KESS is designed to be configured to provide voltage regulation and support, reduction of peak power demands, recapture of braking energy, and short-term energy sink. Current and planned installations range from single UPT Kess 50kW units to multiple systems with a capacity of 2.4MW. The technology has been selected by a number of operators including New York City Transit (NYCT), Sytral in Lyon, France, Paris Transport Authority (RATP), and NDK, Japan, on behalf of JR East.
At the heart of the UPT Kess is a patented, high-speed composite flywheel. The modular unit stores 14MJ of energy, of which up to 11MJ can be used usefully, depending on the application. The design life of the rotor and beatings is 20 years or 10 million discharges. The flywheel and bearings are maintenance free, with annual maintenance checks required of the vacuum pump oil and cooling systems.
Kess is differentiated from many other forms of energy storage such as large battery banks, by being able to respond rapidly and regularly to cyclic loads and hence provide a power management capability. In such applications, a control algorithm calculates the required energy flow (in both direction and magnitude) based on the dc bus voltage. It contains three distinct control regions: discharge, recovery and charge. The recovery region can be used to realign the rotor speed to any pre-defined level, depending on the application. This allows the system to act as both a current source and sink, smoothing out variations in supply or load demand.
Each Kess is connected directly to a dc bus and can be operated individually or in groups. But for system flexibility and enhanced reliability, and to cater for possible future expansion, each Kess operates as a single system, independent of other units. This ensures that all power transfer decisions are made solely from the value of the dc bus voltage, which is common to all units. Load demand is automatically shared between all units, giving n+1 reliability.
A 1MW system has been installed on NYCT's Far Rockaway units, test track. The primary aim was to support track voltage, with an additional benefit of energy saving. The ten 100kW machines have been in operation for more than 10,000 hours, reinforcing the voltage of both the test track during testing of new trains being supplied to NYCT, and the adjacent revenue line during normal operation.
The voltage, without Kess support, dropped typically from a high of 687V, when a train was braking, to 625V when the train was accelerating. Voltage regulation at the Far Rockaway test track was poor. Even with the no load voltage set at 680V, the voltage dropped below 600V during train acceleration trials when a normal train passed the test track.
When Kess was in operation, and a test train accelerated from a standing start, the voltage never dropped below 625V. This was still the case even under the worst conditions when a revenue train passed the test track site at the same time.
In view of the recent major power cuts experienced in eastern Canada and northeastern United States, Italy, and London, a test was conducted. It involved switching off all power to the test track to see how far the UPT Kess could make the train travel on kinetic energy alone. The train reached a speed of 45km/h travelling for a period of 1.7 minutes, covering 1.2km.
Now that the system has proved its capability, there are plans to upgrade it to an optimum 2MW using 10 of UPT's latest 200kW units.
Since its inception, the Lyon metro has always regenerated energy during braking with accelerating trains absorbing the energy sent back to the line by braking trains. If there are insufficient trains available to absorb the energy, over-voltage occurs, which can cause wear and damage to the equipment on board the rolling stock. This issue of excess regenerated energy is greatest on the rack Line C, which has a gradient of 18% on a 500m section. Trains re-inject braking energy during their descent at Hotel de Ville station.
In this instance, unlike Far Rockaway, which was set up to give both voltage support and a limited level of energy recovery, the machines were configured to give the maximum level of energy recovery. UPT says the system installed at Hotel de Ville substation is working well and will be extended to a second phase installation at Sans Souci, on Line D.
Installation has commenced of four 200kW UPT Kess units at the Fort d'Aubervilliers substation on Line 7 of the Paris metro. These will provide voltage support to the line while equipment is replaced in an adjacent substation.
Undertaking routine maintenance and necessary repair of substations and related equipment has become increasingly difficult on congested metros. Increased ridership and demands for shorter headways make it very difficult to isolate substations whilst providing adequate voltage support and efficient operation of the system. It is a growing problem; a traditional substation replacement is not a viable option because of time and cost
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
Caterpillar will meet regulations without SCR technology - Stockpile: the latest industry news
Caterpillar Inc. joined other U.S. diesel engine manufacturers in announcing its intention to meet 2007 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) emissions standards without the use of what the company calls costly and complex Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) technology.
SCR is an engine aftertreatment technology that requires the availability of an ammonia-based urea fluid to be injected into the exhaust to reduce nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions in diesel engines. SCR requires a special production and distribution infrastructure for delivery of this additional fluid to the vehicle, says Caterpillar, adding another level of complexity for truck customers. Moreover, the company says, there are troublesome environmental questions related to the significant challenges associated with enforcing the use of urea in on-highway trucks and buses.
"Our goal is to provide the North American trucking industry with engines that meet EPA's 2007 regulations without sacrificing performance or fuel efficiency," says Richard L. Thompson, Caterpillar group president with responsibility for the company's engine division. "We can meet EPA's 2007 regulations and customer needs without SCR. Our ACERT technology provides a significant breakthrough because our customers will avoid the burden of complex and costly technologies associated with SCR
Thompson says, "Caterpillar, like other engine manufacturers, successfully uses SCR to reduce emissions in stationary generator sets. However, our engineers do not believe that SCR is the best emissions reduction technology choice in the United States for on-highway mobile applications. We encourage the EPA to remain technology neutral, and avoid mandating SCR as a future emissions reduction technology."
Diesel engine manufacturers must commit to an emissions reduction technology path well in advance of 2007 production that meets aggressive customer standards for performance, cost effectiveness, quality, reliability and durability. Based on the EPA program requirements, industry technology decisions for 2007 are currently being finalized
SCR is an engine aftertreatment technology that requires the availability of an ammonia-based urea fluid to be injected into the exhaust to reduce nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions in diesel engines. SCR requires a special production and distribution infrastructure for delivery of this additional fluid to the vehicle, says Caterpillar, adding another level of complexity for truck customers. Moreover, the company says, there are troublesome environmental questions related to the significant challenges associated with enforcing the use of urea in on-highway trucks and buses.
"Our goal is to provide the North American trucking industry with engines that meet EPA's 2007 regulations without sacrificing performance or fuel efficiency," says Richard L. Thompson, Caterpillar group president with responsibility for the company's engine division. "We can meet EPA's 2007 regulations and customer needs without SCR. Our ACERT technology provides a significant breakthrough because our customers will avoid the burden of complex and costly technologies associated with SCR
Thompson says, "Caterpillar, like other engine manufacturers, successfully uses SCR to reduce emissions in stationary generator sets. However, our engineers do not believe that SCR is the best emissions reduction technology choice in the United States for on-highway mobile applications. We encourage the EPA to remain technology neutral, and avoid mandating SCR as a future emissions reduction technology."
Diesel engine manufacturers must commit to an emissions reduction technology path well in advance of 2007 production that meets aggressive customer standards for performance, cost effectiveness, quality, reliability and durability. Based on the EPA program requirements, industry technology decisions for 2007 are currently being finalized
EPA lab upgrades test capability: Horiba to help modernize five test sites at vehicle and emissions lab
With phase-in dates for emission standards mandated by the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments looming, the U.S. EPA will soon enhance its capabilities to conduct low-level gaseous and particulate emissions testing at its National Vehicle and Fuel Emissions Laboratory (NVFEL) in Arm Arbor, Mich. Driven by the need to test Tier 2 vehicles, Tier 2 and 3 nonroad engines, and 2007-compliant heavy-duty on-road engines, EPA recently awarded contracts to global emission test-system supplier Horiba Instruments to equip five test sites at NVFEL.
Targets for the comprehensive modernization program include two light-duty chassis sites, one medium/light-duty chassis site and two heavy-duty engine sites. (See related chart for summary of equipment).
"The projects to upgrade EPA's emissions testing capabilities in support of the Tier 2 light-duty and 2007 heavy-duty standards are clearly important for Horiba, but also significant for the entire industry," according to Carl Squire, Horiba's director of sales & marketing. "Horiba has made a considerable investment in measurement technology and the contracts with EPA reaffirm our leadership position within the industry Here is a brief overview of each of the NVFEL test sites:
Tier 2 Automotive--Perhaps the most significant feature of Tier 2, beyond the emission reductions relative in Tier 1, is its extended applicability. One set of standards will apply to cars, light-duty trucks, and medium-duty passenger vehicles such as SUVs regardless of the fuel they use--gasoline, diesel, oxygenated fuels, alcohol fuels, or gaseous fuels. EPA's new test site, designated D329, will be equipped to test any type of vehicle that is subject to Tier 2 regulations, while existing sites D005 and D002 will be dedicated to Tier 2 testing of light-duty cars and trucks fueled with gasoline.
All-Purpose Test Site--Site D329 will support testing of front-, rear-, four-and all-wheel drive light--duty and medium-duty vehicles, including those with advanced powertrain technology such as regenerative braking. To accommodate the wide variety of vehicles, Horiba will supply an ECDM-48M 4WD chassis dynamometer with up to 14,000 lb. of inertia simulation. The ECDM family of chassis dynamometers is manufactured for Horiba by MAFIA GmbH of Haldenwang, Germany.
Two MEXA-7000 analytical systems--one for diesel and one for gasoline--equipped with Horiba's advanced low emission analyzers will measure ultra-low levels of CO, THC, C[H.sub.4], and N[O.sub.x] as well as C[O.sub.2]. The THC, C[H.sub.4], and N[O.sub.x] analyzers for gasoline testing offer scalable dual ranges from 1 to 50 and 10 to 500 ppm C, while CO is scalable from 10 to 500 ppm. The diesel MEXA system includes a heated oven with THe, C[H.sub.4] and vacuum N[O.sub.x] analyzers. Both systems will provide bag and continuous dilute measurement capability. A photoacoustic spectroscopy infrared detector will be mounted in the MEXA-7000 cabinet and be incorporated into the MEXA7000 sample handling system for alternative fuels analysis. In addition, a stand-alone MEXA-1110FRF fast-response FID will allow EPA to confirm BMD response time.
The sampling system design for site D329 will support vehicles running on any fuel with a combination diesel/ gasoline constant volume sampler (CVS), a bag mini-diluter (BMD), ultra-sonic direct exhaust flowmeter and a particulate sampling system. The design permits both the BMD and CVS to be used simultaneously to allow direct correlation of emission results generated by the two methods, Horiba said.
To meet the flexibility requirements of site D329, the CVS will include two separate dilution tunnels and remote mixing tees for gasoline and diesel sample collection. Mounted on an overhead rail system, the diesel tunnel and mixing tee can easily be positioned near the vehicle for testing or moved to the side when not in use. The gasoline tunnel located on a cart--can be mounted in place of the diesel tunnel when needed. The remote mixing tees include a smooth approach orifice (SAO) for measuring dilution airflow so that tailpipe exhaust volume can be calculated by subtracting the dilution airflow rate from the CVS bulkstream flow rate.
The CVS exhaust sampler provides 15 selectable bulkstream flow rates up to 1800 scfm using four critical flow venturis. Twelve bags--four ambient, four diesel, one "dirty" gasoline and three "clean" ,gasoline--with dedicated "clean" and "dirty" sample lines, assure accurate measurements by preventing higher concentration samples from contaminating the "clean" line, the company said.
Targets for the comprehensive modernization program include two light-duty chassis sites, one medium/light-duty chassis site and two heavy-duty engine sites. (See related chart for summary of equipment).
"The projects to upgrade EPA's emissions testing capabilities in support of the Tier 2 light-duty and 2007 heavy-duty standards are clearly important for Horiba, but also significant for the entire industry," according to Carl Squire, Horiba's director of sales & marketing. "Horiba has made a considerable investment in measurement technology and the contracts with EPA reaffirm our leadership position within the industry Here is a brief overview of each of the NVFEL test sites:
Tier 2 Automotive--Perhaps the most significant feature of Tier 2, beyond the emission reductions relative in Tier 1, is its extended applicability. One set of standards will apply to cars, light-duty trucks, and medium-duty passenger vehicles such as SUVs regardless of the fuel they use--gasoline, diesel, oxygenated fuels, alcohol fuels, or gaseous fuels. EPA's new test site, designated D329, will be equipped to test any type of vehicle that is subject to Tier 2 regulations, while existing sites D005 and D002 will be dedicated to Tier 2 testing of light-duty cars and trucks fueled with gasoline.
All-Purpose Test Site--Site D329 will support testing of front-, rear-, four-and all-wheel drive light--duty and medium-duty vehicles, including those with advanced powertrain technology such as regenerative braking. To accommodate the wide variety of vehicles, Horiba will supply an ECDM-48M 4WD chassis dynamometer with up to 14,000 lb. of inertia simulation. The ECDM family of chassis dynamometers is manufactured for Horiba by MAFIA GmbH of Haldenwang, Germany.
Two MEXA-7000 analytical systems--one for diesel and one for gasoline--equipped with Horiba's advanced low emission analyzers will measure ultra-low levels of CO, THC, C[H.sub.4], and N[O.sub.x] as well as C[O.sub.2]. The THC, C[H.sub.4], and N[O.sub.x] analyzers for gasoline testing offer scalable dual ranges from 1 to 50 and 10 to 500 ppm C, while CO is scalable from 10 to 500 ppm. The diesel MEXA system includes a heated oven with THe, C[H.sub.4] and vacuum N[O.sub.x] analyzers. Both systems will provide bag and continuous dilute measurement capability. A photoacoustic spectroscopy infrared detector will be mounted in the MEXA-7000 cabinet and be incorporated into the MEXA7000 sample handling system for alternative fuels analysis. In addition, a stand-alone MEXA-1110FRF fast-response FID will allow EPA to confirm BMD response time.
The sampling system design for site D329 will support vehicles running on any fuel with a combination diesel/ gasoline constant volume sampler (CVS), a bag mini-diluter (BMD), ultra-sonic direct exhaust flowmeter and a particulate sampling system. The design permits both the BMD and CVS to be used simultaneously to allow direct correlation of emission results generated by the two methods, Horiba said.
To meet the flexibility requirements of site D329, the CVS will include two separate dilution tunnels and remote mixing tees for gasoline and diesel sample collection. Mounted on an overhead rail system, the diesel tunnel and mixing tee can easily be positioned near the vehicle for testing or moved to the side when not in use. The gasoline tunnel located on a cart--can be mounted in place of the diesel tunnel when needed. The remote mixing tees include a smooth approach orifice (SAO) for measuring dilution airflow so that tailpipe exhaust volume can be calculated by subtracting the dilution airflow rate from the CVS bulkstream flow rate.
The CVS exhaust sampler provides 15 selectable bulkstream flow rates up to 1800 scfm using four critical flow venturis. Twelve bags--four ambient, four diesel, one "dirty" gasoline and three "clean" ,gasoline--with dedicated "clean" and "dirty" sample lines, assure accurate measurements by preventing higher concentration samples from contaminating the "clean" line, the company said.
Ground Safety Award of Distinction - Safety Salutes - Brief Article
T Sgt. Kevin Duffy prior to a 31st Combat Communications Squadron field training exercise, expertly packaged 750 gallons of diesel fuel for air mobility and road transportation. Later, at the deployed location, he inspected all generator connections and ensured all facilities were properly grounded prior to applying power. During the setup of the Wing Operations Center, a half-gallon of fuel was spilled inside the tent while a tent heater was being replaced. Duffy quickly responded to the fuel spill and took immediate action to remove the fuel. He also ensured the tent was adequately ventilated so toxic vapors would not accumulate. His quick actions prevented significant personal injury and eliminated a fire hazard. Duffy then conducted frequent fire inspections of each facility throughout the remainder of the exercise. He concentrated on placement and serviceability of fire extinguishers near each mobile generator and ensured proper operation of tent heaters by deployed personnel. After the exercise, Sgt. Du ffy learned of a safety incident that occurred in another squadron when an internal power supply short-circuited, causing damage when power was applied. Duffy conducted an investigation and determined the cause was due to a reversal of the neutral wiring and the C-phase power. Recognizing a potential problem, Duffy immediately inspected the squadron's 10 remaining power distribution boxes; the inspection revealed no other wiring deficiencies. Sgt. Duffy's initiative has improved the squadron's overall safety awareness associated with deployment operations
Anuvu Fuel Cell Develops Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicle for a Neighborhood Electric Vehicle / Generator for REGI U.S., Inc. / Reg Technologies Inc
VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- REGI U.S., Inc. (OTCBB:RGUS)(BCN:RGJ) / Reg Technologies Inc. (TSX VENTURE:RRE)(OTCBB:REGRF) wish to announce that Anuvu Incorporated has scheduled production and delivery of a fuel cell-powered Neighborhood Electric Vehicle with On-Board Power generator to Reg Technologies Inc. for evaluation and testing. A recent market demand for highly-efficient NEVs has been seen as gasoline prices have risen dramatically and these small lightweight vehicles generate zero-pollution and have low operating costs. The addition of a fuel cell system makes these vehicles far more reliable and robust in operation, allowing the vehicles to be used continuously at multi-building facilities, golf courses/country clubs, retirement and self-sustaining communities, and other locales that have need for short-range passenger and/or light utility level mobility. The fuel cell/battery hybrid power system offers a rapid deployment solution that can be competitive economically and robust technically.
The design for the fuel cell power system for golf carts/NEVs would be a universal range extending power package that would be added to existing vehicle designs. The fuel cell would provide 2.5 kW of net power to the NEV, providing substantial range extension and enhanced performance over the entire duty cycle. This on-board fuel cell recharging system could triple the operating time of an existing NEV battery pack, making a two-hour pack last 6 hours. Providing a range increase from 25-50 miles per charge to more than 100-150 miles per charge. The fuel cell would be hydrogen fueled from a compressed tank which can be refueled in minutes instead of the lengthy 8-10 hour charge required by conventional battery NEVs. The fuel cell would run continuously while the vehicle is in operation, keeping the state of charge of the battery pack as high as possible during operation. This constant on-board recharging will provide extra power to the user and greatly extend battery life and reduce battery recharge cycle time. Hydrogen would be stored onboard the vehicle to provide approximately 6 hours of full-power operation before refueling. In moderate quantities, this system could be cost effective because of the dramatically lower daily fuel and maintenance costs compared to battery recharging. In higher volumes of thousands of units the fuel cell power system can be cost competitive in terms of initial capital costs and therefore have a drastically lower cost of ownership over the life of the system.
In addition to increasing range and driving performance of the vehicle the fuel cell system will also mobile power generation with on-board AC outlets that tools, appliances or electronics can be plugged into for up to 24 hours of continuous operation. This makes NEV fleets a perfect tool to aid in the on-the-ground coordination and response efforts of first-responders to emergencies whether they be power outages, natural disasters or security concerns
The design for the fuel cell power system for golf carts/NEVs would be a universal range extending power package that would be added to existing vehicle designs. The fuel cell would provide 2.5 kW of net power to the NEV, providing substantial range extension and enhanced performance over the entire duty cycle. This on-board fuel cell recharging system could triple the operating time of an existing NEV battery pack, making a two-hour pack last 6 hours. Providing a range increase from 25-50 miles per charge to more than 100-150 miles per charge. The fuel cell would be hydrogen fueled from a compressed tank which can be refueled in minutes instead of the lengthy 8-10 hour charge required by conventional battery NEVs. The fuel cell would run continuously while the vehicle is in operation, keeping the state of charge of the battery pack as high as possible during operation. This constant on-board recharging will provide extra power to the user and greatly extend battery life and reduce battery recharge cycle time. Hydrogen would be stored onboard the vehicle to provide approximately 6 hours of full-power operation before refueling. In moderate quantities, this system could be cost effective because of the dramatically lower daily fuel and maintenance costs compared to battery recharging. In higher volumes of thousands of units the fuel cell power system can be cost competitive in terms of initial capital costs and therefore have a drastically lower cost of ownership over the life of the system.
In addition to increasing range and driving performance of the vehicle the fuel cell system will also mobile power generation with on-board AC outlets that tools, appliances or electronics can be plugged into for up to 24 hours of continuous operation. This makes NEV fleets a perfect tool to aid in the on-the-ground coordination and response efforts of first-responders to emergencies whether they be power outages, natural disasters or security concerns
Monday, February 05, 2007
Anuvu Fuel Cell Develops Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicle for a Neighborhood Electric Vehicle / Generator for REGI U.S., Inc. / Reg Technologies Inc
VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- REGI U.S., Inc. (OTCBB:RGUS)(BCN:RGJ) / Reg Technologies Inc. (TSX VENTURE:RRE)(OTCBB:REGRF) wish to announce that Anuvu Incorporated has scheduled production and delivery of a fuel cell-powered Neighborhood Electric Vehicle with On-Board Power generator to Reg Technologies Inc. for evaluation and testing. A recent market demand for highly-efficient NEVs has been seen as gasoline prices have risen dramatically and these small lightweight vehicles generate zero-pollution and have low operating costs. The addition of a fuel cell system makes these vehicles far more reliable and robust in operation, allowing the vehicles to be used continuously at multi-building facilities, golf courses/country clubs, retirement and self-sustaining communities, and other locales that have need for short-range passenger and/or light utility level mobility. The fuel cell/battery hybrid power system offers a rapid deployment solution that can be competitive economically and robust technically.
The design for the fuel cell power system for golf carts/NEVs would be a universal range extending power package that would be added to existing vehicle designs. The fuel cell would provide 2.5 kW of net power to the NEV, providing substantial range extension and enhanced performance over the entire duty cycle. This on-board fuel cell recharging system could triple the operating time of an existing NEV battery pack, making a two-hour pack last 6 hours. Providing a range increase from 25-50 miles per charge to more than 100-150 miles per charge. The fuel cell would be hydrogen fueled from a compressed tank which can be refueled in minutes instead of the lengthy 8-10 hour charge required by conventional battery NEVs. The fuel cell would run continuously while the vehicle is in operation, keeping the state of charge of the battery pack as high as possible during operation. This constant on-board recharging will provide extra power to the user and greatly extend battery life and reduce battery recharge cycle time
In addition to increasing range and driving performance of the vehicle the fuel cell system will also mobile power generation with on-board AC outlets that tools, appliances or electronics can be plugged into for up to 24 hours of continuous operation. This makes NEV fleets a perfect tool to aid in the on-the-ground coordination and response efforts of first-responders to emergencies whether they be power outages, natural disasters or security concerns.
Reg Technologies Inc. owns the exclusive distribution rights for Canada and REGI U.S., Inc. has the option for the rights for Europe.
ABOUT ANUVU INCORPORATED:
Anuvu designs, manufactures, sells and licenses patented hydrogen fuel cell stacks and competitive energy systems worldwide to OEMs, governments, private R&D laboratories and academic institutions. Our standard PEM fuel cell stacks range from 1.5 kilowatt (kW) to 6kW. We have been successfully delivering fuel cells to various markets for over five years, with the goal of becoming the leading volume supplier of fuel cell systems in the 1kW to 100kW range. After ten years of R&D, Anuvu is focusing on the broad commercialization of its fuel cells by targeting existing stationary and specialized mobile markets, such as indoor forklift, marine, data and network backup power, remote communications facilities, critical fail-over systems and small urban vehicles.
The design for the fuel cell power system for golf carts/NEVs would be a universal range extending power package that would be added to existing vehicle designs. The fuel cell would provide 2.5 kW of net power to the NEV, providing substantial range extension and enhanced performance over the entire duty cycle. This on-board fuel cell recharging system could triple the operating time of an existing NEV battery pack, making a two-hour pack last 6 hours. Providing a range increase from 25-50 miles per charge to more than 100-150 miles per charge. The fuel cell would be hydrogen fueled from a compressed tank which can be refueled in minutes instead of the lengthy 8-10 hour charge required by conventional battery NEVs. The fuel cell would run continuously while the vehicle is in operation, keeping the state of charge of the battery pack as high as possible during operation. This constant on-board recharging will provide extra power to the user and greatly extend battery life and reduce battery recharge cycle time
In addition to increasing range and driving performance of the vehicle the fuel cell system will also mobile power generation with on-board AC outlets that tools, appliances or electronics can be plugged into for up to 24 hours of continuous operation. This makes NEV fleets a perfect tool to aid in the on-the-ground coordination and response efforts of first-responders to emergencies whether they be power outages, natural disasters or security concerns.
Reg Technologies Inc. owns the exclusive distribution rights for Canada and REGI U.S., Inc. has the option for the rights for Europe.
ABOUT ANUVU INCORPORATED:
Anuvu designs, manufactures, sells and licenses patented hydrogen fuel cell stacks and competitive energy systems worldwide to OEMs, governments, private R&D laboratories and academic institutions. Our standard PEM fuel cell stacks range from 1.5 kilowatt (kW) to 6kW. We have been successfully delivering fuel cells to various markets for over five years, with the goal of becoming the leading volume supplier of fuel cell systems in the 1kW to 100kW range. After ten years of R&D, Anuvu is focusing on the broad commercialization of its fuel cells by targeting existing stationary and specialized mobile markets, such as indoor forklift, marine, data and network backup power, remote communications facilities, critical fail-over systems and small urban vehicles.
Electrical-based particulate reduction system from Miratech - emissions technology
Miratech Corp. has announced the availability of its new Rypos Trap Active Diesel Particulate Filter System, which is designed to use patented RYPOS technology to regenerate trapped particulate matter from diesel engine exhaust.
The system is designed to perform well with land- and marine-based generator sets, water pumps and other direct-drive diesel engine driven applications. It is designed for easy, low cost installation in existing exhaust systems and includes flanged ends and high temperature gasket materials to prevent exhaust gas leakage.
Miratech, which is headquartered in Tulsa, Okla., pointed out that most soot filters are made of extruded ceramic material that tends to be brittle and often develops cracks due to thermal chock and pressure pulsation within the exhaust steam. It said the Rypos Trap was developed with a sintered metal fiber filter that is much less susceptible to cracking due to the fact that the metal conducts heat and is more ductile than its extruded ceramic counterparts.
"The Rypos Trap's technically advanced design incorporates a sintered metal fiber filter which over the life of the product is more durable. This is especially helpful when operators are working in transient conditions," said Jim McDonald, Miratech's manager of business development
The modular, easily replaceable metal fiber filter element is the key to the new system's performance, according to the company, but other design features help assure its long life and dependability.
In addition to the media, the system's filter support structure and reactor housing each have been designed to accommodate the engine exhaust gas flow, pulsations, pressure and thermal conditions experienced during normal engine operating conditions without damage. As a result, the company said the Rypos Trap can function under all commonly experienced engine operating conditions without distortion, vibration or damage to the filter system.
The filter itself is designed to operate within allowable engine back pressure requirements. When the back pressure reaches a preset level, an electrical current is applied across the filter elements to heat and oxidize the accumulated soot and soluble organic fraction.
The company points out that the use of electrical current to burn off soot is one of the Rypos Trap's truly distinctive features.
Whereas many systems depend upon a high exhaust temperature or catalyst that is subject to poisoning to burn off the soot, the Rypos Trap's electrical regeneration system allows it to function regardless of exhaust temperature or engine load factor. Since the Rypos Trap does not rely on exhaust temperature as a means of regeneration, it requires no catalytic coating to work and it works from the moment the engine starts.
A key benefit to the Rypos Trap, according to the company, is that, unlike catalytic systems that can be poisoned by sulfur, especially at the low temperatures encountered during start-up, its operation is completely independent of the level of sulfur in the fuel being used. With the Rypos Trap it is not necessary to use low sulfur fuel to meet emissions requirements. As low sulfur fuel is generally more expensive than other available options, this can save considerable expense.
Operation with the Rypos Trap results in an especially low exhaust pressure drop, according to Miratech, which results in minimal impact on a diesel engine's power output and fuel consumption. The company said that with the Rypos Trap in place, the typical exhaust pressure drop is less than 20 in. [H.sub.2]0 (28 mm Hg). That value complies with engine manufacturer back-pressure requirements and will not affect engine warranties.
The system is designed to perform well with land- and marine-based generator sets, water pumps and other direct-drive diesel engine driven applications. It is designed for easy, low cost installation in existing exhaust systems and includes flanged ends and high temperature gasket materials to prevent exhaust gas leakage.
Miratech, which is headquartered in Tulsa, Okla., pointed out that most soot filters are made of extruded ceramic material that tends to be brittle and often develops cracks due to thermal chock and pressure pulsation within the exhaust steam. It said the Rypos Trap was developed with a sintered metal fiber filter that is much less susceptible to cracking due to the fact that the metal conducts heat and is more ductile than its extruded ceramic counterparts.
"The Rypos Trap's technically advanced design incorporates a sintered metal fiber filter which over the life of the product is more durable. This is especially helpful when operators are working in transient conditions," said Jim McDonald, Miratech's manager of business development
The modular, easily replaceable metal fiber filter element is the key to the new system's performance, according to the company, but other design features help assure its long life and dependability.
In addition to the media, the system's filter support structure and reactor housing each have been designed to accommodate the engine exhaust gas flow, pulsations, pressure and thermal conditions experienced during normal engine operating conditions without damage. As a result, the company said the Rypos Trap can function under all commonly experienced engine operating conditions without distortion, vibration or damage to the filter system.
The filter itself is designed to operate within allowable engine back pressure requirements. When the back pressure reaches a preset level, an electrical current is applied across the filter elements to heat and oxidize the accumulated soot and soluble organic fraction.
The company points out that the use of electrical current to burn off soot is one of the Rypos Trap's truly distinctive features.
Whereas many systems depend upon a high exhaust temperature or catalyst that is subject to poisoning to burn off the soot, the Rypos Trap's electrical regeneration system allows it to function regardless of exhaust temperature or engine load factor. Since the Rypos Trap does not rely on exhaust temperature as a means of regeneration, it requires no catalytic coating to work and it works from the moment the engine starts.
A key benefit to the Rypos Trap, according to the company, is that, unlike catalytic systems that can be poisoned by sulfur, especially at the low temperatures encountered during start-up, its operation is completely independent of the level of sulfur in the fuel being used. With the Rypos Trap it is not necessary to use low sulfur fuel to meet emissions requirements. As low sulfur fuel is generally more expensive than other available options, this can save considerable expense.
Operation with the Rypos Trap results in an especially low exhaust pressure drop, according to Miratech, which results in minimal impact on a diesel engine's power output and fuel consumption. The company said that with the Rypos Trap in place, the typical exhaust pressure drop is less than 20 in. [H.sub.2]0 (28 mm Hg). That value complies with engine manufacturer back-pressure requirements and will not affect engine warranties.
Rental power at the races - Cat Rental Power generator sets used during Gateway International Raceway renovation in Madison, IL
Officials at Gateway International Raceway, Madison, Ill., were faced with the dilemma of how to provide lighting for their weekly drag racing programs at a facility that was undergoing major renovations - and with the power transformers were eight weeks from delivery. While late summer daylight allowed for racing into the evening hours, problems began to occur when the track's three-day-a-week racing programs began to run into the shortened daylight of the fall.
Enter Fabick Power Systems, the Fenton, Mo.-based Caterpillar distributor to supply two Cat Rental Power generator sets until normal power was restored to the race track. To handle the track's generated power needs, Fabick supplied two units, a Caterpillar XQ225 (rated 225 kW prime) and an Olympian CT60 (rated 48 kW prime), both trailer-mounted and with sound-attenuated enclosures.
"Until we got those generators, we were hurting," said Bob Dicus, Gateway's operations manager. "We used them every Wednesday, Friday and Saturday during the month of October
The model XQ225 rental power unit is powered by a six-cylinder, turbocharged and aftercooled Caterpillar 3306 diesel engine rated 316 hp, featuring a Woodward electronic 1724 governor. The Olympian CT60 generator set is powered by a four-cylinder turbocharged Caterpillar 3054 diesel rated 80 hp and governed by a Barber-Colman electronic governor.
Other gen-set accessories on the XQ225 unit include a Master Controls 5 amp battery charger, Merlin Gerin circuit breakers and a Watlow 3000 W jacket water heater. On the Olympian CT60, accessories include a Donaldson air cleaner, Kim Hotstart 1800 W water heater and a Stanadyne fuel injection pump.
The XQ225 gen-set was used to power a Musco lighting system used to illuminate the racing surface, while the CT60 was used to operate the track's timing system. The timing system required a very low spike or surge rate and, according to Dicus, the Olympian CT60 operated the timing system with no glitches.
Caterpillar's XQ line of rental packages include an EMPC II (electronic modular control panel) that is shock mounted in a separate enclosure compartment for easy viewing and servicing. The distribution panel allows even an inexperienced rental customer to safely identify output voltages and output terminals feature safety interlocks. Also, an array of receptacles are available with individual circuit breakers.
Both gen-sets offer a variety of automatic engine shutdowns, a.c. metering packages and engine gauges. Optional features for both units include the battery chargers and jacket water heaters and road ready trailers.
Enter Fabick Power Systems, the Fenton, Mo.-based Caterpillar distributor to supply two Cat Rental Power generator sets until normal power was restored to the race track. To handle the track's generated power needs, Fabick supplied two units, a Caterpillar XQ225 (rated 225 kW prime) and an Olympian CT60 (rated 48 kW prime), both trailer-mounted and with sound-attenuated enclosures.
"Until we got those generators, we were hurting," said Bob Dicus, Gateway's operations manager. "We used them every Wednesday, Friday and Saturday during the month of October
The model XQ225 rental power unit is powered by a six-cylinder, turbocharged and aftercooled Caterpillar 3306 diesel engine rated 316 hp, featuring a Woodward electronic 1724 governor. The Olympian CT60 generator set is powered by a four-cylinder turbocharged Caterpillar 3054 diesel rated 80 hp and governed by a Barber-Colman electronic governor.
Other gen-set accessories on the XQ225 unit include a Master Controls 5 amp battery charger, Merlin Gerin circuit breakers and a Watlow 3000 W jacket water heater. On the Olympian CT60, accessories include a Donaldson air cleaner, Kim Hotstart 1800 W water heater and a Stanadyne fuel injection pump.
The XQ225 gen-set was used to power a Musco lighting system used to illuminate the racing surface, while the CT60 was used to operate the track's timing system. The timing system required a very low spike or surge rate and, according to Dicus, the Olympian CT60 operated the timing system with no glitches.
Caterpillar's XQ line of rental packages include an EMPC II (electronic modular control panel) that is shock mounted in a separate enclosure compartment for easy viewing and servicing. The distribution panel allows even an inexperienced rental customer to safely identify output voltages and output terminals feature safety interlocks. Also, an array of receptacles are available with individual circuit breakers.
Both gen-sets offer a variety of automatic engine shutdowns, a.c. metering packages and engine gauges. Optional features for both units include the battery chargers and jacket water heaters and road ready trailers.
Finding a niche: a contract crushing company finds profits in the recycling market
When Ted Heitsche was approached by a former asphalt-plant manager at S.E. Johnson in 1998 to start up his own asphalt and concrete recycling business in the northwest Ohio area, he knew little about the industry.
"I heard there were opportunities to make money in recycling, but never considered making it a living," says Heitsche, owner of Ted's Trucking in Collins, Ohio, just south of Toledo. At the time, Heitsche used his company trucks to haul crushed asphalt to S.E. Johnson's construction sites in the area.
"I did some research and found that asphalt and concrete recycling materials were generating healthy profits for recyclers. I also discovered there was a need for recycling aggregate in this part of the state," Heitsche says.
Heitsche ultimately took the plunge in the asphalt- and concrete-recycling business after spotting a gap in the market for a company able to crush C&D debris. With the profits from his trucking company, he created his second business, Heitsche Boyz Crushing (HBC), in an effort to operate the only mobile recycling plant in the region. To date, Heitsche is the only mobile contract crusher in northwest Ohio to step up to the challenge.
"I heard there were opportunities to make money in recycling, but never considered making it a living," says Heitsche, owner of Ted's Trucking in Collins, Ohio, just south of Toledo. At the time, Heitsche used his company trucks to haul crushed asphalt to S.E. Johnson's construction sites in the area.
"I did some research and found that asphalt and concrete recycling materials were generating healthy profits for recyclers. I also discovered there was a need for recycling aggregate in this part of the state," Heitsche says.
Heitsche ultimately took the plunge in the asphalt- and concrete-recycling business after spotting a gap in the market for a company able to crush C&D debris. With the profits from his trucking company, he created his second business, Heitsche Boyz Crushing (HBC), in an effort to operate the only mobile recycling plant in the region. To date, Heitsche is the only mobile contract crusher in northwest Ohio to step up to the challenge.
Sound Remedies For Medical Facilities
Controlling noise emitted by modern HEALTH CARE TECHNOLOGIES as well as protecting patient privacy while speaking is essential for hospitals and clinics
How close to the emergency generators can the new microsurgery suite be?
In today's medical facilities, the only constant is change. It is important to be on the lookout for conflicting needs when siting a new MRI suite or cooling tower. Avoiding the transfer of airborne sound or structure-borne vibration between various adjacencies requires thoughtful planning.
Areas where images are magnified for diagnosis or treatment are potentially susceptible to vibration. The most common areas of concern include microsurgery and lab microscopes. Quantitative criteria for acceptable levels of floor vibration are often provided by system manufacturers or acoustical consultants. This allows for an engineering assessment of what measures are needed to meet the criteria.
On renovation projects, field measurements can be made of existing levels of floor vibration and, if needed, sources of building vibration can be identified through frequency analysis or ON/OFF tests. A major university hospital recently commissioned such tests during planning and expansion to accommodate lab microscopes with 40OX magnification. To prevent image blurring, steps were taken to stiffen the building structure and isolate vibration of rotating equipment in a new mechanical penthouse. Ophthalmologic surgery suites and even standard operating rooms all require vibration-free environments to varying degrees.
The proliferation of MRI machines has also caused acoustical problems. The concern here is more "outbound" - that is, sound and vibration generated by the MRI process intruding into nearby waiting and treatment rooms, adjacent horizontally or vertically. With the use of progressively larger magnets, airborne noise and structure-borne sound levels are increasing, requiring better planning and more aggressive measures for control.
Noise and vibration problems can be anticipated. If mitigation measures are planned during the design phase, costly and extraordinary construction techniques can be avoided. Good planning can make it possible to avoid the kinds of steps that are necessary to make building occupants satisfied if, for example, the chiller room is located next to a meeting room. With available expertise, the costs and benefits of various options can be explored while the project is still on paper.
COMMUNITY NOISE CONCERNS
Many jurisdictions now have regulations covering the sound that may be emitted from building service equipment. The most common noise sources for medical facilities are cooling towers, air-cooled HVAC equipment (usually rooftop units) and emergency generators. While generators may be exempt from community noise regulations during emergencies, there is customarily no exemption for the noise produced during weekly generator tests. So it is wise to test during the day and to meet the daytime noise limit requirements. Nighttime regulatory limits are usually lower. For example, in New Jersey, levels emitted to residential properties are limited to 65 dB(A) during the day and 5OdB(A) at night.
Where lowest first cost is an overriding concern, the trend is to use aircooled, packaged or custom rooftop air handlers to serve building additions or new facilities. The sound radiated to the community is highest during the summer when cooling demand is highest, and noise is produced by the compressors and condenser fans. Unfortunately, it is difficult to mitigate the noise from such equipment, both during the design stage and after the fact, except by introducing shielding with acoustical barriers. The difficulty of mitigation is all the more reason to ensure good planning occurs.
At one hospital, a new rooftop aircooled chiller was contributing to noise levels far above allowable nighttime limits. Because the roof could not support the wind load and weight of the needed noise control barrier, the only solution was to use this rooftop unit in the daytime hours and to provide supplemental cooling with additional equipment, selected and located to meet nighttime cooling needs while meeting sound-emission requirements.
Although water-cooled systems relying on cooling towers require greater up-front investment, there are many more options available during equipment selection for controlling sound emissions to the extent required. Options include:
* Equipment style: Centrifugal fan cooling towers and propeller fan towers have different acoustical characteristics and directivity - the way sound emissions differ from position to position around a noise source.
* Fan speed: Because towers are custom-designed for thermal demand, oversizing the tower and slowing the fans can often meet acoustical and thermal needs simultaneously.
How close to the emergency generators can the new microsurgery suite be?
In today's medical facilities, the only constant is change. It is important to be on the lookout for conflicting needs when siting a new MRI suite or cooling tower. Avoiding the transfer of airborne sound or structure-borne vibration between various adjacencies requires thoughtful planning.
Areas where images are magnified for diagnosis or treatment are potentially susceptible to vibration. The most common areas of concern include microsurgery and lab microscopes. Quantitative criteria for acceptable levels of floor vibration are often provided by system manufacturers or acoustical consultants. This allows for an engineering assessment of what measures are needed to meet the criteria.
On renovation projects, field measurements can be made of existing levels of floor vibration and, if needed, sources of building vibration can be identified through frequency analysis or ON/OFF tests. A major university hospital recently commissioned such tests during planning and expansion to accommodate lab microscopes with 40OX magnification. To prevent image blurring, steps were taken to stiffen the building structure and isolate vibration of rotating equipment in a new mechanical penthouse. Ophthalmologic surgery suites and even standard operating rooms all require vibration-free environments to varying degrees.
The proliferation of MRI machines has also caused acoustical problems. The concern here is more "outbound" - that is, sound and vibration generated by the MRI process intruding into nearby waiting and treatment rooms, adjacent horizontally or vertically. With the use of progressively larger magnets, airborne noise and structure-borne sound levels are increasing, requiring better planning and more aggressive measures for control.
Noise and vibration problems can be anticipated. If mitigation measures are planned during the design phase, costly and extraordinary construction techniques can be avoided. Good planning can make it possible to avoid the kinds of steps that are necessary to make building occupants satisfied if, for example, the chiller room is located next to a meeting room. With available expertise, the costs and benefits of various options can be explored while the project is still on paper.
COMMUNITY NOISE CONCERNS
Many jurisdictions now have regulations covering the sound that may be emitted from building service equipment. The most common noise sources for medical facilities are cooling towers, air-cooled HVAC equipment (usually rooftop units) and emergency generators. While generators may be exempt from community noise regulations during emergencies, there is customarily no exemption for the noise produced during weekly generator tests. So it is wise to test during the day and to meet the daytime noise limit requirements. Nighttime regulatory limits are usually lower. For example, in New Jersey, levels emitted to residential properties are limited to 65 dB(A) during the day and 5OdB(A) at night.
Where lowest first cost is an overriding concern, the trend is to use aircooled, packaged or custom rooftop air handlers to serve building additions or new facilities. The sound radiated to the community is highest during the summer when cooling demand is highest, and noise is produced by the compressors and condenser fans. Unfortunately, it is difficult to mitigate the noise from such equipment, both during the design stage and after the fact, except by introducing shielding with acoustical barriers. The difficulty of mitigation is all the more reason to ensure good planning occurs.
At one hospital, a new rooftop aircooled chiller was contributing to noise levels far above allowable nighttime limits. Because the roof could not support the wind load and weight of the needed noise control barrier, the only solution was to use this rooftop unit in the daytime hours and to provide supplemental cooling with additional equipment, selected and located to meet nighttime cooling needs while meeting sound-emission requirements.
Although water-cooled systems relying on cooling towers require greater up-front investment, there are many more options available during equipment selection for controlling sound emissions to the extent required. Options include:
* Equipment style: Centrifugal fan cooling towers and propeller fan towers have different acoustical characteristics and directivity - the way sound emissions differ from position to position around a noise source.
* Fan speed: Because towers are custom-designed for thermal demand, oversizing the tower and slowing the fans can often meet acoustical and thermal needs simultaneously.
At a standstill: GM explores stationary power applications for automotive fuel cell development
The road to the commercialization of fuel cell vehicles has taken an interesting turn.
On Tuesday, February 10, 2004, Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham and Texas Governor Rick Perry threw the switch on the first of some 400 to 500 General Motor's PEM automotive fuel cell power modules that will serve as stationary power plants, making electricity for Dow Chemical's Freeport, Texas, manufacturing facility.
This initial stack, mounted inside of a 40-ft. trailer and monitored remotely from GM's Honeoye Falls, N.Y., fuel cell research and development center, will serve as the test module, making sure that the units will run properly on the hydrogen produced by Dow. If all goes as planned, this 75 kW unit will be replaced this summer with another trailer housing the first industrial scale unit, made up of 14 modules capable of generating 1 MW of electricity. The final goal is to have 400 to 500 power modules generating 35 MW of electricity--enough to power 25,000 homes, yet still only two percent of the total electricity used by the Dow facility.
The trailer is parked in the facilities power station that currently uses cogeneration to produce all of the steam and electricity for Dow's largest facility
You might ask yourself what would bring the world's largest auto manufacturer and the world's largest chemical producer together to advance fuel cell technology. The answer to that question is a commercially viable agreement that was made in hydrogen heaven.
Hydrogen is a byproduct of several of Dow's manufacturing operations and up until now, the 'fuel' in fuel cell was piped to the power station and used to heat boilers for making steam, sold off to companies like Air Products for resale to industry or vented into the atmosphere. Now some of that hydrogen will be used to run the GM fuel cells.
"We started talking to Dow in late 2002," says Timothy E. Vail, director fuel cell commercialization, GM fuel cell activity, "and it's kind of an interesting mix. Dow needed to get more value from its hydrogen strength and we needed a place to put our technology."
Vail says that GM weighed the pros and cons and found that Dow was a good fit.
"From our standpoint the Dow transaction is a positive economic transaction for us ... pure profit," Vail says. "If you take the cost of the unit and the money we're getting from Dow, (the profit) is marginal. But if you think of all the cost we avoid, building vehicles, running on test stands, scrapping equipment, it's a hugely profitable deal for us. It's the same for Dow. If you take its electricity and gas costs, plus the emissions benefits, what they're doing with this byproduct fuel becomes an economic transaction for them as well."
While the first unit is a test unit, Vail says that once the industrial-strength hardware is installed this summer, it's really past the test stage.
"This agreement is a true commercial arrangement," Vail says. "We're moving forward to install megawatts of power and you don't do that on a test basis, you're doing that for economic reasons."
Vail says that the Dow venture well help to advance GM's fuel cell program in a couple of areas. Dow has been dealing with hydrogen for decades and has shared that expertise with GM, which Vail says, has advanced the fuel cell program immeasurably.
And for a fraction of the cost of building 400 to 500 fuel cell-powered vehicles, GM can run the same number of units in a real-world environment which, in turn, will build the supply base and develop expertise in manufacturing and production engineering, ultimately bringing costs down to the commercialization goal of $50 a kilowatt by 2010.
"It's just incredibly expensive to build and maintain a fuel cell automobile," Vail says. "If you want it for PR purposes, that's great, but if you really want to deliver in 2010, you cannot be relying on vehicles for your early volume, you'll go broke. You'll spend all of your money on your vehicles and not your R&D program."
Dow has its own reasons for finding alternative energy sources. Dow uses natural gas to manufacture all of the electricity needed to produce heat and power for the Texas facility and is tied to a highly, controlled natural gas market. Tommy Block, vice president of Dow's operations in Texas says that the site's natural gas bill in 2003 was $1 million dollars a day higher than the 2001 bill.
"We have to find ways to cut a million dollars in cost every day just to stay even with where we were in 2001," says Block.
Since hydrogen is a byproduct of Dow's manufacturing operations, that furl is virtually flee and that makes had cells look real good from an economical standpoint.
On Tuesday, February 10, 2004, Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham and Texas Governor Rick Perry threw the switch on the first of some 400 to 500 General Motor's PEM automotive fuel cell power modules that will serve as stationary power plants, making electricity for Dow Chemical's Freeport, Texas, manufacturing facility.
This initial stack, mounted inside of a 40-ft. trailer and monitored remotely from GM's Honeoye Falls, N.Y., fuel cell research and development center, will serve as the test module, making sure that the units will run properly on the hydrogen produced by Dow. If all goes as planned, this 75 kW unit will be replaced this summer with another trailer housing the first industrial scale unit, made up of 14 modules capable of generating 1 MW of electricity. The final goal is to have 400 to 500 power modules generating 35 MW of electricity--enough to power 25,000 homes, yet still only two percent of the total electricity used by the Dow facility.
The trailer is parked in the facilities power station that currently uses cogeneration to produce all of the steam and electricity for Dow's largest facility
You might ask yourself what would bring the world's largest auto manufacturer and the world's largest chemical producer together to advance fuel cell technology. The answer to that question is a commercially viable agreement that was made in hydrogen heaven.
Hydrogen is a byproduct of several of Dow's manufacturing operations and up until now, the 'fuel' in fuel cell was piped to the power station and used to heat boilers for making steam, sold off to companies like Air Products for resale to industry or vented into the atmosphere. Now some of that hydrogen will be used to run the GM fuel cells.
"We started talking to Dow in late 2002," says Timothy E. Vail, director fuel cell commercialization, GM fuel cell activity, "and it's kind of an interesting mix. Dow needed to get more value from its hydrogen strength and we needed a place to put our technology."
Vail says that GM weighed the pros and cons and found that Dow was a good fit.
"From our standpoint the Dow transaction is a positive economic transaction for us ... pure profit," Vail says. "If you take the cost of the unit and the money we're getting from Dow, (the profit) is marginal. But if you think of all the cost we avoid, building vehicles, running on test stands, scrapping equipment, it's a hugely profitable deal for us. It's the same for Dow. If you take its electricity and gas costs, plus the emissions benefits, what they're doing with this byproduct fuel becomes an economic transaction for them as well."
While the first unit is a test unit, Vail says that once the industrial-strength hardware is installed this summer, it's really past the test stage.
"This agreement is a true commercial arrangement," Vail says. "We're moving forward to install megawatts of power and you don't do that on a test basis, you're doing that for economic reasons."
Vail says that the Dow venture well help to advance GM's fuel cell program in a couple of areas. Dow has been dealing with hydrogen for decades and has shared that expertise with GM, which Vail says, has advanced the fuel cell program immeasurably.
And for a fraction of the cost of building 400 to 500 fuel cell-powered vehicles, GM can run the same number of units in a real-world environment which, in turn, will build the supply base and develop expertise in manufacturing and production engineering, ultimately bringing costs down to the commercialization goal of $50 a kilowatt by 2010.
"It's just incredibly expensive to build and maintain a fuel cell automobile," Vail says. "If you want it for PR purposes, that's great, but if you really want to deliver in 2010, you cannot be relying on vehicles for your early volume, you'll go broke. You'll spend all of your money on your vehicles and not your R&D program."
Dow has its own reasons for finding alternative energy sources. Dow uses natural gas to manufacture all of the electricity needed to produce heat and power for the Texas facility and is tied to a highly, controlled natural gas market. Tommy Block, vice president of Dow's operations in Texas says that the site's natural gas bill in 2003 was $1 million dollars a day higher than the 2001 bill.
"We have to find ways to cut a million dollars in cost every day just to stay even with where we were in 2001," says Block.
Since hydrogen is a byproduct of Dow's manufacturing operations, that furl is virtually flee and that makes had cells look real good from an economical standpoint.
When it comes to energy, sometimes it's best to go it alone
Rising energy prices as well as heightened environmental and power reliability concerns have an increased number of facility executives using on-site power equipment to satisfy their facilities' energy appetite.
It's getting easier to see why.
On-site power systems give facility executives nearly unlimited capability to manage their energy supplies as they see fit. Systems can be used to produce electricity to meet a facility's baseload demand, to shave peak demand and to meet electrical needs when a utility feed fails.
Having those capabilities opens a world of possibilities to facility executives who are trying to reduce how much they pay for energy. Many facilities have systems configured to come online when the amount of utility-supplied energy a building uses is getting close to breaking a previously set demand level, typically during equipment start-up times.
As any facility executive who has been in that position knows, setting a new demand level incurs utility charges that can stay on a bill for months. But while controlling demand charges is important, the systems also give facility executives flexibility to define energy management strategies and control supply costs. Even in cases where setting a new demand level is not a concern, producing power on site at peak-use times can be financially advantageous.
Facilities that are on a real-time energy rate, for instance, can pay up to four times as much for energy during peak-demand times as they pay during off-peak hours. Rare is the instance where the cost of producing power on site would surpass the cost of buying power from the grid during those times.
What's more, buildings with power systems in place can more easily take advantage of favorable interruptible and curtailable electricity rates. If the utility ever makes the call for those facilities to cut demand, an on-site generator can make up the difference.
In deregulated markets, generators can be used to flatten a building's load profile. From an electricity supplier's perspective, that's an important aspect of its ability to offer an attractive rate.
In regulated markets, an on-site system might result in better rates not only through peak-shaving applications, but also because it helps the utility avoid building new generation plants, the cost of which is passed on to ratepayers. For every megawatt of power produced through on-site power systems, the utility has to build one less megawatt into its generation capabilities.
"It makes a lot of sense from the utility perspective," says the maker of an on-site power system. "It's a lot less expensive to encourage a customer to construct an on-site power system that can feed into the utility grid, or separate from it when needed, than to have to build an entire generating station or add onto an existing power plant."
Blackouts such as the one that hit the Northeast and Midwest in August, as well as continued talk about the nation's aging electrical infrastructure, only help to convince facility executives that on-site power systems make sense. Depending on the amount of output, an on-site system can be used to replace utility power for an entire facility or to power critical systems during outages.
What facility executives need to remember, however, is that if they want to parallel their on-site power systems with the utility, they'll have to negotiate and meet a utility's interconnection standards. The utility wants absolute assurances that the output from a facility's systems will not harm the existing electrical grid and associated equipment.
Sometimes, that's not an easy task, especially if the utility has enough generation capacity to serve its territory in every circumstance. Utility representatives will often use the interconnection standards as a way to block on-site power projects and preserve its rate base.
"If a utility is charging a high peak-demand rate, it may not want to give up that revenue because a customer wants to produce its own power at a cost savings," says the maker of an on-site power system. " A business might think generating their own electricity is a good idea, but then they find out the costs of the interconnection are going to kill the economics on the project, not to mention the cost of fuel itself that comes into play on longer runtime scenarios."
A viable alternative is to consider the use of a standby power system in conjunction with an interruptible rate rider of curtailable rate. With these options, the cost of sophisticated relay protection is usually not an issue because the generators are transferred to and from the utility grid within less than a second. Typically all that's needed is reverse power protection, which can be put in place cost effectively.
It's getting easier to see why.
On-site power systems give facility executives nearly unlimited capability to manage their energy supplies as they see fit. Systems can be used to produce electricity to meet a facility's baseload demand, to shave peak demand and to meet electrical needs when a utility feed fails.
Having those capabilities opens a world of possibilities to facility executives who are trying to reduce how much they pay for energy. Many facilities have systems configured to come online when the amount of utility-supplied energy a building uses is getting close to breaking a previously set demand level, typically during equipment start-up times.
As any facility executive who has been in that position knows, setting a new demand level incurs utility charges that can stay on a bill for months. But while controlling demand charges is important, the systems also give facility executives flexibility to define energy management strategies and control supply costs. Even in cases where setting a new demand level is not a concern, producing power on site at peak-use times can be financially advantageous.
Facilities that are on a real-time energy rate, for instance, can pay up to four times as much for energy during peak-demand times as they pay during off-peak hours. Rare is the instance where the cost of producing power on site would surpass the cost of buying power from the grid during those times.
What's more, buildings with power systems in place can more easily take advantage of favorable interruptible and curtailable electricity rates. If the utility ever makes the call for those facilities to cut demand, an on-site generator can make up the difference.
In deregulated markets, generators can be used to flatten a building's load profile. From an electricity supplier's perspective, that's an important aspect of its ability to offer an attractive rate.
In regulated markets, an on-site system might result in better rates not only through peak-shaving applications, but also because it helps the utility avoid building new generation plants, the cost of which is passed on to ratepayers. For every megawatt of power produced through on-site power systems, the utility has to build one less megawatt into its generation capabilities.
"It makes a lot of sense from the utility perspective," says the maker of an on-site power system. "It's a lot less expensive to encourage a customer to construct an on-site power system that can feed into the utility grid, or separate from it when needed, than to have to build an entire generating station or add onto an existing power plant."
Blackouts such as the one that hit the Northeast and Midwest in August, as well as continued talk about the nation's aging electrical infrastructure, only help to convince facility executives that on-site power systems make sense. Depending on the amount of output, an on-site system can be used to replace utility power for an entire facility or to power critical systems during outages.
What facility executives need to remember, however, is that if they want to parallel their on-site power systems with the utility, they'll have to negotiate and meet a utility's interconnection standards. The utility wants absolute assurances that the output from a facility's systems will not harm the existing electrical grid and associated equipment.
Sometimes, that's not an easy task, especially if the utility has enough generation capacity to serve its territory in every circumstance. Utility representatives will often use the interconnection standards as a way to block on-site power projects and preserve its rate base.
"If a utility is charging a high peak-demand rate, it may not want to give up that revenue because a customer wants to produce its own power at a cost savings," says the maker of an on-site power system. " A business might think generating their own electricity is a good idea, but then they find out the costs of the interconnection are going to kill the economics on the project, not to mention the cost of fuel itself that comes into play on longer runtime scenarios."
A viable alternative is to consider the use of a standby power system in conjunction with an interruptible rate rider of curtailable rate. With these options, the cost of sophisticated relay protection is usually not an issue because the generators are transferred to and from the utility grid within less than a second. Typically all that's needed is reverse power protection, which can be put in place cost effectively.
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."
In heat applications, the ENX 55 module works off any high-temperature process that will operate "as long as it's clean" Fallek explained. "It's important to note that the Stirling engine requires a very high temperature between 1472[degrees] and 1832[degrees]F," he added.
Using a Stirling engine from STM Power, Ann Arbor Mich., the ENX 55 provides enough rotational power to produce 55 kW of electricity and a heat output of 310,000 btu/hr. According to DTE Tech, the external combustion engine employs a swashplate that takes the linear motion of the pistons and converts it into rotary motion to drive a generator. "You've got rotary" motion driving the generator to produce power, and waste heat from the unit is employed for making hot water," said Fallek. "It's all external to the cylinders and it's a continuous process of providing heat, which can be used for various means such as heating, hot water or whatever you need it for."
Heat is removed from the engine's combustion process using a water cooling system. Water is directed through an internal cooling loop at a temperature of 140[degrees] F and then runs through a heat exchanger. The heat from the engine jacket water is used to heat water for building loads or processes. If the heat recovery is not required, a radiator is available to cool the engine. Electrical efficiency of the ENX 55 unit is 31% with 82% efficiency in the total CHP system, the company said.
Working with STM Power since 1999, DTE Tech develops and sells the external combustion modules worldwide, excluding Asia, under the energy|now brand. The company has 16 locations throughout North America and distributors covering Switzerland, Austria and Germany, Northern Italy; Turkey and South Korea. "Today our business is solely working in the distributed generation business which includes CHP and standby generator sets of" all sizes," said Fallek. "We offer a broad range of technologies that run from Stifling engines to internal combustion engines to a turbine product that we're developing to fuel cells."
"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."
In heat applications, the ENX 55 module works off any high-temperature process that will operate "as long as it's clean" Fallek explained. "It's important to note that the Stirling engine requires a very high temperature between 1472[degrees] and 1832[degrees]F," he added.
Using a Stirling engine from STM Power, Ann Arbor Mich., the ENX 55 provides enough rotational power to produce 55 kW of electricity and a heat output of 310,000 btu/hr. According to DTE Tech, the external combustion engine employs a swashplate that takes the linear motion of the pistons and converts it into rotary motion to drive a generator. "You've got rotary" motion driving the generator to produce power, and waste heat from the unit is employed for making hot water," said Fallek. "It's all external to the cylinders and it's a continuous process of providing heat, which can be used for various means such as heating, hot water or whatever you need it for."
Heat is removed from the engine's combustion process using a water cooling system. Water is directed through an internal cooling loop at a temperature of 140[degrees] F and then runs through a heat exchanger. The heat from the engine jacket water is used to heat water for building loads or processes. If the heat recovery is not required, a radiator is available to cool the engine. Electrical efficiency of the ENX 55 unit is 31% with 82% efficiency in the total CHP system, the company said.
Working with STM Power since 1999, DTE Tech develops and sells the external combustion modules worldwide, excluding Asia, under the energy|now brand. The company has 16 locations throughout North America and distributors covering Switzerland, Austria and Germany, Northern Italy; Turkey and South Korea. "Today our business is solely working in the distributed generation business which includes CHP and standby generator sets of" all sizes," said Fallek. "We offer a broad range of technologies that run from Stifling engines to internal combustion engines to a turbine product that we're developing to fuel cells."
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.
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.
The four enclosed units feature a sound-attenuating enclosure with sound levels rated 56 to 64 dB(A), depending on model. The units are thermostat operated or remote accessed via phone or computer interface. Engine temperature, engine speed and power output are monitored on the unit's control panel in digital or gauge formats.
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.
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.
The four enclosed units feature a sound-attenuating enclosure with sound levels rated 56 to 64 dB(A), depending on model. The units are thermostat operated or remote accessed via phone or computer interface. Engine temperature, engine speed and power output are monitored on the unit's control panel in digital or gauge formats.
Monday, January 22, 2007
Tuned up: the flow of catalytic converters is running steady as platinum group metals prices gain momentum
It's steady as she goes" in the catalytic converter market. The scrap market for PGMs (platinum group metals) is intimately tied to the catalytic converter market. While mined output of basic materials and speculators play roles, it is the catalytic converter market that drives the recycling sector.
"We're pretty steady," says Niel Shalit, CEO of Catalytic Converter Corp., Jamaica, N.Y. His firm deals mainly with recycling yards that produce 2,000 or more units per month.
Ashok Kumar, director of A-1 Specialized Services & Supplies Inc., the Pennsylvania-based multi-national recycler that specializes in lot consolidation and dry processing of salvage converters, says 2004 will end with global recycled production of platinum at 730,000 ounces, palladium at 450,000 ounces and rhodium at 120,000 ounces.
By year 2010, Kumar predicts these numbers will more than double, largely because of the sharply increased retirement of converter equipped cars in Western European countries.
TAKING INVENTORY. Jeff Couture, president of Prospera Metals Inc., Petrolia, Ontario, Canada, says he sees a lot of converters in the marketplace. Things really picked up in March and April Prospera deals in Ontario, Quebec, Ohio and Michigan--areas that had a dreary winter.
"Most scrap yards were pretty lazy getting converters off the yard in January and February," Couture says. "In March and April we were much busier."
Couture says he thinks recyclers were even slower about moving material this winter than in previous ones. But as spring moved toward summer, things began hopping. "Business is strong," he says.
Roughly 10 percent of the world supply of PGMs comes from recycled catalytic converters, a figure that has grown steadily in the past quarter-century.
The impact of this increase in supply from recycling will vary. Since August 2001, the price for platinum has moved steadily up from $450 to $937, setting a 24year high. The principal factor has been increasing platinum demand in Europe for diesel cars, which will make up 50 percent of the vehicles produced in Europe, Kumar says. Platinum is presently the only suitable metal for converters used with diesel cars. In 2000, automakers demanded around 1.9 million ounces of platinum.
In 2004, demand is expected to be 3 million ounces. Kumar says platinum will play a dominant role in the coming years. "The 2007 heavy-duty diesel emission standards in North America and the required reduction of sulfur content from the current levels by year 2006 program will introduce a new perilous outlook for platinum," says Kumar.
Palladium could experience an opposite run. Palladium saw an early April 2003 price of $148--a long way from a metal that was moving close to $1,100 a couple of years ago. ByMayof2004, it had added $100 back to its price, but the first half of 2004 saw it struggling to break out of its bottom-feeding trough.
ACTIVE MINING. Oversupply has hurt palladium prices. The oversupply was because of a run-up in nickel prices. Miners, especially in Russia, saw nickel prices make a nice upward move and logically dug more nickel ... thus extracting more palladium.
Palladium has been tracking at 30 percent of the price for platinum, selling around $300, and most observers say it should not experience a price shock.
"Producers understand and accept that palladium is not going to be at the $1,000 level again," says Kumar. "Perhaps it will remain as a couple-hundred dollar commodity."
Worldwide mine production of palladium already exceeds the current total demand rate of about 4.5 million ounces. Total palladium supply in year 2006 will probably be around 7 million ounces, and the recycling industry itself will provide ample palladium starting in 2009, it is forecast. Palladium is strongly oversupplied, and usage of palladium will remain strong in the coming years,
Rhodium is banging around the $800 mark, having settled back from a record $7,000 all ounce in the early 1990s.
In early May, spot prices for platinum hovered around $800 per ounce, palladium in the $250 range. Platinum was at $625 per ounce in early April 2003 and facing a spot price in the $680-$707 per ounce range--a 23-year high. Less than 15 months later, it was up another $200 per ounce. So much for records. And to think, back in 2002, the average platinum price was $540.03.
"I wish I could gauge the market," Shalit says. "For me, platinum is going up too fast." Like most firms, Catalytic Converter Corp. buys and sells on a daily basis. A steady price is better than one with leaps and bounds--either up or down.
Couture says that the higher prices for converters have drawn peddlers into the market--people offering a relative handful of converters. He says some buyers took advantage of the newcomers' naivete.
As the platinum market moved higher, some people were offering $57-$59 for GM (General Motors) style converters. "That is more than a GM converter is worth refined," Couture says. He says that some buyers were making up their loss on grade, accepting a handful at the high price but buying other converters as "regulars" and not premium items.
"We're pretty steady," says Niel Shalit, CEO of Catalytic Converter Corp., Jamaica, N.Y. His firm deals mainly with recycling yards that produce 2,000 or more units per month.
Ashok Kumar, director of A-1 Specialized Services & Supplies Inc., the Pennsylvania-based multi-national recycler that specializes in lot consolidation and dry processing of salvage converters, says 2004 will end with global recycled production of platinum at 730,000 ounces, palladium at 450,000 ounces and rhodium at 120,000 ounces.
By year 2010, Kumar predicts these numbers will more than double, largely because of the sharply increased retirement of converter equipped cars in Western European countries.
TAKING INVENTORY. Jeff Couture, president of Prospera Metals Inc., Petrolia, Ontario, Canada, says he sees a lot of converters in the marketplace. Things really picked up in March and April Prospera deals in Ontario, Quebec, Ohio and Michigan--areas that had a dreary winter.
"Most scrap yards were pretty lazy getting converters off the yard in January and February," Couture says. "In March and April we were much busier."
Couture says he thinks recyclers were even slower about moving material this winter than in previous ones. But as spring moved toward summer, things began hopping. "Business is strong," he says.
Roughly 10 percent of the world supply of PGMs comes from recycled catalytic converters, a figure that has grown steadily in the past quarter-century.
The impact of this increase in supply from recycling will vary. Since August 2001, the price for platinum has moved steadily up from $450 to $937, setting a 24year high. The principal factor has been increasing platinum demand in Europe for diesel cars, which will make up 50 percent of the vehicles produced in Europe, Kumar says. Platinum is presently the only suitable metal for converters used with diesel cars. In 2000, automakers demanded around 1.9 million ounces of platinum.
In 2004, demand is expected to be 3 million ounces. Kumar says platinum will play a dominant role in the coming years. "The 2007 heavy-duty diesel emission standards in North America and the required reduction of sulfur content from the current levels by year 2006 program will introduce a new perilous outlook for platinum," says Kumar.
Palladium could experience an opposite run. Palladium saw an early April 2003 price of $148--a long way from a metal that was moving close to $1,100 a couple of years ago. ByMayof2004, it had added $100 back to its price, but the first half of 2004 saw it struggling to break out of its bottom-feeding trough.
ACTIVE MINING. Oversupply has hurt palladium prices. The oversupply was because of a run-up in nickel prices. Miners, especially in Russia, saw nickel prices make a nice upward move and logically dug more nickel ... thus extracting more palladium.
Palladium has been tracking at 30 percent of the price for platinum, selling around $300, and most observers say it should not experience a price shock.
"Producers understand and accept that palladium is not going to be at the $1,000 level again," says Kumar. "Perhaps it will remain as a couple-hundred dollar commodity."
Worldwide mine production of palladium already exceeds the current total demand rate of about 4.5 million ounces. Total palladium supply in year 2006 will probably be around 7 million ounces, and the recycling industry itself will provide ample palladium starting in 2009, it is forecast. Palladium is strongly oversupplied, and usage of palladium will remain strong in the coming years,
Rhodium is banging around the $800 mark, having settled back from a record $7,000 all ounce in the early 1990s.
In early May, spot prices for platinum hovered around $800 per ounce, palladium in the $250 range. Platinum was at $625 per ounce in early April 2003 and facing a spot price in the $680-$707 per ounce range--a 23-year high. Less than 15 months later, it was up another $200 per ounce. So much for records. And to think, back in 2002, the average platinum price was $540.03.
"I wish I could gauge the market," Shalit says. "For me, platinum is going up too fast." Like most firms, Catalytic Converter Corp. buys and sells on a daily basis. A steady price is better than one with leaps and bounds--either up or down.
Couture says that the higher prices for converters have drawn peddlers into the market--people offering a relative handful of converters. He says some buyers took advantage of the newcomers' naivete.
As the platinum market moved higher, some people were offering $57-$59 for GM (General Motors) style converters. "That is more than a GM converter is worth refined," Couture says. He says that some buyers were making up their loss on grade, accepting a handful at the high price but buying other converters as "regulars" and not premium items.
MQ Power's new welder/generator - Brief Article
MQ Power Corp. has launched a new welder/generator for use by welding supply houses and the rental markets. Operating as a 225 amp welder and a 6 kW 120/240 volt a.c. generator, the Scorcher 225, manufactured for MQ, Carson, Calif., by Denyo Ltd., is the first model to include constant voltage operation and expands the company's line of welders joining 300 and 400 amp models.
Power for the new welder/generator is a water-cooled, two-cylinder Kubota Z482 diesel rated 12.5 hp at 3600 rpm. The engine comes equipped with an automatic idle control, hour-meter, warning light, fuel gauge, pre-heat lamp and self-priming fuel system. A gasoline version of the Scorcher 225 is due later this month.
One of the primary features of the new set is its lower noise level; 68.7 db(A), according to MQ. The set also features 100 percent duty cycle at 200 amps and a brushless generator design for lower maintenance costs. The automatic idler helps reduce fuel consumption, while the self-priming fuel system aids in restarting the unit.
The package is able to operate simultaneously as a welder and generator and has controls for both CV and CC welding. MQ said the set features outstanding arc characteristics, ideal for welding pipe and structural steel. The system is available with an optional over-the-road trailer.
Power for the new welder/generator is a water-cooled, two-cylinder Kubota Z482 diesel rated 12.5 hp at 3600 rpm. The engine comes equipped with an automatic idle control, hour-meter, warning light, fuel gauge, pre-heat lamp and self-priming fuel system. A gasoline version of the Scorcher 225 is due later this month.
One of the primary features of the new set is its lower noise level; 68.7 db(A), according to MQ. The set also features 100 percent duty cycle at 200 amps and a brushless generator design for lower maintenance costs. The automatic idler helps reduce fuel consumption, while the self-priming fuel system aids in restarting the unit.
The package is able to operate simultaneously as a welder and generator and has controls for both CV and CC welding. MQ said the set features outstanding arc characteristics, ideal for welding pipe and structural steel. The system is available with an optional over-the-road trailer.
FWMurphy, Miratech in control systems joint venture
Two well-known companies, FWMurphy and Miratech Corp., recently joined forces to form Compliance Controls LLC. FWMurphy, established in 1939, is an ISO 9001 registered manufacturer of equipment management and control solutions for off-highway and construction equipment, gas compressors, standby generator controls, irrigation and water pumping. Privately held Miratech Corp. and its subsidiary, Miratech SCR Corp., are leaders in the development and engineering of emission control and engine performance technology for industrial engines. Compliance Controls and both parent companies are based in Tulsa, Okla., and have sales offices located across North America.
"The new organization is dedicated to sales, support and continuing development of its state-of-the-art, user-friendly Windows-based air-to-fuel ratio control systems," said Kevin O'Sullivan, president of Compliance Controls. "We saw a need in the industrial engine marketplace tar more advanced, cost-effective, flexible, easy-to-install and easy-to-use engine control systems. Development of our rich-burn (MEC-R) and lean-burn (MEC-L) air-fuel control systems was a team effort to meet that need.
"Backed by our parent companies' distribution networks, Compliance Controls will focus exclusively on delivering and supporting air-fuel ratio control solutions tailored to our customers' specific requirements," he said.
Both control systems are designed for use on carbureted, spark-ignited natural gas and LPG engines. MEC-R is a rich-burn engine control system for use on engines equipped with three-way catalysts to reduce regulated pollutants such as oxides of nitrogen, carbon monoxide and hydrocarbons.
"The controller minimizes fuel consumption while maximizing catalyst performance for precise, continuous compliance. It also cuts engine maintenance and includes a fail-safe diagnostic and troubleshooting system for operators and management," said Bill Clary, vice president of sales and marketing for Miratech.
MEC-L is a lean-burn engine control system that can control fuel with a variety of valves in full-authority arrangements. "It reduces lean-burn engine maintenance costs, enhances performance and improves fuel economy," said Clary. "MEC-R and MEC-L air-fuel ratio control systems are the result of experience gained over the past decade and offer customers a dramatic upgrade in capabilities and user-friendliness at a competitive price," he added.
Jack Maley, vice president of operations for FWMurphy, pointed out that the MEC systems are closer in design to automotive-type air-fuel controllers than earlier engine control systems. "Using a reliable, high-performance air-fuel controller in conjunction with a three-way catalyst is the most effective method of cleaning rich-burn spark-ignition engine exhaust gases available today," he said.
The three-way catalytic converter that simultaneously oxidizes excess levels of exhaust carbon monoxide (CO) and nonmethane hydrocarbons (NMHC) and reduces nitric oxides (N[O.sub.x]) becomes ineffective if the rich-burn engine air fuel ratio differs by more than 1% from the stoichiometric value. The MEC-R system maximizes the efficiency of a three-way catalyst by maintaining a constant air-fuel ratio and continuous emissions compliance over yawing engine loads, speeds, fuel quality, ambient temperatures and barometric pressures. It fits virtually any gas-fueled, carbureted, rich-burn industrial engine with any catalytic converter.
The MEC-R control scheme includes pre-catalyst closed loop, exhaust oxygen ([O.sub.2]) feedback control, post-catalyst exhaust [O.sub.2] feedback; cascade control for fast, real-time adaptation to changing catalyst performance; variable set-point for pre-catalyst and post catalyst exhaust [O.sub.2] control for fast, real-time response to varying engine loads; catalyst temperature monitoring to protect emissions control catalysts from engine and fueling malfunctions; and two-dimensional open loop valve positioning, based on engine speed and load. It drives up to two fuel-metering valves for V engine configurations and can maintain compliance even with critical oxygen sensor malfunction.
Compliance Controls indicated that a crew of two could install and program the MEC-R system on an engine in two days for a new field installation with hard conduit, or less than a day with one technician for a retrofit project.
In addition to fuel control valve(s) and a microprocessor controller in a NEMA 12 enclosure, the system includes [O.sub.2] sensors downstream of the catalyst and in each exhaust bank upstream of the catalyst, air manifold pressure and temperature RTU's, pre- and post-catalyst temperature probes and a dedicated magnetic pickup for sensing engine rpm from the flywheel. The system includes all connectors and a selection of cables that can be cut to length at the terminal end where they connect to a terminal block inside the controller enclosure. A 9 to 30 Vdc power supply is required. The company and many of its distributors provide installation, set-up and operator training.
"The new organization is dedicated to sales, support and continuing development of its state-of-the-art, user-friendly Windows-based air-to-fuel ratio control systems," said Kevin O'Sullivan, president of Compliance Controls. "We saw a need in the industrial engine marketplace tar more advanced, cost-effective, flexible, easy-to-install and easy-to-use engine control systems. Development of our rich-burn (MEC-R) and lean-burn (MEC-L) air-fuel control systems was a team effort to meet that need.
"Backed by our parent companies' distribution networks, Compliance Controls will focus exclusively on delivering and supporting air-fuel ratio control solutions tailored to our customers' specific requirements," he said.
Both control systems are designed for use on carbureted, spark-ignited natural gas and LPG engines. MEC-R is a rich-burn engine control system for use on engines equipped with three-way catalysts to reduce regulated pollutants such as oxides of nitrogen, carbon monoxide and hydrocarbons.
"The controller minimizes fuel consumption while maximizing catalyst performance for precise, continuous compliance. It also cuts engine maintenance and includes a fail-safe diagnostic and troubleshooting system for operators and management," said Bill Clary, vice president of sales and marketing for Miratech.
MEC-L is a lean-burn engine control system that can control fuel with a variety of valves in full-authority arrangements. "It reduces lean-burn engine maintenance costs, enhances performance and improves fuel economy," said Clary. "MEC-R and MEC-L air-fuel ratio control systems are the result of experience gained over the past decade and offer customers a dramatic upgrade in capabilities and user-friendliness at a competitive price," he added.
Jack Maley, vice president of operations for FWMurphy, pointed out that the MEC systems are closer in design to automotive-type air-fuel controllers than earlier engine control systems. "Using a reliable, high-performance air-fuel controller in conjunction with a three-way catalyst is the most effective method of cleaning rich-burn spark-ignition engine exhaust gases available today," he said.
The three-way catalytic converter that simultaneously oxidizes excess levels of exhaust carbon monoxide (CO) and nonmethane hydrocarbons (NMHC) and reduces nitric oxides (N[O.sub.x]) becomes ineffective if the rich-burn engine air fuel ratio differs by more than 1% from the stoichiometric value. The MEC-R system maximizes the efficiency of a three-way catalyst by maintaining a constant air-fuel ratio and continuous emissions compliance over yawing engine loads, speeds, fuel quality, ambient temperatures and barometric pressures. It fits virtually any gas-fueled, carbureted, rich-burn industrial engine with any catalytic converter.
The MEC-R control scheme includes pre-catalyst closed loop, exhaust oxygen ([O.sub.2]) feedback control, post-catalyst exhaust [O.sub.2] feedback; cascade control for fast, real-time adaptation to changing catalyst performance; variable set-point for pre-catalyst and post catalyst exhaust [O.sub.2] control for fast, real-time response to varying engine loads; catalyst temperature monitoring to protect emissions control catalysts from engine and fueling malfunctions; and two-dimensional open loop valve positioning, based on engine speed and load. It drives up to two fuel-metering valves for V engine configurations and can maintain compliance even with critical oxygen sensor malfunction.
Compliance Controls indicated that a crew of two could install and program the MEC-R system on an engine in two days for a new field installation with hard conduit, or less than a day with one technician for a retrofit project.
In addition to fuel control valve(s) and a microprocessor controller in a NEMA 12 enclosure, the system includes [O.sub.2] sensors downstream of the catalyst and in each exhaust bank upstream of the catalyst, air manifold pressure and temperature RTU's, pre- and post-catalyst temperature probes and a dedicated magnetic pickup for sensing engine rpm from the flywheel. The system includes all connectors and a selection of cables that can be cut to length at the terminal end where they connect to a terminal block inside the controller enclosure. A 9 to 30 Vdc power supply is required. The company and many of its distributors provide installation, set-up and operator training.
Freightliner chassis for new diesel RV line - recreational vehicle
Damon Corp., an Elkhart, Ind.-based manufacturer of recreational vehicles, has introduced a new line of Class A diesel-powered pusher motorhomes. The Ultrasport product line, consisting of the models 3590, 3611 and 3670, are constructed on Freightliner Custom Chassis Corp. chassis which feature a wheelbase of 228 in. and a gvwr of 26,350 lb. on the 1998 models.
All three models of the Ultrasport series are powered by 7.2 L, turbocharged Caterpillar 3126 diesel engines rated 275 hp at 2200 rpm with 800 lb.ft. of torque at 1300 rpm. The engine package includes Farr air filters and Nelson exhaust systems, Delco Remy America 160 amp alternators and 28MT 12 V starters and two maintenance-free batteries rated 950 CCA at 0 degrees F. Other accessories include Fleetguard fuel filter/water separators, Phillips Temro 1000 watt, engine block heaters and Engineered Products air filter restriction indicators.
The engine cooling system incorporates a belt driven fan pulling air through a three -row, 13 FPI, 910 sq.in., rear-mounted, cross-flow radiator from Valeo, which also supplies the cross-flow charge-air cooler.The engine is mated to an Allison MD3060, six-speed automatic transmission with reverse gear and a lockup torque converter. A push-button shift control system with integral ECU is used to control gear selection. The Caterpillar Soft Cruise electronic cruise control with high idle setting is also included.
The front axle is a Rockwell FC-921 I-beam wide track unit with a rated capacity of 10,500 lb. and a 81.9 in. track. The rear axle is a Rockwell RS-15-120 unit rated 15,500 lb. with a 69.3 in. track. The axles are suspended by a Neway air suspension system front and rear, with Bilstein dampers and a 1.50 in. diameter heavy-duty stabilizer bar mounted on the front suspension.
The power steering system is a TRW TAS 65 unit with integral hydraulic power gear, powered by a Vickers gear-driven pump. Steering ratio is 20.4:1 with a maximum steering cramp angle of 50.
The service brakes, full air Rockwell units, feature automatic slack adjusters. The front units are 15 x 4 in. while the rear drum units feature an S-cam and measure 15 x 6 in. The push-pull lever controlled automatic park brake is a spring-applied air release unit which activates the rear brake. A 13.2 cfm air compressor unit is included which employs a Midland Pure Air Plus heated air dryer.
Driver controls are complimented by a Freightliner-supplied instrumentation cluster. The cluster, packaged for Freightliner by ATI, uses Teleflex gauge components and includes: speedometer with odometer; tachometer; engine oil pressure; water temperature; voltmeter; fuel gauge and dual air pressure gauges.
The Ultrasport line frames use a straight rail construction with a maximum frame section of 9.0 in. x 2.75 in. x 0.25 in., which yields a maximum resistance at the bending moment of 291,000 lb.in. Mounted within the frame is a 90 gal. fuel tank, designed to give each vehicle a long travel range.
Auxiliary features include a 50 amp, 12 V power service, 45 amp, 12 V power converter and an Onan 6.5 LP generator set with an auto changeover feature.
All three models include a full kitchen, bathroom/shower facilities and underfloor storage areas accessible from the outside via lockable doors. The model 3670 also includes the Super Slide-Out Section, a free-standing couch and dinette, as well as an optional washer/dryer unit.
For more information on the Ultrasport motorhomes, contact: Damon Corp., P.O. Box 1 107, Elkhart, IN 46515. Telephone: (800) 860-5658.
All three models of the Ultrasport series are powered by 7.2 L, turbocharged Caterpillar 3126 diesel engines rated 275 hp at 2200 rpm with 800 lb.ft. of torque at 1300 rpm. The engine package includes Farr air filters and Nelson exhaust systems, Delco Remy America 160 amp alternators and 28MT 12 V starters and two maintenance-free batteries rated 950 CCA at 0 degrees F. Other accessories include Fleetguard fuel filter/water separators, Phillips Temro 1000 watt, engine block heaters and Engineered Products air filter restriction indicators.
The engine cooling system incorporates a belt driven fan pulling air through a three -row, 13 FPI, 910 sq.in., rear-mounted, cross-flow radiator from Valeo, which also supplies the cross-flow charge-air cooler.The engine is mated to an Allison MD3060, six-speed automatic transmission with reverse gear and a lockup torque converter. A push-button shift control system with integral ECU is used to control gear selection. The Caterpillar Soft Cruise electronic cruise control with high idle setting is also included.
The front axle is a Rockwell FC-921 I-beam wide track unit with a rated capacity of 10,500 lb. and a 81.9 in. track. The rear axle is a Rockwell RS-15-120 unit rated 15,500 lb. with a 69.3 in. track. The axles are suspended by a Neway air suspension system front and rear, with Bilstein dampers and a 1.50 in. diameter heavy-duty stabilizer bar mounted on the front suspension.
The power steering system is a TRW TAS 65 unit with integral hydraulic power gear, powered by a Vickers gear-driven pump. Steering ratio is 20.4:1 with a maximum steering cramp angle of 50.
The service brakes, full air Rockwell units, feature automatic slack adjusters. The front units are 15 x 4 in. while the rear drum units feature an S-cam and measure 15 x 6 in. The push-pull lever controlled automatic park brake is a spring-applied air release unit which activates the rear brake. A 13.2 cfm air compressor unit is included which employs a Midland Pure Air Plus heated air dryer.
Driver controls are complimented by a Freightliner-supplied instrumentation cluster. The cluster, packaged for Freightliner by ATI, uses Teleflex gauge components and includes: speedometer with odometer; tachometer; engine oil pressure; water temperature; voltmeter; fuel gauge and dual air pressure gauges.
The Ultrasport line frames use a straight rail construction with a maximum frame section of 9.0 in. x 2.75 in. x 0.25 in., which yields a maximum resistance at the bending moment of 291,000 lb.in. Mounted within the frame is a 90 gal. fuel tank, designed to give each vehicle a long travel range.
Auxiliary features include a 50 amp, 12 V power service, 45 amp, 12 V power converter and an Onan 6.5 LP generator set with an auto changeover feature.
All three models include a full kitchen, bathroom/shower facilities and underfloor storage areas accessible from the outside via lockable doors. The model 3670 also includes the Super Slide-Out Section, a free-standing couch and dinette, as well as an optional washer/dryer unit.
For more information on the Ultrasport motorhomes, contact: Damon Corp., P.O. Box 1 107, Elkhart, IN 46515. Telephone: (800) 860-5658.
On-site nitrogen generator unit designed to cut drilling costs - Charge-Air Compression Systems' new product - Product Announcement
Charge-Air Compression Systems, the Calgary, Alberta, Canada, manufacturer of stationary and skid-mounted rotary screw compressors, nitrogen generation units and booster compressors for a variety of industrial applications, has developed a new nitrogen-generating system for use in oil drilling applications. The system is based on existing nitrogen-generating technology and is designed to reduce operating costs in drilling operations using the underbalance drilling method.
Underbalance drilling is used in combination with horizontal and multidirectional drilling. It involves the injection of low-density drilling fluid mixed with nitrogen into the underground field, immediately inducing oil flow to the surface. This method differs from the traditional overbalance drilling method, in which densified fluids are pumped into the downhole until the pressure gradually exceeds that of the formation, thus coaxing the oil to the surface.
"With underbalance drilling, you are in effect creating a free-flow well because you are in production while you are drilling," said Chuck Curtis, general manager of Charge-Air Compression Systems.Benefits of underbalance drilling include increased production from marginal wells and reduced contamination of the hydrocarbon field from drilling tailings and cuttings. Because nitrogen is inert, it does not cause downhole fires and is easily separated from the hydrocarbons.
Six years ago, only about a dozen western Canadian wells were drilled using this method, according to Charge-Air Systems. Last year, it was employed on 500 of the approximately 2000 horizontal or multidirectional wells drilled, the company said.
The primary drawback to this drilling method is the need for nitrogen to be present at the well site. Some sites are in remote locations, requiring nitrogen to be transported to the well site. "On top of the transport costs, you also have the problem that liquid nitrogen vents from delivery trucks at the rate of 5 to 15 percent per day," said Curtis. "At some sites, you will have lost a big part of what you paid to have delivered before it gets there."
To combat this problem, Charge-Air Compression Systems developed its portable nitrogen-generating and compression system, which allows the nitrogen to be produced at the well site. "This isn't new and in fact it has probably been around for about 20 years," said Curtis. "Food plants, gas plants and oil refineries all generate nitrogen at their sites. The trick for us was to improve on existing technology and get to the market with a compact, fully mobile package encompassing on-site generation and delivery to the well head."
Charge-Air solved a big part of the equation by sourcing a portable nitrogen generating unit from Praxair. The nitrogen generator takes air from the primary air compressor package, uses it to create gaseous nitrogen, which is then delivered to the well by an engine-powered booster compressor.
The primary compressor package weighs 20,000 lb., is skid-mounted and fits into a container. The skid is 19 ft. long x 7.6 ft. wide x 7.6 ft. high and can be enclosed for use in cold weather applications.
The air compressor is driven by an eight-cylinder, turbocharged and aftercooled Caterpillar 3408E diesel engine rated 625 hp at 2000 rpm. Use of the electronically controlled 3480E engine offers the added benefits of data acquisition, increased fuel efficiency, and reduced emissions, the company said. The engine package, supplied by Finning Power Systems, Calgary, Alberta, Canada, includes a Donaldson air filter, Silex muffler and L&M Mesabi radiator. A Rockford Powertrain fan clutch, which actuates the belt-driven fan, is also included in the cooling system.
The engine drives an oil-flooded rotary screw air compressor through a Falk trunnion-mounted flexible shaft coupling. Rated flow is 1750 cfm at 200 psi discharge pressure. The compressor has a control system that provides zero to 100 percent stepless modulation. Compressor lubricating oil is circulated via air pressure from the compressor itself, thus eliminating the need for a separate oil pump.
Once the air leaves the compressor it is filtered and cooled by a Thermal Transfer aftercooler/radiator. Air is drawn over this cooler by a hydraulic cooling fan drive system powered by a Sauer-Sundstrand pump, which is driven off a h
Underbalance drilling is used in combination with horizontal and multidirectional drilling. It involves the injection of low-density drilling fluid mixed with nitrogen into the underground field, immediately inducing oil flow to the surface. This method differs from the traditional overbalance drilling method, in which densified fluids are pumped into the downhole until the pressure gradually exceeds that of the formation, thus coaxing the oil to the surface.
"With underbalance drilling, you are in effect creating a free-flow well because you are in production while you are drilling," said Chuck Curtis, general manager of Charge-Air Compression Systems.Benefits of underbalance drilling include increased production from marginal wells and reduced contamination of the hydrocarbon field from drilling tailings and cuttings. Because nitrogen is inert, it does not cause downhole fires and is easily separated from the hydrocarbons.
Six years ago, only about a dozen western Canadian wells were drilled using this method, according to Charge-Air Systems. Last year, it was employed on 500 of the approximately 2000 horizontal or multidirectional wells drilled, the company said.
The primary drawback to this drilling method is the need for nitrogen to be present at the well site. Some sites are in remote locations, requiring nitrogen to be transported to the well site. "On top of the transport costs, you also have the problem that liquid nitrogen vents from delivery trucks at the rate of 5 to 15 percent per day," said Curtis. "At some sites, you will have lost a big part of what you paid to have delivered before it gets there."
To combat this problem, Charge-Air Compression Systems developed its portable nitrogen-generating and compression system, which allows the nitrogen to be produced at the well site. "This isn't new and in fact it has probably been around for about 20 years," said Curtis. "Food plants, gas plants and oil refineries all generate nitrogen at their sites. The trick for us was to improve on existing technology and get to the market with a compact, fully mobile package encompassing on-site generation and delivery to the well head."
Charge-Air solved a big part of the equation by sourcing a portable nitrogen generating unit from Praxair. The nitrogen generator takes air from the primary air compressor package, uses it to create gaseous nitrogen, which is then delivered to the well by an engine-powered booster compressor.
The primary compressor package weighs 20,000 lb., is skid-mounted and fits into a container. The skid is 19 ft. long x 7.6 ft. wide x 7.6 ft. high and can be enclosed for use in cold weather applications.
The air compressor is driven by an eight-cylinder, turbocharged and aftercooled Caterpillar 3408E diesel engine rated 625 hp at 2000 rpm. Use of the electronically controlled 3480E engine offers the added benefits of data acquisition, increased fuel efficiency, and reduced emissions, the company said. The engine package, supplied by Finning Power Systems, Calgary, Alberta, Canada, includes a Donaldson air filter, Silex muffler and L&M Mesabi radiator. A Rockford Powertrain fan clutch, which actuates the belt-driven fan, is also included in the cooling system.
The engine drives an oil-flooded rotary screw air compressor through a Falk trunnion-mounted flexible shaft coupling. Rated flow is 1750 cfm at 200 psi discharge pressure. The compressor has a control system that provides zero to 100 percent stepless modulation. Compressor lubricating oil is circulated via air pressure from the compressor itself, thus eliminating the need for a separate oil pump.
Once the air leaves the compressor it is filtered and cooled by a Thermal Transfer aftercooler/radiator. Air is drawn over this cooler by a hydraulic cooling fan drive system powered by a Sauer-Sundstrand pump, which is driven off a h
Thursday, January 11, 2007
Responding to Armageddon: the National Guard Bureau weapons of mass destruction civil support teams
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.
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