11
ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENT
11.1 Energy management Energy management of boilers is sensible to minimise operating costs & emissions, to facilitate safe operation and to prolong plant life. Expert advice should be sought before any change in the operating parameters of a boiler which may affect the safety, environmental impact and efficient operation. This may include the following: x Metering to monitor boiler efficiency; x Water treatment; x Combustion analysis and burner adjustment to reduce energy wastage & emissions; x Energy improvement devices such as economisers, variable speed drives, flue gas dampers, auto TDS control, combustion control etc.; x Plant scheduling and boiler optimisation to maximise plant efficiency. The ability to carry out measurement is recommended to demonstrate efficient operation and compliant emissions. It should be noted that reducing steam pressure may not necessarily improve efficiency. Certain large organisations (ones that employ at least 250 people, or have an annual turnover in excess of €50 million and a balance sheet in excess of €43 million) will also have to comply with the Energy Saving Opportunities Scheme (ESOS); most public sector bodies are excluded. 11.2 Environmental issues All combustion plant has an impact on the environment through a combination of emissions to air, land and water. Larger installations will already be covered by a permit issued by the Environment Agency, NRW, SEPA or NIHES. Individual combustion plants with a nett rated thermal input of between 1MW and 50MW will eventually all be covered by a permit issued under the Medium Combustion Plant Directive. This permit will detail the boiler ’s effect on the environment and list the permit conditions applied to the operator. It is illegal to operate the plant without a permit and outside these conditions, and all new medium combustion plants first fired after 19/12/2018 require a permit. Smaller plants <1MWth will be regulated by local authorities under the Clean Air Act 1993 with the environmental agencies responsible for emissions to water courses. Local Authorities are principally concerned with the issues of nuisance, such as smoke and dust emissions, which will be regulated. However, operators still have a requirement to ensure that all products of combustion are adequately dispersed. All solid and liquid waste products produced by a combustion plant must be removed by a licensed waste carrier. Water discharged to drains must comply with water utility restrictions, and a discharge temperature of greater than 43 o C is not allowed under the terms of the Water industry Act 1991. Legislation and guidance can be downloaded from gov.uk, hse.gov.uk, or the CEA and SAFed web sites.
BG01 Guidance on the safe Operation of Steam Boilers Edition 2 – © 2019
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