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Hazard Control Technologies, Inc.150 Walter Way, Fayetteville, GA 30214

Phone: 770-719-5112 Fax: 770-719-5117Web: http://www.hct-world.com

COAL-FIRED PLANTS

JeHrey Energy Center garners user group~

Plant of the Year award

E ach year the Powder River Basin CPRB) Coal Users· Group recog· nizcs one powerplant as its PRB Plant of the Year. The s1ringem

selection criteria arc based on plant safety. plant perfonnancc. cnvironrnemal achieve. ment..-:, and ovcrull phmt c leanliness. The selection b made following a rigorous inspection of rhe entire plant. employee interviews. and recordl'> inspection by the Users· Group's Boatd of Din..--ctors.

For 2003. lhe PRB Coal Users· Group selected \ Vcstar Energy·~ Jeffrey t llCtgy Ccnler (JEC) in Sl. Marys. Kan.<as. A key rco~on fo r the selection was JEC's Out· standing !<t~tfcty rc1.:ord in the handling and burning of PRB coal. Ken Jobba. vice chainnan of the PRB Coal Usc~· Group. explains. " I u~e Jeffrey as my benchmark when I \'i.Sit other PRB coal-buming plants. The)' 1\a\'e to meet Jeffrey"s standards to be considered for Plant of the Year."

A '70s hit Constnu.:tion of Jeffrey Energy Center. the lnrgest c.:oal-fircd plant in Kansas. began in 1974 on 10.500 acres of land nonhwcSI of St. Mar)!oo. The center's lhree 800-MW gcn­ernting unitS were completed in 1978. 1980. and 1983. so by now lhc SHi ff are well acquainted with the trials and tribulations of burning t.-oal.

Industry recognition as a p~acesencr plant was earned through com1>3ny and employ­ee dedication to finding and adopting the saftst po.~iblc t-oal-handling practices. JEC has undcrtnkcn tt number of projects and procesl> changes to further impro,•e che handling of PRB ooal. including:

• Adding wash-down systems in ils C3SC3dts. 1ransfcr bu i ldings. and rotary car dumper.

• Replacing the original I 0 vibnuory feeders with belt feeders.

• Replacing che origiltal bell sk irt board systems.

By Dr. Robert Peltier, PE, Sr. Editor

• Adding enhancements 10 tire-detection and -suppression systems and n::plac­ing many of the original dust collec­cors with best available technology.

JEC's efforts a1 impro,•ing plant safety are reflecced in n chrec-year rcc.-ordable acci· dem rate of 3.0 incidents per 200.000 man­hours- an enviable record by 11ny standard.

Safe handl ing of PRB coal tXIends beyond just adding new equipment. T he operators striclly adhere 10 stand:lrdi~ed operatmg processes thm embed safecy i1110 e\'ery action. The JEC plant staff under­Mnnd lhal safety begins with the individual worker and hus instit uted a number o f J)ro<.:es..-. changes to conlinuously improve worker s:tfCI)'· These include:

• Consolidating fuel-hnndling. fuel­maintenance. fueJ.opcrat ions. nnd plant-cleaning crews into one multi­skilled organization.

• Improving predictive maintenance

1. Plant of the Year

programs for fue l-handling equip­ment.

• Continuing de\'elopment of i1s work­for<.:e 's skills and abilities.

"Improved working conditions make for more rewarding work ." asse n s Dave Neufeld. JEC's executive director. "Sweep· ing the coal dust around the con\'cyor sys­lem wa.'\ a full· time job. Now we arc ttblc to do a better job in just a couple of hours."

Wash · dow n systems ha\'e bee n in:ocalled in all of Jeffrey's enclosed corl­\'eyor:o and transfer buildings. The-se spray systems in the conveyor system and trans· fer building Structures mean the entire building a:.·an be choroughly wa.shed down in minutes. doing a bcner job in remote a.rcas than the tradilional manual washing with hoses. Pl:liH cleanli ne-S~. especially a1 the lransfer point!' and dumper building. was remarkably impro\'ed.

Reduci ng coal dust coll ec1ed at the 1ransfer points is a m3jor priority at JEC.

A key ingredient oC Jeffrey Energy Cenler' s success is a preoccupation with safely. reCiecled by a three·year recordable accidenl rate of 3.0 incidents per 200.000 man·hours-an enviable record by any standard. Worker cross· !raining. slandardized operaling processes. and continuing employee devel· opment also contributed to the success. Courtesy: Jeffrey Energy Cen1er

www.plettt;.com/•ngt~rfng

The proces:-. improvements began with replacement or the original I 0 vibratory feeders with bell feeders to improve relia4

bility and reduce mnintcnnncc in the fuel 4

handling system. Also. the original convey· or belt skin bo:u'd systems were doubled in height and properly sized to length based on induced-air requirements.

Open 1-bcams in the stnactural supports of the coal silo roofs were g.routed at o. 70-dcg,rec angle to eliminate areas where coal du~t could build up. A silo fire-suppres­.sion/wa...;h-down system also wa.~ ins1alled below the silo roof beams. The sys1em is :u.:livatcd manually from outside the cas­t·~•de room und UbCS F·SOO. a firelighting agen1 that reduces the amoum of water required tO rapidly and effectively extin· gui:-.h a fire. The fire-supprcMion and fire· detection systern!; abo were enhnnc.:cd at the turbine-S. lube oil system~. dust collectors. boiler burner corners. sration tronsformcrs. and control rooms.

New ''best a\'ailable technology .. dust­collection !oVMcms were installed ::tt the dumper building and at all fuel4 yar'd trans­fer point:... These larger. more appropriately :oi1.ed du~t col lectors and beuer .. designed ductwork replaced what was jnstallcd when the plant was built in 1978. Another key safety upgrade wn.s relocating the original du'\t collector:.. from inside the transfer buildings to outside.

Consolidated forces All fuel-handling operation and mainte­nance has been consolidated into one department to maximize cross-traini ng opportunities. Operators who lrnditionally only rnn the sw.cker reclaimcr or other heavy equipment now help in the mainte­nance of the equipment. ope rale the dumper and all or the belt systems. and do prcdicti\'e maintenance. Traditional heavy­cquipmenl operator.: and building-mainte­n;mcc personnel now are cross·trnined i11 the main tenance or the fuel .. handling equipmenl and nrc certified to operate all fuel-handling systems. The end result has been elimintnion or the trndilional crafl boundaries. resulting in a win-win situa· tion for all.

Workers experience greater job satisfac­tion. and the pi~UH has reduced the COSt Of fuel handling. Ptedicti\'C maintC031\CC Of fuel· handling systems also has been sig11ifi­cantly improved. The crews take routine vibrntion information on all the conveying system bearings and gearboxes and regular oil samples from all the gearboxes and heavy equipment Bnd will soon be adding infrared scans to their job description. Spe­ciftc results tell the story: P\JIIcy shaft fail­ures have been \•inually eliminnted. and gearbox availability has been impl'oved.

In 2002. Jerrrey Energy Center's 248 dedicated employees handled I 0. 7 million Ions of coal. producing 15.3 mill ion net lvl \Vh-3 new plant record. The plant avail·

2. Aria! view of Jeffrey Energy Center

Jeffrey Energy Cenler sel a new plant availability record in 2002 al 93%. The summer forced outage rale was a minuscule 0.85%, well below lhe industry average of 4.9%. The plant is buill on t 0,500 acres of land northwesl of Sl. Marys. Kansas. The last of lhe ltvee un~s went on·ltne in t 983. Courtesy: Jeffrey Energy Center

3. Upgrades paid off

ModifiCations to lhe fuel-handling syslem to burn PRB coal include eliminaling open cavities in the coal silO roof slructural sleel, adding silo fire·suppression/wash-down systems. and adding "besl cootrollechnology" dusl-colleclion systems in the dumper building. Anolher key safety upgracle was relocaling lhe original dust colleclotS from inside the transfer buildings to oulside. Courtesy: Jeffrey Energy Center

abilhy factor for 2002 wa$ 93% (also a new plant record). rorced outage rate (FOR) wos 0.9%. and capacity factor wa.< 80%. JEC's summer FOR was a mel'c 0.85%-com­pared with an indus1ry average of 4.9%. JEC recorded O&M expenses or $2.(}<1/nct MWh in 2002.

"The l.:ey to our $UCccss has been the employees:· Neureld proudly points out.

"Our employees want the plant tO be suc­cessful. They understand the commitment that it tnkes:·

Past recipients or the PRB Coal Plant or the Year were Alabama Power's Miller Ge1lera1i •l& Station. Dominion Energy's Kincaid Power Stntion. AmerenUE' s Labadie Powerplanl, and West\IJ Energy's Tecumseh Energy Cemer. •