Utility Application

In this chapter, the foundations of equilibrium statistical mechanics are introduced and applied to ideal and weakly interacting systems. The coimection between statistical mechanics and thennodynamics is made by introducing ensemble methods. The role of mechanics, both quantum and classical, is described. In particular, the concept and use of the density of states is utilized. Applications are made to ideal quantum and classical gases, ideal gas of diatomic molecules, photons and the black body radiation, phonons in a hannonic solid, conduction electrons in metals and the Bose—Einstein condensation. Introductory aspects of the density... 

Solvent-Refined Coal (SRC) This processing concept was initiated by the Pittsburgh Midway Coal Mining Co. in the early 1960s. The SRC-I process operating mode is designed to produce a solid fuel for utility applications. Typical operating conditions and product yields for SRC-I are shown in Table 27-14. 

Steam-Generator Circulation System Circulation systems for utility application are generally classified as natural circulation and forced or pump-assisted circulation in drum-type boilers, and as once-through now in subcritical- and supercriticaf-pressure boilers. The... 

Gas turbine power adjustments in a utility application require that the mechanical speed must remain constant due to unacceptable consequences of frequency fluctuations. The control is obtained by IGV adjustments to reduce the flow at off-design loads and to maintain the high exhaust gas temperature. 

RO membrane performance in the utility industry is a function of two major factors the membrane material and the configuration of the membrane module. Most utility applications use either spiral-wound or hollow-fiber elements. Hollow-fiber elements are particularly prone to fouling and, once fouled, are hard to clean. Thus, applications that employ these fibers require a great deal of pretreatment to remove all suspended and colloidal material in the feed stream. Spiral-wound modules (refer to Figure 50), due to their relative resistance to fouling, have a broader range of applications. A major advantage of the hollow-fiber modules, however, is the fact that they can pack 5000 ft of surface area in a 1 ft volume, while a spiral wound module can only contain 300 ftVff. 

Single train availabilities must be at least 90% for utility applications and greater than 97% for refineries and petrochemical complexes. 

Sulfur dioxide removal processes can be used to treat flue gas from industrial boilers, heaters, or other process gases where sulfur compounds are oxidized. These processes have generally been proven in utility applications. More recently, several industrial SO2 removal installations have been completed. 

Process Alternatives. Sulfur dioxide removal processes can be categorized as throwaway or recovery. Throwaway processes produce a liquid or solid waste that requires disposal. Recovery processes convert the sulfur dioxide to elemental sulfur or sulfuric acid. Throwaway processes have been used in most utility applications, but there could be greater incentives for using the recovery processes in industry. 

AFC cell stacks have demonstrated sufficiently stable operation for at least 5000 hours, with degradation rates of 20 V per hour or less (20). Siemens has reported a total of >8000 operating hours with approximately 20 units (22). For large scale utility applications, economics demand operating times exceeding 40,000 hours which presents perhaps the most significant obstacle to commercialization of AFC devices in the realm of interest to the DOE Stationary Electric Power Program. 

One of the primary areas of research is in extending cell life. The goal is to maintain the performance of the cell stack during a standard utility application (-40,000 hours). Current state-of-the-art PAFCs (46, 47, and 48) show the following degradation over time ... 

Connection to the utility grid provides many advantages to on-site power producers such as reliability improvement and increase of load factor, as well as giving the electric utilities a chance to improve the supply capability. When a fuel cell power plant is used for electric utility applications, the inverter is the interface equipment between the fuel cell and the electrical network. The inverter acts as the voltage and frequency adjuster to the final load. The interface conditions require the following characteristics for the inverter ... 

MCFCs promise high fuel-to-electricity efficiencies, about 60% normally or 85% with cogeneration, and 10 kW to 2 MW MCFCs have been tested on a variety of fuels. MCFCs are primarily targeted to electric utility applications and they have been successfully demonstrated in Japan... 

A 1.3 MW demonstration plant for utility applications was constructed by Ansaldo Ricerche, in cooperation with ENEA and AEM (the Municipal Energy Authority of Milan), and tested in Milan. Project activities were stopped in 1997 due to significant difficulties in reducing cost to the level needed for introduction into the market (1,000-1,500 /kW). 

Presently, irradiation of spices is the most widely utilized application of food irradiation that is practiced in more than 20 countries, including Argentina, Belgium,... 

This chapter will outline the concepts, benefits, and practical implementation steps for developing a comprehensive quality management system (QMS) that supports pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical manufacturing operations. The material presented is universal in its utility, applicable to small and large companies, development, and commercial enterprises. A QMS is aproactive,structured approach... 

Applications for sulphur concretes fall into two broad categories utility uses and high corrosion performance uses. Utility applications refer to those for which PC concrete performance is relatively satisfactory, such as parking bumpers, precast curb and gutter, paving slabs and highway median barriers. In these applications in-place economics rather than performance is the criterion that will determine commercial use. As a general rule of thumb, when sulphur and Portland cement are the same price, sulphur concrete should be economically competitive for these applications. 

Ion source Atomization Ionization Plasma temperature Electron density Ions measured Vacuum condition Mass analyzer utilized Application... 

Manufacture of P-Silicon Carbide. A commercially utilized application of polysilanes is the conversion of some homopolymers and copolymers to silicon carbide (130). For example, polydimethylsilane is converted to the ceramic in a series of thermal processing steps. Silicon carbide fibers is commercialized by the Nippon Carbon Co. under the trade name Nicalon (see Refractory FIBERS). 

The following process is applicable for changes to any component of computer technology that performs functions on regulated products, including hardware, peripheral devices, system software and utilities, application software, documentation, and communications hardware and software. These components can be either purchased from an external supplier or developed in house by the company or its designee. 

Overall, the consensus of the participants 1s that any of the six coal derived liquids could be considered as an acceptable replacement for liquid petroleum fuel 1n either Plant Sweatt boiler with no equipment modifications, equipment additions or environmental variances. The application or replacement usage of these coal derived liquids 1n other utility boilers would not seem to be any more difficult but should be prefaced by an extensive, Individual site assessment of candidate units. The few modifications required at Plant Sweatt Indicate that a limited number of design criteria would be affected 1f these six synthetic liquids were to be Included 1n the fuel specifications of future utility boilers. The handling and emission characteristics of coal derived liquids may even be preferable to certain petroleum liquids 1n some utility applications. 

Faucett, H. L. Maxwell, J. D. Burnett, T. A. "Technical Assessment of N0X Removal Processes for Utility Application" EPRI-AF-568, March 1978. 

High reliability, acceptable capital and operating costs, and minimal environmental impact are requirements for gasification systems proposed for utility applications. Operating costs can be minimized by using a gasifier that is... 

Wu, B., and Zhang, X. Limestone microstructure and its effect on desulfurization, in Coal Combustion Science and Technology of Industrial and Utility Applications (J. Feng, ed.), pp. 899-908. Hemisphere Publishing Corporation, 1988. 

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