JakartaCapital Environmental Blog, Crown Eco Management- The heavilyforested city of Ketchikan, Alaska, is built on rock and surrounded by water.Every commodity that comes into Ketchikan must arrive by sea or air. The use offuel oil is problematic for both economic and environmental reasons because theoil must be obtained and refined elsewhere and transported (using additionalfuel). What's more, fuel oil is subject to price instability.

1. Jakarta Capital
Environmental Blog,
Crown Eco Management
Biomass Boiler Addresses Alaskans'
Environmental, Economic Concerns

2. The heavily forested city of Ketchikan, Alaska, is built on rock and
surrounded by water. Every commodity that comes into Ketchikan must
arrive by sea or air. The use of fuel oil is problematic for both economic
and environmental reasons because the oil must be obtained and refined
elsewhere and transported (using additional fuel). What's more, fuel oil is
subject to price instability.
Southeast Alaska Discovery Center in Ketchikan, which provides
information to more than a million visitors each year, is the site of a pilot
biomass boiler system now coming to life. Two oil-fired boilers serving the
250,000-sq-ft center were replaced with a highly efficient system fueled
by local wood. Manufactured by Hurst Boiler & Welding Company Inc.,
the hot-water boiler was custom-designed to fit within very limited indoor
space.
Under the direction of E. Dane Ash, project manager for Tyonek-Alcan
Pacific LLC, the biomass boiler system was developed with Hurst
representative Gregory W. Smith of Global Energy Solutions Inc. to
address environmental concerns, as well as issues related to building
space, fuel costs, comfort, reliability, and simplicity of operation.
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3. The new boiler is located on the lower level of the Discovery
Center, which requires heating for a minimum of nine months a
year. Local wood densified into fuel pucks is delivered to an
elevated walking-floor storage bin in a vestibule area built to
protect against excessive moisture. (The biomass-fired boiler
can burn any wood product with up to 50-percent moisture
content.) An auger moves pucks from the storage area to a
metering bin and into the boiler. Freezing is not an issue
because the walking floor easily breaks up any frozen
contents.
The boiler system was designed to highlight how biomass can
reduce or eliminate the use of fossil fuels. Visitors can see the
boiler operate through specially designed windows. In the hall
just outside of the boiler room, the noise level and ambient
temperature is consistent with the rest of the building.

4. Savings
Fuel costs have been cut by two-thirds. The densified pucks are used with
almost no residual ash; eventually, however, tree clippings from the Ketchikan
walking trails will be ground and fed into the boiler, eliminating the need for
transport to a landfill, burning, and other methods of disposal.
The Boiler
The Hurst S100 Series Fire Tube 27 HP Hydronic Water Heating Boiler
features a pre-heater to optimize combustion and an underfeed stoker with
dry-ash-removal system.
Results
The system easily can be replicated for heat or heat/power generation up to
20,000 kw. In June 2011, Smith served as a keynote speaker for the fifth
annual Native American Economic Development Conference in
Anaheim, Calif., where he described the initiatives being implemented in
Ketchikan and shared success stories of biomass-fired boiler systems installed
on institutional campuses and in manufacturing facilities throughout the United
States, particularly in challenging and remote locations. Systems include
municipal solid waste, as well as woody biomass for steam production and
steam to power.