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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAnchorage Grant App. SchedulesRENEWABLE ENERGY FUND GRANT APPLICATION ALASKA RECYCLING ENERGY SUPPORTING SCHEDULES 3.2 - Project Schedule - The proposed study will take four to six months to complete. The various tasks will take place concurrently and be subject to the availability of consultants and resources. The project will consist of five phases: (1) Resource Assessment, Economic Assessment, Engineering and Conceptual Design Time: 4 - 6 months (2) Preliminary Design & Funding Support Time: 6 - 10 months (3) Detailed Design & Permitting Time: 9 - 15 months (4) Construction - this phase will overlap with Phase 3 Time: 9 - 15 months (5) Startup & Operation - this Phase is performed concurrently with 3 & 4 3.3 - Project Milestones Awarding of Grant - Alaska Recycling Energy LLC ("ARE") will retain its consultants and commence the proposed study Phase 1 – Engineering & Economic Assessment Study The initial phase of this proposal will define the Proposed Plant:  Feedstock Supply Analysis  Supply Logistics and Transportation Study  End Products Market Analysis  Plant Layout/Process Configuration Evaluation  Site Selection Study  Project Cost Estimate  Permit Requirements  Financial Model ARE and its technical associates have the expertise to perform this first phase. The information and analysis presented will provide the decision basis to proceed with the next phase.  Decision Deliverable will be a bound report containing the following elements: Feedstock Supply Analysis  Materials: o Municipal Solid Waste o Biosolids o Tires o Medical and Hazardous waste o Landfill recovery o Other  Identify material sources and quantities Supply Logistics and Transportation Study  Transportation – receiving and shipping analysis  Feedstock handling and storage issues  End product handling and storage issues  Reactor feeding issues  Alternatives, advantages/disadvantages End Products Market Analysis  Products: o Syngas o Steam o Electricity (renewable energy) o Steel Billets o Aggregate o Rock Wool o Other  Possible markets  Overall market trends and opportunities  Competitors in the market for end products  Identify target market customers and any existing special relationships  Price forecasting  Assess future competitive posture of plasma plant and system Plant Layout/Process Configuration Evaluation  Evaluation of processing options  Evaluation of energy mass balances for various end products  Alternative processing schemes to meet specific raw material, end product, or investment objectives  Feed and product yields  Major equipment  Determine the plant size  Preliminary layout Site Selection Study  Address special issues such as environmental, market opportunities, labor supply, materials supplies, flooding potential, water and utilities availability, determine fitness of site and effects on neighborhood.  Define advantages and disadvantages Project Cost Estimate  Develop preliminary cost estimate and budget based on proposed configuration  Prepare capital expenditure plans  Develop preliminary project schedule  Tax advantages and special tax benefits Permit Requirements  Environmental o Air issues o Water issues o Wetlands issues  Archaeological  Applicable building/zoning codes  Other special and restrictive guidelines  Special interest, advocacy group and political issues  Other good neighbor issues Financial Model  Revenue projections  Operating cost projections  Cash flow projections Key Professionals to Perform Engineering & Economic Assessment Study  Plasma Waste Recycling  CH2M HILL - Consulting Engineers  Economic Research Associates  Tenova Pyromet  Sponseller Group  Other professional firms as needed Estimated Time to Complete Engineering & Economic Assessment Study  Three to six (3-6) months  Conditioned upon availability of data sources Delivery of Completed and Bound Report for Approval Funding and Authorization to Proceed onto Phase 2 Phase 2 – Develop Preliminary Architectural and Engineering Design and Specifications; Assist Project Financing The detailed Design Basis Memorandum (DBM) will be the core information with which to develop the project and to refine the project cost estimate.  Design Basis Memorandum  Site and Infrastructure Development  Decision Deliverable is the Design Basis Memorandum with plans and specifications. Design Basis Memorandum  Develop Processing Concept Plan  Profit Margin Analysis and Economics  Detailed Environmental Plan and Considerations  Develop Detailed Project Data as a design basis  Feedstock logistics, end products  Utilities, catalysts, chemicals, consumables  Operating reliability and flexibility  Handling and storage facilities  Delivery and shipping logistics  Spare equipment and parts  Maintenance and operations strategies  Safety requirements  Equipment design philosophy  Philosophy for isolation and decontamination  Environmental requirements and considerations  Electrical instrumentation and design.  Computer control philosophy  Philosophy for buildings, shelters and enclosures  Communication requirements  Property protection and industrial hygiene  Equipment spacing and plant layout  Code analysis and compliance issues Site and Infrastructure Development  Utility interfaces  Civil engineering  Transportation Engineering & Design Team  CH2M HILL Consulting Engineers  Sponseller Group  Tenova Pyromet  Plasma Waste Recycling  Local engineers Estimated Time to Complete Design Basis  Six to ten (6-10) months  Conditioned upon availability of data sources Estimated Cost to Complete Design Basis  To be determined after the Engineering & Economic Assessment Study (Phase I) Phase 3 – Develop Detailed Architectural and Engineering Designs, Permit Applications, Bid Documents and PWR License This phase addresses all prerequisites necessary for the construction of the plant.  Detail Design  Permit Applications  Contracting Choices  Construction Programs  Traffic and Shipping, Purchasing and Stores  Legal  Community Affairs/Public Relations  Decision Deliverable is the Construction Project Execution Plan, PWR license, and the Operating Agreement. Detail Design  Architectural  Civil Engineering  Process Engineering  Environmental Engineering Permit Applications  Air  Water  Construction  Other Contracting Choices  Firm types  Negotiated Bid  Contractor Qualification  Estimating & Bidding Practices Construction Programs  Develop Construction Project Execution Plan (PEP)  Project resources (technical support, operations personnel, vendors)  Project organization/organization interfaces  Unusual project features (specialized equipment or materials)  Timing of estimate preparation, project approval  Preliminary contract strategy (lump sum vs. cost plus)  Engineering strategy (local engineering/outside engineering with particular know-how)  Purchasing strategy and lead time considerations  Field construction (construction packages, shop vs. field fabrication, labor relations)  Project Planning and controls  Detailed Process, Civil and Mechanical Engineering Design and Procurement  Equipment fabrication monitoring  Safety and Quality Control issues Traffic and Shipping Purchasing and Stores  Contracting Manuals  Contracting Planning  Bidder Pre-qualification & Invitation for Proposals Legal  Execute Plasma Waste Recycling (PWR) Technology License Agreement  Operating agreement  Other Community Affairs/Public Relations Coordinated effort between owner, ARE and PWR. Engineering & Design Team  CH2M HILL Consulting Engineers  Sponseller Group  Plasma Waste Recycling  Others to be determined Estimated Time to Complete Phase 3  9 to 15 months Estimated Cost to Complete Phase 3  Cost estimate to be developed in Phase 2 Phase 4 – Construct Plant, finalizing all shop and fabrication drawings, permits, and construction contracts All tasks necessary for the safe and successful construction of the plant are included.  Construction Management  Construction QA/QC  Equipment expediters  Risk Management  Financial Management  Deliverable is the constructed Plant ready to begin operations. Construction Team  CH2M HILL  Others to be determined Estimated Time to Complete Phase 4  9 to 15 months (partially overlapped with Phase 3) Cost to Complete Phase 4  Cost to be based on accepted bids and contracts Phase 5 – Develop Detailed Plasma Gasification Plant Organization Plans for Startup, Training, Operations and Maintenance This Phase is performed concurrently with Phases 3 and 4.  Management Team Development  Startup and Commissioning Team Development  Support Engineering and Administrative Team Development and Training  Computerized Engineering, Operations and Administrative Tool Selection, Installation and Training  Deliverable is a complete operating organization plan with the necessary training and advanced tools to operate a world-class plasma-based waste gasification plant. 4.3.1 System Design Process Description of Plasma Waste Recycling Technology This is a general description of the patent-pending PWR process along with an explanation for some of its features. Please refer to the Process Flow Illustration below. The system illustrated is configured to convert MSW into clean renewable electricity that is sold to the grid. Keep in mind that the system can alternatively be configured to convert a wide variety of carbonaceous feedstock into syngas, which can be converted into process steam, methanol or other valuable chemical feedstocks. The feed hopper is designed to limit the amount of bridging that may occur while loading the waste into the opening of the hopper. The waste exits the feed hopper into a horizontal feeder whose function is to establish a targeted homogeneous waste density while providing an air lock for the reactor. The waste in the feeder is continuously monitored by pressure sensors and the system is controlled by PLCs. The compacted and extruded waste is pushed from the feeder through a water cooled isolation shear gate that serves as a safety mechanism at the reactor entrance by isolating the reactor in an emergency shut down. The shear gate is also used when the feeder is taken out of service for routine maintenance or repair. Because the system has two feeders, (second feeder not shown), normal operations can proceed when one feeder is down. The waste enters the reactor from the side as a continuously extruded log (or unbound bale) and begins to gasify from the edges as it falls into an area of high temperature (3200°F) molten slag. At this temperature, the organic material will gasify into a synthesis gas (syngas) composed mainly of Carbon Monoxide (CO) and Hydrogen (H2). The inorganic component will form the molten slag layer and the metal component will form the molten metal layer. The gasification of the organic material will turn the slag into a frothy or foamy bath. Not only does this foamy slag cover the waste and insure its rapid gasification, it forms a barrier preventing the release of particulate matter. (Foamy slag practice is commonly used in the steel industry to reduce particulate matter formation). Molten slag is tapped periodically and fractured to form construction aggregate, or spun into rock wool. Because the atmosphere in the reactor is reducing, iron in its metallic state will form in a molten pool at the bottom of the reactor. It is tapped periodically into ingots, much as in a steel mill. The reactor operates in a reducing environment under a negative pressure. This negative pressure not only insures that any potential leakage will be into the reactor rather than into the atmosphere, but also insures there are no syngas leakages into the feeder. The intense heat in the reactor is the result of an electric arc. In contrast to conventional mass combustion incinerator systems, the plasma reactor is non-combustive and the reactions are endothermic, not exothermic. Thus, when high caloric waste is introduced into an incinerator, the temperature rises, whereas in a plasma system, the temperature drops. The syngas leaves the reactor near the top through a high temperature refractory lined duct. A set of sensors in the exit duct monitors the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2), and particulate matter (PM) present on a real-time continuous basis. Carbon dioxide and particulate matter are of interest since they represent the relative extremes of the percentage of oxygen available in the reactor. By controlling the amount of oxygen, the amount and quality of the syngas is controlled. Too much oxygen in the reactor results in the formation of CO2, while too little oxygen results in the formation of carbon particles, normally referred to as soot or particulate matter. This PM is carbon that was not gasified and as such is a sign of unused fuel – and thus would reflect inefficiencies in the system. A conventional set of CEMS (Continuous Emission Monitor System) in the reactor exit duct will be utilized to assist in the control of such other gases as Nitrogen (N2), Oxygen, Hydrogen, Carbon Monoxide, water and HCl. The CEMS readings are mainly to monitor the condition of the system. The purpose of the Heat Recovery Steam Generator (HRSG) is to capture a portion of the sensible heat from the gases and to reduce water losses in the scrubber due to evaporation. Syngas is cooled at the HRSG but kept at a temperature above 700 °F to avoid formation of dioxins or furans. The HRSG is a boiler which will produce steam at 650 PSIG and 750 °F for the turbine. After leaving the reactor (or HRSG), the syngas is rapidly cooled at the quencher/scrubber where the acidic gases are neutralized in a wet scrubber with a solution of liquid Sodium Hydroxide (NaOH). Scrubber water is discharged to the city sewer at concentrations within established RCRA levels. From the scrubber, the syngas passes through a bed of activated carbon to remove trace heavy metal contaminants and some moisture before it goes into a package boiler that is a typical natural gas boiler with combustion nozzles designed to handle the lower BTU/SCF syngas. Steam produced in the boiler turns a conventional condensing steam turbine to generate electricity, of which a portion is used to run the plant and the remainder sold to the grid. An Energy/Mass Balance of the PWR process has been prepared by CH2M HILL for present projects. An accurate energy/mass balance would require more information than provided in this document. PWR will supply a detailed energy/mass balance as part of the Engineering & Economic Assessment Study. Syngas Applications Synthesis gas (syngas) generated by the PWR Process can be utilized as a feedstock in downstream processes designed to convert it to a variety of valuable byproducts, as illustrated below: Adapted from Eastman Chemical Co. Competitors use plasma torches while PWR uses graphite electrodes. Graphite electrodes are 1) more efficient, 2) more reliable and 3) less capital intensive: 1. More energy efficient because a torch needs cooling water and a graphite electrode does not (about 30% of the energy is lost through torch cooling water). 2. More up-time and lower operating and maintenance cost. Plasma torches require rebuilding every 500 to 1000 hours. 3. Less capital because a graphite system typically cost about $300 thousand per megawatt of power while a plasma torch cost about $2.5 million per megawatt. Also, graphite arc furnaces’ current operating power ranges from 5 to 200 megawatts, while the largest operational plasma torch is around 2 megawatts. Other processes are not true plasma gasification technologies, but are variations of classic thermal gasification where plasma devices are utilized in the process for other than gasification purposes. Some competing processes require the introduction of coke as a chemical component for the gasification reaction with the waste. The PWR process does not require any co-reactants. The PWR process has lower capital and process operating cost, and can operate economically at a wide range of throughput levels. Competitors’ processes may require massive scale to operate efficiently. PWR’s plants can be viewed as modular and larger volumes can be handled easily by adding additional trains. The proposed plant is expected to be configured with three 20 ton per hour trains, subject to the results of the Initial Study. 4.3.3 Permits Permit Requirements  Environmental o Air issues o Water issues o Wetlands issues  Archaeological  Applicable building/zoning codes  Other special and restrictive guidelines Cost Worksheet Grant Budget