Totally OT: Power Plant tour

[Cord]

Had an opportunity today to walk through a coal fired power plant. Thought maybe you'd appreciate seeing the inside of one. Security was surprisingly simple. Once we got through the front gate, we pretty much had unescorted access. Probably would be different if this was a nuclear plant.

 

[RobS]

Pretty cool, thanks for posting. Is pulverization the same as coal gasification?

 

[Cord]

I'm only a lowly architect, so I'm not certain, but I suspect you are onto something. The bottom of each pulverizer had the paint burned off and they were very hot. Could feel the heat radiating off them from 10' away.

 

[hosspuller]

Pulverizers are used to burn coal in furnace as particles suspended in air. The flour consistency is almost gaslike in burning properties. Coal gasification is a different animal.

see here .. Pulverizers Products BW

and here for internals.. E/EL Pulverizers – Products – BW

 

[jack707]

For 14 years I been in power plants working to fix them.
Boiler makers local 107

 

[woody]

those pulverizers look like journal type mills and yes the powder that is blown into the boiler is highly flammable, where is this plant it sure looks clean compared to some I have seen.

 

[MossRoad]

Pretty cool, thanks for posting. Is pulverization the same as coal gasification?

Pulverization just makes very fine coal dust, not gas, that can be fed in to fire a boiler on a more consistent basis. Think of it like an auto feeder on a wood pellet stove VS stoking a stove with large chunks of wood. Gasification makes actual gas that they can pipe to other locations like natural gas. There used to be a gasification operation in DTSB well before we were born. I think somewhere around either the Century Center or the old NIPSCO gas tower between Miami and Fellows.

 

[Cord]

those pulverizers look like journal type mills and yes the powder that is blown into the boiler is highly flammable, where is this plant it sure looks clean compared to some I have seen.

Wisconsin, on the shores of Michigan. Yes, it was a lot cleaner than I was anticipating. After the sugar explosions, OSHA has been really cracking down on dust control.

 

[jack707]

Here a few pics. I took through the years in the trade. The pic. With the crane in a SER going up on the shore of the lake.Another one is looking up in a small fire box. And last is the supports that hold up the water walls for the boiler.

 

[czechsonofagun]

Very nice, thanks for sharing.