MU CF | Energy Management | Utility Production

Utility Production

The MU Power Plant has been providing steam and electricity for the MU campus from its current location since 1923. The plant originally was equipped with four small coal-fired boilers, and two steam turbines. Today the plant is equipped with six boilers, four steam turbine generators, two gas turbine generators with steam heat recovery, and five deep wells providing steam, electricity, and water to the MU campus.

Electric Production

Steam turbine chiller

Electricity for the MU Campus is produced in turbine generators driven from the high pressure steam from the plant's boilers and gas turbine generators. The plant uses Combined Heat and Power to produce electricity at twice the efficiency of a conventional power plant, resulting in cost savings for MU.

The MU Power Plant has four steam turbine generators ranging in size from 6 MW to 19 MW and two gas turbine generators rated at 13 MW which are capable of meeting the entire campus electricity demand. Having a full capacity power plant allows MU to purchase low-cost interruptible electricity from other sources when economically feasible.

Image: A Power Plant employee inspects the Riley spreader-stoker boiler.

A Power Plant employee inspects a boiler.

Steam Production

Steam for the MU campus is produced in the plant's boilers and heat recovery steam generators (HRSG). The plant uses a variety of fuels including coal, natural gas, chipped tires, fuel oil and biomass to make steam for MU. The boilers include two chain-grate boilers, two spreader-stoker boilers, a fluidized-bed boiler, and a gas/oil fired boiler. The boilers are equipped with baghouses with hydrated lime injection to clean the exhaust gases before entering the chimneys.

The steam passes through the turbine generators to cogenerate electricity before it is delivered to the campus. Steam delivered to the MU campus is used for heating, sterilization, production of chilled water, and other thermal energy uses.

Water Production

Image: Faucet running water into a drinking glass

Five deep well pumping stations located throughout the campus supply MU with high-quality mineral water. Each pumping station pumps water from deep underground aquifers to clear well storage reservoirs. The water is then delivered to the various uses on campus. MU's high quality water supply meets all applicable federal and state requirements for a public drinking water system and is tested regularly. To view the most recent Annual Water Quality Report (Consumer Confidence Report), click here.

Water on the MU campus is used for drinking, irrigation, chilled water production and steam/electricity production.

Image: Front-loader mixing wood chips into a coal pile.

Wood chips are mixed with coal before burning.

Power Plant Fuels

The MU Power Plant uses a variety of fuels to reliably and economically provide energy for the campus. Fuels include coal, natural gas, fuel oil and biomass. Coal, biomass, and fuel oil are are delivered to power plant by truck, and each shipment is weighed and sampled before acceptance. Natural gas is purchased from gas marketers off Panhandle Eastern Interstate pipeline and transported to the plant through our local gas company, Ameren UE.

MU's Power Plant blends up to 10% of locally supplied woody biomass with coal for combustion in its stoker boilers. The woody biomass is supplied from a variety of sources including: mill waste, development clearing, and discarded pallets. The woody biomass is chipped and ground to blend with coal in the plant's boilers.

MU is expanding its utilization of renewable biomass energy for the campus. Construction is underway to replace one of the plant's coal-fired boilers with a 100% biomass fueled boiler. This new boiler, expected to be operational in mid 2012, will reliably serve MU's future energy needs with clean sustainable energy. The new boiler will use over 100,000 tons annually of biomass from various sources in Missouri and will reduce MU's coal use by 25%. The boiler technology being utilized supports the use of a wide variety of regional biomass sources such as; wood, corn stover, switchgrass, miscanthus, and other available types of biomass. This renewable biomass reduces fuel costs, lowers emissions, and helps our local economy.