Guest contributor Jennifer Gorton from Forex Traders takes a look at the opportunities presented by new nuclear build in the US and assesses which companies are best positioned to take advantage if the often discussed renaissance becomes a reality.

The explosion of the environmentalism movement upon the American landscape over the last ten years has done wonders in awakening the American consciousness to the hard fact that we must take care of our world. Whether one believes in the full arguments of global warming or not, it is clear that steps must be taken to protect the earth from destruction via carbon emissions and unnecessary pollutants. President Barack Obama won over the environmentalism movement when his campaign pledge called for carbon emissions to be cut 80% by 2050. Typically, energy generation has had many negative effects on the environment, which is why nuclear energy is gaining so much traction around the world as a viable source of energy generation. In this report, we will examine the benefits and costs of nuclear power, and examine several key companies that stand to profit from an explosion in the nuclear power market.

In 2009, nuclear power attributed to 15% of the world’s electricity generation. The United States of America is currently the largest producer of nuclear power, representing about 31% of total global nuclear generation. As pressure to adhere to green environmental procedures increases upon countries around the world, many developed nations are continuing to consider nuclear power as a viable alternative energy source. Let’s take a look at several of the key benefits of nuclear power versus other energy sources:

• No greenhouse or acid rain effects
• Easy to transport
• Fuel is inexpensive
• Most concentrated source of energy
• Waste is compact

These key benefits have made nuclear power a very attractive alternative energy source for many countries. However, there are major concerns to further development of nuclear energy, with the main one being proliferation. Some world leaders are concerned what the world may look like if we have innumerable nuclear reactor sites around the world. If this technology fell into the wrong hands, we all know what could happen. Due to the incredible benefits of nuclear power and the fact that many countries, including the U.S., are planning on bolstering nuclear power generation in the next 20 years, has caused many financial analysts to be very bullish on the nuclear power industry. Several companies stand to profit nicely in the long-term as an increasing number of nuclear power plants are built in the U.S. and abroad.

Before we take a look at a few key companies that have positioned themselves to take advantage of this incredible growth and expansion opportunity in the nuclear power market, we must take into account the risks, and possible downside, of the nuclear market. First of all, nuclear power generation is extremely expensive. Although the actual production of energy is cheap, the same cannot be said for the capital costs incurred during plant construction. In fact, a recent Massachusetts Institute of Technology study estimated that the price of a new nuclear power plant, housed with the most advanced for of nuclear reactors, would cost between US$5bn and US$10bn. This very high cost could put pressure on the industry, especially during a time when credit is not readily available. The current economic constraints in the United States and around the world could serve to weigh on the incredible growth prospects in the nuclear power market.

If the market can somehow get past the incredible expense of building nuclear power plants and move forward, there are several companies that have positioned themselves for an increased demand for nuclear energy good and services.

Shaw Group – a leading global provider of engineering, construction, technology, fabrication, remediation and support services for clients in energy, chemicals, environmental, infrastructure and emergency response industries. Shaw is considered a relatively reliable investment, as it is a Fortune 500 company with fiscal year 2009 annual revenues of US$7.3bn. The group is positioning itself for future growth as it has recently locked in a huge nuclear project in Saudi Arabia, and the market is waiting for confirmation of a large deal in India. Shaw has positioned itself to take advantage of the increased demand for the construction of nuclear power plants.

GE – With household name recognition, GE is one of the most recognizable brands in America. Spanning several decades under the able management of Jack Welch, GE was systematically built into one of the richest and robust companies in the world. After a difficult period of several years, GE has shed many of its peripheral businesses and refocused on energy. With its huge capital base, GE should be a top competitor in the development of nuclear energy, especially in the US, where the number of nuclear power plants are expected to increase dramatically in the next 20 years.

Fluor– A Fortune 200 company with revenues of US$22bn in 2009, Fluor builds and maintains many of the world’s most complex nuclear power plants. Due to the expected rise in the number of power plants in America, Fluor should see strong growth over the long-term. Fluor also has a very strong international presence in the nuclear power industry, so it is not completely dependent on immediate developments the United States, which should serve to reassure potential investors. The energy needs of emerging market are expected to explode during the next 20 years as more countries develop high-tech infrastructures, and Fluor will be a major player in these developments. At the end of June, Fluor announced it had won a US$1.3bn mining contract with a copper mine in central Chile. Due to Fluor’s international presence and business dealings in various currencies, it has been suggested that a viable strategy for the company would be to hedge against currency volatility in a Forex account in order to produce steady growth.

Excelon – The largest nuclear operator in the America, Excelon is a utility services holding company that specializes in operating its electric generating facilities, its wholesale energy marketing operations, and its retail supply operations. It is considered to be a strong presence within the nuclear energy production area.

The two major risks to incredible growth in the nuclear power market are high capital costs and proliferation. If these two risks are discounted in the face of the incredible benefits of nuclear power generation, then the nuclear power market should see very strong growth in the next 20 years and investing in companies such as the ones above may be a good investment strategy.

To give some idea of the potential scale of such events, it is worth looking at the largest geomagnetic storm on record, which affected much of the northern hemisphere and lasted from August 28 to September 2, 1859. It disrupted power across most of Quebec and was caused by a coronal mass ejection (CME) from the Sun. Such was its ferocity that it took only 18 hours to reach earth instead of the several days normally required by similar phenomena. The impact was largely limited by the fact that the world’s love affair with electricity had only just begun. Now that the developed world is utterly reliant on stable power supplies for the delivery of all essential services, a similar event could result in a radically different outcome.

More recent examples include the events of March 13, 1989, in which Hydro-Quebec’s power output was completely shut down within 92 seconds, courtesy of two solar CMEs. Power was restored in nine hours and a large transformer in New Jersey was destroyed. There was also the supply disruption that took place on Halloween 2003, including the destruction of 14 transformers in South Africa, which contributed significantly to that country’s long-running struggle to adequately provide its people and industries with electricity.

Unfortunately, current projections by NASA suggest that we may soon be due for a CME on the scale of the 1859 event. According to Dr Richard Fisher, director of the agency’s heliophysics division, solar flare activity varies in accordance with an 11-year cycle and is currently emerging from a quiet period, while the sun’s magnetic energy peaks every 22 years. As a result, solar activity is set to reach its maximum during the 2012-2015 period.

The point of greatest vulnerability in our electricity networks is the transformer. A simulation conducted by Metatech indicated that a geomagnetic storm roughly 10 times the strength of that seen in 1989 could melt the copper windings of around 350 of the highest voltage transformers in the US,  effectively knocking out a third of the entire US power grid and impacting an area 10 times that of the 1989 storm. Furthermore, the large size of the damaged transformers would effectively prevent field repairs and in most cases, new units would have to shipped in from abroad, ensuring that their replacement would take weeks or even months. Given that other countries could also be adversely affected and that the majority of transformers are manufactured in Brazil, China, Europe and India, there is no guarantee that the US would be the first priority for resupply in such an event. Although the industry has weathered geomagnetic storms of the highest (K9) classification since 1989 with little impact on performance, thanks to specialised operating procedures, all these storms were much less intense than the 1989 storm.

Vulnerability has been increased by the fact that in the US, there has been a marked increase in the voltages used in today’s networks. Now, networks operate at around 345-765kV, compared to the 100-200kV design thresholds seen in the 1950s. The higher the voltage, the lower the resistive impedance per unit distance and the higher the geomagnetically-induced currents (GICs) generated in the event of an EMP. Protective switching and control equipment also have to respond faster at higher voltages. At >230kV, a system has less than three cycles from detection to trip. Other related issues is that severe events can create harmonic currents, which can trip capacitor banks, while distorted sinusoidal waveforms created by the pulse can trigger HVDC converter commutation failures, impacting on system frequency and potentially tripping generators, or worse, inflicting damage caused by torsional stress or rotor heating.

Power plants are increasingly operating in a more competitive climate and in a world short of mineral resources, coal continues to be the raw materials of choice and correspondingly by-products from coal combustion are increasing. Stricter regulations and a heavier legislative burden coupled with increasing environmental awareness have made the operation of power plants more complicated and expensive. Resultant higher transport and disposal costs associated with waste and combustion by-products mean that the power industry must look for solutions to minimise the environmental impact. Reutilisation of bottom ash from coal combustion is already showing positive results with its use in structural embankments and drainage systems. When mixed with fly ash it may also be used in the cement industry. A new dry bottom ash handling system continues to burn the bottom ash during the extraction and cooling phase – passing ambient air, instead of water, over the ash. Known as DRYCON™, the system not only minimises emissions and non-recyclable waste products but also delivers increased boiler efficiency, due to the improved burning of the ash.

Dry vs wet
Traditionally bottom ash has been handled in a wet condition via established technologies such as impounded hoppers or submerged scraper conveyors. The use of water as opposed to air as a cooling agent can incur additional costs. Factors such as water treatment, corrosion damages, higher disposal costs and environmental problems as well as the higher costs to maintain must all be considered.

Using a dry system means that no water is required in the process therefore no water treatment is necessary. Reduced emissions and returning heat energy to the boiler resulting in lower coal usage and so with lower costs for emission trading are also highly beneficial to plant operators. The table below shows the main factors which compare between the two methods of conveying:

Cost scenario – DRYCON™ vs SSC

The following is an economic study of the relative costs of a DRYCON™ bottom ash system against the more traditional Submerged Scraper Conveyor (SSC) technology. The study is based on a typical European base load pulverised coal fired power plant of 800MW operating with imported coal. The economic factors assumed for the study assume depreciation over 10 years and the interest on loan capital of 12 per cent.

Looking at the investment costs, it can been seen that although the DRYCON™ is slightly more expensive than the SSC on a unit basis and the cost of associated crushing equipment is similar, these are offset by simpler transport and storage equipment and the lack of requirement of water treatment equipment such as pumps, filters, heat exchangers etc.

Considering the consumptions on an annual basis, it can be seen that due to the DRYCON™ roller design, the friction losses are significantly reduced and therefore have a positive effect on energy consumption and resultant wear. In addition, the SSC requires the provision of cooling water. At the associated costs indicated, it can be seen that the annual operating costs of the DRYCON™ are approximately 47 per cent of those of the SSC. As discussed earlier, the DRYCON™ captures waste energy from the incomplete combustion of the bottom ash and introduces it into the boiler as pre –heated air at approximately 450 degrees C. This results in an overall increase in boiler efficiency of between 0.15 and 0.5 per cent.

The bottom ash resulting from the DRYCON™ is a sellable product as it has good properties for the construction industry because it is low in carbon and it is dry and easily handled. In comparison the wet bottom ash from the SSC is generally disposed of and has the potential to impact the environment through water consumption and contamination.

For the concluding calculations, an increase of boiler efficiency of 0.15 per cent is assumed and no provision has been made for income from the sale of dry DRYCON™ bottom ash or costs for the disposal of wet SSC ash.

For the relative rate on investment the following calculation has been used.

Relative ROI = ((Gain from in investment from DRYCON™ over SSC) – (Cost difference between DRYCON™ and SSC))/(Cost difference between DRYCON™ and SSC)

In Scenario 1, it is assumed that the increase in efficiency of 0.15 per cent is used to generate an additional 9461 MW per annum (0.15% x 800MW x 7884hrs).

((9,460,800 kWh x 0.10 €/kwh) – ((€1,100,000 + €47,279) – (€852,500 + €100,065))) / ((€1,100,000 + €47,279) – (€852,500 + €100,065))
= 3.86 per year or 3.11 months

In Scenario 2, it is assumed that the same amount of power is produced but the increase in efficiency of 0.15 per cent is used to save 3514t of coal (0.15% x 297.2tph x 7884hrs).

((3,514 tonnes x 100 €/tonne) – ((€ 1,100,000 + €47,279) – (€852,500 + €100,065))) /
((€ 1,100,000 + € 47,279) – (€ 852,500 + € 100,065))
= 0.80 per year or 14.91 months

Combustion flue gas analysis has been used by power plant operators for decades as a method of optimizing the fuel/air ratio. By measuring the amount of excess oxygen and/or CO in the flue gases resulting from combustion, plant operators can ensure that their facility works at the best heat rate efficiency and avoids unnecessary NO_x and greenhouse gas emissions. The theoretical ideal, or the stoichiometric point, is that in which all fuel is reacted with available oxygen in the combustion air, with none of any of the two reactants left over.

Figure 1: Key flue gas measurements relating to ideal combustion stoichiometry

Operating furnaces never attain this ideal, however, and the best operating point usually will result in 1-3 per cent excess air, and 0-200PPM of CO. This optimum operating point is different for every furnace, and also varies for differing loads, or firing rates. A higher firing rate induces greater turbulence through the burner(s), providing better mixing of fuel and air, and enabling operation with a lower excess O₂ before unburned fuel (represented by CO) appears, or “breaks through”.

Figure 2 (left): CFD depiction of the turbulent mixing of fuel and air through a burner. Figure 3 (right): DCS trend depicting the relationship of O2 and CO indications at CO breakthrough point.

Again, this ideal O₂ operating point will vary with firing rate, so a function generator is usually developed from test data to assign the ideal O₂ control point based upon an index of firing rate, such as fuel flow or steam flow.

Figure 4: a typical function generator depicting the optimum flue gas O2 level at different steam flows (firing rates).

This curve should be reestablished from time to time as burners wear, and other furnace conditions change over time. The curve for burners using natural gas and light oil fuels will tend to remain valid for long periods of time (years). Burners firing solid fuels such as coal, petroleum coke, or pellitized biofuels will experience more frequent pluggage and other degradation in the burners and fuel delivery systems, and will benefit from more frequent reestablishment of this curve.

Large furnace operators will typically dynamically control oxygen to the optimal level via the distributed control system. Control of CO is more difficult, since target levels are usually in the PPM range, and making fan or damper adjustments small enough to control at these low levels is difficult. Many operators will make manual adjustments based upon the CO signal, or use the measurement as a feed forward signal to adjust the O₂ control setpoint upwards or downwards.

New Goals

The traditional goal of achieving best combustion efficiency is sometimes being modified to accommodate two other goals:

1) Minimizing the thermal NO_x produced through the burner. O₂ levels and flame temperatures are key indicators to the production of NO_x.

Figure 5: NOx as a function of flue gas excess O2 Relationship of NOx production

One operating strategy to produce less NO_x uses staged combustion, whereby a cooler fuel-rich combustion is established at the burner. Overfire air is then added higher in the furnace  to complete the combustion. This results in less heat and oxygen passing through the burner, and less NO_x produced. Advanced control strategies utilizing neural nets are often implemented to find the optimum air settings to minimize thermal NO_x production. Another NO_x reduction strategy is flue gas recirculation, where a certain amount of flue gas is mixed with the normal air used for combustion.  An O₂ probe mounted after this mixing valve can be used to control final O₂ going to the burner, resulting in a cooler flame that produces less NO_x.

2) Slag prevention – Flux sensors provide good information about soot and slag buildup, but close attention to combustion analyzers can provide another indication of slag formation. Fly ash fusion temperatures are usually affected by the amount of excess O₂ in the flue gases, and some operators run with an O₂ setpoint that has been established to prevent slag.

Figure 6: slag formation on boiler tubes

Technologies for Measuring Combustion Flue Gases

Oxygen
The most ubiquitous technology for measuring combustion flue gases has been the zirconium oxide fuel cell oxygen analyzer.   This analyzer technology was first used in the power generation industry in the early 1970s, but the technology has transferred to use for any combustion process.  All automobiles now use one or more of these sensors for controlling fuel-air ratios, and small engines for lawn mowers, chain saws, etc. will soon be using them. Much has been written about the details of how the Nernstian phenomenon operates¹, and this paper will not review this information.

Figure 7: ZrO2 sensing cell mounted to the end of a probe (0.5-6m long).

The ZrO₂ sensing technology is ideally suited for measuring combustion flue gases for the following reasons:
- The sensing cell generates its own millivolt signal, similar to the way a thermocouple works.
- This raw millivolt signal is inverse and logarithmic, i.e. increasing greatly with the low O₂ readings typically found in combustion processes. Accuracy actually improves as O₂ levels decrease.
- The sensor is typically heated to 700-750°C, so operation in hot combustion flue gases does not present a problem
- The sensor is robust, and can withstand the sulfur components found in many fuels.
- No sampling system is required. The sensor can be placed directly into the flue gas stream on the end of probe that can be from 0.5m to 6m long. Since the flue gases enter the sensor via passive diffusion, even applications with heavy particulate content are possible with a low rate of filter pluggage.
- Sensors can be calibrated on-line and in-place. Automated calibration is also available.

The in situ ZrO₂ probe results in a point measurement within the flue gas duct, however, and several probes of different lengths may be required in order to get a representative average across large flue gas ducts.

Carbon Monoxide
CO is usually the first combustible gas component to appear when combustion fuel/air ratios start becoming too rich. Desired CO levels in combustion flue gases are typically less than 200 PPM, and infra-red spectroscopy is well suited to measuring at these low levels². Repeatabilities of better than +/- 5PPM are possible, with low interference from H₂O and CO₂. Instrument configurations include:
- extractive systems where the flue gases are removed from the duct and cleaned before being placed into a rack-mounted analyzer.
- Across duct line-of-sight configurations whereby an infra-red source is mounted on one side of the duct, and a receiver or detector is mounted to the opposite side.

Figure 8: Typical across-duct infra-red measuring arrangement.

This line-of –sight method results in an inherent average across the entire duct, so multiple instruments are less likely required to cover a large duct. Conversely, one does not get the granularity of information that an array of point measurement O₂ probes provides.
- Dual-pass probe- A modification to the across stack line-of sight method, this arrangement is a dual pass probe where the infra red energy is sent out to a mirror at the end of a hollow pipe, and then reflected back to the source end for analysis. The flue gases are permitted to fill the probe tube through holes or filters.

Any optical technology presents application challenges that need to be considered:
- An extractive system involves transporting and filtering the sample flue gases, removing the moisture, and returning the sample to the process or to a safe vent. This adds considerable cost to the system, and will require significant maintenance attention if there is particulate in the flue gases.
- An across duct line-of –sight system cannot be placed where temperatures are much above 600°C, nor endure high levels of particulate. Thermal growth of the ductwork and vibration can negatively impact the alignment of the source and receiver sides. Also, this type of arrangement cannot undergo a true calibration, since this would involve filling the entire duct with calibration gases.
- A dual-pass probe system has to contend with soiling of the reflecting mirror at the end of the probe. It is possible to conduct an on-line calibration by filling the optical path inside the pipe with calibration gases.

Tunable diode lasers (TDL) have recently come onto the scene, again using spectroscopy, but with a laser source and a diode sensing array. These systems typically use the line-of-sight arrangement across the duct, or a dual pass probe method. This technology is also capable of measuring O₂ in the overtone range, and NO_x. Again, much has been written about the underlying technology ³, so we will not cover this in this paper.
As with the traditional IR systems, a TDL in an across stack line-of-sight arrangement will inherently average across the entire furnace volume, requiring fewer instruments to cover a large duct, but also providing less granularity of the flue gases within the duct. Analyzers cannot be challenged with known calibration gases.

New Applications in Large Power Boilers

Each of the 20 or more burners in a large boiler can be considered as separate processes, each producing its own flue gases . The flue gases in furnaces utilizing burners in a single or opposed-wall firing configuration tend to form up into “columns” that often tend to stay stratified throughout the furnace.

Figure 9: CFD depiction of the flue gases passing through a wall-fired furnace

Combustion analyzers are typically mounted in the “back pass” of the furnace, after the economizer, and it is common for operators to see this stratification when using multiple O₂ probes in these large ducts. It’s not uncommon to see differences of one per cent or more across a large furnace. To accommodate this, an arithmetic average of multiple probes is often calculated in the DCS, and used as input to the O₂ control loop.

Flue gas stratification tells a story
Forward-thinking operators will use these varying O₂ indications as a diagnostic tool to look for problems in the furnace, such as:
- fouled burners
- sticking sleeve dampers
- ID fan imbalances
- roping in coal pipes
- classifier pluggage / coal finess problems
- coal mill imbalances

Figure 10: An array of oxygen probes mounted vertically downstream of an economizer.

The flue gases passing through a tangential-fired furnace do not experience as much stratification of the flue gases, and burner to burner variations are harder to differentiate. Some operators claim to be able to detect corner to corner variations with the O₂ probes in tangential furnaces, however.

Abrasion-resistance
Furnaces firing solid fuels (particularly coal) can have high levels of fly ash carried with the combustion flue gases. Separate schedule 40 pipes are often used as “abrasive shields” to protect in situ oxygen probes from fly ash erosion. Some operations have discovered, however, that fly ash is often much less abrasive in the hotter zones of the furnace (500-700°C), above the economizer. As the combustion flue gases are cooled through the economizer and air heater, the ash often agglomerates into larger particles that are far more abrasive. A location higher in the furnace can not only minimize abrasion, but also detect stratification better. Rosemount Analytical has developed a heavy-wall probe body that is more cost-effective than traditional abrasion shields, yet endures fly ash erosion well in high areas of coal-fired boilers.

Ideal Probe Placement
Oxygen probes are provided in a wide range of lengths, from 0.5m to 6m, but plant engineers often wonder if a given placement is the optimum. A variable insertion capability has been developed that permits the Instrument Engineer to find the best possible mounting location for a given probe.

Figure 11: variable insertion O2 probes in horizontal and vertical orientations

Air Heater and other duct seal leaks

Some air heater styles rotate like a revolving door in order to exchange remaining heat from the flue gases to the fresh air being fed to the burners. As the seals in these large rotating structures wear, air will typically migrate over to the flue gas side, elevating the O₂ levels on the flue gas side of the air heater. Any air leak into a furnace negatively affects heat rate efficiency, and also reduces fan capacity used for combustion, limiting boiler capacity.

Figure 12: Rotating air heater

New Applications in Gas Turbines
Gas turbines tend to run with around 15 per cent excess O₂ in order to keep the turbine sections from experiencing heat stress. If a heat recovery steam generator (HRSG) is used, duct burners are often added after the turbine in order to increase the amount of steam generated inside the HRSG, but this secondary combustion also results in a more efficient total combustion, with final O₂ values in the 2-4 per cent range. An O₂ probe placed after the duct burner can control the amount of fuel being added.

Figure 13: Duct burner for gas turbine (courtesy of Coen Co.)

New Sensor Developments
Continued research into the ZrO₂ fuel cell technology is yielding new capabilities. It was previously mentioned that the millivolt output of these sensing cells is inverse and logarithmic, so lower levels of oxygen results in higher levels of signal. A sensing cell has been developed that will continue outputting increasing voltage as flue gas O₂ levels pass through zero and into reducing conditions.

Figure 14: Millivolt signal output from a new ZrO2 sensing cell in oxidizing and reducing conditions.

This has become a tool for processes that periodically pass into reducing conditions, providing an indication of the level of oxygen deficiency during these events, and informing the operator if recovery measures being taken are being effective.

Continued research into the ZrO₂ fuel cell technology is yielding new capabilities including a ZrO₂ cell that measures CO. Eight test sites have been established at N. American power plants with promising results.

Figure 15: DCS trace depicting PPM reading from Alpha CO probe.

Summary

Combustion flue gas analysis has long been a key tool for optimizing the combustion of large power generation boilers. Innovative customers have exploited reliable analyzers to achieve new goals, such as NO_x reduction, and slag prevention. The measurement of Oxygen has been dominated by the in situ ZrO₂ probe, which provides a point measurement requiring an array of probes across a flue gas duct in order to arrive at a good average reading. Good granularity is afforded by this array, opening a furnace diagnostic capability to detect burner and coal mill problems.
The Measurement of CO is most commonly made with infra red technology in either an extractive configuration, across duct line-of–sight configuration, or dual pass probe configuration. CO is typically found in low PPM levels, so automatic control on CO is more difficult.
New tunable diode laser technology has the capability of measuring O₂, CO and NO_x. As with the traditional Infra-red technology, across duct line-of-sight configurations inherently average across a flue gas duct, minimizing the need for multiple instruments, but affording poor granularity within a given optical path.

New installation locations are being attempted, with hotter zones ahead of the economizer producing less abrasive fly ash. Variable insertion probe mounts afford the ability to find the ideal location within a flue gas duct.

Innovative customers use flue gas analyzer to detect leaks in air heaters or duct transitions, and also modify heat rate calculations of in-leakage. Gas turbines do not use flue gas analysis internally, but are increasingly using them to measure the final oxygen from a duct burner ahead of a heat recovery steam generator.

Continued research into fuel cell sensing technology has yielded a new sensor for the measurement of CO in PPM levels.

Maximum benefit from the use of flue gas analyzers results from close collaboration between instrument suppliers, plant instrument engineers who implement them, and operations personnel that use them on a daily basis.

References:
1) ZrO₂ measuring technology:
P. Shuk: Process Zirconia Oxygen Analyzer: State of Art, Technisches Messen, N 1, 19-23 (2010).

2) Infra-red spectroscopy:
Michael B. Esler, David W. T. Griffith, Stephen R. Wilson, and L. Paul Steele: Precision Trace Gas Analysis by FT-IR Spectroscopy. Simultaneous Analysis of CO₂, CH₄, N₂O, and CO in Air, Anal. Chem., 72 (1), pp 206–215 (2000).

3) Tunable diode laser:
Maximilian Lackner, (Ed): Gas sensing in industry by tunable diode laser spectroscopy (TDLS). Review on state-of-the-art metrology for demanding species concentration, temperature and pressure measurement tasks, Verlag ProcessEng Engineering, 115pp (2009)

Computer security breaches in energy companies pose a double threat. They endanger corporate data privacy, and they also threaten the stability of the oil and gas supply along with the national energy grid infrastructure. This is especially true in today’s environment, where high crude oil prices, dwindling fossil fuel reserves, the ongoing threat of global terrorism and increasing geopolitical instability in the Middle East remind the world of its dependence on a stable oil supply on a daily basis.

The challenge of maintaining information security in an energy company is exacerbated by the size of the distribution network.  With hundreds of locations that can be thousands of miles apart in dozens of countries, energy companies can run between 5000 and 26,000 applications to support their work. Each application typically requires a password for user access, creating daunting vulnerabilities and administrative burdens.

With decentralised operations extending to remote oilfields and distant offshore drilling platforms, for example, field personnel at a rig are often casual about sharing passwords. This creates the potential for unauthorised access to applications and sensitive data files. So does the fact that users often create passwords that are easy-to-figure-out derivatives of names and birthdays. A determined hacker may be able to crack the code with relatively little effort, leaving company systems and applications at risk.

Another problem is that remote oil field employees who forget their passwords frequently can’t get their jobs done. If a geologist in the field is locked out of test well data files he needs because he forgot his primary password, for instance, that may delay the drilling of a new production well or – worse – cause a drilling error that diminishes the output of the new well. Help desks can and do provide password reset services, but analyst firms estimate that each password reset call to the help desk costs between US$25 and US$40. This adds up to millions of dollars annually for some enterprises. Concerns about ineffective password systems and lax password security have led to industry regulations. In the U.S., for example, Sarbanes-Oxley includes a call for improved password security.

Password protection

Almost half of the major energy companies worldwide have turned to enterprise single sign-on (ESSO) technology to combat these and other problems. ESSO enables users to sign onto the corporate network at the start of their workday with a single password. Once users are signed in, their application passwords are entered automatically and securely by the ESSO system, enabling users to gain immediate access to drilling data, production reports and other critical information without having to create, remember, update and otherwise manage multiple passwords themselves.

IFandP: How does the acquisition of Skoda Power fit into your corporate strategy and what sort of synergies are you looking to see from it in the future?

Jean-Michel Aubertin (JMA): There were two main objectives involved in the acquisition of Skoda Power. The first is that it complements Doosan Power Systems, the western arm of Doosan Heavy Industries, in terms of equipment and technology. The acquisition has given us both turbine and turbogenerator competence, which goes hand in hand with the existing boiler expertise we have from Babcock. Doosan Power Systems now has the ability to provide more than just boilers and turbogenerators, but also integrated solutions to deliver full EPC power plants, as well as a complete range of services and retrofit projects. A key market for the latter is Eastern Europe, where many utilities are interested in integrated retrofits for existing power plants.

The second objective of the acquisition was to enable access to Skoda’s proprietary turbine technology for the entire Doosan group. We are now using Skoda technology in our latest projects, including 660MW turbines in India, and a similar project in the Middle East.

IFandP: You still see the coal-fired power sector as a growing market, then?

Jean-Michel Aubertin joined Doosan Power Systems as Chief Operating Officer in January 2010. Prior to this, Mr Aubertin held several managing director positions in the energy and aerospace sectors, managing and developing large international and global operations.

JMA: Due to environmental issues and a lack of regulation, the picture is mixed at the moment. Recently there has been a drop in the number of coal projects in Europe and the US, but we are still seeing a growing number of coal projects in India and China.

There is no doubt that coal will remain a fuel that will be used well into the future, and our projections show that it will remain a major fuel until 2050. Determining exactly how coal will be used, however, is a very different matter, and depends whether we are looking at developing economies such as China and India or more developed regions like Western Europe and the US.

The overall trend is towards a balanced portfolio of fuels and there is no doubt that renewables will be a growing market.What is certain is that coal will have to become cleaner and carbon capture and storage is one of the technologies that will be needed in Europe in the coming years. It will take quite a few years to develop new “clean coal” technologies such as Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS), and the current lack of regulation in this area does not help.

We are investing significantly in carbon capture technologies to be ready for when there is sufficient market demand.

IFandP: Which areas of CCS in particular are you looking at?

JMA: We are developing two key technologies. Firstly, in post-combustion technology, we are developing a demonstration plant with an amine-based solution in partnership with the University of Regina, in Canada. They have been involved in carbon capture from flue gas for many years. We are also working with the university’s collaborative partner, HTC Purenergy.

Secondly, we are investing in and developing solutions for oxy-fuel combustion, which involves burning coal in an oxygen-rich environment. The resulting exhaust stream consists mainly of CO₂ and can therefore be more easily captured. This is a natural extension of our Babcock boiler business which houses our own test facility in Renfrew, Scotland, and is now the world’s largest carbon capture research facility.

IFandP: One other thing that I noticed is that you are benefiting from KEPCO’s large nuclear order in the UAE. I hear that you’re tied in with it? How does it benefit you?

JMA: It benefits Doosan because it is a significant order. Doosan is delivering the steam generators under the contract and it is a major success for Doosan because the contract was won against major international competitors. It is a real success for Korean industry in general.

IFandP: One of the things that enabled KEPCO and Doosan to win the contract was the fact that you were able to offer significant cost savings compared to the other bids. To what extent was your technology and Doosan’s offering in particular responsible for that?

JMA: Steam generators are a major element of the overall proposal and Doosan’s part of the offer was very competitive.

IFandP: In the west, what would you say is the largest growth market for you, given that its taken a bit of a battering, due to the financial crisis and the sovereign debt problems in the Eurozone?

JMA: My view resonates with many of the opinions expressed at the conference. The market is the market. There is large growth in renewables at the moment and utilities are investing in them. In the short term there will probably be some significant markets in gas applications, because the gas price is low at the moment and it can be a short-term answer to stable demand. There are also a significant number of technologies under development. I mentioned carbon capture, but in addition there is offshore wind and solar power which are also enjoying significant growth.

IFandP: Are you looking to move into the gas market?

JMA: We are there already. We provide components and equipment, and are essentially offering two main products to gas EPC players: the first is the HRSG, the steam recover generator, and the second is the steam turbine which is used for combined cycle power plants. Our offer is quite significant. We aren’t currently represented directly in the European gas turbine market, but the group does have some licenses to offer gas turbines in the Middle East. We are aiming to secure licences in other regions

IFandP: In terms of boiler design, how much room do you see there being for improvements in efficiency? Is there much more than can be done or will we eventually hit a brick wall?

JMA: We are continuously working to improve the efficiency of the boilers. In the same way, we are always working to optimise and reduce the emissions. In general, we are looking at optimizing coal plants in their entirety, and in Europe there’s definitely a trend towards advancing efficiency.

IFandP: Are you looking to make more acquisitions in future?

JMA: We have significant growth ambitions. We will certainly look at potential acquisitions if they make sense in terms of complementing our market positions, our technology portfolio and if they are at a reasonable cost.

IFandP: Is there any other area that you’re planning to move into in the near future or are you planning on spending some years consolidating your existing position?

JMA: We are definitely going to diversify our portfolio of products. You may have seen, for example, that the group has recently developed a 3MW offshore wind turbine*. It has undergone extensive testing over the past year and this is one area that we are looking at carefully.

IFandP: That sounds very promising. One of the things that I’ve often wondered about offshore wind, is that you’re essentially putting a large quantity of steel into what is possibly the worst environment you can imagine for it and therefore how sure can companies be that they’re going to last for 25 years or so, when obviously there hasn’t been an offshore wind turbine that has actually spent that time in the sea.

JMA: In my view, this problem is not very different from the one faced every time you introduce a new product. Obviously, the selection of wind turbines, particularly in the offshore environment, has been carefully thought through by utilities who will want to have information regarding their reliability in the marine environment and will want the comfort that can only be given by an operational demonstration. The testing can’t be done for 25 years, but it can still give them a feel for the reliability and the ability of the product with servicing. We are not speaking about turbines, but the combined technology and the servicing that are going to be essential to ensure normal operations.

IFandP: Are there any projects that you’ve recently completed that you’ve been particularly pleased with?

JMA: We pride ourselves on delivering quality products on time while ensuring the highest safety standards. In recognition of our performance the company was recently awarded the Sir George Earle trophy, the highest accolade in UK industry) by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents. This is something the whole company is really proud of.

IFandP: Thank you very much for your time. It’s much appreciated.

JMA: My pleasure.

* Doosan completed the installation of the WinDS3000TM, a 3 MW-class onshore wind power generation system, in Gimnyeong, Jeju Island, Korea, and started operation in mid-October 2009. The height of WinDS 3000TM is 80m, equivalent to 30 storeys of a building, and comes with three giant blades, each measuring 44m long. The system generated and recorded a power output of 3005kW at a wind speed of 15.6m/s on the first day of operation, exceeding the rated output of 3000kW. The blade for the WinDS3000TM has been designed to allow for angular adjustments, like the blades of a helicopter, in order to obtain the maximum rotational energy according to the direction and strength of the winds. The WinDS3000TM has overcome the prevailing concept that a gearbox must weigh at least 10t/MW of output by a 30 per cent reduction in weight to 7t/MW of output.

About Doosan Power Systems Ltd

Doosan Power Systems Ltd (DPS) consists of four businesses (Doosan Babcock, Škoda Power, Doosan Power Systems Americas, Doosan Power Systems Europe) which between them provide complete plant solutions to power utilities across the globe.

www.doosanpowersystems.com

About Doosan

Founded in 1896, Doosan is the oldest enterprise in Korea, and has evolved into a leading international business with sales of US$18.2bn in 2009. It has a global sales network of 4100 staff, and 36,000 people working across 35 countries. Since 2000, Doosan has pursued infrastructure support business (ISB) as its main growth engine, and transformed its business from a base of consumer goods, import/export, and construction to incorporate power plants (Doosan Power Systems), desalination (Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction), a comprehensive line of construction and mechanical equipment (Doosan Infracore), marine diesel engines (Doosan Engine), and railway and residential apartments (Doosan Construction & Engineering).

IFandP recently had the pleasure of interviewing Ralph Rayner, Sector Director for Energy and Environment at international consultancy BMT Group Ltd on the current state of marine renewable energy, and the stumbling blocks that will need to be removed if it is to reach its full potential.

IFandP: In terms of years, how far behind is wave and tidal power generation compared to solar and wind power?

RR: If nothing were to change in terms of resources and encouragement, I’d say it was a decade behind. But we’re now seeing significant efforts to catch up with other renewables. The UK will soon have two full scale test sites running and there are encouraging signs of an improving investment and development environment.  If this is sustained then the gap will start to close.

IFandP: Which companies and approaches do you feel offer the most potential?

RR: It’s very much an open field and with so many options it’s difficult to pick winners. Answering this question will come down to rigorous testing over long periods to determine reliability. The majority of issues revolve around the problem of operating in such a hostile environment. It’s not like the offshore wind industry, where a significant part of the maturation cycle has already taken place. There could even be some technical showstoppers. For example, there is the problem of connection to the shore from devices such as tidal stream turbines which are located at sites which by their very nature are in places were you wouldn’t choose to run a cable. For some sites this will be very technically challenging.

IFandP: How is the Pelamis system progressing?

RR: It’s going pretty well in terms of engineering and technology. There are some significant issues as it nears commercial scale, but it’s come a long way. It needs long-term deployments to resolve the issues associated with maintenance. It’s only one of the technologies that are a long way down the development path. There’s always a hurdle between prototypes and achieving commercial scale, commonly referred to as the ‘valley of death’ as its hard to break through to the point where you can start realising economies of scale. This is an area where investment support mechanisms are needed.

IFandP: If you could make one change to the UK’s education system, what would it be?

TB: Starting with the hard questions first, I see! I would ensure that employers have a greater role as stakeholders in education. In my opinion, there’s a substantial opportunity, given that a new government means a new philosophy. We’ve had 15 years of government telling the education sector what it should be doing. There are two main drivers: policy and funding. The previous government was committed to this issue, employers essentially were encouraged to chase funding, but what they wanted was more support for bite-sized learning. There is a lot of public funding available for technical skills (about 40 per cent), but arguably companies would have paid for this in any case. The current system has effectively created a network of brokers and failed to boost productivity.

IFandP: What do you expect to see from the new coalition government?

TB: The most positive aspect of the new government from our perspective is that it seems hell-bent on taking out the bureaucracy that is stifling employers, such as the huge institutions that have been set up just to quality control the information that employers are sending back. What should be quality controlled is the quality of training. It is a bit early to get a full perspective of what might be in store, but an expected move towards addressing unnecessary complexity would be welcome.

IFandP: Is there more that could be done to raise the profile and status of energy workers in general?

TB: Absolutely. Currently, the industry has a low profile with schools and universities. Engineering is still perceived by many as a dirty job done by people with spanners. The drop in popularity of many key subjects such as maths is an issue, while some qualifications are starting to be questioned by employers. Essentially, engineering needs to reinvent itself. Energy and the environment, these are the things that appeal. Young people want to make a difference and the energy sector is absolutely ripe for “hero” engineers in the mould of Isambard Kingdom Brunel. We need to invent the green technology to support a transition to renewables by 2050. Employers have to work with their competitors to build a supply of students and then compete for them. There is also a clear need to develop better relationships with school, explaining to them what we want and showing the sector at its best. More dialogue is needed and once you’ve got it, you’re away. Essentially we need dialogue, which responds to the needs of the energy sector.

The launch

Sir John Houghton, former co-chair of the IPCC and former chief executive of the Meteorological Office, began by saying that there are questions regarding the extent of the Conservative party’s commitment to the fight against carbon change and then gave a quick synopsis of the current state of climate science and the massive impacts that unchecked global warming will have. He made it clear, that even excluding “basic physics”, there is a lot of evidence that global warming is occurring and made the point that the isotope signature of fossil fuels makes it relatively easy to determine the impact their burning has on atmospheric CO₂ levels. He declared that the few errors in the recent IPCC report had been exaggerated, that the mistake made concerning the melting of the Himalayan glaciers had started out as a typo and that “those who wish to discredit the IPCC should be discredited themselves.” Sir John agreed with one delegate that “actually the IPCC has been too cautious,” as it has not estimated several factors such as the extent of melting in Greenland. When queried as to the cost of the measures needed to rein in climate change, he pointed to an IEA report, that indicates that between now and 2050, the world will need to spend six per of GDP on energy, and that keeping the concentration of CO₂ in the Earth’s atmosphere at 450ppm (the level needed to reduce the chance of the earth warming above two degrees Celsius), would cost an additional one per cent of GDP, but would result in roughly the same in fuel savings, while delivering many additional benefits such as reduced pollution and enhanced energy security.

Gas engines occupy an important niche, typically with capacities in the 200kW-4MW range, although manufacturers are moving towards larger designs. They are often used in remote locations that have their own gas supply, such as oil rigs and as part of the compression system for large gas pipelines. They are also employed in combined heat and power systems and are extensively used in industrial-scale greenhouses in The Netherlands, as well as conventional and distributed power generation. Their role in providing the power for gas compression is likely to grow in the coming years, given expectations of a rapidly-growing CCS market and the need to compress CO₂ prior to injection into oil and natural gas fields, possibly for the purpose of enhanced oil recovery (EOR).

According to a recent study conducted by PennEnergy.com on behalf of Mobil Industrial Lubricants, 36.2 per cent of correspondents indicated that maintenance concerned with gas engine lubricants affected their bottom line “to a moderate extent”, while 16.5 per cent said it did to a great extent. Forty-one per cent of participants also listed engine efficiency as a top concern with regard to gas engine lubricants. The report explains that: “Corrosion, inefficiency, bearing failure, deposits, sludge and oxidation are all noted by survey respondents as enemies of the efficient, modern gas-fueled engine.” Of these issues, bearing failure was the most frequently cited problem.