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from 1/2-inch to 2 inches for pressures from
5 psi to 464 psi and temperatures to 850 F.
The traps are available with cast iron,
ductile iron or cast steel bodies. Features
include a thermostatic element that eliminates air binding, a below-condensate-level
seat design to prevent steam leakage and a
discharge capacity up to 31,000 gal of condensate per hour. Several models and configurations are available. For more information, visit www.nicholsonsteamtrap.com.
Vancouver Considers Own
Energy Utility
According to straight.com, a Web site
covering news of Vancouver, B.C., the City
of Vancouver is considering creating its own
environmentally friendly heat-and-electrical
utility. In April 2005 the Vancouver city
council voted to issue a request for proposals
to hire a consultant to study the feasibility
of such a system to serve a 200-hectare
(more than 494-acre) area around the False
Creek basin.
Manager of the city’s sustainability
group, Thomas Osboda, described the
utility to the council as a ‘community energy
system,’ which would include a connected
loop of pipes creating pathways for heat
to enter the system or reach residences or
businesses. Micro-electricity grids would
also deliver power, which could come from
solar, wind or hydrogen sources.
A preliminary study done by Compass
Resource Management recommended a
mixed ownership-and-operation model in
which the city would own the distribution
network and other investors would own the
heat and emergency-power sources.
Osboda also suggested that the utility
could eventually supply heat and electricity
to other areas of the city.
Now Available: New
Geothermal Report
Research and Markets Ltd. has released
the latest edition of The Geothermal Report, a
comprehensive source of information about
the principal technologies for geothermal
generation, the current geothermal market,
and the current geothermal capacity for direct
use and power generation in all countries
where geothermal energy is used. The report
also contains an analysis of geothermal capital
and operations and maintenance costs, compared with those of other generating technologies. A copy of the report may be
ordered in electronic or hard-copy form. To
order or learn more, visit www.researchand
markets.com/reports/c23519.
Southeast Falls Creek To Use
Sewage Effluent for Heating
A highly efficient hot water district
heating system is being planned for
Vancouver Southeast Falls Creek, the location of the 2010 Winter Olympics. FVB
Energy is designing the system, to be
located on a former light industrial site, for
the City of Vancouver. The mixed-use
development will include 6,000 residential
units. A low-temperature hot water system
is now in the conceptual design and business planning stage and is expected to
incorporate a heat pump system for
extraction of heat from sewage effluent.
Wärtsilä Sells Biomass
Power Plant
Wärtsilä, the Finnish power plant supplier, announced in September that it sold a
biomass-fueled power plant to Vattenfall of
Sweden. The plant, to be built in the community of Motala, Sweden, will be a combined heat and power (CHP) plant that burns
wood waste as fuel. The cost of the facility is
11 million euros (more than $13.6 million). It
will be Wärtsilä’s fourth biomass-fueled plant
in Sweden. Construction is expected to be
complete by the end of 2006.
Sheffield Incinerator
Replaced
The Bernard Road waste incinerator in
Sheffield, England, is being replaced with a
new ‘energy recovery facility’ that will produce more hot water and electrical energy
for the city when it starts up in spring
2006. The existing incinerator made news
in 2002 when Greenpeace protesters
scaled its chimney, which they claimed
threatened the health of area residents.
The new equipment will generate 39
MWt for the city’s district heating system,
up from the current 36. The plant’s electrical
output is also expected to triple from 6. 8
MW to 19 MW. The new incinerator’s performance will be monitored by the Environment Agency for compliance with new,
tougher emissions restrictions.
The district energy network supplied
by the Bernard Road facility serves more than
130 city buildings, including the Town Hall,
Sheffield Theatres, Weston Park Hospital
and many others. The development is a
partnership between Sheffield Council and
Onyx, the city’s waste disposal provider.
Flowserve Releases New
Software Version
Flowserve Corp. announced the launch
of version 9. 3.0 of Performance!, the company’s control-valve sizing and selection
software. The software employs industry-standard ISA sizing equations, among other
measures, to specify Flowserve control
valves and similar competing valve products.
Among the features of the new
release are additions to the programs
product and options database as well as
