OCR Text |
Show Process/Energy Compatibility. Industry will become increasingly sophisticated about evaluating its process and energy needs, both current and potential, and designing solutions that optimize system efficiency, productivity, and environmental performance. Cogeneration will be the rule rather than the exception. Any manufacturer w h o installs a boiler should anticipate an opportunity to generate electricity in the future. Manufacturers will accommodate process conditions and balance electricity and steam production for maximum efficiency. Safety/Reliability/Maintainability. Boiler safety levels are likely to rise as a result of advances in robust control system technology. The majority of reliability problems today are associated with controls and auxiliary equipment rather than the boiler itself. Overall system reliability in 2020 will be 50 percent higher than current levels. The average time between scheduled outages will double, so that a system on a one-year scheduled-maintenance cycle today will be on a two-year cycle in 2020. Materials. Advances in materials technology will help industry achieve some of its goals in the areas of efficiency, fuel flexibility, and cost-effectiveness. Cost Effectiveness. Boiler systems in the year 2020 will have lower capital and life-cycle costs in response to competitive international market pressures. The strong trend toward the use of modular, standardized system packages will continue. Policy. The industry sees the need for a strong government role in promoting the adoption of new, energy-efficient, environmentally sound technologies. A company will typically invest available capital in improving its manufacturing processes rather than upgrading its boiler system. Government incentives - both financial and regulatory - could encourage industry to adopt newer, more efficient technologies, benefitting industry and the nation as a whole. Furnaces and Other Process Heating Equipment The furnace and process heating systems community has also defined strategic (performance) targets that reflect its vision for 2020. Many of the target categories-environmental quality, energy efficiency, fuels, safety and reliability-are identical to those identified by the boiler community. Gains can be expected in overall system efficiency and productivity. Environmental Quality. The industry perceives its most critical target for 2020 to be a 90% reduction in all air emissions from furnaces and other process heating equipment (including toxics but excluding C 0 2 ) relative to uncontrolled 1990 levels. This is particularly challenging because the emissions reduction target is on an absolute basis and makes no allowances for market growth. C 0 2 emissions should be reduced to levels consistent with future targets of international agreements. Fuels and Oxidants. Maximum fuel flexibility is critical to ensuring the efficient and economic operation of process heating systems if certain fuels become scarce or costly. Accordingly, the process heater of the future must be able to burn multiple fuels without jeopardizing efficiency or environmental performance. Flexible process heating systems will allow "least-cost routing" for fuels. The use of oxygen introduces additional design considerations. Flexibility will be accomplished with equipment that is quickly, easily, and economically adapted to different fuel and oxidant types or with combustion systems that can accommodate multiple fuel types. 9 |