C O N S U L T I N G S O L U T I O N S / T E C H N I C A L S O L U T I O N S / C O N S T R U C T I O N S O L U T I O N S
PROCEEDINGS: 2012 Healthcare Engineering Society of Northern Illinois (HESNI) Annual Conference
DATE: May 3-4, 2012
SUBJECT AREAS: Operations; design, and compliance
THEME: Your Physical Plant – Internal/External Cares and Concerns
ABSTRACT: Physical plants have needs associated with their overall performance from an efficiency level as well as a quality, cost and compliance perspective. We typically look at the boiler room as a box without forethought as to what we are doing to the facility it supports or what the facility is returning to the boiler room. This presentation will address the concepts of looking at the production setting (boiler room) and distribution/end user as one in order to maintain harmony and balance throughout the entire system.
KEY TOPIC POINTS:
Operating the cash register we call the physical plant Why do we operate at the pressures we do? Steam verses hot water Efficiency gains in the boiler room Distribution issues End users Return system Summer verses winter loads(operating at a lower pressure) Preventative maintenance practices
TAKE AWAY POINTS:
Identifying areas for potential energy improvement Benchmarking energy cost savings for project initiatives Heighten awareness of how the entire system operates as one Best practices for equipment selection and operation Discuss alternate management techniques for operation/maintenance of plant
Internal/External Cares and Concerns
Your Physical Plant
May 4, 2012
Introductions
Boldt – A Solid Foundation
123 years in construction services
A culture built on strong values
One of the nations largest builders
Honesty, fairness, hard work, performance and a love of construction are what we value
Jay Ehrfurth, P.E.
• Director of Project Development - Power
• 9+ years with State of Wisconsin - DOA
• State Chief Power Plant Engineer
• 16 years with Georgia Pacific – Green Bay
• Power Plant Superintendent
• Power Plant Maintenance Manager
• Project Manager
• 5 years with Rouman & Associates
• Consulting Engineer – Utilities & HVAC
• 1 year with WE Energies
• Point Beach Nuclear Plant - Operations
Agenda
• Plant 101
• Operating Pressure/Temperatures
• Your Physical Plant the Cash Register
• Internal Concerns
• External Concerns
• Distribution Issues
• End Users
• Return System
• Summer verses Winter Loads
• Preventative Maintenance Practices
Plant 101
Plant 101
• In one day, more people come in close proximity to a boiler or pressure vessel than the number of people who fly each year in the United States.”
Donald E. Tanner, Executive Director, National Board - NB Bulletin/Fall 2002
Unique World
Boilers and support equipment operate at pressures and temperatures that are inherently dangerous.
Plant 101
• Mother Nature always wins. Physics, chemistry, mechanics, etc
• Everything wants to balance out. Force items into a position they don’t want to be at; hold then do work before a return back to its original state.
• Everything is relative. Differentials, can be to much of a good thing
• Steam, chilled water and electricity are generated on demand and cannot be stored. Requires plant operations to “swing” immediately and constantly with system demands.
Laws of the Boiler Room
Plant 101
• Boiler at 100 psi
• 8.5” by 11” = 93.5 IN2
• 93.5 IN2 x 100 LBS/IN2 =
• 9,350 pounds force or ~ 4.75 tons
• Boiler at 15 psi – “Low Pressure”
• 8.5” by 11” = 93.5 IN2
• 93.5 IN2 x 15 LBS/IN2 =
• 1,402.5 pounds force or ~ ¾ of a ton
System Forces
Plant 101
It is a known engineering fact that a given volume of water, under pressure at or above 212 degrees will instantaneously flash and grow in volume to occupy a space greater than 1,600 times its original volume.
Potential Energy
• Dynamite expands >900 times in volume
• Where would we encounter water above atmospheric pressure?
Operating Pressures/Temperatures
Why do we operate at the pressures we do?
0 Psig 15 Psig 100 Psig
Sat Temp 212oF 250oF 338oF
-32 -32 -32
Sensible Heat 180 218 306
Latent Heat 970 946 882
Total Energy 1,150 1,164 1,188
Volume(FT3/#) 27 14 4
BTU =
1 # H2O
1 oF
Why do we operate at the pressures we do?
0 Psig 15 Psig 100 Psig
Sat Temp 212oF 250oF 338oF
-32 -32 -32
Sensible Heat 180 218 306
Latent Heat 970 946 882
Total Energy 1,150 1,164 1,188
Volume(FT3/#) 27 14 4
BTU =
1 # H2O
1 oF
Why do we operate at the pressures we do?
0 Psig 15 Psig 100 Psig
Sat Temp 212oF 250oF 338oF
-32 -32 -32
Sensible Heat 180 218 306
Latent Heat 970 946 882
Total Energy 1,150 1,164 1,188
Volume(FT3/#) 27 14 4
4”8”12”
Why do we operate at the pressures we do?
0 Psig 15 Psig 100 Psig
Sat Temp 212oF 250oF 338oF
-32 -32 -32
Sensible Heat 180 218 306
Latent Heat 970 946 882
Total Energy 1,150 1,164 1,188
Volume(FT3/#) 27 14 4
Why do we operate at the pressures we do?
0 Psig 15 Psig 100 Psig
Sat Temp 212oF 250oF 338oF
-32 -32 -32
Sensible Heat 180 218 306
Latent Heat 970 946 882
Total Energy 1,150 1,164 1,188
Volume(FT3/#) 27 14 4
Why do we operate at the pressures we do?
End user needs it– Pick a pressure, get a temperature
No pumps
More delivered energy per volume
Smaller line sizes; pipe, hangers, insulation
Smaller boiler
Ability to add energy from waste streams
Ability to create superheated steam
Potential Benefits
Why do we operate at the pressures we do?
Desuperheater
Steam
Water
PRV Station
Saturation Pressure/Temperature
Curve
Your Physical Plant the Cash Register
Operating the cash register we call the Physical Plant
Operating the cash register we call the Physical Plant
ONE FOR ONE ONE FOR SOMETHING LESS
COST AVOIDANCEENERGY EFFICIENCY
• Reduce Demand• Boiler Efficiency• Boiler Cycling• Condensate Return• Water – RO Systems
• BAS - Setbacks• Trap surveys• System losses• Economizers• Insulation
Internal Concerns
Internal Concerns
Fuel, 74%
Chemicals, 0.50%
Water, 0.75%
Sewer, 1.50%Electricity, 2.50% Equipment, 9.75%
Labor, 10%
Total Cost Factors For 1,000 Pounds of Steam
Internal Concerns
Definitions:
Efficiency: “The ratio of the effective or useful output to the total input of any system”
Combustion Efficiency: The effective use of fuel to the burner.
Boiler Efficiency: The effective use of heat to the boiler.
Boiler Room Efficiency: The effective use of steam in the boiler room.
System Efficiency: The effective use of steam from the time it leaves the boiler room and until it returns to the boiler room.
Internal Concerns
– Tune burner
– Boiler controls
– Oxygen trim(O2)
– Casing leaks, refractory
– Efficient dispatching
– Feedwater economizer
– Water treatment
– Soot blowing
– DA tank operation
– Feedwater pump recirculation
– Blowdown heat recovery
– Combustion air make-up
– Compressed air system
Burner Zone:
Boiler Zone:
Boiler Room Zone:
Internal Concerns
Item Principle of Operation Efficiency Improvement
Economizer
Firetube Turbulators
Combustion Controls
Oil & Gas Burners
Insulation
Blowdown System
Condensate Return
Transfer energy from flue gas to feedwater
Increase turbulence in secondary passes.
Improve fuel/air ratio and O2
Improve fuel/air ratio and O2
Reduce heat transfer
Transfer waste heat and/or reduce flow
Reduce make-up water
1% for each 40oF decrease in stack gas temperatures or 1% for each 10oF increase in feedwater temperature
Same as economizer
0.25% increase for each 1% decrease in O2
0.25% increase for each 1% decrease in O2
Dependent on surface temperatures
1-3% dependent on blowdown quantity and operating temperatures
12 – 15%
External Concerns
External Concerns
Distribution Issues
Proper insulation
Lines properly pitched and dripped
Steam trap surveys
Hangers adequately installed and maintained
Anchors still in fixed position
Expansion still compensated for
Tightness of flanges and gaskets
Lines properly sized– Facility expansion turned branch into main
Pressure reducing valve stations and safety relief valves
External Concerns
End Users
Pressure reducing valve stations and superheated steam
Proper operation of desuperheating valves
Control valve operation
Proper dripping and trap selection
Inactive equipment
Coil or heat exchangers – yellow metals
Water treatment – neutralizing amines
Proper freeze protection – vacuum breaker
External Concerns
Return System
Return temperatures and entrained air
Water treatment chemicals
Steam trap discharging and gravity flow
Condensate receivers and full return
Proper insulation practices
Piping materials
Iron and copper returned to boiler system
Corrosion coupons
Summer verses Winter Loads
Summer verses winter loads
• Displays peaks and when they occur
• Displays valleys and when they occur
• Displays system anomalies
• Displays viabilities in load
• Helps to define boiler needs on a seasonal basis
Summer verses winter loads
• Displays load duration over the year
• Filters out system peaks and valleys
• Easy to overlay anticipated growth
• Allows an understanding of boiler stacking(dispatching)
• Helps to define boiler loading and turndown needs
Preventative Maintenance Practices
Preventative maintenance practices
Be in Business Means Having Problems!
Avoiding Costs Means Solving Problems!
Avoiding a Lot of Costs Means Solving a Lot of
Problems Fast!
Use people and processes first to solve problems,then supplement and
support with technology!
Preventative maintenance practices
Mechanical Integrity
Identify equipment covered– Relief and venting system/devices– Emergency systems– Controls(sensors, alarms, interlocks)
Written maintenance procedures
Maintenance training– Overview of systems and hazards– Procedures perform task in a safe manner
» Lockout/Tagout» Confined space
Inspection and testing– Required by law– Required by Code
Quality assurance– Close the loop
Document1
PRESENTOR: Jay Ehrfurth, PE Director of Project Development – Power The Boldt Company
SPEAKER BIO: Jay Ehrfurth, P.E.
Mr. Ehrfurth is currently employed with The Boldt Company as Director of Project Development-Power. In this role, Jay supports the repair, modification or construction of centralized heating/power facilities as found in hospitals, industrial, higher educational campuses, airports, institutions and correctional facilities.
Before joining Boldt, Jay served as the State Chief Power Plant Engineer and team leader for the Wisconsin Department of Administration’s Division of State Facilities, Heating Plant Engineering group for 9+ years. This group of engineers and professionals monitor central plant performance, statewide fuel purchasing, plant emissions, and manages construction projects for 35+ state owned heating/cooling/power plants. These plants combined are capable of generating over 5,000,000 lbs per hour of steam, over 15 MW of electricity and over 71,000 tons of cooling.
Prior to that, Jay worked for Georgia-Pacific(Fort Howard) for 16 years in various positions from engineering to maintenance supervisor to power plant management, overseeing the operational portion of a 1,200,000 lbs per hour 900F/900psig coal fired plant with 90+ MWs of electrical generation. Served as part of a start-up team for a green field plant site in Georgia with CFB boilers and two 20MW CT’s with HRSG.
Jay also spent 5 years with a consulting engineering firm in the Fox River Valley as their power and utility engineer mainly performing consulting duties to the pulp and paper industry. Jay is a Licensed Professional Engineer in the State of Wisconsin and holds an ASOPE-Master Chief’s license, NIULPE-Chief’s License and ASOPE-Technical Instructor credential.
Jay is on the board of directors for the Wisconsin Boiler Inspectors Association (WBIA), American Society of Power Engineers (ASOPE) – Wisconsin Region 2, American Society of Power Engineers (ASOPE) – National and various program advisory boards for Wisconsin area Technical Colleges.