Scrubber Boom

In the U.S., 75 new coal-fired plants are either under construction or are being designed. Under environmental laws, all require flue gas desulphurization systems such as those depicted here.

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U.S. clean-air initiatives could spur demand for high-nickel alloys. By Dean Jobb

Nickel magazine, October 2002 -- The Bush administration's "Clear Skies" initiative and federal lawsuits forcing utilities to install pollution controls on aging coal-fired generators should translate into a half-billion dollar market for nickel-rich alloys in the U. S. by 2006, according to an environmental research firm.

In fact, Illinois-based McIlvaine Co. warns that suppliers may have trouble keeping up with increased demand for the corrosion-resistant alloys used to build the scrubbers that reduce sulphur dioxide emissions and the acid rain they cause.

"It's a very positive future," predicts the president, Robert McIlvaine. "The combination of retro-fitting and the new coal-fired plants represents a large opportunity for nickel-alloy suppliers. High-nickel alloys are going to be popular options, and the quantities required are huge, so there may not be enough high-nickel alloys to supply the market."

Skeptical suppliers may say they've heard this line before, but McIlvaine's firm predicts that the market for corrosion- resistant alloys in the production of flue gas desulphurization units will more than double in the next four years, to US$470 million from US$220 million per year. By 2006 the construction of generating plants in China, Eastern Europe and other regions should translate into a worldwide market for alloys worth about US$1.2 billion, up from about US$400 million currently.

In the U.S., 75 new coal-fired plants are either under construction or being designed, and under environmental laws, all require scrubbers. When, in 1970, the Clean Air Act was introduced, about 400 coal-fired plants were exempted on the understanding they would soon be shut down. "But miraculously, all the plants that were slated to be retired in 1970 got an extra thirty years of life -- and they're all still operating," notes McIlvaine. What happened, essentially, was that utilities circumvented the law by repairing and overhauling plants to keep them in operation.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency responded by turning to the courts, forcing utilities in Florida, Virginia, New Jersey and Kentucky to install scrubbers on existing plants. President George W. Bush, under the Clear Skies program, announced in July, has backtracked on litigation in favour of a system of pollution-control incentives and emission targets. But the U.S. is still committed to slashing sulphur dioxide emissions from 11 million tons a year to 4.5 million tons in 2010, and to 3 million tons by 2018. And Congress is considering a Democrat-sponsored bill that would force utilities to cut emissions by 75% within six years. Says McIlvaine: "The only question is whether the peak [in demand for scrubbers] is going to be in 2006, 2008 or 2009."

Although the timing of the scrubber boom hinges on politics, North American demand for the technology is already rising. Marsulex Inc., a leading global supplier of flue gas desulphurization systems, says dozens of U.S. utilities and independent power producers have inquired about its products within the past year. "The number of budgetary queries has tripled or quadrupled" and "the ball has started rolling" on orders, says Ruth Miller, marketing manager for Marsulex Power Generation Group in Lebanon, Pa.

McIlvaine believes that the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks will increase demand for more coal-fired generating plants with pollution controls. "Nuclear and natural gas are less safe from terrorist attack than coal," McIlvaine notes, and the war on terrorism is casting a shadow over foreign supplies of oil. "Having our own coal-fired electricity structure is a lot safer."

Dean Jobb is a freelance writer and lectures in journalism at Kings College in Halifax, N.S.

Illustration courtesy of Marsulex Power Generation Group Lebanon, Pa.

The McIlvaine Company 2970 Maria Ave., Northbrook, Illinois, U.S.A. 60062 Tel: 1 847 272 0010 Fax: 1 847 272 9673 E-mail: editor@mcilvainecompany.com Website: www.mcilvainecompany.com Marsulex Inc. Head Office: 111 Gordon Baker Road, Suite 300 Toronto, Ontario Canada M2H 3R1 Tel: 1 416 496 9655 Fax: 1 416 496 1874 Website: www.marsulex.com Ruth Miller Marsulex Inc. Lebanon, Pa. office Tel:  1 717 274 7288 E-mail: rmiller@marsulex.com

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