Stark Tech’s Boiler and Combustion division worked with John W. Danforth Company to design, spec, bid and win the installation project for a 60,000 pounds per hour, Victory Energy boiler system.
The customized O-style, high pressure steam boiler replaces a 30,000 pph system that was installed nearly 30 years ago. The new system is expected to operate for the next 50 years and was custom designed to fit the facility space. The O-Style steam boiler provides an enhanced heat recovery system in a vertical configuration to maintain the most efficient overall footprint.
The newly placed energy-efficient boiler, with overall dimensions of 34’L x 11’W x 13’H, will work with two existing boilers to heat Kaleida Health buildings on the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus, including Buffalo General Medical Center, Gates Vascular Institute, and John R. Oishei Children’s Hospital.
The engineering team for Stark Tech’s boiler group joined John W. Danforth at 7 a.m. on Saturday, Dec. 28, 2019 for the installation. Over the next several months, our teams will work with the facilities team at BNMC to ensure the new equipment is stable, energy efficient and maintainable at the lowest possible operating costs.
Stark Tech worked with the mechanical contractor and engineer to customize the O-Style Victory Energy boiler system to double the capacity within the existing footprint.
The replacement project applied a phased approach in order to minimize downtime and ensure redundancy. The solution converted existing dual fuel boilers from #6 to #4 fuel oil for backup fuel. A high turn-down burner was implemented to allow for the same minimum load and double the capacity at full load. Ancillary equipment included an economizer, blow down separator, gas steam, water flow meters and a #2 oil fuel pump set. Stark’s boiler team helped with the start up and commissioning of the new boiler that uses natural gas as its primary source and #2 oil as a secondary. The new boiler integrated into existing Yokogawa SCADA system, adding touch screen interfaces to all three boilers.
The Commissioning Process
The installation services and dynamic commissioning process requires time onsite, examining the components and working/training the facilities team on how to operate and maintain the boiler system. It’s during this time that Stark will work with the system operators to ensure the system is installed and working properly.
On Saturday, the crew began the phase of commissioning for construction and installation, monitoring the various components at install. The goal of this phase is for early detection of any problems that may cause issues during startup and operational testing.
For example, during piping installation and supports, the team will test the piping and hanger systems, per any stress analysis, to validate there’s adequate room for thermal expansion without imposing excessive stresses at equipment connections. A series of system checks will also be completed to ensure valves and piping systems are working properly and accessible for future repairs.
Once all of the hookups are tested and validated as working properly, equipment safety checks, sequencing testing, and off-normal testing to ensure the plant as a whole maintains a safe condition during failures. Once the system of checks and balances has occurred, a final report will be issued documenting any findings that can be used during the life of the plant to compare performance with original as-built performance. This is necessary to monitor and detect any faults that may prohibit efficiency and uptime in the future.
