For Barauni operations, Indian Oil opts for TBW''s technology

Pune: Continuing its endeavour in saving millions for Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), leading captive power and cogeneration boiler company Thermax Babcock & Wilcox (TBW) has signed up automation and spares orders worth Rs 110 million from the former.

IOC''s Barauni refinery in Bihar has two 38-year-old boilers that are outdated and were on the verge of replacement, but thanks to TBW, these are being upgraded to the latest designs to ensure safe and reliable operations.

IOC Barauni will have had to spend Rs 450 million to buy new boilers for replacement of the old ones, but with TBW''s world-renowned technique, India''s largest refinery will be saving millions — Rs 340 million to be precise. In fact, IOC will be saving Rs 3.8 million per annum due to higher efficiency on fuel alone.

Says TBW vice-president R Advani: "Since the boilers are Russian-make, the spares are very difficult to source. Our indigenous technology will not only ensure the upgrading of the boilers but also eliminate the erstwhile dangerous manual firing system."

Thus, post-changeover, the NOX (nitrogen oxide) emissions which were way above the standards, will be down to 150 ppm (parts per million) on firing the boilers with refinery gas — an in-house process generated fuel.

"These upgrades for the boilers that are more than three decades old at IOCL are a model example of ''total boiler revamp'' where a boiler undergoes complete facelift of all critical parts and gets a fresh lease of life possibly equal to its age. Isn''t it a reincarnation of a kind for the aged operating system?" asks Sanjay Jumde, senior manager, who handles the renovation and modernisation of oil and gas fired boilers at TBW.

IOC Barauni had floated global enquiry with the objective of upgrading its boilers to achieve improved performance and be compatible with the new distributed control system (DCS) that is being installed by IOC. Due to the manual supervision of the above boilers there was sheer lack of controls and instrumentation leading to chaos at times. TBW''s proven technological prowess showcased for IOC''s Gujarat refinery in August 1999 for 75 TPH boilers of the same design and age clinched the deal in its favour.

The Rs 115,039-crore IOC, which has seven refineries, has embarked on a massive Rs 500-crore expansion work wherein its boilers, piping and layout will be upgraded and new equipment installed. IOC''s association with TBW has evolved over a period of time with initial orders for renovation and modernisation at IOC Baroda and IOC Digboi.

For IOC Guwahati, which is the oldest refinery in India set up in 1962, TBW had successfully done a boiler upgrade work. The relationship has taken off with this order and will further strengthen in future with TBW''s high-quality work.

TBW is a 13-year-old joint venture between Thermax (India) and Babcock & Wilcox (USA). Thermax has 33 years of vibrant experience in India, most of it in the boiler industry. B&W has more than 133 years of technology leadership. This joint venture, on equity partnership basis, brought into India the best industrial boiler technology available in the world.

The products and services of this JV cover a wide spectrum from packaged factory made units to large site erected boilers with a large variety of solid, liquid and gaseous fuels. As of today, TBW has more than 80 successful conversions and technology upgrades in its reference list.