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.

To register for the Hot Topic Hour, click on:

http://www.mcilvainecompany.com/brochures/hot_topic_hour_registration.htm.

Headlines for the February 15, 2013 – Utility E-Alert   

 UTILITY E-ALERT     

• Hitachi to supply SCR for Xcel Hayden 1 and 2
• Mississippi Power retires Eaton
• Graycor chosen as Contractor for Big Stone Plant Emissions Control System

• Alsons Consolidated Resources to build 100 MW San Ramon Power Plant in the Philippines
• DMCI Holdings to expand 600 MW Calaca Power Plant in the Philippines
• GN Power plans 600 MW Expansion of its Mariveles, Philippines Power Plant
• CESC to build 600 MW Power Plant in Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India
• 600 MW Jamshoro Power Project in Pakistan has ADB Loan

• NY Regulators approve 1,000 MW Cricket Valley Energy Power Plant
• Wood Group completes Gas Turbine Control upgrade at Jonesboro City Water and Light

• MidAmerican considering Nuclear Power
• Olkiluoto 3 Nuclear Power Plant delayed
• Construction delayed until 2014 for 4800 MW Akkuyu Power Plant in Turkey

• CB&I completes acquisition of The Shaw Group
• The U.S. and Europe have embarked on Hundreds of Projects to Automate and Control Coal-fired Power Plants

• "NO_x Control for Gas Turbines" was Hot Topic Hour on Thursday, February 14, 2013
• "Monitoring and Controlling Boiler Water/Steam Cycle Chemistry" is Hot Topic Hour on Thursday, February 21, 2013
• Upcoming Hot Topic Hours

For more information on the Utility Environmental Upgrade Tracking System, click on: http://home.mcilvainecompany.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=72 

An 80 minute recording of the "Hot Topic Hour" yesterday is available from McIlvaine.

Safe, reliable and efficient operation of steam generating boilers and HRSGs requires the maintenance of physical and chemical conditions throughout the water/steam circuit that minimizes corrosion and deposit formation. This is especially true in the older plants that are prevalent in our electricity production network. Deposition of contaminants, scaling and corrosion are the cause of many forced outages resulting in lost power generation or product output costing billions of dollars per year. Frequent blow-downs required because of excessive contaminants in the water/steam also contribute to lost production. Inadequate cycle chemistry will cause boiler tube and turbine blade/disc failures and Flow-Accelerated Corrosion (FAC) throughout the circuit. Three presentations addressed the challenges and provide solutions.

Joe Zimmerman, Director of Marketing and Power Industry Sales Manager at Chemtrac, Inc., explained that the adverse effects of particulate material in steam cycle waters are frequently seen throughout the power generation process. Steam cycle corrosion products (transient metal oxides) can lead to deposition and equipment failure. This presentation introduced basic technologies used for continuous detection of insoluble particles at very low concentrations. When such monitoring methods are utilized, real-time corrosion product transport measurement can be implemented as a potential parameter for controlling the power plant cycle.

Online particle monitoring in contrast to turbidity measurement provides continuous tracking of insoluble metal oxides. The clear advantage over grab or compiste samplers was illustrated by using a movie as an example. Rather than one frame or a synopsis you see the whole movie with the particle monitoring system. This provides valuable information relative to system performance and allows immediate action when an event occurs 

Greg Thomas, Key Account Manager for Nuclear Power at Hach Ultra Analytics, compared the long time standard amperometric technology to the new optical technology for measurement of low level dissolved oxygen (dO₂) in steam cycle water.

Optical instruments only require maintenance once per year vs. every six months for electrochemical. The optical instrument is not flow dependent. Both instruments can measure accurately to 1 ppm.  For certain nuclear applications where measurements in ppb is desirable, the electrochemical method is more accurate.

David M. Gray, Senior Product Manager at Mettler-Toledo Thornton, Inc., introduced us to Intelligent Sensor Management. Intelligent digital sensors incorporate the measuring circuit and make the digital conversion computation and even include the memory and basis for predictive maintenance. Online analytical measurements of conductivity, pH, dissolved oxygen, sodium and silica, incorporate digital sensors which provide improved performance and a wider range and predictive diagnostics. The digital conductivity sensor provides a 33 percent improvement in system accuracy.

This recording is available at no charge to subscribers to the McIlvaine Utility Environmental Tracking System, Power Plant Air Quality Decisions and Air & Water Monitoring World Markets.

For more information on Utility Environmental Tracking System http://home.mcilvainecompany.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=72