Electric Central Utility Plant (eCUP)

DFWCGI has acted as the engineer of Record for the plumbing design of an energy recovery central utility plant for DFW International Airport. The project consists of the construction of a new 50,000 square foot satellite central utility plant to supplement the heating and cooling capacity of the existing central utility plant.

This project has wrapped up the bidding stages and is mobilizing construction. The new and existing central plants will be interconnected to provide a total of 42,000 tons of installed cooling capacity and 134,000 MBH of installed heating capacity.

The goal of this project was to electrify the campus heating system for decarbonization of systems and to remove the steam heating infrastructure from the district utility system. The new satellite central utility plant will consist of one traditional 3150-ton water-cooled centrifugal chiller, two 1800-ton water-cooled heat pump chillers, three 33,000 MBH hot water boilers, and six 10,000 MBH condensing boilers. Heating hot water from the new satellite central plant will be connected to the various buildings at the points where the existing steam piping terminates at the steam-to-hot water heat exchangers that will be decommissioned.

The plumbing design was focused around supporting these systems. Typical drainage systems were designed for a central utility plant with admin areas, inclusive of office spaces, chiller rooms, boiler rooms and chemical treatment rooms. Stainless steel, PVC, cast iron and copper piping systems were all carefully applied to best align with various chemicals and mixtures that will be moved around the facility.

Acid neutralization was provided for the drainage of the new condensing boilers, and an oil separator was provided for all drainage connected to the boiler room as the boilers were dual-fuel, with the secondary fuel source being jet-fuel. Discharge tempering valves were provided off the flash lines at the boilers to protect the drainage piping from damage due to high temperatures. Heat trace was strategically designed for piping systems exposed to the outdoor elements to ensure reliable system operations in cold weather. A rainwater collection tank was designed with water treatment to support reclaimed water delivery to the central plant cooling towers.

Emergency eyewash and shower fixtures were strategically located and designed for instantaneous tepid water delivery in locations required by code, and the jet fuel and compressed air systems were designed to support the operation of multiple systems and valves. Finally, natural gas service was coordinated with Atmos to support the new, large heating load at the condensing boilers, which would operate during Peak CP hours when the heat pump chillers would be de-energized for electrical load shedding.