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U.S. Department of Energy Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy

    ITP Awards $2.6 Million to Boost Combustion Efficiency in Industrial Boilers

    September 13, 2005

    DOE's Industrial Technologies Program (ITP) announced the selection of three new combustion technology R&D projects that will receive nearly $2.6 million in total cost-shared funding over the next 2 years. The R&D teams selected plan to develop advanced industrial boilers that deliver superior energy and environmental performance. By 2020, these boiler technologies are expected to reduce energy use in industrial boilers by seven percent, saving industry $2 billion per year in energy costs.

    Combustion systems use nearly three-quarters of all energy consumed in U.S. manufacturing. However, these new technologies should help save energy, increase efficiency and improve environmental performance throughout the manufacturing sector.

    The three new projects were selected through an open, competitive solicitation process. The collaborative R&D teams include seven private companies and research organizations, two national laboratories, and three universities. In 2007, one or two of the projects will be selected for field-testing, with the industry cost share increasing to 50 percent. Following are descriptions of the projects.

    Project: Modular, High Efficiency, Low -Emissions Package Boiler
    Partners and Project Description: Babcock and Wilcox, Barberton, Ohio, will work with the John Zink Company, Tulsa, Oklahoma, to develop an advanced, industrial-size, water-tube steam generation system with multi-stage combustion and low-emission burner equipment. The boiler and burner system design will also be enhanced to improve thermal and emission performance.

    DOE Funding:

    • Phase 1: $600,000
    • Phase 2: $1,200,000

    Cost-Share:

    • Phase 1: $157,000
    • Phase 2: $1,488,000

    Project: Super Boiler 2nd Generation Technology for Watertube Boilers
    Partners and Project Description: The Gas Technology Institute, Des Plaines, Illinois, will lead Aqua-Chem, Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Alstom Power, Windsor, Connecticut; Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia; DOE's Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee; and DOE's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington, in applying results from the successful Super Boiler project to large, high-pressure watertube boilers. The project, now entering its demonstration phase, features a flash evaporation cooler and staged transport membrane condenser, which will be explored to deliver high efficiency in a compact design.

    DOE Funding:

    • Phase 1: $496,000
    • Phase 2: $1,100,00

    Cost-Share:

    • Phase 1: $579,000
    • Phase 2: $1,884,000

    Project: Multi-Staged Printed Circuit Boiler for Industrial Use
    Partners and Project Description: Reaction Engineering International, Salt Lake City, Utah, will lead researchers from the University of Utah, Salt Lake City; University of Sydney, Australia; and Meggitt/ Heatric PLC, Sydney, Australia, to develop and demonstrate a printed-circuit, multi-staged industrial boiler with high efficiencies, ultra-low emissions, and multi-fuel capability. The small-footprint, lightweight boiler will produce steam at greater than 1,500° F and pressures greater than 1,500 pounds per square inch gauge.

    DOE Funding:

    • Phase 1: $590,000
    • Phase 2: $1,200,000

    Cost-Share:

    • Phase 1: $155,000
    • Phase 2: $1,200,000

    To learn more about ITP's efforts to improve efficiency of combustion systems, please visit the ITP Combustion Web site. For more information and resources to improve industrial energy efficiency contact the EERE Information Center, 1-877-337-3463.