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Show American Flame Research Committee International Symposium September 30,1996 The ability to produce greater Level I NOx reductions can be of economic benefit to NYSEG beyond the direct savings. Since Kintigh already has one of the lowest Level I per ton cos.t, the NOx reduction capability can be transferred from a station that has a more costly complIance option. To explore the opportunity to extend the Level I NOx reduction, a single day of plant data was selected during which time the plant operated in Level I NOx reduction mode using the baseline NOx control methodology developed by the station. A comparison of the two methodologies can be performed by computing the operating cost which could have been achieved had the InEC TM system's control recommendations been implemented instead of the baseline control methodology for the given plant data. The LOI module of the InEC TM system was utilized to determine the minimum NOx emission level that could be achieved without effecting the salability of the fly ash. This lower NOx level was utilized in the cost estimate. For the data set chosen for this analysis, the plant operated at approximately 690 MW for 15 hours using the baseline control methodology. Typically, the plant would operate in this mode 6 months in a year, for a total time of 2700 hours per year (15 hours/day x 30 days/month x 6 months). Using the InEe TM system to control NOx to the Levell requirement, the operating cost for the plant was reduced by an average of $24 per hour over the 15 hour period (see figure 7). Projecting this cost over the representative year, shows a savings of nearly $65,000 per year. Extending the Level I range would provide additional system wide savings of over $ 31,000 per year through more cost effective NOx compliance, for a total estimated benefit of $96,000 per year. The actual benefit will be dependent upon the load factor. It is felt that if Level II control was required, savings would be higher. The level of savings and the short pay back period that can be achieved, even at a station that has already gone through a rigorous performance optimization process, is significant. This means that many units can benefit from utilizing the InEe™ system in their compliance strategy. Other Benefits of the InEe 1M System Besides the cost savings of operating a plant at its optimum conditions, the InEC TM system also provides many more benefits. One benefit is an accurate and quick reduction of NOx to a given level. When an operator attempts to control NOx to a given level, he/she must make iterative changes to the control settings, wait a long time for the system to respond, and then try another control setting update if the previous update did not produce a good enough result. The operator must utilize this approach since he/she can not accurately predict NOx based on the multitude of control settings options. The InEe TM system takes into account all the variables which affect NOx, models the effect of changes in model inputs on other model inputs, obeys all constraints, and considers performance, all at the same time. The InEe ™ system provides the optimum control settings in one step and enables the operator to get to and maintain the target NOx output accurately. Another benefit of the InEe ™ system is in assessing the capabilities of the presently available control technology for NOx control. Plants which are considering costly new NOx control -7- |
