its Henderson chocolate factory. The state-of-the-art solar installation provides 100 percent of the electrical energy to the Ethel Ms plant during peak operating hours.

 The project’s completion was commemorated with a ribbon-cutting event attended by state and local government officials, executives from NV Energy, juwi solar Inc. (JSI), and Mars Chocolate North America leaders.

 The new Ethel M Factory solar garden features 2,112 ground-mounted solar panels on 4.4 acres, and is the largest solar installation by a food manufacturer in Nevada. The installation generates 1,258 MWh of zero-emission electricity each year.

 Mars will purchase all of the energy generated by the solar garden and JSI will own the project and its associated energy credits. Mars worked closely with NV Energy to ensure that the new installation met net metering requirements, enabling Mars to receive energy offsets from the utility based on the amount of energy their solar panels will produce.

 The solar garden is adjacent to the chocolate factory and Ethel M’s Botanical Cactus Garden. A vista point located within the Botanical Cactus Garden will allow the more than 700,000 annual visitors to view the new solar facility.

CertainTeed^® PowerMax^® Solar Roofing Installation in Portland Marks Significant Milestone

With multiple innovative photovoltaic roofing products on the market, CertainTeed Corporation continues to take an ambitious foray into the solar roofing industry. In addition to a powerful product portfolio, extensive contractor training programs, and comprehensive technical support, the company has now installed CertainTeed^®PowerMax^® photovoltaic modules on its manufacturing facility in Portland, OR.

 PowerMax features an innovative Copper-Indium-Selenium (CIS) thin film technology developed by CertainTeed’s parent company, Saint-Gobain, the world’s largest building materials company, and its subsidiary, Saint-Gobain Solar, the worldwide leader in solar energy products and services. Approximately 3,100 square feet of PowerMax modules were installed at the Portland facility by EC Electrical Construction Company. The ultra-efficient, 26 kW system is comprised of 216 photovoltaic modules that are estimated to produce enough clean energy to offset approximately 500,000 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions over 20 years.

 In terms of performance, PowerMax continues to generate electricity even in partial shading. Additionally, while all PV products perform at their best on clear, sunny days, PowerMax, with its CIS technology, works longer and harder, making the most out of any sunlight conditions thereby further lowering property owners’ electric bills and reducing carbon emissions. The modules offer a high snow load capacity, Class C fire rating, and are covered by 20-year performance and 10-year product warranties. The product qualifies for a 30 percent federal tax credit and may be eligible for state rebates and incentives.

 SilRay Powers Sustainability Solutions at Ferrari Farms

SilRay, Inc., a complete solar power solutions company serving as a one-stop shop for planning, financing, building and maintaining quality power systems, announced the completion of a solar system installation at Ferrari Farms. The family owned farm has been in operation for generations and was one of the earliest certified organic farms in California. In a pivotal step toward more sustainable options for fruit production and packaging, the farm will be one of the first to utilize solar power via a leasing option from SilRay, Inc. Electricity from the 110 kW system will power Ferrari’s packing plant and will reduce their utility costs by nearly $30,000 annually and prevent increases in electric bills.

The solar power system, designed, financed and built by SilRay, Inc. using company branded panels will be ground mounted on acreage owned by Ferrari Farms. Via a unique solar leasing program, SilRay will own the solar system for the first 10 years of its operation and then lease the system to the customer at lower rates than their monthly PG&E utility bills, without the volatility. After this period, the system will be sold to the customer at residual value, allowing for project feasibility for investors, farm owners and the farming community.

 Onion Processor Varsity Produce Not Shedding a Tear about Going Solar with Cenergy Power

Varsity Produce, one of California’s premier grower-shipper-processors of yellow, red, white and sweet onions will not shed a tear about its decision to go solar with Cenergy Power on its processing/cold storage and packing facilities. The 428.40 kW solar system will pay for itself in less than 4 years, offset approximately 97 percent of Varsity’s utility bills and reduce the plant’s carbon footprint by over 1,000,000 lbs of CO₂ per year.

 Established in 1983, Varsity Produce is a year-round grower, shipper and processor of fresh yellow, red, white and sweet onion varieties, including whole peeled onions. The onions are processed and packed at their 40,000 square foot Bakersfield facility. The majority of Varsity Produce’s onions are grown near Bakersfield and New Cuyama, CA.

For more information on Renewable Energy Projects and Update please visit

http://www.mcilvainecompany.com/brochures/Renewable_Energy_Projects_Brochure/renewable_energy_projects_brochure.htm

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Bob McIlvaine
President
847 784 0012 ext 112

rmcilvaine@mcilvainecompany.com

www.mcilvaine@mcilvainecompany.com

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191 Waukegan Road Suite 208 | Northfield | IL 60093

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