Benz Air Produces WEEC White Paper

On Nov. 4-5, at the same time Benz Air Engineering was developing The Bolier Room, Patricia Spiritus submitted a white paper for consideration at the World Energy Engineering Congress (WEEC) in Washington D.C. The white paper, entitled "Optimize Boiler Efficiency and Reduce NOx, CO, and CO2 with ROI," was well received.

WEEC is attended each year by the nation's leading energy professionals in business, industry, and government who seek the best solutions for all aspects of today's energy cost and supply challenges.

The Overview

Industrial steam boilers are used in power-generating facilities, food processing plants, universities, refineries, and hospitals (among other facilities). In addition to being unmatched in design, engineering, and craftsmanship, they represent the foundation for the industrial revolution and hold a unique opportunity for companies that rely on the steam they produce.

The engineers who produced them achieved their mission to create a reliable steam system that not only produced energy, but also produced it effectively enough that it provides hot water to dorm rooms at universities, packs fruit cocktails for grocery stores, or gives a rug its bright blue color. Without question, steam boilers are responsible for much of what makes up our world today.

Unfortunately, they are also responsible for contributing to greenhouse gases (NOx & CO), carbon footprint (CO2), and consuming large quantities of electricity and other fuel.

The Solution

There are several methods and technologies currently used to reduce nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions from steam boilers, many of which emerged after the passage of the Clean Air Act of 1990. However, by approaching reliable steam boilers from three approaches — mechanical engineering, combustion engineering, and programming — retrofitted steam boilers can dramatically increase efficiency (which reduces fuel consumption) while reducing emissions (which meets pending regulation).

How much? The white paper, using a real case study, estimates that retrofitting 15,000 steam boilers in the United States with all three approaches mentioned above would equate to the following emission reduction comparisons:

• The emissions generated by 7,725,000 passenger cars in one year
• The emissions produced by 4,590,000 households' electrical usage
• The emissions reduced by recycling 12,015,000 tons of waste put in landfills
• The prevention of 300,000 acres of natural areas preserved from deforestation

These retrofits would also reduce as much as 35,700,000 metric tons of CO2. Assuming natural gas systems account for 25 percent of such retrofits, that would account for a reduction of 5.5 percent of the total CO2 emissions in the United States.

The white paper is available upon request and will be posted as an informational resource in the near future.