Boiler Blog | Nationwide Boiler Inc.

There are many different types of boiler options available in the rental market. Trailer-mounted boilers, skid-mounted boilers, transportable steam plants, and of course, mobile boiler rooms.

Mobile boiler rooms are highway-legal, transportable trailer-mounted vans or containers, designed and customized to house the components of a “mini” steam plant. This includes all of the necessary equipment with the proper hook-ups to supply a given amount of steam for most any application. Major equipment typically contained within a complete mobile boiler room includes a low NOx boiler, feedwater system, duplex water softener, chemical feed system, blowdown tank, and all valving and controls required for complete steam room operation. Typical mobile boiler rooms operate on natural gas, #2 oil, or propane, and range in size from 47.5 hp to 1,000 hp with design pressures from 150 to 290 psi.

What makes a mobile boiler room advantageous for end-users is that they require no special foundations, are fully enclosed, and can sustain inclement weather conditions without the use of costly weather protection. In addition, mobile boiler rooms are aesthetically pleasing in both industrial and commercial settings.

Nationwide Boiler has provided thousands of customers with high quality mobile boiler rooms that have not only met high steam demands, but have also required quick delivery, rapid start-up, and ease of operation. In most instances, a mobile boiler room requires one knowledgeable operator with proper training on boiler control safety and feedwater quality control. Industries that utilize mobile boiler rooms range from hospitals, food processors, pulp and paper plants, colleges and universities, and light manufacturing, just to name a few.

When deciding if renting a mobile boiler room is best for you, the following factors must be determined:

Location. Mobile boiler rooms are fully enclosed units and can be transported to any facility as long as proper electrical and utility hookups are available. Mobile boiler rooms are more operational and more secure than skid-mounted systems. This enables mobile boiler rooms to be utilized in public locations with decreased operational noise disturbances and possible tampering of exposed boiler equipment.

Ease of Operation. Mobile boiler rooms are designed to be fully operational steam plants, without the need of a full-time boiler control team. As long as daily boiler and feedwater quality logs are kept, and required maintenance is performed, then costly teams of operators can be avoided.

The evolution of mobile boiler rooms continues to expand and Nationwide Boiler is committed to supplying the right equipment for your needs. Contact a Nationwide sales representative today to determine if a mobile boiler room is the right choice for you.

Have you ever wondered what ppmvd (ref. 3% O2) means? This term is often seen in air permits and is referenced as the emission unit for pollutants such as NOx from boilers.

PPMVD stands for “parts per million by volume, dry”.  For example, “9 ppmvd” refers to (9 / 1,000,000) x 100 = 0.0009% of the volume of flue gas. The reason they stipulate “dry” is because when the emission is measured, the instrument typically removes all moisture (water) from the sample. The “ref. 3% O2” is required as a benchmark for the oxygen content in the flue gas. This is because the boiler will operate at various O2 levels, and the air district needs to normalize the measurements.

Sometimes, emission limits are referenced with different O2 levels for equipment in the same plant.  For example, on a boiler application, NOx may be listed as 9 ppmvd (ref. 3% O2) whereas for a gas turbine it might be 9 ppmvd (ref. 15% O2).  What does it mean when the O2 levels are different?

The difference in the example above is that O2 is referenced at 3% and 15%. Looking at actual numbers will help explain the difference. Let's say a boiler or gas turbine is firing natural gas and the heat input is 100 million Btu/hr. The fuel flow is the same for each case, about 4500 lb/hr. The air flow, however, will be different. 

For boilers, the burner typically runs at about 15% excess air (this is 15% extra air flow above the stoichiometric requirement). In other words, 15% of the air flow passes through the system without being oxidized. This is why the stack O2 (O2 is the extra oxygen in the boiler flue gas flow) is about 3% on a dry basis. This also explains why the 3% O2 benchmark is typically used.Based on the 100 million Btu/hr input and 15% excess air, the boiler air flow is about 81,000 lb/hr. 

On the other hand, gas turbines typically run at higher excess air levels as compared to boilers. To get 15% O2, dry in the stack, the excess air works out to about 230%. The air flow would be about 233,000 lb/hr with the gas turbine application. Stack flow, or the sum of fuel and air, differs in boilers vs. gas turbines:

Boiler stack flow:                            4500 + 81,000 = 85,500 lb/hr
Turbine stack flow:                         4500 + 240,000 = 244,500 lb/hr

You can see that for the same heat input of 100 million Btu/hr, the stack flow will be quite different for these two applications. This also explains why the O2 benchmark is different for these two cases. When comparing the NOx values in lb/mmbtu, we have:

9 ppmvd (ref. 3% O2) NOx firing natural gas is equivalent to 0.011 lb/mmbtu
9 ppmvd (ref. 15% O2) NOx firing natural gas is equivalent to 0.032 lb/mmbtu

This means that even though both 9 ppmvd volumetric numbers are the same, the numbers are actually different on a weight basis (i.e. lb/mmbtu).

Nationwide Boiler provides temporary and permanent solutions with our CataStak SCR System for boilers, gas turbines, and other demanding applications, to meet the most stringent emissions requirements. Contact us today for more infromation. 1-800-227-1966

"We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give." ―Winston Churchill

Guests enjoyed drinks, mingled, and purchased raffle tickets during the cocktail hour in the new Fairway One Room at Pebble Beach. Dinner consisted of a clam bake buffet with mouthwatering lobster, oysters, prime rib, and more, followed by a number of choices for desert. At the end of the night, President Larry Day, or Judge Smales for the evening, announced the scramble & ‘Bushwood Ball’ winners, along with our big winner that evening, Steve Graves from Campbell-Sevey. Mr. Graves won the “Raffle of a Lifetime” prize; a golf stay & play package at the Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, including $600 in airfare.

Bright and early the next morning hole signs were set out on the green and guests arrived to check-in for the big day of golf. Golfers had the opportunity to buy in for the “Best Ball” prize (a 50/50 style competition), purchase mulligans, and receive their thank-you gift, a Pebble Beach golf towel. As foursomes finished up at the 18^th-hole, scorecards were collected and golfers had time to relax and socialize at the scoring room as other foursomes completed the course. That evening, over 100 guests arrived at the Pebble Beach Room for the awards banquet and ceremony, where additional fundraising activities were held. This included a card raffle with a $1,000 prize, and both silent and live auction events.

The food was delicious, the speakers were fantastic, and the event was a huge success. At the end of the evening, Nationwide Boiler’s Bill Testa announced our tournament winners: Miles Freeman from HTS brought home first place in the callaway division, Mike Moore from MG Sales brought home first place in the Handicap division, and our overall low gross winner was Jordan Bliss. The big winners, however, were Make-A-Wish® Greater Bay Area and the ABMA Scholarship fund. Nationwide President, Larry Day, announced at the end of the night that we raised at least $50,000 for the charities. Our final donation amount was $51,435, and a check was cut for each charity in the amount of $25,717.50.

Like Nationwide Boiler Inc. on facebook, and check out all of the photos from the event!

Nationwide Environmental Solutions, a strategic business unit of Nationwide Boiler Inc., has extensive experience in SCR technology with over 100 installations across the country. We started out as a user on our rental boiler fleet, mastered the design and operation of the system, and began selling the superior product to our customers. We can now provide SCR systems for NOx reduction to as low as 2½ ppm for boilers, fired heaters, gas turbines, and other demanding applications.

Users in a diverse set of applications are experiencing changes in emissions regulations, driven by federal, tribal, and state implementation plans. With more stringent NOx control limits, utility and industrial industries are facing many challenges in achieving compliance. Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) technology has been emerging as a clear preference with new plant construction and retrofits to existing plants, and we want to help guide you to make smart decisions for your SCR design.

Join us on March 28th at 11AM EST for a live webinar, hosted by Director of Environmental Solutions, Sean McMenamin. Sean will discuss key considerations for your SCR design, including:

   - An overview of current and future anticipated NOx emissions regulations
   - Understanding NOx reduction control strategies and comparison of control technologies
   - Understanding "next generation" SCR design and performance expectations
   - NOx technology options utilizing alternative reagents
   - Operating conditions and their effects on SCR sizing, design and lifecycle costs
   - Various case studies

Register today! This is a webinar your won't want to miss.