Portland General Electric’s (PGE) Boardman plant is a nominal 600 megawatt (MW) coal fired unit that burns sub-bituminous Powder River Basin (PRB) coal from Wyoming. This paper will cover the experience and results of PGE’s Boardman plant operating on 100% torrefied wood (TW) pellets at 255 MW consuming almost 5000 tons of pellets. Results were positive and include suitable handing after inclement weathering for months. Pulverizers were able to handle the TW pellets with adjustments, resulting in near 100% combustion efficiency. Particulates were controlled with an electrostatic precipitator (ESP). Topics investigated include torrefied wood production, fuel handling and storage on the front end of the test. Fuel handling, pulverization, combustion, emissions, and ESP performance were monitored during the test and are reported here. Several one mill tests were conducted prior to the 100% test to evaluate and improve mill performance. This test showed that a pulverized coal (PC) boiler can operate on 100% TW fuel with minimal operational changes.

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This paper discusses, from a practical viewpoint, the use of scale models to study flow-distribution problems encountered in the design of boiler furnaces. Some of the types of models used by the authors’ company and the methods of testing each type are described. A brief discussion of model design is presented. An example of how flow models were used to aid in the design of the furnace arrangement for a specific unit is described.

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This paper describes a pilot-plant pulverized-coal gasifier installed at the Morgantown Station of the Bureau of Mines and a semicommercial gasifier of similar design installed at the E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Company, Inc., Belle, West Virginia. A brief summary of the operating data obtained from these two units is presented and material requirements are given for this method of coal gasification. A large size unit of this design is now under construction and will go into operation next year. This will be the first commercial application of the process in this country. Details of the design that provide for handling of coal ash of widely varying fusing temperatures are given in an effort to point out those features which have contributed to continuous uninterrupted operation. Included also is a discussion of heat flow within the gasification unit to illustrate the factors involved in obtaining an economical process.