Colorado-UTE circulating AFBC (atmospheric fluidized-bed combustion) demonstration: Volume 1, Project origin: Final report
Poor station efficiency, high fuel costs, and increasingly high boiler-maintenance costs had forced the Nucla Station into a low position on the Colorado-Ute dispatch order. Among the options Colorado-Ute considered was the possibility of becoming a host utility to demonstrate atmospheric fluidized-bed combustion (AFBC) technology. The attractive economics and low environmental effects of circulating AFBC led to Colorado-Ute's decision in 1984 to proceed with the design and construction of a demonstration project at the Nucla Station. The company determined that in-place retirement of the three stoker-fired boilders and installation of a new circulating AFBC boiler would: Increase plant capacity from 36 KW to 110 MW for an investment of approximately $840kW; improve station heat rate by approximately 15%; reduce fuel costs (approximately 30%) by burning lower quality coal; reduce emissions to the point where New Source Performance Standards for SO/sub 2/ and NO/sub x/ could be met; and extend plant operating life by 30 years. Colorado-Ute: Reviewed the design, backup data, and experience base cited by the bidder; identified areas of technical risk; identified design studies and test programs that could mitigate the risks; developed fallback designs in case selected designs did not perform as predicted; assessed risk to the utility; and developed strategy for negotiating with the equipment supplier. Colorado-Ute judged that Pyropower's proposal had a lower combined capital and life-cycle cost, and therefore awarded it the Nucla Station circulating AFBC boiler contract. 7 refs., 10 figs., 11 tabs.
- Research Organization:
- United Engineers and Constructors, Inc., Denver, CO (USA). Stearns-Roger Div.
- OSTI ID:
- 5216445
- Report Number(s):
- EPRI-CS-5831-Vol.1; ON: TI88009896
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
014000* -- Coal
Lignite
& Peat-- Combustion
AIR POLLUTION ABATEMENT
CARBONACEOUS MATERIALS
CARBONATE ROCKS
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
CIRCULATING SYSTEMS
COAL
COMBUSTION
COMBUSTORS
CONCENTRATORS
CONSTRUCTION
CYCLONE SEPARATORS
DEMONSTRATION PROGRAMS
DESIGN
ECONOMICS
ENERGY SOURCES
EPRI
EQUIPMENT
FLUIDIZED-BED COMBUSTION
FLUIDIZED-BED COMBUSTORS
FOSSIL FUELS
FUELS
HEAT RATE
INERTIAL SEPARATORS
LIMESTONE
MANUFACTURERS
MATERIALS
OXIDATION
POLLUTION ABATEMENT
POLLUTION CONTROL EQUIPMENT
RISK ASSESSMENT
ROCKS
SEDIMENTARY ROCKS
SEPARATION EQUIPMENT
THERMOCHEMICAL PROCESSES