According to the DOE coal is "the workhorse of the nation’s electric power industry, supplying more than half the electricity consumed by Americans". Given that 1/4 of the world's coal reserves are located in the USA it's not a wonder that we as a country are investing in developments that will make coal-fired power plants more efficient and more emission-free. The US government in 2003 funded an initiative with $1 billion to study and develop the worlds first zero-emission coal-fired power plant in conjunction with hydrogen technology. This is called FutureGen. For more information on FutureGen take a look at this link.
While FutureGen and initiatives like it are designed to strengthen the USA's position in the future, we have to deal with making coal-fired plants of today work efficiently and safely. With that regard I have noticed that coal fired power plants tend to use solids flow detection as a means of providing critical process flow feedback and protecting the feeding system from material backup that might become a dangerous situation. Here is a good example of how a solids flow detector can be used in this situation.
PROBLEM:
A coal-fired power plant in India, Hindalco Industries specifically, wanted to detect the presence of coal flow from their feeders to the furnaces. A plugged chute or equipment failure would possibly go unnoticed until a more serious problem occurred. Knowing whether the coal was positively feeding into the furnaces was of paramount importance to the efficient operation of the power plant.
SOLUTION:
Most all coal-fired power plants have this problem. If coal flow is interrupted this quickly effects the efficient operation of the plant. The solution to Hindalco’s problem came with the use of a microwave solids flow detector. These devices are a non-invasive microwave device that uses Doppler-radar technology to monitor the flow of powders and other bulk solids, like coal from the feeder. The sensors are rated for hazardous areas, like Class II, Div. I locations.
Doppler-radar is used in weather system detection and analysis and the technology is ideally suited for solids flow detection. It is non-invasive and potentially non-contact. It will detect the flow of a wide variety of powders and other bulk solids in chutes and pipes. It is relatively low-cost as a flow sensor and is very reliable.
Joe Lewis
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