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Mercy Medical Center Chooses Six Miura EX-300 Dual-fuel Steam Boilers For Eco-friendly Multiple Installation

Energy-Efficient, Low-Emission Miura Boilers Provide the Reliability and Advanced Computer Control Needed For a Permanent Solution to the Steam-Generation Needs of a Major Hospital Facility

ATLANTA, GEORGIA, March 2, 2011–One of the largest natural disasters in U.S. history, the Iowa flood of 2008 inundated the city of Cedar Rapids with waters rising to a record 31 feet. Ten square miles were inundated, causing billions of dollars in damage to homes, businesses, and public facilities, which included a major utility’s steam-generation plant. For Mercy Medical Center, a leading provider of quality health care for Eastern Iowa, the plant’s loss necessitated finding an alternative, permanent source of steam for its hospital heating, sterilization, and humidification needs. After evaluating all its options, the Center chose to install six EX-300 gas/oil series high-pressure steam boilers from Miura, the world leader in ultra-low NOx on-demand steam solutions.

“We had been purchasing our steam from the local utility, which was flooded out and then not rebuilt by its owner,” states Bob Olberding, Director of Facilities at Mercy Medical Center. “Our temporary solution was to rent boilers on trucks, but we knew we had to come up with a long-term answer to our steam-generation needs.”

Olberding began researching different brands and models of steam boilers, and soon encountered positive feedback regarding Miura’s products. “Not having had boilers before, we didn’t have opinions about one type of boiler or another,” he relates. “We read about the efficiency of Miura boilers and how they use a different design from the other brands. We gathered as much information as we could and then followed-up with site visits, including one to a community hospital in Milwaukee that had good things to say about Miura. We really liked what we saw, so we made the decision to go with them.”

Mercy Medical Center’s six Miura EX-300 gas/oil series steam boilers (and peripheral equipment) were purchased from American Mechanical Services, of Milwaukee, and installed by Modern Piping of Cedar Rapids. Natural gas is the boilers’ primary fuel, with oil providing backup, as required for medical facilities.

Miura’s “Green” Design
Manufactured in Rockmart, Georgia, Miura boilers were originally developed in Japan, where energy costs are higher and pollution-control standards stricter. Miura addressed these requirements by devising a unique “once-through” fin-tube design that requires less fuel and saves – on average – 20 percent in energy costs over other boiler designs (based on today’s fuel costs). At a 20 percent fuel savings, Miura boilers can save about $200,000 per year in fuel for a typical 600 BHP steam system (based on the price of natural gas at $0.09/therm).

Miura’s unique design and fuel savings also result in fewer emissions than conventional boilers. Miura boilers output reduced levels of nitrogen oxides (NOx), a major contributor to air pollution, as well as carbon dioxide (CO2), the most prevalent of greenhouse gases. Miura boilers accomplish this by reducing the temperature of the boiler’s flame, which in turn reduces the amount of excited nitrogen atoms available to bond with oxygen to form nitrogen oxides. As a result of this, NOx emissions are reduced to around one-quarter of what traditional fire-tube boilers emit and comply with even the most stringent air-quality regulations. The NOx rating of Miura’s EX Series boilers can be as low 30ppm, depending on the model of the boiler.

Olberding explains that Miura’s “green” technology is essential for complying with emissions standards mandated by Iowa’s Department of Natural Resources. “In addition to their low-NOx emissions, our six Miura EX-300 boilers also have exhaust-gas recirculation to reduce emissions even further, so it’s a plus for us when surveys are done,” he notes. “I believe the emissions produced by Miura boilers are about as low as you can get.”

Miura’s BOILERMATE eco-friendly, silicate-based water-treatment system further optimizes boiler performance by preventing corrosion and scale build-up on the boiler’s internal parts.

Multiple Installation Advantages
Miura’s “once-through” fin-tube design also uses less water than traditional fire-tube boilers. This enables Miura boilers to go from a cold start to full steam in five minutes or less. This “on-demand steam” capability of Miura boilers makes them particularly well-suited for multiple-installation (MI) plants, in which boilers can be selectively turned on or off as needed, as opposed to idling on stand-by, which wastes energy and produces emissions.

“Our Miura boilers kick on and off depending on load and hours of use; it’s all computerized,” Olberding explains, referring to Miura’s MI Controller system. The MI Controller turns Mercy Medical Center’s six Miura EX-300 steam boilers on or off in varying numbers to match prevailing load patterns. This achieves the highest possible in-service efficiencies, which is a measure of overall boiler performance (regardless of load profile) that takes into account all factors of boiler operation, including combustion efficiency, thermal efficiency, fuel-to-steam efficiency, etc.

“In the summer we’ll just let some of them sit there until we need them for winter,” Olberding adds. “It has worked out very well.”

Computer control of Mercy Medical Center’s sixMiura EX-300 boilers also includes Miura’s BL Micro Controller Boiler Control System, which keeps track of multiple individual monitoring points. This advanced diagnostic system can identify any potential challenge to smooth operation and recommend a solution in plain, descriptive English on an easy-to-read display. An online maintenance system with a “sliding-window feature” records events four seconds before they occur for quick identification and correction.

Reduced Footprint
Another Miura design advantage Olberding cites is their comparatively smaller size. “The Miura boilers take up less space than typical fire-tube boilers do,” he notes. “We didn’t need as much space as other boiler designs would have required, which is good because we’re right up against our property line. Thanks to the Miura boilers we have a very nice facility that’s not cramped.”