On 9 September 2003, the government issued a warning that terrorists could employ chemical or biological weapons to attack civilian targets within the continental United States. At the time, we had already experienced examples of domestic weapons of mass destruction (WMD), such as the Oklahoma City bombing, the World Trade Center and Pentagon attacks, and the anthrax-contaminated mail. (1) Fortunately, the Department of Defense (DOD) established within the National Guard (NG) a unique unit organized and trained to provide domestic consequence management support for WMD incidents within the United States, its territories and possessions, the District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. (2) These 32 WMD civil support teams (CSTs) operate under the command and control of the state governors (and their equivalents in Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia) through their respective adjutants general. The National Guard Bureau (NGB) works closely with the U.S. Army Forces Command (FORSCOM) to ensure the standardization of the periodic CST external evaluations and has developed a Response Management Plan that places specific CSTs on a higher alert status for possible deployment to states that do not have a CST or that require backup from one or more additional CSTs. Understanding the skills of the WMD-CSTs, their organization and equipment, and how such teams are providing assistance throughout the country enhances our capability to respond quickly, effectively, and appropriately if disaster should threaten locally.
Background
Thursday, January 11, 2007
A stirling solution for combined heat and power
Already ridding an extensive line of distributed generation products under its energy|now brand, DTE Energy Technologies (DTE Tech) has expanded the renewable side of its lineup with the introduction of the ENX 55 energy system. The 55 kW cogeneration package is powered by a Stifling engine fueled by natural gas, propane, flare gas, methane, wood gas, biogas or, in its heat-fired version, heat produced from industrial processes.
"The way it (the ENX 55) is being employed today is in both CHP (combined heat and power) and power only packages," said Mark Fallek, vice president and chief marketing officer for the Farmington, Mich., company. "The applications that we think make sense are employing it in places where there is free gas--things like landfills or digesters at wastewater treatment plants or agricultural operations that produce methane, which can then be burned to produce power.
"In the agriculture arena, more and more digesters are being used to breakdown manure, making methane and carbon dioxide. We can take that gas and burn it in a Stirling engine for power as well as use the waste heat to keep The digesters warm. Digesters for these biogas applications need to be kept at 100[degrees]F to keep the anaerobic bacteria alive using the hot water. So it's a good marriage."
"The way it (the ENX 55) is being employed today is in both CHP (combined heat and power) and power only packages," said Mark Fallek, vice president and chief marketing officer for the Farmington, Mich., company. "The applications that we think make sense are employing it in places where there is free gas--things like landfills or digesters at wastewater treatment plants or agricultural operations that produce methane, which can then be burned to produce power.
"In the agriculture arena, more and more digesters are being used to breakdown manure, making methane and carbon dioxide. We can take that gas and burn it in a Stirling engine for power as well as use the waste heat to keep The digesters warm. Digesters for these biogas applications need to be kept at 100[degrees]F to keep the anaerobic bacteria alive using the hot water. So it's a good marriage."
Micro-cogen systems from marathon engine
It's fair to say that most generator set manufacturers don't make their own engines. The ones that do tend to be among the global giants. And then there's Marathon Engine Systems.
Marathon, based in East Troy, Wis., produces a line of application dedicated combined heat and power (CHP) gen-sets. The units range from 1 to 5 kW in natural gas or propane powered configurations with specific models tailored to cathodic protection, luxury homes, net metering, telecommunications, remote locations and true uninterruptible power.
At the heart of each system is Marathon's 272 cc, single-cylinder, four-cycle, liquid cooled 5K engine rated 7.5 hp at 1200 to 3600 rpm. The engine features a 4000-hour service interval and a 40,000-hour life which Gary Papas, vice president of engineering for Marathon, said equates into 1.6 million miles on an automobile engine. "This engine was designed to be durable so it can be placed in remote locations, running constantly," Papas noted. "In one remote prime power application it's connected to a gas well so it also has an unlimited fuel supply."
The cast iron engine was originally designed by the Gas Research Institute as a means to generate income during low usage months by powering residential heat pumps. Marathon purchased the rights to the engine in 1998. Today, it uses a top-mounted exhaust gas heat recuperator with three-way custom catalyst design to recover heat from the engine, generator and exhaust which Marathon said provides cogeneration with more than 90% efficiency. The 5K engine drives a high-efficiency, all-copper alternator with outside fitted coils designed by Marathon. The stator housing is coupled to the crankcase with the rotor mounted to the engine flywheel.
Advertisement The CARB 97 and EU Stage 3 certified 5K engine is used in all five gen-set models produced by Marathon and its European partner, Power Plus Technologies, Gera, Germany. Power Plus supplies the European market with the Ecopower gen-set, a 2 to 4.7 kW system designed for net metering. "Homeowners in Europe see a very fast return," said Papas. "It comes back to them in under three years." The Ecopower unit also has application in car washes, laundromats, homes, schools, lodges, hotels, small industry, agricultural, sport centers and swimming pools.
Marathon offers a modernized CHP version with its stainless steel enclosed PowerLast XLC package, as a prime power system for luxury homes. The PowerLast XLC produces 5 kW of grid independent power and 27,000 to 40,000 btu of heat for swimming pools, water heaters or hydronic heating in new homes. "It takes away the functions of the furnace, water heater and standby generator;' said Papas. "It will be common in the future to have this offered as an option by every new home builder."
While the majority of Marthon's lineup is used in some form of heating, its Minotaur 2500 gen-set is a 2.5 kW single phase system designed for cathodic protection of pipelines. The units are typically placed at 40-mile intervals, sending electrical current in both directions to inhibit the corrosion process or power railway switching and communications. The unit has a bullet-proof enclosure and in most instances processes the recovered heat through a radiator.
Also featured in the company's line up is the non-enclosed standup Power Rack, a 1 to 2.5 kW unit targeted toward the telecommunication sector and for prime uninterruptible power, a UPS unit. The UPS system provides 1 to 5 kW of pure sine-wave power at 120 Vac or 240 Vac. Marathon said the gen-set is designed with more than 400 amps of battery assistance, winch can supply two days of power if the engine is shut down. The UPS system targets internet hosts, banking, medical companies or other industries where unexpected outages cause costly or catastrophic interruptions, explained Papas.
Marathon, based in East Troy, Wis., produces a line of application dedicated combined heat and power (CHP) gen-sets. The units range from 1 to 5 kW in natural gas or propane powered configurations with specific models tailored to cathodic protection, luxury homes, net metering, telecommunications, remote locations and true uninterruptible power.
At the heart of each system is Marathon's 272 cc, single-cylinder, four-cycle, liquid cooled 5K engine rated 7.5 hp at 1200 to 3600 rpm. The engine features a 4000-hour service interval and a 40,000-hour life which Gary Papas, vice president of engineering for Marathon, said equates into 1.6 million miles on an automobile engine. "This engine was designed to be durable so it can be placed in remote locations, running constantly," Papas noted. "In one remote prime power application it's connected to a gas well so it also has an unlimited fuel supply."
The cast iron engine was originally designed by the Gas Research Institute as a means to generate income during low usage months by powering residential heat pumps. Marathon purchased the rights to the engine in 1998. Today, it uses a top-mounted exhaust gas heat recuperator with three-way custom catalyst design to recover heat from the engine, generator and exhaust which Marathon said provides cogeneration with more than 90% efficiency. The 5K engine drives a high-efficiency, all-copper alternator with outside fitted coils designed by Marathon. The stator housing is coupled to the crankcase with the rotor mounted to the engine flywheel.
Advertisement The CARB 97 and EU Stage 3 certified 5K engine is used in all five gen-set models produced by Marathon and its European partner, Power Plus Technologies, Gera, Germany. Power Plus supplies the European market with the Ecopower gen-set, a 2 to 4.7 kW system designed for net metering. "Homeowners in Europe see a very fast return," said Papas. "It comes back to them in under three years." The Ecopower unit also has application in car washes, laundromats, homes, schools, lodges, hotels, small industry, agricultural, sport centers and swimming pools.
Marathon offers a modernized CHP version with its stainless steel enclosed PowerLast XLC package, as a prime power system for luxury homes. The PowerLast XLC produces 5 kW of grid independent power and 27,000 to 40,000 btu of heat for swimming pools, water heaters or hydronic heating in new homes. "It takes away the functions of the furnace, water heater and standby generator;' said Papas. "It will be common in the future to have this offered as an option by every new home builder."
While the majority of Marthon's lineup is used in some form of heating, its Minotaur 2500 gen-set is a 2.5 kW single phase system designed for cathodic protection of pipelines. The units are typically placed at 40-mile intervals, sending electrical current in both directions to inhibit the corrosion process or power railway switching and communications. The unit has a bullet-proof enclosure and in most instances processes the recovered heat through a radiator.
Also featured in the company's line up is the non-enclosed standup Power Rack, a 1 to 2.5 kW unit targeted toward the telecommunication sector and for prime uninterruptible power, a UPS unit. The UPS system provides 1 to 5 kW of pure sine-wave power at 120 Vac or 240 Vac. Marathon said the gen-set is designed with more than 400 amps of battery assistance, winch can supply two days of power if the engine is shut down. The UPS system targets internet hosts, banking, medical companies or other industries where unexpected outages cause costly or catastrophic interruptions, explained Papas.
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