Wet Calcium FGD was the Hot Topic on July 24

A new dedicated website on this subject Wet Calcium FGD - Continuous Analyses was introduced. This site and periodic webinars are to assist operators in making the best decisions relative to wet calcium FGD.

Yesterdays topics included 

§  Scrubber selection by Scott Miller of Advatech

§  One oxidation blower option discussion with Keith Collins of Gardner Denver

§  Discussions on lime vs. limestone with Scott Fraley of Carmeuse

§  Website tour including Chinese information

Wet limestone FGD systems are competitive with the dry option, according to Scott Miller. The following comparison shows the wet FGD advantages:

With the addition of lime at the air preheater to lower gas temperature and increase heat recovery, a side benefit is improved SO₃ removal. Therefore, wet systems with this added feature are very efficient at removing SO₃.  With the Gore mercury module the efficiency on mercury removal is also very high. This can be an upgrade option.

Keith made a convincing case for the selection of the multi-stage blower.

When questioned about efficiency, Keith explained that the GDI uses a throttling valve to control flow so that at low flows efficiency is reduced. However, in a typical FGD system with 4 or 5 blowers there is no need for throttling individual units.

Gardner Denver has over 80 blower units installed in FGD service.

§  Suncor – Fort McMurray

§  Georgia Power – Wansley, Gaston, Bowen, Yates, Scherer

§  Alabama Power – Barry, Gorgas, Hammond

§  NRG Texas Power – Limestone

§  Gulf Power – Crist Station

§  Duke Energy Indiana

§  SIGECO – Culley Station

§  TVA – Kingston

§  IPALCO – Harding Street Station

§  Lakeland Electric Co-op

§  China – Wuhan Kaidi Electric Power – Zhanjiang AOLIYOU Power Plant

The company has manufacturing facilities in China and is actively participating in this market.

Scott Fraley of Carmeuse Lime answered questions relative to the choice between lime and limestone.  Natural oxidation lime systems are regaining popularity due to the ability to chemically fix heavy metals in a disposable landfill product. Some utilities that started with this technology in the 1970s and then converted to forced oxidation have now converted back.

Lime quality varies and can be determined by the temperature rise during slaking. Highly reactive lime can obtain 99 percent efficiency with very little excess lime.

A great deal of information has been added to the site including very comprehensive information about corrosion in Chinese power plants. This information is in Chinese and in English.

Individual presentations follow:

Wet Calcium FGD Webinar - Hot Topic Hour July 24, 2014

Discussion of FGD processes,

Revision Date: 7/24/2014

Overview by Bob McIlvaine, McIlvaine Company - Hot Topic Hour July 24, 2014

A new dedicated website on Wet Calcium FGD - Continuous Analyses was introduced. This site and periodic webinars are to assist operators in making the best decisions relative to wet calcium FGD. An overall view of trends was discussed.

Revision Date: 7/24/2014

Power Generation Overview by Keith Collins, Gardner Denver - Hot Topic Hour July 24, 2014

Keith made a convincing case for the selection of the multi-stage blower.

Revision Date: 7/24/2014

Which FGD Process to Choose by Scott Miller, Advatech. - Hot Topic Hour July 24, 2014

Wet limestone FGD systems are competitive with the dry option, according to Scott Miller.

Revision Date: 7/24/2014