May 15, 2007

Focus on O&M (May 2007)

From skeptical to sold

Olivier Calemard handles the Alstom account for Busak+Shamban France (www .orkotmarine.us), a division of Trelleborg Sealing Solutions. "Ten years ago, the only products we supplied to Alstom were Orkot wear rings," he says. "When I first arrived at Alstom with my 'plastic' bearing, they laughed a little. It was so light compared to the metal ones they use, they couldn't believe it would be strong enough to do a good job."

Getting Alstom's business was an uphill battle, but Calemard never gave up. "We had to prove that Orkot could stand up to the task," he says. "Alstom would not risk specifying an unreliable component. The cost to replace a failed bearing is huge. It took time and lots of independent research and test data to convince them to use the product. Now, however, Alstom regularly uses it in the majority of their installations."

Orkot bearings (Figure 4) are developed and produced by Busak+Shamban's manufacturing affiliate Trelleborg Sealing Systems Rotherham (UK). They are also manufactured at Trelleborg Sealing Solutions Eugene (Oregon) for the American market (www.tss.trelleborg.com). Due to the scale of the Three Gorges project, the two sites worked together to fill the order and shared technology. "We do benchmarking of processes across the two sites," says Barry Davies, general manager of Trelleborg Sealing Systems Rotherham, "to ensure product consistency. Working on a project like Three Gorges brings this requirement right to the forefront."

4. Fish-friendly, too. Most metal bearings need grease to make them work properly. At hydro plants, some of this lubricant ends up in the river. Orkot bearings use materials that have excellent frictional characteristics, eliminating the need for grease. Courtesy: Getty Images and Trelleborg AB

WASTE TO ENERGY

Hydraulic system overhaul

As the old saying goes, one man's trash is another man's treasure. At a waste-to-energy facility in Conshohocken, Pa., operated by Montenay Energy Resources of Montgomery County Inc. (www.veoliaes.com), many a man's trash is being burned to produce an unending treasure of electricity.

Every day, Montenay Energy processes tons of household garbage and municipal solid waste at the 20-acre site. The waste is converted to thermal energy and then to enough electricity to supply 30,000 homes. In the process, the facility, which operates around the clock, reduces the volume of the solid waste by 90% and its weight by 75%. For every 100 tons of trash received, Montenay Energy generates more than 50 MW and produces just 10 tons of ash for landfilling. Many, including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, approve of this process as an alternative to using up precious landfill space.

Recently, Montenay Energy upgraded the system that helps control the rate at which trash is fed into the incinerator. Many problems plagued the older hydraulics responsible for this portion of the process, but with the help of the Bosch Rexroth Hydraulics service group in Bethlehem, Pa. (www.boschrexroth-us.com), Montenay successfully incorporated the new equipment into its plant.

For years, Bosch Rexroth has managed the hydraulic systems used in waste-to-energy facilities from New York to Newark. A typical incinerator uses hydraulics to ram or feed the trash into a large boiler and to extract its ash. When Montenay decided to enhance its existing hydraulic system, plant O&M manager John Polidore consulted with Bosch Rexroth service engineer Keith Metz. The two had worked together on a previous project at Montenay to solve a problem involving corrosive hydraulic fluid. According to Polidore, he was so pleased with the results of their initial work and the ensuing relationship with Metz that he felt comfortable calling on Bosch Rexroth again for help on this major overhaul.