» Ruth O’Donnell

Automatic, Variable Ratio, Firing of a Blend of “Free” and Purchased Fuels

-Peter Lavelle, Danbury CT “Free” fuels are available from many processes: Digester Gas from wastewater treatment plants, Bio-Gas from agricultural and food processing plant waste, Hydrogen from chemical plants, Off-Gases from a Refinery, etc. The Challenge Firing these “free” fuels in a boiler, process heater, or engine-generator significantly reduces operating costs and can significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions. […]

Third-Party Approval for Vacuum Leak Detection System

Made in the U.S.A., Our Vacuum Leak Detection System is now listed on the National Work Group for Leak Detection Evaluations (NWGLDE) website. The NWGLDE list is “a compilation of storage tank and associated piping leak detection equipment that have undergone Third-Party Evaluations and have been found by the Work Group to meet the evaluation requirements contained in accepted […]

Five Considerations for Pumping and Storing Liquid Biofuels

-Dan Wallace, Danbury, CT Why do you need to know about biofuel handling? End users, governments, and private enterprises are looking for ways to reduce carbon emissions while minimizing capital equipment costs, and the equipment impacted ranges from backup diesel generators to industrial boilers. While the customer needs for this fuel are becoming more pronounced, third party testing […]

Watchdog Circuits in Burner Management

-Howard Wells, Preferred Utilities, Danbury, CT Introduction Have you ever seen a PLC-based burner management system and wondered “Why are the inputs turning on and off every few seconds?” This “flashing” of the inputs is a type of error checking for the PLC discrete input channels and is required by NFPA 85 for all non-SIL3 rated PLC-based burner […]