Pure air's advanced flue gas desulfurization clean coal project

Abstract

AbstractPure Air's Advanced Flue Gas Desulfurization (AFGD) Clean Coal Project successfully completed four and a half years of operation in December 1996 at Northern Indiana Public Service Company's (NIPSCO) Bailly Generating Station. This project received a $60 million grant from the DOE Clean Coal II program. Included in this was a three year DOE demonstration period. The facility was designed, built and is owned and operated by Pure Air of Allentown, Pennsylvania, through it's project company, Pure Air on the Lake, Limited Partnership. The project met or exceeded all performance criteria. It has averaged 95.3% SO2 removal, 99.9% availability and produced high quality commercial gypsum during this four and a half year period. It demonstrated many advanced technology features including a single, large absorber module serving two boilers, a wastewater evaporation system, and air rotary sparger for oxidation, and a new technology for agglomerating gypsum. The AFGD system will continue to serve NIPSCO's Bailly Station for at least another 15_years under an Own & Operate contact. The project enabled NIPSCO to cost effectively achieve full system wide compliance with the Phase 2 emission requirements for SO2 of the Clean Air Act Amendments (CAAA) of 1990 almost eight years before the target date. The project was the recipient of the Outstanding Engineering Achievement Award from the National Society of Professional Engineers in 1993 and the 1993 Powerplant Award from Power magazine. The data presented in this paper is based on performance during the first three years of operation.