Progress made in UK power plant’s coal-to-biomass conversion
MMI Engineering has carried out comprehensive pipe integrity checks at the Port of Tyne and Lynemouth power station in the UK, after BOC supplied a nitrogen deluge fire suppression system to help facilitate the plant’s coal to biomass fuel conversion.
After winning the contract to supply the nitrogen fire suppression system for the three biomass silos at the Port of Tyne and Lynemouth facility, BOC required comprehensive analysis of its equipment supply to confirm its code compliance and ensure pipework integrity. MMI, a UK headquartered provider of technical consulting and engineering services, has now successfully delivered those integrity checks.
Speaking about the contract, Andy Nelson, senior consultant at MMI said: “Having previously worked with BOC on similar projects at Immingham and Peel Ports, we are delighted to have secured this further contract to carry out our services on such a high-profile project.
MMI carried out pipe stressing of the Outside Battery Limits (OSBL) nitrogen supply pipework to assess the suitability under a range of design conditions determined within parameters provided by BOC. The company used Caesar II software to carry out design checks of the pipework and assess the imposed pipe reactions.
Combining geometrically representative models and a series of hand calculations to confirm the adequacy of the equipment, MMI proposed a range of modifications to help improve the performance of the pipework system and its supports to ensure its overall integrity.
Brian Pickering, Applications Sales Engineer at BOC said: “Ultimate performance of our equipment is of paramount importance at BOC, and having worked extensively with MMI we know that they deliver the highest technical consulting support which means we are confident that our products fully comply with – if not exceed – industry standards.
“MMI offered recommendations that have enabled our equipment to not only meet with necessary standards, but also remain optimal under maximum loading conditions. As such, this has added significant value to the installation by reducing maintenance costs and increasing performance.”
The conversion of the power plant, which is located on the Northumberland coast, is expected to be completed in early 2018. It will see a reduction in NOx, SO2, dust and CO2 emissions, helping to achieve the UK government’s climate change targets.
