Texas Tech University, a major, comprehensive teaching and research university, selected RENTECH Boiler Systems to supply a new boiler, 175,000 PPH @ 750°F, to replace boiler #1 at its central heating and cooling plant. Texas Tech enrolls more than 30,000 students from about 90 countries, and its main campus in Lubbock on the South Plains of West Texas is comprised of 1,839 acres.
Boiler #1 is one of three used for heating campus buildings, but the client did not have access to a larger footprint. Tech faced the dilemma of how to install a new boiler in this location because it was impossible to bring new boiler pieces through the main floor. RENTECH designed and built a super-heated boiler and auxiliary equipment to meet Texas Tech’s unique specifications. The client’s benefits included lower maintenance costs and lower emissions after the refurbishment. Other benefits included:
- quicker start-up and cool-down due to elimination of front and rear refractory walls
- reduced leakage of unburned combustion products due to bypass through refractory walls to reduce CO
- lower fuel loss due to less refractory to heat
RENTECH replaced the existing headered wall tubes with its headered membrane waterwall design. Partial removal of the cement roof above the boiler was required, parts of the old boiler were removed, and new boiler pieces were set in place through the roof.