Modernization and adaptation of boilers for the burning of substitute fuels
Since 1934, a 100% Argentinean company called Mellor Goodwin has manufactured boilers of the highest quality and durability under the license of the now out of business Combustion Engineering, a company that was a world leading one in the manufacture of nuclear boilers and generators.
Many of the boilers built by Mellor Goodwin in its early years have not been replaced and are still in operation. It seems to be that obsolescence has not been programmed for these boilers.
Mellor Goodwin Combustion SA was created in 2005 after the acquisition of the physical and technological assets of Mellor Goodwin SACIF companies. The birth of Mellor Goodwin SA was based on all the brands and patents, all the design standards and manufacturing processes of boilers and fired heaters and the know-how of both companies.
The new shareholders were able to retain much of Mellor Goodwin’s talent as well as professionals and technicians trained in specific areas not only in heat transfer but also in the oil and gas industry.
Nowadays, almost 90 years after the foundation of the original Mellor, it is meeting the demand of a market segment that was not adequately covered. It is the most qualified company in the Argentinean market to provide its clients with comprehensive solutions that range from the design to the assembly and maintenance of industrial plants.
Mellor Goodwin company has been able to meet the needs of its important clients with a highly trained professional structure, a state-of-the-art technological platform and intellectual, physical and financial resources consistent with the projects it develops.
This year, a 50T/h steam generator at 43 kgr/cm2 and 315ºC, built entirely during the recent pandemic, has been commissioned. In the same way, a boiler built some 60 years ago, which burns fossil fuels, is currently being modernized and adapted for combustion of substitute fuels (mainly sugarcane bagasse).
The modernization and adaptation of steam generators has a significant positive economic and environmental impact for industries.
With these improvements to the existing boilers, the use of alternative fuels is allowed for the production of steam and eventually the electricity generation through the use of steam turbines. These alternative fuels are usually waste or surplus from industrial production.
The use of this type of economical fuels for energy generation avoids final disposal costs and reduces the environmental impact.
In Argentina, Mellor Goodwin Combustion SA is considered a benchmark for the manufacture and conversion of boilers to boost the industry, by means of bagasse boilers or, in general, for the combustion of cellulosic fuels.
Recently, the Argentinean company YPF has once again recognized the experience and capacity of Mellor Goodwin Combustion SA and it was awarded the design and manufacture of a Topping Fired Heater for YPF’s refinery in Plaza Huincul in the province of Neuquen. It is a vertical cylindrical fired heater with a capacity of 20 MMkcal/h burning refinery gas with low NOx burners.
The company foresees that in the next few years it will be adding value and adapting several MELLOR boilers that are already part of the history and will continue being part of the success of the Argentinean industry.
