Babcock Power Environmental Inc. (BPE),  (formerly Babcock Borsig Power, Inc.)  has been integrating the United States and German technology for wet flue gas desulfurization (WFGD) in the United States since 1994. Our knowledge of both limestone and lime reagent process systems for a variety of fuels, including lignite, low/high sulfur coal and Orimulsion®, account for greater than 50,000 MW of  BPE’s licensor designed flue gas desulfurization (FGD) systems operating worldwide.  BPE offers to the North American marketplace proven flue gas desulfurization technologies, integrating the knowledge and experience of the former companies of Deutsche Babcock Anlagen, Steinmüller, Noell-KRC, and its affiliate Riley Power Inc. (RPI) (previously DB Riley).  Their combined application of these technologies is greater than any other WFGD supplier.  In addition, BPE has the most experience with gypsum by-products, with 48,000 MW of installed systems.

F.B. Culley Station
BPE’s installation at Vectren’s F. B. Culley Generating Station set many firsts since its start up in 1994.  Its configuration has the flue gas from two boilers entering into a single absorber.  The complete WFGD system, including reagent preparation, absorption system and gypsum dewatering system, are integrated into a single three-floor industrial building on a one-acre site.

The system’s process design was for a locally mined coal generating 6 pounds of SO2 per million Btu fuel.  Recently, while burning a fuel releasing 10 pounds of SO2 per million Btu, this unit has successfully operated at 95% reduction.  Considering the limestone used at this facility is (92% CaCO3), this is quite an accomplishment.  Unit #3 has no by-pass of the absorber system; however, the WFGD has not caused a boiler shutdown since it went into operation in October of 1994.

Belledune Station
One of  BPE’s Dual Loop Absorber applications is at New Brunswick Power’s Belledune Unit #2 a 450 MW Generation Station.  This absorber tower design, with 317LMN stainless steel material as a cost savings, was configured for the removal of 95% of the SO2 from Orimulsion® fired boilers.  This unit began operation in the spring of 1993.

The production of Commercial Grade Gypsum is standard with the BPE's WFGD system. As this chart shows, BPE has the most worldwide experience in gypsum by-products from WFGD systems.

TECHNOLOGY IMPROVEMENTS

Dual Flow Nozzle – The challenge within the industry has been to maintain the required liquid limestone slurry to flue gas flow.  Older absorber designs accomplished this with the use of the largest slurry pump possible and multiple levels of spray headers into the vessel.  However, each level of spray header increased the height of the absorber, requiring larger foundations, greater stack height and higher installation costs.  BPE was one of the first suppliers to use a dual flow up/down slurry nozzle.  Essentially, each level of spray header can therefore provide twice the limestone slurry to the flue gas.  This approach minimizes nozzles, headers, associated pumps, and power consumption thereby significantly reducing capital costs.

Absorber with Integral Stack – An additional cost saving design is the integration of the stack with the absorber.  This design is beneficial when there is little real estate available for the new WFGD system. There is also a considerable reduction in the cost of materials and labor that would typically be required from the absorber outlet to the stack inlet.  A common foundation reduces sub-soil foundation costs to a minimum.

Largest Shippable Components – The higher cost and shortage of labor during outage periods became a concern during the OTAG Selective Catalytic Reduction Program.  The design philosophy used by  BPE to modularize equipment and ship in the largest component configuration resulted in  a decrease in jobsite labor costs and schedule.  We have proven that the additional design and shop fabrication costs far outweighs the field labor costs of shipping smaller, untested assemblies to the jobsite.  Each  BPE project team has an assigned Construction Specialist involved in the design phase of the project to insure that these cost savings are realized.  Skid-mounted equipment is functionally checked for operation in the shop before shipment to minimize on-site activities and costs.

Cooling Tower Stack Discharge – This innovation has been successfully applied on BPE units to eliminate the need to construct a wet stack. BPE uses a Fiberglass Reinforced Plastic duct to transport the Absorber flue gas discharge into the base of a cooling Tower.  There are also capital costs and better dispersion benefits often associated with this arrangement.

Multi-pollutant Control – Babcock Power’s (BPE & RPI) market leadership position in SCR installations led to a more complete understanding of SO3 and its generation within a complete air pollution control system.   BPE’s Wet Electrostatic Precipitator (WESP) is a proven technology for effective SO3 and fine particulate material removal.  Recent improvements by BPE include the integration of the WESP within the WFGD absorber.  This design brings together a single system for the removal of SO2, HCl, SO3, Hg and fine particulates.

Computer Assisted Design & Project Management - BPE has devoted a team of engineers and project management individuals to the development of a program to enhance, optimize and reduce the costs associated with WFGD system design, procurement, fabrication and erection.  The two key elements of this program are our parametric three-dimensional design platform and project collaboration software.

Parametric Three-dimensional Design – Utlizing this tool, Babcock Power has the ability to take the process design calculations and electronically produce design specifications, a three-dimensional model, requests for purchase, construction packages, fabrication design drawings, training manuals and operation & maintenance manuals.  Equipment, site layouts and “what if” scenarios can all be analyzed, and refined in total collaboration with the client, equipment suppliers, fabricators and construction team.

Project Collaboration Software – BPE has recognized that sufficient information is often not available in a timely manner to all the individuals involved on capital projects.  Drawing review cycles lag development of the final design and delay equipment purchase and ultimately site installation.  BPE has developed a worldwide web-based collaboration approach that will allow any individual with www access and a password to acquire data from an electronic project file system.  This file system includes all the most recent drawings for the project.  Drawing review is electronic with the ability for all team members to comment on the “live” document.  We believe this access will allow typical 90-day drawing review to the final cycle status to be reduced to less than 10 days.  An additional value of this approach will be the completion of as-built drawings the day construction is completed.

Supplier Alliances - As a result of its successful Selective Catalytic Reduction Programs, BPE and its affiliate RPI have proven the positive benefits of Alliance Programs.  The ability to control capital expense and to build flexibility into the delivery and scheduling of equipment and materials reduces overall project costs.  Since there will be fewer qualified sub-vendors in today’s marketplace, BPE will continue to promote this concept to offer increased value to our Clients for our WFGD programs.

Babcock Power Inc., through its various subsidiary companies, has not been waiting for the WFGD Market to “hit” in the United States. BPE has been active in solving the air pollution control concerns of our Clients worldwide.  Babcock Power’s complete line of technologies, including low NOx burners, boiler modifications, Neural Networks, Selective Catalytic Reduction systems, Dry Flue Gas Desulfurization systems, Wet Electrostatic Precipitators and Wet Flue Gas Desulfurization systems, are all available to the US market.  BPE has FGD experience dating back to 1980.  We have continued to develop innovative technologies and solutions for our Clients to position Babcock Power as the world’s leading provider in Flue Gas Desulfurization technologies.