STORM Resources

Recent Newsletters

May 2024 - Identifying and Capitalizing on Opportunities Coming Out of an Outage

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May 2024 – Identifying and Capitalizing on Opportunities Coming Out of an Outage

When coming out of outages it is not uncommon to realize that issues have developed or are still present and have gotten worse from before the outage. The immediate cause of these issues is often not clear from just the control room indications. However, testing the system inputs can help reveal the issues. This testing includes airflow testing of the primary, secondary, and overfire air to ensure accurate flow measurement and control, as well as correct flow rates and proportions of air to each location. Mill performance testing involves assessing fineness, distribution, and air-to-fuel ratio. Flue gas testing is also conducted to review the temperature distribution and flue gas constituents, which can help identify problem burners, air-in leakage, or incorrect O2 indications that the unit is controlling from.    Click to find out more!

Mar. 2024 - The Impact of Primary Airflow

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March 2024 – The Impact of Primary Airflow Measurement and Control on Safety, Reliability and Optimization

Airflow measurement plays a major role in the operation and control of all types of combustion systems. Storm has tested, calibrated, designed, and tuned nearly every type of airflow measurement device available. This summary provides an overview of the importance of accurate primary airflow measurement and control along with issues that arise when not tuned properly. Primary airflow serves multiple purposes in direct-fired pulverized coal systems. Click to find out more!

Nov. 2023 - Identifying Air In-Leakage!

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November 2023 – Identifying Air In-Leakage!

Air in-leakage is a subject all power plant personnel have heard about but often gets overlooked. Due to typically developing over a long span of time, the negative effects of air in-leakage are often not observed until it is too late, resulting in unit derate, increased slagging, and increased dry gas losses. This short newsletter aims to dive into demystifying air in-leakage by giving you the tools to understand what air in-leakage is and where it typically occurs, how to find it, and the benefits of reducing air in-leakage.

May 2023 - HVT Testing is Still Important!

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May 2023 – HVT Testing is Still Important!

HVT testing is a method to measure and optimize the performance of boilers by using water-cooled probes to measure flue gas temperature and composition at the furnace outlet. It can help plant operators to adjust the oxygen levels for combustion and reduce emissions, slagging, corrosion, and spray flows. HVT testing is still essential despite newer technologies because many boilers in the USA are old and have inaccurate oxygen indicators. HVT testing can also help with regulatory compliance and boiler longevity.

Apr. 2023 - Testing Efficiency Improvement with SOAR System

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April 2023 – Testing Efficiency Improvement with SOAR System 

With emission limits growing ever tighter, efficient combustion is a necessity for most boilers to meet these lower limits. Well-tuned units are achievable when all equipment is kept in good operational condition. Many plants face a variety of tuning challenges, and it is important to keep the boilers operating efficiently and reliably. This becomes even more of a challenge when once base-loaded plants are required to chase load demand due to the increase of renewable power on the grid. When it comes to combustion tuning, STORM’s automated flue gas sampling system is a great tool. It allows for more firing combinations and tuning adjustments to be made and tested in shorter timespans over the traditional manual traverses of the flue gas after the furnace exit. What does this mean for you and your plant? With the improvement in testing efficiency, your dollars spent on testing go further. Our SOAR system allows for more testing to be done with fewer testing personnel, thus allowing for more tuning adjustments and combustion improvement opportunities for less money.

Mar. 2023 - “Shock Wave” Impulse Cleaning Device Case Study

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March 2023 – “Shock Wave” Impulse Cleaning Device Case Study 

Storm Technologies, Inc. has teamed up with PowerPlus Cleaning Systems to provide IMPULSE® cleaning technology to our customers in the utility and industrial industries. The impulse cleaner is an inexpensive, low-maintenance system that generates a “shock wave” by completing the combustion of ethylene gas.  The system was originally made to improve the cleaning effectiveness of standard sonic or acoustic horns and has been utilized for cleaning since 2006.  From PowerPlus’ experience and what we have seen firsthand, the system works best in the convection pass versus a radiant section where a molten, sticky, or “runny” slag may be present in many industrial/utility boiler arrangements.

Feb. 2023 - Storm's Fabrication Capabilities And Outage Support 

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Feb. 2023 – Storm’s Fabrication Capabilities And Outage Support 

Storm Technologies, Inc. is more than just testing crews pushing a probe in a boiler or pulling coal samples out of fuel lines.  We have the experience and the abilities to offer resourceful solutions from engineering, design, and fabrication to technical direction, testing, and tuning services for all general boiler and combustion system components. What begins as a conceptual design, often becomes cost-effective RESULTS for our customers.  We are fully committed to our mantra “QUALITY, SERVICE, RESULTS” and we are driven to all of our customers’ needs, from concept to completion.

Jan. 2023 - Periodic Monitoring can Prevent Forced Outages During Peak Demand

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Jan. 2023 – Periodic Monitoring can Prevent Forced Outages During Peak Demand

Storm Technologies, Inc. has long been an advocate for performance-driven maintenance programs. By conducting routine performance testing on the coal pulverizers and boilers, small problems can be identified and often addressed before they potentially cause the unit to be derated or even worse, forced into an unplanned outage. These unplanned forced outages often come during peak power demand periods when the price per MW is high and desired for the boiler to be operated at maximum capacity with a “hands-off” operating policy.

May 2022 - Pulverizer Puffs - Part 2

pulverizerClick Here to Read!In Part II of this two-part newsletter, we are highlighting two more common concerns that plants often face. The first being the rotating throat geometry. As stated in Part I of this series, Storm’s experience has been that 7,000 ft/min velocities must be maintained at the throat to keep raw coal from spilling through the throat. The second point that we will cover in this article is something that over the past ten years seems to have been at the forefront of most pulverized coal plants, and that is changing coal quality. Many plants have been fighting to stay competitive with the addition of natural gas combined cycles and the influx of renewables into the energy market. One of the easiest ways to cut the total operating cost of the plant is to switch to a lower-cost fuel; however, this can come with an array of new challenges; one of them being mill puffs.

April. 2022 - Pulverizer Puffs - Part 1

pulverizerClick Here to Read!
It is too late to conduct preventative primary airflow calibrations or internal mill once a pulverizer puff has occurred. Storm Technologies, Inc. has been a proponent of quarterly testing programs since the company was founded in 1992. While most plants do not conduct testing this frequently, plants that do complete this testing along with performance inspections on an annual basis are much more likely to not experience a mill puff that is related to poor airflow control, throat geometry, or even a change in fuels. In this two-part technical newsletter series, we are providing several examples where these variables can cause or have caused puffs to occur.

Specialized Resources

Pulverizers

March 2024 Newsletter – “The Impact of Primary Airflow Measurement and Control on Safety, Reliability and Optimization”
May 2022 Newsletter – “Pulverizer Puffs – Part 2”
April 2022 Newsletter – “Pulverizer Puffs – Part 1”
Aug. 2020 Newsletter – “The Importance of Fuel Fineness – Part 2”
Aug. 2016 Newsletter – “Would you like to better utilize your outage resources
Dec. 2015 Article – Power Magazine: “Coal Pulverizer Maintenance Improves Boiler Combustion”
Oct. 2015 Newsletter – “Diagnosing Pulverizer Problems”
Aug. 2014 Newsletter – “The Storm Approach to Achieving Optimization Pulverizer Performance”
Mar. 2013 Newsletter – “Three Tips on Applying Performance Driven Maintenance”
Nov. 2012 Newsletter – “Performance Driven Maintenance for Pulverized Coal Fueled Plants”
Aug. 2012 Newsletter – “A Test is Worth a Thousand Words” Performance Driven Maintenance is the Solution”
Apr. 2012 Newsletter – “Maintenance vs. Manpower”
May. 2011 Newsletter – “Pulverizers 101: Part 3”
Apr. 2011 Newsletter – Pulverizers 101: Part 2″
Apr. 2011 Newsletter – “Pulverizers 101: Part 1”
July 2010 Newsletter – “Invest Maintenance Dollars Wisely
Oct. 2010 Article – Coal Power Magazine: “Pulverized Coal Pipe Testing and Balancing”
Apr. 2010 Newsletter – “The Devil is in the Details”
Oct. 2009 Article – Power Magazine: “Measuring Coal Pipe Flow”
Mar. 2009 Article – Power Magazine: Blueprint Your Pulverizer”
Oct. 2008 Article – Power Magazine: “Finessing Fuel Fineness”
June 2008 Article – Power Magazine: “Boiler Optimization Increases Fuel Flexibility”
Mar. 2008 Article – World Coal Magazine: “Quality Counts”
Feb. 2007 Article – Power Magazine: “To Optimize Performance, Begin at the Pulverizers”
Sep. 2006 Article – World Coal Magazine: “Crush It, Pulverize It and Burn It”

Burners & Boilers

Sept. 2020 Newsletter – “Ignoring the fundamentals of combustion can and will impact the life of your superheater and reheater”
Apr. 2020 Newsletter – “STORM Approach to Reliability”
Apr. 2020 Newsletter – “How low can you go – Part 2”
Jan. 2020 Newsletter – “How low can you go – Part 1”
Aug. 2016 Newsletter – “Would You Like to Better Utilize Your Outage Resources”
Dec. 2015 Article – Power Magazine: “Coal Pulverizer Maintenance Improves Boiler Combustion”
June 2015 Article – Power Magazine: Typical Causes of Slagging and Fouling Problems in Boilers”
July 2015 Newsletter – “Large Utility Boiler Design Considerations for Cycling and Low Load Operation”
Mar. 2015 Newsletter – “Cycling of Large Utility Boilers, Some Thoughts to Consider”
Jan. 2014 Newsletter – “Is Your Plant Ready For MATS/MACT in 2014-2015?”
July 2013 Article – World Coal: “Why Remembering the Fundamentals Can Yield Cost-Effective Results in Coal Combustion”
May 2013 Newsletter – “Coal Fired Boiler Optimization and the Impact on Emission Control Devices”
Mar. 2013 Newsletter – “Three Tips on Applying Performance Driven Maintenance”
Aug. 2012 Newsletter – “A Test is Worth a Thousand Words” Performance Driven Maintenance is the Solution”
June 2012 Newsletter – “Yes, There is a War on Coal! But Somebody has to keep the lights on!”
Mar. 2011 Newsletter – “Meeting MACT Compliance”
Nov. 2010 Article – Coalblog: “The Benefits of Applying the Fundamentals”
June 2010 Newsletter – “How to Achieve High Load Factor”
June 2010 Newsletter – “The Story Behind the STORM Fan Boosted Overfire Air System”
Dec. 2009 Newsletter – “#1 Controllable Stealth Loss – Boiler Air In-Leakage”
Aug. 2009 Newsletter – “The Impact of Furnace Performance on the Reliability of Superheater and Reheater Metals”
Dec. 2008 Article – Power Magazine: Getting the Most From Boilers, Industrial Fuels”
Oct. 2008 Article – Power Magazine: “Finessing Fuel Fineness”
June 2008 Article – Power Magazine: “Boiler Optimization Increases Fuel Flexibility”
Mar. 2008 Article – World Coal Magazine: Quality Counts”
Feb. 2007 Article – Power Magazine: “To Optimize Performance, Begin at the Pulverizers”
Oct. 2006 Article – Power Magazine: “Apply the Fundamentals to Improve Emissions Performance”
Mar. 2005 Article – Power Magazine: “How stealth combustion losses lower plant efficiency”

Published Articles

2020 - Recent

Technical Papers & Presentations

2000 - 2009

Oct. 2009PowerGEN Asia 2009 – “An Update on Performance Optimization and Efficiency Improvement Programs…”
Feb. 2009EPRI Heat Rate Conference 2009 –The Unintended Consequences of New Source Review (NSR). Imagine What the Utility Industry Could do without NSR”
Nov. 20082nd Annual Illinois Basin Coal Symposium – “Combustion Optimization by Application of the Fundamentals as it Relates to Illinois Basin Coal”
Oct. 2008American Coal Council – Enhancing Public Perception of Coal”
Jul. 20082008 Fuel Flexibility Conference – Maximizing Plant Performance
May 2008ASME International Electric Power Conference 2008 – The Extreme Importance of Total Air & Fuel Flow Measurement on a 450MW B&W Wall Fired Unit Firing High Sulfur Fuels”
Mar. 2006ASME International Electric Power Conference 2006 – A Case Study of How Vertical Spindle Pulverizer Performance is Related to Overall Plant Performance”
Mar. 2006ASME International Electric Power Conference 2006 – ” Achieving Simultaneous NOx and Combustion Improvements on a 90MW T-Fired Unit by Applying the Fundamentals”
Apr. 2005ASME International Electric Power Conference 2005  – ” A Comprehensive Approach to NOx Reduction without Low NOx Burners”
Oct.. 2003International Conference on Thermal Power Generation – ” Practical Diagnostic Tests to Identify Opportunities to Improve Heat Rate, Reliability, and Capacity Variables “
Apr. 2003EPRI Conference 2003 – ” Optimizing Performance by Applying the Fundamentals”
Jun. 2002International Joint Power Generation Conference – “Performance Improvements at the Boardman Coal Plant as a Result of Testing and Input/Loss Monitoring”