By Raymond Shepherd, Chairman at James Ramsay
As we reflect on climate change and the burning of fossil fuels, we should take a moment to consider what part steam plants play in contributing to the problem and what can be done to reduce their impact on this global issue.
It’s strange to think that more than 100 years ago, when James Ramsay was founded on the banks of the Clyde, that its core business was steam. The industrial revolution had come and gone, and steam was now the main driving force across shipping, rail travel, heavy industry, and power generation. Fast forward 100 years and James Ramsay continues to be heavily involved in the steam sector -carrying out new boiler installations, insurance inspections, pipework installations and boiler repairs.
The way steam is raised has not changed much in the past 100 years. We use heat from a fuel source, be that coal, oil, gas, biomass, waste heat or nuclear, to heat water and produce steam, the principle is exactly the same now as it was 100 years ago.
So, what has changed? Boilers have been converted from burning coal to burning heavy oil, then converted to burning light oil, then converted to burning gas, and possibly in the near future hydrogen. We have seen biomass come into the market and there now seems to be an appetite for waste heat boilers as businesses look to reduce their fuel bills and capture every part of the heating process as possible to reduce their carbon foot print.
A proposed ban on some waste to landfill has seen the resurgence of waste heat plants across the globe. There’s nothing new in this but there seems to be an appetite to make these plants more compliant and more socially acceptable. What do we create from a waste heat plant? Steam. And the steam drives turbines that produce electricity, and as a bi-product of this, the waste steam can be uses in other applications. The ongoing works at Michelin Scotland Innovation Parc (MSIP) in Dundee are a great example of this. The local waste to energy plant produces steam at a high pressure to drive turbines and then exports the exhaust steam to its neighbour, MSIP, to use for space heating and possibly other manufacturing uses.
As we see costs for electricity spiral to unprecedented levels, we have seen the resurgence of combined heat and power units. In simple terms, we use gas to turn an engine or turbine, this produces electricity and the waste heat can be used for a variety of purposes including, yes, you guessed, it producing steam!
Why steam? As a heating medium it is extremely versatile. It can be produced to provide a temperature range of 110°C through to super-heated temperatures in excess of 500°C, it can sterilise, it can drive turbines, it can provide heating, and it can carry out the transfer of heat to a myriad of other materials and products. This makes it the first choice in food production, oil refining and process applications across the globe.
The future. If James Ramsay is still around in 100 years, we will still be a steam specialist, and the methods for raising steam will, in my opinion, not have changed much. What we have to change to confront the challenge of global warming is ensure the steam raising process is as efficient as possible. New technologies do exist to make sure we maximise the steam produced from the fuel we burn, economisers on all steam boilers to capture as much of the heat produced as possible, improved gas and oil burners to maximise efficiency, good management of steam systems to ensure waste is eradicated and a greatly improved attitude to maintenance and water treatment.
Let’s make the best of this fantastic resource and use it wisely.
