United States
                   Environmental Protection
                   Agency
Air and Energy Engineering
Research Laboratory
Research Triangle Park NC 27711'
                   Research and Development
EPA600 S7-85/031b Sept. 1985
v>EPA         Project  Summary
                   An  Evaluation  of  Full-Scale
                   Fabric  Filters  on  Utility
                   Boilers:   PP  and   L  Brunner
                   Island  Station  Unit  1

                   John W. Richardson, John D. McKenna, and John C. Mycock
                     The objective of this program was to
                   evaluate and characterize the perform-
                   ance of full-scale fabric filter units in-
                   stalled on 100 MW or larger coal-fired
                   power plants. This document reports
                   the results of total mass and fractional
                   size paniculate emission tests at one
                   location. Operating and  maintenance
                   data from this  location are also in-
                   cluded. A separate report documents a
                   similar emission test on a second site.
                     Two series of tests were conducted
                   at Pennsylvania Power and Light's
                   Brunner Island Station Unit 1 on August
                   12-16, 1981, and September 2-4, 1982.
                   Five inlet/outlet total  mass tests were
                   conducted in August 1981, and three in-
                   let/outlet  total mass  tests were con-
                   ducted in September  1982.
                     Emissions for Unit 1 are controlled by
                   a 24-compartment Carborundum bag-
                   house that has a designed gas flow of
                   1,200,000  acfm* at 330°F. Each com-
                   partment contains 264 bags, each mea-
                   suring 11.5 in. in diameter and 35 ft 4 in.
                   in length.
                     Average outlet concentrations for
                   both test  series were higher than ex-
                   pected. Outlet emissions for the August
                   1981 tests averaged  0.037 lb/106 Btu,
                   and the average baghouse efficiency
                   was 99.7%. Average  outlet emissions
                   for the September 1982 tests were
                   0.096 lb/106 Btu, and  the average
                   'Readers more familiar with the metric system may
                    use the conversion factors at the end of this
                    Summary.
baghouse efficiency was 98.4%. The
allowable particulate emission rate for
this source stipulated by the Pennsyl-
vania  Department of  Environmental
Resources is 0.10 lb/106 Btu.
  Two inlet/outlet and two blank cas-
cade impactor tests were performed
during the August 1981 program. The
impactor test series of September 1982
included 10 runs: 4 inlet, 4 outlet, and
2 blanks. Average mass mean diame-
ters were 13.4 pm at the inlet and 7.0
|tm at the outlet during the August
1981 tests, and 19.9 |im at the inlet and
9.0 |im at the outlet during the Septem-
ber 1982 tests.
  This Project Summary was devel-
oped by EPA 'a Air and energy Engineer-
ing Research Laboratory, Research Tri-
angle Park, NC, to announce key
findings of the research project that is
fully documented in a separate report
of the same title (see Project Report or-
dering information at back).
Introduction
  ETS, Inc., was funded by EPA to con-
duct a program to characterize the per-
formance of three full-scale fabric filter
units operating on large (>100 MW)
coal-fired power plants. The objective of
the program was to document the capa-
bilities and behavior of fabric filters ap-
plied to large utilities burning a range of
coals.
  The purpose of the test series  de-
scribed in this report was to determine

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Table 1.
Data Summary
                                       (Test Series 1, PP&L Brunner Island, Unit 11

                                      OUTLET EMISSION DATA
                                                                                                  August 12-16,  1981
Run
&
Date
1
8 1281
2
81381
3
81481
4
8 1581
5
8 16/81
Paniculate Emissions
Ib 106 Btu
0.027

0.018

0.078

0.037

0.026

Ibhr
85.0

53.0

273

128

91

gracf
0.0085

0.0056

0.025

0.012

0.008

MW
Production
337

345

341

340

340

Flow
actm
dscfm
1170000
730000
1110000
680000
1250000
780000
1260000
780000
1330000
790000
Temp.
°F
294

289

280

282

289

Orsat
CO2 02 CO
12.2 6.0 0. 1

12.9 5.3 0.2

12.9 5.3 0. 1

13. 1 5.3 0. 1

13. 1 5.2 0.0

Stack
Gas
Moisture
5.7

7.8

7.6

7.6

6.8

INLET LOADING DATA
Run
&
Date
1
8 12/81
2
8/13/81
3
8/14/81
4
8/15/81
5
8/16/81
Baghouse
Col. Eff.
99.8

99.8

99.2

99.7

99.8

Paniculate
Ib/hr
52000

29000

37000

42000

45000

Loading
gr/acf
6.16

2.96

3.88

4.32

4.66

Baghouse
Diff. Pres.
in. H2O
8.0

8.1

7.9

8.3

8.5

Flow
acfm
dscfm
980000
600000
1 140000
710000
1 1 10000
690000
1 140000
710000
1 120000
690000
Temp.
°F
286

290

290

293

300

Orsat
CO2 O2 CO
13.1 5.4 0.0

12.7 5.4 0.0

12.1 5.7 0.0

13.0 5.3 0.0

13.1 5.2 0.0

Stack
Gas
Moistur
11.0

8.1

9.1

8.1

7.1

particulate emissions in pounds per mil-
lion Btu and to determine particle size
using cascade  impactors at Pennsylva-
nia  Power and Light's Brunner  Island
Station Unit  1.
  Two separate test  programs  were
conducted at the Brunner Island Station
during this  research program  from
November 1980 to October 1983. The
first test  series was performed in Au-
gust 1981, and the second in August-
September 1982.
  The particulate emissions at the inlet
to and outlet from the baghouse were
tested according  to  Federal  Register
Reference Methods 1-5. Assembly and
use of the impacter train followed state-
of-the-art  protocol and  general
Method 5 sampling train procedures.
  Five inlet/outlet particulate total mass
tests were performed during the 1981
test series, and three inlet/outlet partic-
                             ulate total mass tests during the 1982
                             test series. Summaries of these  test
                             data are in Tables 1 and 2.
                               In addition  to the two  detailed  test
                             programs conducted at the PP&L Brun-
                             ner Island Station, detailed operational
                             and maintenance data  were recorded
                             for 2 years, from unit start-up, October
                             19, 1980, through September 31, 1982.
                             These data have been analyzed exhaus-
                             tively, and the results and recommen-
                             dations of this work appear  in  this
                             report.

                             Process and Control Device
                             Description
                               PP&L's Brunner Island Station Unit 1
                             consists of a tangentially fired Combus-
                             tion Engineering boiler,  rated at  350
                             MW and 2,200,000 Ib steam/hr. Boiler
                             operating conditions are 2,500 psig and
                             1005°F at the superheater. Reheater de-
sign is 600 psig with an outlet steam
temperature of 1005°F.
  Pulverized coal  is supplied  to the
boiler by five Combustion Engineering
Raymond bowl mills. The boiler  is fired
with No.  2 fuel oil during start-up. Fuel
oil can also be used to supplement coal-
firing at any boiler  load.
  The flue gas from boiler 1 is directed
into a common stack that is shared with
Unit 2. Two induced-draft fans  are in-
stalled on each unit. The I.D. fans for
Unitl were modified by PP&L to accom-
modate the baghouse.
  Particulate emissions from  Unit 1
were initially controlled by two parallel
electrostatic  precipitators (ESPs). Ex-
tensive duct work  runs and modifica-
tions were required to locate a full-scale
baghouse at the site.  This baghouse
was designed, furnished, delivered, and
erected by the Carborundum Company.

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  The newer ESP was blanked off and
retired in place, and all the gas flow was
directed through the original ESP. Only
the perforated  plates were  removed
from the original ESP.
  The baghouse consists of 24 compart-
ments with 264 bags per compartment,
totaling 6,336 bags. Bag dimensions are
11.5 in.  in diameter  by 35 ft 4 in. in
length. Most of the original bags were
9.3 oz fiberglass with  Teflon "B"  finish.
Reverse air cleaning is used to periodi-
cally remove particulate which has col-
lected on the interior of the filter bags.
The baghouse can be cleaned either on
a continuous timed cycle or on a differ-
ential pressure basis. The baghouse has
a bypass damper designed for a flue gas
volume  of 330,000 acfm at 300°F. The
standby heating system is an electrical
resistance type  with controls to main-
tain the  baghouse at 300°F after shut-
down.

Testing Methodology,
Sampling Equipment and
Procedures
  Particulate emission tests were con-
ducted according to U.S. EPA Reference
Methods 5 and 17 procedures in con-
junction with Methods 1, 2, 3, and 4.  An
Alundum thimble (Method 17) was used

Table 2.    Data Summary
for testing on the inlet because the con-
centration of particulate matter in the
gas stream to the baghouse was very
high. The EPA contract  specified
Method 5 sampling on the outlet. A Nor-
ton AN-899 retention Alundum thimble
was used  in this test series  to prevent
vacuum problems and  reduce the extra
time required to change filters and
check for leaks.  Subsequent laboratory
analysis  supported this decision be-
cause no  more  than 6.5% of the total
outlet particulate catch was  deposited
on the Method 5 filter during any of the
tests of the August 1981 test program.
  Each test included a 49-point traverse
with a 5-minute sampling duration for
each point, resulting in a total test time
of 4 hours and 5 minutes.
  The particulate sampling equipment
used is referred to as the "EPA Particu-
late Sampling Train," designed and de-
veloped by the U.S.  EPA.
  The apparatus used consisted of a
stainless steel sampling nozzle,  an
Alundum thimble,  a  Method 5 filter
holder containing an 87-mm Schleicher
and Sherell #1-HV high-purity glass fil-
ter, a series of four Greenburg-Smith
impingers, a check valve, a leakless vac-
uum pump, a dry gas meter, and a cali-
brated orifice. The impingers and con-
                                       (Test Series 2, PP&L Brunner Island, Unit 1)

                                             OUTLET EMISSION DATA
necting  tubes  were Pyrex  glass,
connected with glass ball-and-socket
joints. The probe was Type 316 stainless
steel.
  Using a Type S pitot tube, a velocity
traverse was performed along each tra-
verse  axis during each particulate run.
The velocity pressure at each sampling
point was measured,  using an inclined
manometer.  A thermocouple attached
to the pitot tube measured gas stream
temperature. Thermal potential was
measured with  an Omega portable
potentiometer.
  Before beginning a  run, the sampling
train including probe and nozzle was
leak-tested by plugging the nozzle with
a rubber  stopper and applying a vac-
uum of 15 in.  Hg to  the system. This
procedure was repeated at the conclu-
sion of each  run. The maximum allow-
able leakage rate of 0.02 cfm was not
exceeded during any  of the leak tests.
  At the  completion  of each test, the
sampling nozzle, the inside of the probe,
the inside of the thimble holder, and the
front-half of the glass fiber filter holder
were washed with deionized water and
acetone. The washings were collected
in separate  storage  containers. The
Alundum thimble and the glass fiber fil-
ter were removed from their respective
                                                        September 2-3, 1982
Run
&
Date
1
9/2/82
2
9/3/82 '
3
9/3/82
Particulate Emissions
lb/106 Btu
0.071
0.104
0.114
Ib/hr
251
395
397
gr/acf
0.021
0.032
0.035
MW
Production
335
335
335
Flow
acfm
dscfm
1370000
820000
1440000
890000
1340000
820000
Temp.
°F
318
306
311

C02
%
13.0
12.6
12.5
Orsat
02
%
6.0
6.2
6.4

CO
%
0.0
0.0
0.0
Stack
Gas
Moisture
%
5.1
4.2
4.8
                                               INLET LOADING DATA
Run
&
Date
1
9/2/82
2
9/3/82
3
9/3/82
Particulate Loading
lb/106 Btu
6.18
7.84
7.82
Ib/hr
17000
25000
24000
gr/acf
1.77
2.35
2.43
Baghouse
Diff. Pres.
in. H2O
8.2
8.0
8.2
Flow
acfm
dscfm
1 140000
670000
1230000
720000
1160000
690000
Temp.
°F
315
308
314
Orsat
CO2 O,
% %
13.0 6.0
12.8 6.0
12.5 6.3

CO
%
0.0
0.0
0.0
Stack
Gas
Moisture
%
11.0
11.1
9.2
Baghouse
Col. Eff.
%
98.6
98.4
98.3

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   filter holders and stored in separate
   storage containers.

   Summary of Results for First
   Brunner Island Test Series
    Results for  particulate total mass
   emission tests performed August 12-16,
   1981, at PP&L  Brunner Island  Unit 1,
   steam-electric station are summarized
   in Table 1. As shown in Table 1, the av-
   erage particulate emission rate for
   these five tests was 0.037 lb/106 Btu,
   compared to a Department of Environ-
   mental  Resources' allowable emission
   rate of 0.10 lb/106 Btu.
    Six cascade impactor tests were per-
   formed: two i.nlet, two outlet, and two
   blanks.  Average mass mean diameter
   was 13.4 (xm at the inlet and 7.0 n-m at
   the outlet.

   Description of  Second Brunner
   Island Test Series
    A second series of particulate tests
   and impactor tests were conducted at
   the Brunner Island Unit 1 station, Sep-
   tember 2-4,  1982. The same objectives
   were incorporated into the program as
   for the test program of August 1981.
    Test protocol, test port locations, and
   sampling equipment were also the
   same as those used in the first test pro-
   gram.
       Summary of Results—Second
       Test Series
         Results of the three inlet/outlet partic-
       ulate total  mass emission tests per-
       formed September 2-4, 1982, are sum-
       marized in Table 2. The average
       particulate emission rate for the outlet
       tests was 0.096 lb/106 Btu, more than
       twice the emission rate of the August
       1981 tests, yet still below the Pennsyl-
       vania Department of Environmental Re-
       sources' allowable emission rate of 0.10
       lb/106 Btu.
         The impactor test series included 10
       runs: 4 inlet, 4 outlet,  and 2 blanks.
       Computer  manipulation of these data
       showed two peaks each for both the in-
       let and outlet runs. Average mass mean
       diameter was 19.9 urn at the inlet and
       9.0 (Am at the outlet.
Metric Conversions
  This Summary includes certain non-
metric  units for the reader's conve-
nience. Those  more familiar with the
metric system  may  use the following
conversion factors.
Nonmetric    Times
Yields Metric
Btu
°F
ft
ft3
gr
in.
in.2
Ib
1.055
5/9 (°F-32)
30.48
28.32
0.065
2.54
6.45
0.454
kJ
°C
cm
1
g
cm
cm2
kg
         J. Richardson, J. McKenna, andJ. My cock are with ETS, Inc., Roanoke, VA 24018.
         Dale L. Harmon is the EPA Project Officer (see below).
         The complete report, entitled "An Evaluation of Full-scale Fabric Filters on Utility
           Boilers: PP&L Brunner Island Station Unit 1." (Order No. PB 85-235 521/AS;
           Cost: $20.50, subject to change) will be available only from:
                 National Technical Information Service
                 5285 Port Royal Road
                 Springfield, VA 22181
                 Telephone: 703-487-4650
         The EPA Project Officer can be contacted at:
                 Air and Energy Engineering Research Laboratory
                 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
                 Research Triangle Park, NC 27711
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Center for Environmental Research
Information
Cincinnati OH 45268
Official Business
Penalty for Private Use $300

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