Pittsburgh, PA; Maidsville, WV, (March 16, 2017)-Interphase Materials has received a grant from the Department of Energy to apply their innovative surface treatment technology to cooling systems on Longview Power—the most efficient coal-fired power plant in North America—located in Maidsville, West Virginia.
The Department of Energy grant was awarded on February 1st, 2018 and will be completed in 2021. Over the course of the project, Interphase Materials will apply their Heat Transfer Enhancement (HTE) system to the condenser at Longview Power and work with the Department of Energy and Longview Power to quantify efficiency gains of the HTE system on the heat rate of the plant, and by extension, the U.S. energy generation portfolio.
“If we can increase the efficiency of our condenser, and lower the heat rate of the plant, that directly impacts our bottom line,” Says Chad Hufnagel, Plant Manager at Longview.
“It’s an incredible opportunity to work with the most efficient plant in the country,” says Noah Snyder, CEO and co-founder of Interphase Materials. “We’re excited to work with the Department of Energy and the Longview team, and we hope this project will be a big step toward making the U.S. Power Generation portfolio more efficient and sustainable.”
The Interphase HTE system is an environmentally friendly and sustainable surface treatment for heat exchangers and condensers that improves baseline heat transfer efficiency, while also protecting against fouling from organism adhesion, microbiologically induced corrosion (MIC), and scale deposits.
“Organic and Inorganic fouling can be a big issue for power plants, especially on cooling towers. It’s a long-term problem with few good solutions,” says Ron Rosinski, Environmental Engineer at Longview. “Reduction of fouling not only has an immediate impact on efficiency but can also save on operations, maintenance, and equipment replacement costs.”
About Interphase Materials
Interphase Materials is an advanced materials company that provides innovative surface treatment technologies to improve efficiency of cooling systems and protect against biofouling (algae, mussels, barnacles), microbiologically induced corrosion, and scale buildup. In addition to their federal defense work, the company operates in commercial markets such as Power Generation, Building HVAC, and Oil and Gas. Learn more at interphasematerials.com.
About Longview Power
The Longview Power plant is the newest, cleanest, most efficient coal-fired power plant in the 13-state PJM Interconnection and one of the most efficient in the United States, producing 700 net megawatts of electric power. Longview’s best-in-class heat rate of 8,809 Btu/kwh far surpasses that of most other coal-fired power plants in the country. Longview’s advanced supercritical boiler, low cost fuel source and other project efficiencies combine to produce the lowest cost of dispatch (delivery of electricity) of any coal-fired plant in the region. Longview Power is a clean coal facility with best-in-class air pollution control systems that result in much lower emissions than its permit limits, which are among the lowest in the nation for coal plants. In addition, Longview emits significantly less CO2 than most other coal plants because of its high energy conversion efficiency. Learn more at https://longviewpower.com.
Contact Interphase Materials:
Noah Snyder, CEO, NoahSnyder@interphasematerials.com
