If your facility has recently seen an upsurge in bearing failures on boiler feedwater (BFW) pumps, you are not the only plant experiencing these unnecessary and costly failures. The failure causes are often elusive, which is why plants have so many unresolved repeat failures.

Arizona Public Service’s (APS) plan to close three older coal-fueled units at the Four Corners Power Plant in New Mexico and buy out Southern California Edison’s 48% share of the two remaining units is a creative means of surviving the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) committed action against coal-fueled generation.

Coal mining, and related industries that consume coal, have attracted quite a bit of attention from the federal government as of late. Most of that attention has focused on how to further, or "better," regulate the industry. The EPA is now moving to regulate downstream conductivity of surface mining runoff.

Designing large package boilers rated at over 400,000 lb/h steam production is a challenge because of shipping limitations within the U.S. and Canada.

All of our legal column writers have this issue off (they’ll be back in the March issue), so we are using this opportunity to invite readers to share their legal and regulatory (L&R) concerns.

On December 23, 2010, one day before the Yuletide season, when members of Congress, the media, and Tea Party activists are least likely to watchdog the federal bureaucracy, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced rulemakings to establish New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from power plants and refineries. Or maybe "whispered" would be more accurate.

The 2009 blockbuster movie 2012 about a global cataclysm combined Hollywood special effects with supposed predictions by Nostradamus; a Mayan calendar that ends on December 21, 2012; and a very rare planetary alignment that supposedly occurs on the same day. Hollywood producers seldom let technical accuracy get in the way of a good story, but suppose, this one time, the story has an element of truth.

In the September and October 2010 issues, POWER Contributing Editor David Daniels explored the causes and damage mechanisms of condenser tube leaks (“Taming Condenser Tube Leaks,” Part I and Part II). Dennis J. Schumerth, Valtimet’s director of business development, took issue with several of Daniels’ statements regarding the proper use of titanium condenser tubes. We have given Schumerth the opportunity to express his concerns and for Daniels to reply.

An unintended consequence of employing selective catalytic reduction and wet flue gas desulfurization to reduce nitrogen oxide and sulfur dioxide levels at coal-fired power plants has been unwanted sulfur trioxide (SO₃) emissions. Picking the right sorbent in the right amount can eliminate that problem.

At Morgantown Generating Station, plant personnel used innovative methods to combine model predictive control with distributed control system–based process control algorithms to improve waterwall temperature control and main steam temperature control and to enhance unit ramp rate capability. The previous heat rate and NO_x optimization performance gains were retained. Focusing beyond basic loops of feedwater, air, and O₂, the project considered issues such as PID controller override configuration and limitations. The techniques used to overcome these challenges improved unit ramp rate capability beyond any previous unit performance.

MHI to Continue Pre-Construction Work for North Anna Unit. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. (MHI), through Mitsubishi Nuclear Energy Systems Inc., and Dominion subsidiary Virginia Electric and Power Co. on Dec. 27 said they had reached an agreement to continue pre-construction, engineering, and planning work in preparation for a third unit at Dominion’s North Anna Nuclear […]

Development of Vogtle Electric Generating Station Units 3 and 4—the first new nuclear power plant units in the U.S. in decades—has generated considerable excitement. The next generation of nuclear plants, represented by these units, includes at least two major improvements: the use of passive safety systems and a reliance on digital control systems. The latter represents a gigantic leap in modernization and a fundamental change in control of the plant.

The Electric Power Research Institute has developed a pair of diagnostic tools that combine and integrate features from multiple sources of plant information. The Diagnostic Advisor and the Asset Fault Signature Database will improve diagnostics for and troubleshooting of equipment faults by providing a holistic view of the condition of plant equipment.

A common concern for gas turbine power plants is treating exhaust gases to comply with laws restricting pollutants present in the gases that are emitted into the ambient atmosphere. The challenge for designers is to control the exhaust gas operating temperature within a range that maximizes performance of the oxidation and reduction catalysts.

One important factor in power plant control system performance is the response time of the process measurement used in the control system. The response time of boiler steam temperature sensors and thermowells is examined, as is those sensors’ and thermowells’ effect on desuperheater temperature response time and, therefore, steam temperature control performance.

In the 1950s, temperature-equalizing columns were commonly used in steam drum differential pressure–based devices for measuring water level. However, these columns are problematic because a portion of the reference leg can flash to steam on a pressure decrease (load increase), and this will result in a temporary, false, high-level measurement, which adds to the swell effect. The columns can also result in measurement inaccuracies. It’s time to replace these antiquated instruments with a more modern reference leg.

Compared with other solid fuel–fired plants, the systems and components required for handling and processing biomass appear quite familiar, but important fuel differences must be considered. A successful biomass plant design must provide flexibility for handling the expected wide range of biomass fuel properties and characteristics.

A recent Washington Post article attacks coal as a fuel with a dim future. The author points to the large number of plant retirements as evidence of its impending demise. Checking the actual data reveals a much different story.

Wheelift Systems introduced its self-propelled trailers (SPT) in capacities up to 100 tons. They were developed for in-plant operation in congested, confined areas and in narrow intersecting aisles. Highly maneuverable, the Wheelift SPTs feature computerized independent steering, on-center rotating front axles, remote control operation, low-profile design, and on-board power generation. Each SPT has two on-center […]

Efficient boiler operation requires boiler auxiliary equipment to operate in harmony. The air preheater, for example, though it has few moving parts, is vital to maintaining efficient boiler performance. In this second installment of our Power 101 series, we examine performance degradation caused by corrosion and fouling of the air preheater that results from the combustion of coal plus the effects of ammonia and sodium bisulfite injection for SO₃ mitigation.

Westinghouse’s AP1000 reactor design hit several milestones in recent months, prompting speculation that it could take the coveted lead in the charge to deploy the world’s third-generation nuclear power plants.

HD Electric Co.’s new PRX-500 Proximity Voltage Detector is an addition to its voltage detector product line. With nine selectable voltage ranges from 120 V to 500 kV, the PRX Proximity Voltage Detector features an easy-to-use electronic touch pad with large buttons. The PRX provides an audible and visual indication of voltage detected from elbow […]

San Miguel Electric Cooperative selected and installed an automatic sootblowing system for its Unit 1 to minimize clinkers in the boiler that caused semi-annual unscheduled outages. New boiler surface-cleaning equipment and intelligent cleaning software eliminated these expensive outages.

U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar in late December approved—for the ninth time since October 2010—a solar power project to be built on federal lands.

John Deere Power Systems (JDPS) introduced extended generator drive emergency stationary power ratings for its PowerTech E 6.8L diesel engine—the first John Deere engine to carry both U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Tier 3 Emergency Stationary and European Union Stage III A certification, with dual frequency ratings of 1,800 and 1,500 rpm. The 212-kW rating at […]

President Obama’s Jan. 25th State of the Union address proposed that the nation commit itself to developing "clean energy" sources of electricity over the next two decades. A critical assessment of his proposal finds that it’s just a rehash of previously rejected legislative proposals. In fact, to me, it sounds like Waxman-Markey all over again. I have a better idea.

Lao People’s Democratic Republic (PDR), the tiny landlocked country in Southeast Asia of just 6.3 million people, in December inaugurated the 1,070-MW Nam Theun 2 Power Station, a hydropower project in Khammouane Province.

Spirax Sarco launched the TD120M Thermo-dynamic Steam Trap, a product engineered for pressure ratings of up to 3,190 psig that is ideal for draining saturated and superheated steam mains. The steam trap has a maintainable disc and seat, which means it can be serviced in-line—a considerable benefit to customers with welded installations. The trap has […]

By Kennedy Maize Washington, D.C., January 28, 2011 – The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee in the 112th Congress won’t be your father’s Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee (and certainly not Lisa Murkowski’s father’s committee). With a slew of newcomers – mostly Republican – and none of them particularly attuned to the way […]

In his State of the Union address on Tuesday evening, President Barack Obama set a new goal for the nation: To obtain 80% of its electricity from “clean energy” by 2035. But his definition of “clean energy” included “nuclear, clean coal, and natural gas” as well as “wind and solar.”