Problem Solving
Many industrial companies own legacy steam plants that continue to operate profitably, but with decreasing efficiency, increased energy needs, and increasing downtime and maintenance. Often the cause in decreased performance is difficult to identify. The eSteamG Team has a track record of discovering and resolving problems that have existed in some cases for decades, often saving plants and mills millions of dollars in costly repairs and equipment damage.
Our approach starts with an assessment of your facility using a combination of extensive industry knowledge, plant specific-knowledge held by your staff, and actual measurements of your system while it is operating. Then we use new technologies, components, materials, and sensors to optimize plant efficiency, reduce downtime, and increase equipment life.
Our approach addresses the root cause of the problems rather than chasing symptoms. Although it requires a systemic approach to improvements and data gathering, the focus on root causes solves core problems and extends plant life.
Let’s consider a few examples of how this works.
At a NW pulp and paper plant, the desuperheaters were not performing within specification (and had not for years) resulting in decreased drying performance and shortened coil life. Our solution developed an engineering correction to the problem that could be implemented at a fraction (less than 10%) of the cost of upgrading the desuperheating system. This solution brought the units back into specification, improved drying efficiencies, and increased equipment life.
At another facility, what initially started as observations of decreased production efficiencies eventually lead to pump failure due to clogging. The facility changed out the pump, which failed to correct the problem. The facility then turned to us to discover the underlying problems. Our observations indicated that the source of the clogging was upstream corrosion resulting in metal oxides and particulates reaching the pump. Solving this problem included changes in sensors, recalibration of critical systems, and identification of the root cause being chemical and sensor problems way upstream of the failed pump.