Solutions

Global Greensteam LLC Update - Demonstration Project at Aera's Belridge Oilfield
June 2010

On Jun 9, Global Green Solutions announced completion of the construction of the demonstration project. "We are extremely pleased to have reached this important milestone." said Craig Harting, COO of Global Green Solutions Inc. "We are considerably ahead of the late summer completion date we announced last December, which is a tribute to our team, our excellent contractors, and Aera's support".

Construction Phase Complete

We are excited about the Greensteam process and hope to share that excitement via these pictures of the completed plant. To orient the pictures, the process is laid out with fuel receiving and management on one end, particulate emissions control and exhaust stack on the other end, and what we call the "heat train" (combustion and steam generation) in between.


Completed Site - Looking from the emissions control /exhaust gas end of the plant. Main baghouse for particulate emissions control in the foreground. Wet fuel storage bin in the background

Completed Plant - Interconnecting ducting and flow control devices in the foreground.

Completed Plant - Ultra-low emissions combustor and steam generator.

Testing Phase Begins

Alan Van Zandt, Greensteam's controls systems manager, discusses operational strategy with Wicus Postma, Greensteam project engineer. The visual image is a process control system graphic including detailed operations information that will be used to control the plant. The Greensteam process is designed to be precisely controlled, and individual plant parameters are synchronously controlled to precise tolerances, which is how we expect to achieve ultra-low emissions and high energy efficiencies.

The demonstration system is now in the testing phase to prove its capability to safely and reliably generate oilfield quality steam with ultra-low air emissions. Individual plant systems and subsystems are being tested first, to be followed by Aera-specified performance tests and San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District-specified air emissions tests. The Aera performance tests are scheduled to be complete by late summer.

Global Greensteam LLC Update - Demonstration Project at Aera's Belridge Oilfield
Late Apr 2010

Construction of the Greensteam demonstration project continues to proceed at a rapid pace. Construction will be completed within the next 4 weeks, so we'll be in the testing phase when next update report is issued. We are very pleased with the schedule and quality of the work. The Greensteam team are extremely focused and working long hours, and contractor performance has been nothing short of excellent.

During the most active construction period, there have been 50 workers on site from contractors Brinderson Mechanical and Electrical, Baghouse Industrial Sheet Metal Services, Advanced Conveyor Technology, Braun Electric, and Innovative Engineering Solutions. On 29 Apr, Greensteam hosted a barbeque for contractors and suppliers celebrating an accident-free project. Although construction is not quite complete, contractor workers will now start to be released to other projects as their Greensteam activities are complete, and we wanted to make sure we were able to thank them all.

The most noticeable progress over the last 4 weeks is in the piping and ductwork which transports gas and air conveyed fuel between major mechanical equipment.

The particle filters (baghouses) are now complete with the installation of maintenance access ladders and walkways.

The wet fuel storage bin nears completion. The steel frame with wood side walls design is unique to the demonstration plant, and the full scale project design for wet fuel storage will be quite different. The belt conveyor shown will transport wet fuel from receiving to the storage bin. The semi-circular rings on the top of the conveyor will be fitted with covering panels to prevent fuel from "spilling" out of the conveyor under windy conditions.

The square frame shown will receive fuel from delivering trucks, with trucks backing up to the frame to unload. Again, this design is unique to the demonstration plant where our fuel needs are relatively small. The full scale project will have a capacity 40 times larger, requiring a different receiving station design.

A worker from ACT adjusts a conveyor motor. After completion, the belt conveyor he is standing on will transport wet fuel from the storage bin to milling and drying operations.

Greensteam construction supervisor and field engineer Jim Nelson, at right, consults with a Brenderson worker on a mechanical detail of the drier. The drier will operate at precisely controlled conditions, unique to Greensteam and achieved by proprietary drier design features.

In process plant projects, the mechanical work always leads the electrical work. Above, motor control panels have been installed in several locations near the motors they will power and control. Motors and process control instruments are connected to the panels via wire installed in conduits as shown below.

Craig Harting, Global Greensteam president, explains the Greensteam process to Van Schultz, Aera senior vice president of strategic business development (in the green coat), Barry Biggs, Aera senior vice president of exploration and exploitation, is (in the bright safety vest), and Dan Bernstein president of Processes Unlimited, a key engineering partner (in the brown jacket).

After construction completes in the next month, Greensteam will begin hot testing., meaning combusting fuel. The mobile tanks shown at right will provide fire protection for hot operations. The site design includes strategically located nozzles through which firewater can be pumped.