DTE Energy was on a tight deadline to meet the Environmental Protection Agency’s Mercury and Air Toxic Standards (MATS), scheduled to go into effect by the end of 2016. The energy provider had 11 coal-fired units at four power plants in metropolitan Detroit: St. Clair, Belle River, River Rouge and Trenton Channel.

Dry sorbent injection (DSI) and activated carbon injection (ACI) were specified as cost-effective technologies to clean up emissions. DSI can control hydrochloric acid emissions using trona (sodium bicarbonate), and ACI controls mercury emissions with a powdered, activated carbon.

Barton Malow  had a compressed schedule to install foundations for DSI and ACI storage silos, build mill and blower buildings, add electrical systems, install new transformers and foundations and build material-transport piping from the silos to boiler-injection ports.

Bluebeam Studio Sessions were used for project collaboration throughout construction. Studio Sessions broadcast via WebEx allowed all stakeholders to review the week’s onsite activities, submittals, drawings and completed work. Barton Malow and all trade subcontractors used Black & Veatch’s original 3D model as a single source of information.

By October 2016, all units had passed performance testing and met mandated EPA MATS requirements at $5 million under budget. A 40% average mercury-emission reduction from the MATS regulation limit was recorded.

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