Subject: hot gas filtration markets and technology

Here are some excerpts from our Utility Fax Alert e-mailed to subscribers three weeks ago. Keep up with the weekly project information with the Alert. Access all the continuing market forecasts in Fabric Filters: World Markets.  Keep up with the technology with Fabric Filter Knowledge System (for samples click on www.mcilvainecompany.com ).

Inspec Fibres Convenes Expert Session

This week in Vienna experts from South Africa, China, India, South Korea, the U.S. and Europe met to discuss the latest technology for filtering dust from coal-fired boilers and cement plants. It was significant that coincident with the International Symposium on Electrostatic Precipitators held this week in South Africa, there were two speakers from ESKOM talking about the conversion of ESPs to baghouses for the South African fleet of 37,500 MW.

Inspec is supplying fibers to meet the range of power plant needs. The biggest news they reported this week is the success of blends. The higher price P84 fiber can be added to PPS to provide greater filtration efficiency and lower pressure drop.

Dr. Gerhard Kasper of the University of Karslruhe is studying the impact of bag pulsing on fine particle emissions. This study is being funded by Inspec and some other European media companies. The EU is now interested in the emission of the fine particulate fraction as is the United States. European regulations are trending downward to the 10 to 20 mg/m³ level and therefore it will be important to determine such things as the impact of filter cake depth and pressure drop on fine particle retention.

Optimization of the entire process to reduce emissions was addressed by Lorena Morini of Autel. Their FSC is a software system which records and displays in graphical formats all the parameters related to the filtration process.

China starting to use Fabric Filters on Coal-fired Boilers

There are some fabric filters already operating on large coal-fired boilers in China and more to come. In fact, Dr. Sun Jun-min of Tsinghua Tongfang Environment Company told the attendees that bids on the 300 MW Tang Toudian fabric filter are now being evaluated.

Mongolia Feng Tai has 2 x 200 MW plants with fabric filters. Jiaozuo # 4 is a 220 MW unit burning oil. An electrostatic precipitator was replaced with a fabric filter.

The reason that the future of fabric filters looks good is the high resistivity of some of the Chinese coals. It will be difficult for precipitators to meet the 30 mg/Nm³ limit set for Beijing and the 50 mg/Nm³ limit being applied to all new coal-fired power plants.

ESPs to Baghouses in Korea

The message delivered by Byung Nam Kim of Halla Energy is that the trend in Korea starting with the cement industry is to switch from precipitators to baghouses. Cement kilns were equipped with ESPs to meet 50 mg/Nm³. But the Ministry of the Environment established a monitoring system which requires data transmission every five minutes. It was found that excursions raised the average emission levels above the requirements. This has created the need for more efficient equipment. A point that the McIlvaine Company has been making in its estimates of coal-fired boiler emissions in the U.S. is that average emissions are much higher than levels measured by stack tests made at optimum times. Therefore, this Korean experience is significant.

Largest Biomass Power Station in Europe uses P84 Bags

Thetford Power Station is the largest poultry litter power station in the world and the largest biomass fuelled power station in Europe. Steve Critchley of Stewart Thermal reported that the original glass fiber bags caused operating and maintenance problems and were replaced with P84 bags that have proven successful.

This Alert also had lots of project information including a number of new coal-fired boilers which will utilize bag filters.  We also have a list of all the planned FGD systems in the U.S. and world.  Many of these are dry or semi dry systems using bags.

We also have lots of coverage of industrial fabric filtration.  Our Industrial Emitters database has details on industrial boilers, incinerators, and many other industries utilizing bag filters.  See samples of all of this at www.mcilvainecompany.com .

Bob McIlvaine

847-784-0012