B&W designed and fabricated lower (mud) drum heating coils for both of VBC’s industrial boilers. The coils allow the auxiliary, idle unit to maintain a hot standby condition using steam from the operating boiler.
This circulation of steam through heating coils offers a number of advantages:
Direct heating methods typically result in uneven heating, causing differential expansion problems within the unit’s pressure parts, and can also cause water quality issues. The use of heating coils avoids these issues by evenly distributing heat within the mud drum and keeping the heating fluid and boiler water separate.
Following successful installation of the lower drum heating coils, the plant was able to maintain the second boiler in a hot standby condition using steam from the operating boiler. Since the idle boiler no longer required natural gas to remain pressurized, the plant was able to achieve significant fuel savings. In the first quarter after the installation of the heating coils, the plant saw a 49 percent decrease in natural gas usage compared to the same quarter the previous year. In addition, the plant saw a reduction in CO2 emissions levels of nearly 4,000 metric tons from the reduced fuel usage over the first 18 months. Payback for the lower drum heating coil project was reached in less than one year.
For the fuel, financial, and environmental benefits achieved, Valent BioSciences was recognized by its parent company, Sumitomo, in an award program focusing on Sustainability.
Reduced fuel usage
Increased flexibility
Less maintenance
Lower emissions
Significant cost savings
Test results show the coils maintaining pressure (~100 psi) with one boiler out of service.