What's The First Boiler Question To Ask In 2009?

"What has been the average percentage of O2 in each boiler stack over the past 24 hours?"

As fuel burns, it produces chemical chain reactions. For example, the presence of nitrogen and excess oxygen radicals in this hot combustion environment promotes the formation of nitrogen oxides, or NOx.

However, by using air mass flow and fuel mass flow solutions as control parameters to maintain specific chemical reaction ratios, the amount of excess oxygen in flue gases can be limited and the possibility of unburned fuel eliminated. In fact, a one percent increase in boiler efficiency can be achieved by lowering excess oxygen in flue gases by two percent.

How can this be accomplished? Benz Air Engineering focuses on boiler retrofits that include technologies and components that were not available when most boilers were built decades ago. The result is more efficient boiler for a fraction of the cost of a new boiler, without sacrificing the reliability of boilers that were built to last more than a hundred years. Payback is typically less than two years.

Benz Air solutions can increase boiler efficiency to better than 95 percent, saving millions of dollars in fuel and energy while meeting all emission regulation guidelines. Many installations also qualify for rebates up to 50 percent, which can be predetermined by Benz Air engineers.

If your plant is considering a boiler replacement or retrofit in 2009, Benz Air can provide a cost comparison to help make the best decision. Simply fill out and return a brief one-page questionnaire and fax it back to Benz Air offices.

An Engineering Abstract for San Joaquin Valley Boilers

Looking out over the quiet rolling hills, it almost seems pastoral in the San Joaquin Valley these days. Many of the processing boilers have been shut down and laid up for the season.

But while some people are hibernating, I know the best boiler operators are taking action and caring for their equipment, demonstrating what I can only call a deep affection for detail.

Some of them have to, but many of them just think like me. A 180 mmBTU/hr boiler is more than just a piece of equipment and it never gets the appreciation it deserves.

You see, when most people look at a boiler, they only see some big piece of equipment. They think it costs too much to feed. They complain that it's never quiet, operating every minute of the season. They blame it for arguments because no one ever seems to agree how hard it should work. And lately, everybody says that it pollutes the air too much.

As an engineer, I think about boilers differently. Sometimes, I even ask myself what a boiler might dream about if a boiler could have dreams. Seriously.

I think a boiler might dream about NOx control and boiler efficiency. Or maybe it might dream about acquiring super powers like those super boilers at the University of Texas. Or maybe it would dream about making a transformation during the winter months, allowing it to do anything everyone wants — more steam, even more steam, not so much steam, and so on — all within seconds. Or maybe about using 12 percent less fuel. Or maybe reducing emissions.

Anthropomorphic excursions aside, most boilers need retrofits to become super boilers.

They have to. As NOx regulations reach the strictest possible level and energy costs continue to rise, the only solutions are to take advantage of the energy efficiency incentives available right now and retrofit these boilers well ahead of schedule for immediate cost savings and a faster payback.

In fact, with the right team, the payback on investment is remarkably short — sometimes as little as two years or less. Now you don't have to be an engineer or a boiler operator to appreciate that. But if you're still not sure, then subscribe to some of the case studies and solutions we'll be sharing in the weeks and months ahead.

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.