P2 - Internship Program - 2010 Projects

Rock Island Arsenal

Rock Island, Illinois

Intern: Scott Morgan
University of Illinois at Chicago

Rock Island Arsenal (RIA) is an active military installation located on a 946 acre island in the Mississippi River between Illinois and Iowa. RIA manufactures artillery carriages, gun mounts, recoil mechanisms, and other combat equipment. RIA also provides administrative, logistical, and facility support services.

Results:

The intern made the following recommendations:

• Switch to briquetted western coal to reduce emissions, and avoid falling within the pending federal hazardous emission standards for large boiler operations. If RIA's boilers fall within the new standard, it would cost $14M to comply by upgrading existing equipment. Briquetted Powder River Basin coal is $100/ton compared to $200/ton for Kentucky coal. A capital investment of $1.325M would be needed to switch to briquetted coal, with a payback period of less than 12 months.
• Turn off two paint booths in one building when they are not being used and work to limit their operation as much as possible. Their operation costs the facility over $142,000 in annual electricity costs. The other three paint booths can accommodate nearly all painting needs in this area. These booths are more efficient with new lighting and electric motors for exhaust systems. The annual electricity cost of the three newer booths is $27,000 per year.
• Install XLERATOR® air hand dryers should be installed in RIA restrooms to reduce paper towel consumption. RIA currently consumes 18,000 rolls of paper towels a year. This cost of $72,000 when other expenses (receiving, storing, servicing towel dispensers, collecting and disposing of used towels) are factored in. The equivalent amount of drying using XLERATOR® air hand dryers would be $1,800 a year in electricity usage. Using XLERATOR® hand dryers would also reduce the 7,500 cubic feet of used paper towels that RIA annually sends to landfills. During the internship, six XLERATOR® air hand dryers were installed.
• Install lighting controls in the crane bay of building 220 for daylight harvesting. There are (70) 320W metal halide lamps that are left on at all times. Lighting controls could reduce energy consumption in this area by one-half which equates to a savings of over $6,800 a year. Cumulatively, the projects have the potential to save the facility over $200,000 and reduce CO₂ emissions by over 2,500 tons.