Nova Analytical Systems

http://www.linkedin.com/company/nova-analytical-systems-inc-

Thursday, February 7, 2013

#102 - Triple Point Analysis of Biogas at Palm Oil Facility

As Nova’s business has evolved over the years, we have noticed various trends with respect to customer requirements. One such trend is the gradual predominance of biogas inquires over landfill inquiries.

Anaerobic digester facility.

Excellent diagram of a full biogas system.

This is no doubt a reflection of the fact that new biogas projects are much more frequent than new landfill projects. Instead of paying to have their garbage hauled away to a landfill, many companies have preferred to invest in biogas systems that produce energy while reducing waste. Communities often push back on initiatives to start up large landfills in their regions, while they might be more favorable to biogas initiatives. Biogas projects are more tenable because they are smaller scale and do not consume large tracts of valuable land. By design, biogas digesters are covered and are therefore not as offensive to neighbors or attractive to vermin.

Land use of biogas vs. landfill

One such recent project involved one of our partners in

Malaysia

who is working with a customer to minimize waste effluent while recovering energy. The customer is in fact the largest palm oil producer in the world.*

The customer has an anaerobic digester and a gas scrubber. The requirement was to have analysis of methane (CH4) and hydrogen sulfide (H2S) at two points in the process – before and after the scrubber. The net result was that an analyzer system would be required to sample raw and cleaned biogas.

For this project, the customer also a requested a third sample point as follows:

1. Raw biogas

2. Scrubbed biogas

3. Fresh air

The reason for points 1 & 2 is to determine the energy value of the produced gas, and to evaluate the efficacy of the scrubber. On these applications, there is often a stationary combustion engine of some kind which burns the produced methane. The engine will require input of at least a minimum methane content to function properly. Because methane is a strong greenhouse gas, it is often profitable for the stakeholders to know how much methane they are diverting from release into the atmosphere. Hydrogen sulfide is also a concern; if the H2S levels in the gas rise because of a scrubber failure, the engine will be damaged.

If a big heavy engine made out of hardened steel will be damaged by poorly cleaned gas, imagine what will happen to an analytical instrument that is continuously sampling the raw gas. To manage this reality, we have upgraded the valves, internal tubing, and other components in our biogas instruments to make them more durable.

This project required a 3-point sequencer and a gas analyzer. The sequencer automatically advances through the sample points in a cyclical pattern, spending a few minutes on each sample. The active sample is sent to the gas analyzer for analysis.

The third sample point mentioned above will be used by the customer to pump in clean air. The project stake-holders all agreed that this would be a good idea to increase sensor longevity. Even though H2S sensors are intended to be exposed to H2S, they will be consumed over time as their internal electrolyte is used up. This process will be accelerated if the sensor is exposed to high levels of H2S for long periods of time. To mitigate this process, we configured the sequencer to spend a few minutes sampling clean air after sampling the raw biogas. This will purge out the concentrated gas and ‘re-fresh’ the sensors.

The customer recently updated us with new information about the quality of their biogas. Apparently, it has a much higher moisture content than was originally expected. So they obtained a gas cooler which will be mounted ahead of the sequencer on the raw biogas stream. This will reduce the intensity of the gas that the sequencer will be exposed to during its operation.

We expect that we will continue to see an increase in biogas applications. We have also seen the same trend with syngas inquiries. The basic pattern of produced gas, gas cleaner, and combustion engine is frequently the same as with biogas. (See this post.)

One additional point of analysis with both types of applications is at the exhaust of the combustion engine. Measuring the exhaust gases will help determine the operational health of the engine, and will determine the pollutant levels being emitted from the engine. Perhaps we can talk about this in a future post.

For information on gas analyzer systems, give Mike or Dave at Nova a call, or send us an e-mail.

1-800-295-3771

sales at nova-gas dot com

websales at nova-gas dot com

http://www.linkedin.com/company/nova-analytical-systems-inc-

* Palm oil production is apparently an environmental issue because of its contribution to deforestation. See http://www.celsias.co.nz/article/true-costs-palm-oil-video/ and http://www.greenpeace.org/eastasia/campaigns/forests/work/palm-oil/

Deforestation resulting from development
of palm oil plantation.

Digester picture - http://sites.duke.edu/environ398_10_f2010_ct95/?page_id=46

Biogas system picture - http://www.unendlich-viel-energie.de/en/biomass/details/article/155/functioning-principles-of-a-biogas-system.html
Landfill site picture - http://www.co.stevens.wa.us/publicwrks/Landfill/landfill.htm
Biogas site picture - http://www.bbfm.de/1.html

Palm oil picture - http://mattermore.wordpress.com/2011/07/05/kelloggs-supports-sustainable-palm-oil-producers/

Thursday, January 31, 2013

#101 - Tenova Projects - The TATA Steel Richardsbay Furnace

In May 2006, global steel producer Tata awarded a contract to Tenova Pyromet for the Tata KZN Project. The plant is located in Richardsbay Kwa Zulu Natal South Africa

The project was for design, supply, installation and commissioning of 2 x 36-MVA closed submerged arc furnaces. A submerged arc furnace is a type of electric arc furnace (EAF) in which the electrodes are buried deep inside the furnace burden or load. In a normal EAF, the electrodes hover slightly above the load to induce the arc.

Scope: A complete furnace technology package for 2x submerged arc furnaces including the plant control system, with electrical and mechanical equipment. The scope also included the entire gas-cleaning scrubber system for the furnace off gas, as well as the tap hole fume extraction system.

Commissioning of both furnaces was successful as the first furnace was commissioned in April 2008, and the second furnace in May 2008.

The smelter incorporates the following technology:

· Pyromet submerged arc closed furnace technology

· Pyromet patented electrode columns

· Complete plant automation system designed by Pyromet

· Pyromet designed furnace off-gas scrubbers, two per furnace

Challenges Overcome

One of the major challenges was the correct process design of the furnaces with the design requiring that the furnaces treat chrome ore briquettes. The ore used to prepare the briquettes would be sourced from

India

The logistical challenge of doing a project in Richards Bay was that the equipment had to be designed to withstand the rigorous demands of coastal conditions. Local suppliers had to be sourced for the manufacturing and installation of equipment to save on logistical costs.

The quality of the off gas cleaning system complies with a very strict environmental requirement due to the location of the plant in close proximity to a residential area as well as the strict environmental bylaws governing the area which is an ecological preserved area.

The furnace building structure was supplied from

India

and the integration of the equipment to the furnace building structure had to be designed and fitted accordingly.

The site team had to endure coastal conditions where wind, rain and sandy terrain complicated planning and execution of certain tasks.

Project Statistics

Concrete: 12 000 rn'

Steel structures: 4800 tons

Construction man-hours: > 1 million

Pyromet project team: 9 persons

Project site team: 25 persons

Furnace produces: 133 000 tons per annum

Furnace capacity: 142 857 tons per annum

Furnace type: Closed Furnace

Project duration: 24 Months - April 2006 to April 2008

Tenova PYROMET

Tenova Pyromet (Pty) Ltd

10 Sherborne Road

Parktown, Johannesburg

PO Box 61582, Marshalltown

2107

South Africa

Phone +27 11 480 2000

Fax +27 11 482 1942

E-mail: pyromet at za dot tenovagroup dot com

NOVA Analytical Systems

1-800-295-3771

sales at nova-gas dot com

websales at nova-gas dot com

http://www.linkedin.com/company/nova-analytical-systems-inc-

http://nova-gas.blogspot.com/2012/08/70-post-5-is-our-most-popular-blog-post.html

Thursday, January 24, 2013

#100 - 100 Posts

We started this blog about a year & a half ago. Initially, it did not seem possible that there would be enough to talk about to sustain the blog for any length of time. Our company just did not seem exciting enough to write anything about. But here we are at 100 posts later and the ideas are still coming.

It seems that corporate blogging is somewhat of an art. Here are some notes / ideas about blogging that we have noticed in our own experience over the last year:

Be patient – genuine readership takes a while to build, and is built on content. We haven’t actively sought out ‘followers’ or ‘friended’ anyone. But, we have kept an eye on how many readers we have had. We can also look at web-tracking software to see how many are being directed to our website via the blog. However, we don’t evaluate the blog solely on what it does for our website. The blog is also a standalone document that gets our name and our work out there onto the search engines.
Be committed to it – post regularly (weekly is good, preferably on the same day and in the mornings) and avoid missing posts; if one person can’t keep up, have a couple people working on it; try to build up a back-log of material to provide flexibility on busy weeks.
Knowledgeable oversight – the blog writer or manager should have a decent grasp of the company’s operations, area of experience & expertise, and connection to markets.
Be relevant – the general content should be reasonably relevant to your company’s area of expertise; or at least have some connection to an aspect of your company.
Have variety - not all content needs to be directly relevant to what your company is actually selling; comment on what is happening in your industry, in your neighborhood(s), to your customers, in your company; and for variety, the occasional post can have nothing to do with your company.
Be human – blog should be written in an engaging way that is readable by anyone.
Be observant – some of your posts will attain a higher readership than others; try to figure out why, and allow that information to influence what you write, or even what markets your company targets in the future.
Have visuals – try to add pictures to go along with your words, visuals add interest, information, and humanity to your blog.
Send your posts out through a few channels such as LinkedIn, Twitter, etc. Careful about over-doing it though. It is our own opinion that slow and steady wins real readers.

Interestingly, here are some Nova blog posts in terms of percentage of reader visits:

#70 - Post #5 is our most popular blog post (Syngas and Gasification) – 7.1 %

#53 - What is CONSTEEL? – 1.6 %

http://nova-gas.blogspot.com/2012/03/53-what-is-consteel.html

#102 - Triple Point Analysis of Biogas at Palm Oil Facility - 1.5%

http://nova-gas.blogspot.ca/2013/02/102-triple-point-analysis-of-biogas-at.html

Recent posts that have gained popularity in the last month or so:

#95 - Multi-Point Conditioning Systems for Mass Spectroscopy in DRI Plants

http://nova-gas.blogspot.ca/2012/12/95-multi-point-conditioning-systems-for.html

#96 - Pictures of Extreme Cold Weather Analyzer Package

http://nova-gas.blogspot.ca/2012/12/96-pictures-of-extreme-cold-weather.html

#123 - Borehole and soil gas analysis

http://nova-gas.blogspot.ca/2013/05/123-borehole-and-soil-gas-analysis.html

Couple things that the above data tells us:

Steel-making and gasification should be industries that we remain committed to in terms of market, products, support, and contacts.

We will keep writing. Hopefully, people will keep visiting.

Best regards,

Dave @ Nova

For information on gas analyzer systems, give Mike or Dave at Nova a call, or send us an e-mail.

1-800-295-3771

sales at nova-gas dot com

websales at nova-gas dot com

http://www.linkedin.com/company/nova-analytical-systems-inc-

http://www.tenaris.com/en/default.aspx

Thursday, January 17, 2013

#99 - Beijing Air Index Goes Off Scale

I recently noticed a couple of blog posts about high air pollution levels in Beijing, China on the Chem.info website.*

Recent photos from Beijing, China.

Discussions of air pollution and urban smog often include references to PM-2.5 and PM-10. These terms refer to the size of particulate matter that is entrained in the breathable atmosphere. The numbers in the ‘PM-‘ expressions refer to particle size in micrometers.

Basic particulate size categories

The implications of the distinction between PM-10 and PM-2.5 are significant. The PM-10 particle is sufficiently small to move past the natural defenses in the human breathing system and accumulate in our lungs. The PM-2.5 particle is sufficiently small to diffuse from the lungs directly into the bloodstream.

Smog is a complex mixture of constituents from
a variety of sources.

To evaluate the profusion of particulate matter, environmental authorities use automatic air samplers. These instruments collect air samples at very specific and constant air flows. Unwanted particulates above the target size are removed by filters, baffles, and very specific air flow designs within the sampler. The remaining particles impinge on a removable filter element which can be gravimetrically analyzed to determine particulate profusion. A few different styles are shown below.

a) Dichotomous sampler - separates and captures PM-2.5 and PM-10
b) Size-Selective Inlet sampler - can capture PM-2.5 or PM-10
c) High Volume sampler - can capture PM-44 and less

Smog is obviously not a problem unique to Beijing only. Daily air quality reports are available in various countries to provide the public with air quality information. For example, here are the internet-based air quality reporting tools for USA and Canada. The Chinese government has recently implemented air quality reports that are updated hourly.

At Nova, we don’t manufacture particulate samplers. However, industrial gas analyzers are frequently used to help control air pollution at the sources. For example, an out-of-tune combustion process may produce more particulate matter due to improper fuel ratios or combustion conditions. The exhaust gases can be used to determine combustion efficiency which can then be improved if needed. Steel-making processes, such as electric arc furnaces, can also be optimized and environmentally improved by using gas analysis. The Tenova EFSOP process is an industry-leading example of this.

For information on gas analyzer systems, give Mike or Dave at Nova a call, or send us an e-mail.
1-800-295-3771
sales at nova-gas dot com
websales at nova-gas dot com
http://www.nova-gas.com/
https://twitter.com/NOVAGAS
http://www.linkedin.com/company/nova-analytical-systems-inc-
http://www.tenovagroup.com/

* Chem.info Article 1, Article 2

Pictures:
Dichotomous sampler - http://www.esrl.noaa.gov/gmd/obop/mlo/programs/old/partisol/partisol.html

High volume sampler - http://www.esperanceport.com.au/envmon.asp

Size-selective sampler - http://www.hi-q.net/products/outdoor-high-volume-air-samplers/pm-10-series-high-volume-air-samplers/default.html

Thursday, January 10, 2013

#98 - Alberto Iperti New CEO of Tenova

Milan, January 2, 2013 – Alberto Iperti has been appointed chief executive officier of Tenova.

Mr. Iperti is 48 years old and is an electrical engineer graduated from Politecnico di Milano. He started his career working for various important consulting firms. In 2000, he entered the Techint Group, first as Planning Director of TenarisDalmine in Italy, and then as Managing Director of Exiros in Argentina, the procurement company of the Techint Group’s Steel Area. From 2005 on, he held the office of Tenaris Global Planning Director in Argentina as well.

In order to join Tenova he has left the role of Managing Director of Tenaris

Canada

, a position he has held since 2006. Tenaris is the leading supplier of tubes and related services for the world’s energy industry. Tenaris is part of the Techint Group and today includes 1,500 employees. During the last years Iperti has capably led the company, creating growth and expanding the business.

During his stay in Canada, Iperti was also elected Vice Chairman of the Canadian Steel Producers Association, and he was an executive member of the board of Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters, and a member of the Canadian Council of Chief Executives.

Alberto Iperti succeeds Gianluigi Nova who will continue his collaboration with the Tenova Board.

Tenova is a worldwide supplier of advanced technologies, products and engineering services for the iron, steel, and mining industries providing innovative, integrated solutions for complete process areas. Tenova's network companies operate in 26 countries on 5 continents with more than 4,600 people.

http://www.techint.com/default.aspx

http://canadiansteel.ca/

http://www.linkedin.com/company/nova-analytical-systems-inc-

http://www.tenovagroup.com/companies_hyl.php?id_company=2

Thursday, January 3, 2013

#97 - Pictures of DRI Reactor made by HYL for NUCOR STEEL in Louisiana, USA

In February 2011, Nucor Corporation, the premiere steel producer in the United States, signed a contract with Tenova HYL for the world’s largest single DR (Direct Reduction) module ever to be constructed.

Here is the original press release from the Tenova website.

This plant will produce 2.5 million tons per year of highly metalized, high carbon DRI (direct reduced iron) to Nucor steel plants. In terms of gas emissions behavior, this plant complies with the strictest EPA regulations for NOx and SOx output.* The HYL DRI plants also allow for selective capture of the CO2 in the exhaust gas. The CO2 can be sold as a valuable by-product.

Below are some pictures of the reactor as it makes its way from a barge to the site, then into the supporting structure.

By visually comparing the various vehicles, people, and other items around the reactor, you can get an idea of its immense size.

In a previous post, we discussed acquisition and analysis of various gas samples in and around this process. In a future post, we will discuss the gas analysis requirements of the storage silos that receive the product generated by the reactor.

HYL is a member of the Tenova Group. HYL actively develops projects for direct reduction plants worldwide under the Energiron brand name. They started up the world's first successful direct reduction plant in 1957. Over 40 DR modules have been supplied worldwide since then.

For information on gas analyzer systems, give Mike or Dave at Nova a call, or send us an e-mail.

1-800-295-3771

sales at nova-gas dot com

websales at nova-gas dot com

http://www.linkedin.com/company/nova-analytical-systems-inc-