United States Industrial Environmental Research EPA-G00/7-80-051 rental Protection March 1980 iow Rave angle Park NC 27711 Stack Gas Hargit Evaluation Interagency Energy/Environment R&D Program ReportRESEARCH REPORTING SERIES Research reports of the Office of Research and Development, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, have been grouped into nine series. These nine broad cate- gories were established to facilitate further development and application of en- vironmental technology. Elimination of traditional grouping was consciously planned to foster technology transfer and a maximum interface in related fields. The nine series are: 1. Environmental Health Effects Research 2. Environmental Protection Technology 3. Ecological Research 4, Environmental Monitoring 5, Socioeconomic Environmental Studies 6. Scientific and Technical Assessment Reports (STAR) 7. Interagency Energy-Environment Research and Development 8. “Special” Reports 9. Miscellaneous Reports This report has been assigned to the INTERAGENCY ENERGY-ENVIRONMENT RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT series. Reports in this series result from the effort funded under the 17-agency Federal Energy/Environment Research and Development Program. These studies relate to EPA's mission to protect the public health and welfare from adverse effects of pollutants associated with energy sys- tems. The goal of the Program is to assure the rapid development of domestic ‘energy supplies in an environmentally-compatible manner by providing the nec- essary environmental data and control technology. Investigations include analy- ses of the transport of energy-related pollutants and their health and ecological effects; assessments of, and development of, control technologies for energy mental issues. EPA REVIEW NOTICE This report has been reviewed by the participating Federal Agencies, and approved for publication. Approval does not signify that the contents necessarily reflect the views and policies of the Government, nor does mention of trade names or commercial products constitute endorsement or recommendation for use. This document is available to the public through the National Technical Inform: tion Service, Springfield, Virginia 22161EPA-600/7-80-051 March 1980 Stack Gas Reheat Evaluation by W.R. Menzies, C.A. Muela, and G.P. Behrens Radian Corporation 8500 Shoal Creek Boulevard Austin, Texas 78766 Contract No. 68-02-2642 rogram Element No. INE827 EPA Project Officer: Theodore G. Brna Industrial Environmental Research Laboratory Office of Environmental Engineering and Technology Research Triangle Park, NC 27711 Prepared for U.S, ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY Office of Research and Development Washington, OC 20460ABSTRACT Technical and economic evaluations of stack gas reheat (SGR) following wet flue gas desulfurization (FGD) for coal-fired power plants were made. These evaluations were based on information from literature and a survey of FGD users, vendors, and architect/engineer (A/E) firms. Reheat processes and their features and commercial operating experience were summarized. The benefits and energy requirements associated with SGR were addressed, and a method for estimating reheat costs was developed and illustrated. Stack gas reheat can protect equipment downstream of a wet scrubber from corrosion, reduce the potential for acid rainout near the plant stack, pre~ clude visible stack plumes, and reduce ground level pollutant concentrations by increasing plume buoyancy. Reheat users have generally installed SGR for equipment protection (30°F or greater level of reheat is normally specified). Most A/E firms and vendors do not recommend SGR as a necessary part of a wet FGD system and prefer indirect hot air injection because of higher reliability if reheat is requested by customers. Plants slated for operation with wet scrubbers in 1983 will use inline (30 percent), bypass (24 percent), and indirect hot air (14 percent) reheat or no reheat (wet stacks, 20 percent). Inline reheat is generally less costly but exhibits lower reliability than indirect hot air injection reheat. Bypass reheat is the most economical system, however, its application is Limited by S02 emission regulations. aidAbstract... Figures. . Tables..... Acknowledgments. . CONTENTS Introduction.. Summary... Stack gas reheat state-of-the-art... The need for reheat.. Economic evaluation... Conclusions......+++ tose 20 The need for stack gas reheat.... 20 Survey of current practice......... aL Evaluation and comparison of reheat configurations, aL Recommendations.....4... ceteeeeteeeeeees 24 Survey of Current Practice........e..05 25 Literature review......seeeeeeeuee 25 Survey reSullS..ssceseseeesseeeeere 32 Survey summary and conclusions.......+++4 68 The Need for Stack Gas Reheat.. sete eee 71 Downstream equipment corrosion, Visible plume formation... Acid rainout in the vicinity of the stack. Increased ground-level pollutant concentrations... Applicability of bypass reheat... iv7 CONTENTS (continued) Stack Gas Reheat Economics.+ssssesseeeeeeee Availability and cost of steam.. Reheat exchanger sizing. Costs of various reheat configurations... Comparison of reheat system economics. References... peso seeeee Appendices A. Description of Radian's dispersion and wet plume models....... B. Questionnaire forms.......6.eeeeeeeee Peers C. Generalized 500-MW steam cycle--development and steam cost analysis teeter eet peee eee D. Equipment sizing bases (reheat exchangers, fans, stacks).....- E, Reheat configuration component cost assumptions.....+ssseeeeee F. Factors for conversion of English units to the international system of units (SI)......... 129 130 134 136 165 170 176 183 209 235 254 300Number 10 u 12 13 1s 15 16 FIGURES Simplified schematics of various reheat configurations, Simplified schematics of various reheat configurations... Calculated temperature rise due to work of compression, Simplified schematic of FGD systems with forced and induced draft primary fans... Induced draft fan arrangement of inline, indirect, and direct combustion reheat configurations.....s.ssesse+ Psychrometric chart showing state point of flue gas-air mixture during combustion, scrubbing, and reheat...... Psychrometric chart showing the influence of relative humidities on the temperature range at which an unscrubbed flue gas will forn a visible plume.. Psychrometric chart showing the impact of 50°F reheat on visible plume length at different relative humidities....... Impact of scrubbing and reheating on visible plume length at various ambient air temperatures and relative hunidities.. Predicted impact of wind speed and reheat on detached distance of visible plume. Model~predicted time lengths that the density of the condensed 1b/ water vapor in visible plumes was greater than 3.12 x 10 ft? for various reheat levels.. Model-predicted maximum densities attained by condensed water vapor in visible plumes for various reheat levels. Model-predicted three-hour, ground-level S02 concentration down- wind of the stack for an unstable atmosphere......s..s.+0+ Model-predicted three-hour, ground-level NO, concentration down- wind of the stack for an unstable atmosphere............ Model-predicted three-hour, ground-level S02 concentration down- wind of the stack for a neutral atmosphere... Model-predicted three-hour, ground-level NO, concentration down- wind of the stack for a neutral atmosphere, vi 96 98 99 100 107 108 113 14 116 uyFIGURES (continued) Number Page 17 Schematics of different fan arrangements used to develop economics of various reheat configurations. eee 139) 18 Simplified schematic of indirect hot air reheat configuration with a forced draft primary fan arrangement.. eeeeee nL a2) 19 Simplified schematic of indirect hot air reheat configuration with an induced draft primary fan... seen. 20 Simplified schematic of indirect hot air reheat configuration with a forced draft primary fan arrangement Seem emn 56 21 Simplified schematic of exit gas recirculation reheat with an induced draft primary fan arrangement.. peel So 22 Simplified schematic of an advanced EGR reheat configuration... 161 23 Schematics of direct combustion reheat configurations with forced and induced draft primary fan arrangements....... 163 vit