Still Relishing the Challenge!

Exothermic Engineering markets, installs and supports absolutely the premier performance monitoring system available anywhere for utility power plant use. The system uses products of combustion to determine fuel analysis and HHV on a real time basis, and then uses that information to calculate boiler efficiency, unit heat rate, turbine heat rate, and to locate boiler tube leaks and reducible unit heat losses. The system is developed and manufactured by Exergetic Systems of San Rafael, CA.

Exergetic Systems (www.exergeticsystems.com) specializes in the improvement of power plant efficiency. The company's core work of on-line monitoring systems, testing power plants for improved heat rate, and advising utilities on improved thermal performance at the system level is highlighted by:

• Completion of over three dozen major thermal performance evaluations of power plants including testing, detailed analysis and recommendations for heat rate improvement. These were major thermal evaluation efforts, exceeding ASME Power Test Codes 4.1 and 6 procedures. The average recoverable heat rate has been 446 Btu/kWh (1037 kJ/kWh) and 16 MWe.
  
• Installation of Exergetic Systems' Input/Loss Method at ten power plants. The Input/Loss Method calculates instantaneous gross unit heat rate, updating of fuel heating values, fuel flow, total "Energy Released by Combustion", Fuel Consumption Indices, etc.; all on-line.
  
• Experience and expertise to make generic evaluations of all power plants on a utilities' grid. A typical application of this service resulted in identification of 2% improvement/unit for 5 units, and an average 6% improvement/unit for another 4 units. These results were demonstrated in only two months!

These core efforts have developed from a solid technological base, historically developed and fully integrated with the company's testing projects, including software simulators for the boiler and turbine cycle, computer interfaces, testing procedures, user's manuals, system calculational closure techniques, copyrights and US method patents. The objective has, and continues to be, state-of-the-art Directed Development in thermal performance engineering.