I started writing on sub stack to promote our trade. I have somewhat gone of course to also promote the industries we serve, because well we love them.
The EPA in its finite wisdom, or lack there of has made many rule changes when it comes to power generation, there are almost to many to list. One of the most onerous is the CCR rule. Coal Ash Rules One of the first things one should notice is the name change. We cannot call it Ash anymore. Ash is far to simple a description for this terribly evil thing. It is now, “Coal Combustion Residue” and it is in fact evil if you listen to the hyperbole of the government and all the climate alarmist everywhere.
There have been a couple of disasters, and yes I use that word, caused by ash. All of them due to poor engineering and serious lack of giving a damn. I will link them, and those responsible for them have already faced much punishment for their apathetic attitudes towards their job responsibilities. Most, not all, but most engineering disasters are caused, not by a simple mistake, but by simply not caring or trying to save money, the save money thing driven by the corporate masters bears most. Having worked closely with many engineers, engineering firms, I can state I have had the pleasure of interacting with genius.
First is TVA.. this was caused by a damn culvert… Yes one of those zinc coated schedule 20 hunks of pipe placed in the ground to let fluids flow from one level to another. No one bothered to check it. TVA
The second example is the Dan River spill. Dan River Ash Leak again caused by apathy. Not nearly as bad as the TVA event. Still we should not pour pure unadulterated ash water into a river. Fish really do not do well in it.
Three things happen when events like this occur. Firstly, real damage is caused. Secondly the climate alarm crowd is given real ammunition to espouse their bull. (which they have very little of). Thirdly it causes knee jerk reactions by the alphabet agencies to invoke rules that industry has a difficult and costly, very costly way to meet.
Back to topic. We are currently installing an ash separation system. Coal fired plants produce through coal combustion, two types of ash. Bottom Ash, which is chunky and looks similar to volcanic ash chunks, and Fly Ash which is fine particulate and according to environmental groups the most evil thing on the face of the earth, more evil than oil, but not by much. All ash, no matter what is combusted, no matter the fuel produces residue or ash, even Natural Gas does, but not in mass. Combustion is a chemical process and cannot take place without off gassing. Even hydrogen combustion has an off gas, and it is water. Which is why it gets all the hype.
The system we are installing is a bottom ash dewatering system that removes the bottom ash from the coal fired boiler and deposits it into a bunker that is later cleaned out by loader and truck and transported to a dry impoundment. (A lined hole in the ground that is later covered). Separating it from the fly ash.
Conveyor from the bottom ash hopper to the transition point.
Transition point to conveyor two.
Installation of conveyor two to the ash bunker.
This plant that we are working at is beautiful, It is one of the neatest, cleanest plants I have seen in my career. There is a lot of pride in ownership here. I will not name it, as should the hater crowd read this, I would not unleash their hate upon them. The enviro crowd has no shame, they do not care who’s lives they destroy.
We will also, likely next year perform an upgrade to their fly ash system. All of this money and work is because the EPA says the way they were doing it, just doesn’t work anymore. It doesn’t work because the geniuses that wrote that rule believe that putting bottom ash and fly ash in the same dry hole in the ground that the coal came out of is dangerous to the environment…
Coal is dug from the ground, it is burned, and well putting the ash, (residue) back in the same hole, is some how bad because it contains boron. Boron is one of the many elements in coal, (also wood by the way, depending on where the tree grows) but evil boron is causing the generation industry to spend billions.
Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy the work and the opportunity to do it. It is great fun and our craftsmen love it. This plant had a perfectly good ash disposal system, until it became Coal Combustion Residue. Did you know its legal in the US to us Fly ash in deicing of roads as long as its dry? However if its wet its pollution. What happens when you put dry ash on ice… it gets wet. That logic drives most of the EPA rules. Think about that.
Best Regards.
Spud
Man I built it and then installed it! Hundreds of projects under my belt!
I’m retired with 41 years under my belt