University of Tennessee at Knoxville Plant

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The University of Tennessee at Knoxville central steam plant serves both the Main and Agricultural campuses: 153 buildings, containing over 7,000,000 square feet of space. The plant contains two spreader stoker fed, coal-fired boilers, one boiler that burns coal or natural gas, a coal crusher that can convert nut and slag coal to stoker coal for use in the plant, and an electrostatic precipitator that traps the approximately one ton of fly ash generated by the plant each day, which is then conveyed to a closed container for transport. On average, 105 tons of coal are burned each day.[1]

As of January 2010 renovations are underway at the plant to bring it into compliance with the EPA's Clean Air Act standards, including installing a baghouse to be within standards for mercury and to improve particulate emissions. The project will remove the electrostatic precipitator and add water side economizers on the discharge of the three coal fired boilers.[1]

A University of Tennessee at Knoxville Greenhouse Gas Inventory Report found that purchased electricity is by far the largest contributor to the University's carbon footprint, accounting for approximately 166,506 metric tons of carbon dioxide, or 62 percent of greenhouse gas emissions in 2006. On-campus stationary sources, which includes all coal and natural gas burned in the steam plant, account for the second largest greenhouse gas emissions, contributing 23 percent. Since 1990 total and per capita coal use and energy use at the University has steadily increased.[2]

Resources

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 "Steam Plant" The University of Tennessee at Knoxville Website, accessed January 2010
  2. Leslie E. Chinery,[www.cce.utk.edu/energyplan/chinery.pdf "Preliminary Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville"] University of Tennessee Report, accessed January 2010

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