• Wind, solar and geothermal. While these are probably the greenest of the technologies in terms of environmental impact, none is yet capable of generating huge amounts of power by itself. Nor can they, for obvious reasons, be located anywhere and still achieve optimum output—they are most effective in certain parts of the country. A knotty problem with wind farms is the “Nimby” effect—“not in my backyard.” Many people dislike seeing wind turbines on the horizon or at sea.


• Hydrogen. An integral component of fuel cells where it reacts with oxygen to generate electricity, hydrogen has a small environmental footprint, produces no toxic byproducts and is two to three times more efficient than conventional internal combustion engines. Applications for fuel cells include cars, buildings where fuel cells provide heat and electricity, and portable electronic devices. Fuel cells are relatively expensive, owing to the cost of natural gas, a hydrogen feedstock, and may not last the life of an application.


• Biomass. Plant-derived materials are being converted into a range of fuels as well as used for heat and power generation. The best known examples are ethanol, an octane-enhancer derived from corn, sugar cane and other starches that can be mixed with or used in place of gasoline, and biodiesel which, while costly to produce, burns much cleaner than conventional diesel fuel. Biomass is also gaining use in generating electricity. It has become the largest source of non-hydro renewable electricity in the United States.


• Coal Gasification. Few think of coal as an alternative energy source, but gasification processes that expose it to air, oxygen and steam under high temperature and pressure, generate chemical reactions that produce 50% greater fuel efficiency on average in coal-fired power plants, minimize particulate emissions and even create hydrogen as a byproduct. The Department of Energy is developing technologies that will yield low-cost hydrogen from coal. Last November, the DOE awarded $1 billion in federal tax incentives to nine companies for rapid deployment of advanced coal-based power generation and gasification technologies.


• Nuclear Power. Though demonized by many environmental groups in the past, nuclear energy produces zero carbon emissions, and is a reliable and powerful method of generating electricity. It is poised for a renaissance in the U.S. and other countries, due to a new generation of highly efficient plant designs from leaders in the field such as GE and Westinghouse.

Will the Valves Need to Change?
Most alternative energy plants specify conventional valves and actuators. “Except for critical installations, U.S. valve makers can use many of their designs in these plants,” says Don Caffee, president and owner of Valpers Performance Partners, Houston. The reason is cost as much as performance. “Contractors will tend to use the least expensive valves on non-critical applications,” he notes. “They’re not going to use junk, but they’re not going to pay twice as much for a valve that’s going on a simple application.”

“They don’t require the pressures and the temperatures that get anybody excited,” remarks Don Cumming, sales manager for the Americas at Pacific Valves in Houston, about most of the specs he’s seen in this market. “A 300-lb. valve is the biggest requirement they’ve got because most plants aren’t working with significant pressures or temperatures.”

The technology behind some alternative energy plants hasn’t progressed beyond the basic process needed to convert a feedstock into fuel or power.

“Ethanol really isn’t made in a petroleum or chemical facility today,” notes Zalesky. “It’s made almost exclusively in the Midwest, in stand-alone facilities that take the corn in and out comes the ethanol.” Zalesky says that in the next 20 years, companies like Chevron will be exploring the feasibility of changing biomass into “some type of biocrude” that can be processed in existing refineries.

He doesn’t know whether—or if—this will affect the design of valves and pumps, but insight will be gleaned into how effectively biomass can be refined, which will be a plus in developing the technology and an infrastructure to support it. “We do need to know this,” he acknowledges, “but we haven’t gotten there yet.”

Upping the Specs
When it comes to more established ways of generating alternative energy, valve and actuator needs are less speculative. Transporting liquid hydrogen, for example, might require the development of new valve systems due to its extreme temperature and chemical structure, says United Valve’s Greg Johnson. “Most valves are designed for use with temperatures as cold as those of liquid nitrogen; liquid hydrogen is a lot colder.” The boiling temperature of liquid nitrogen is - 196° F, while for liquid hydrogen it’s - 423° F.