Steam distribution operators maintain the utility connections that connect the university district on centralized systems.
For an example of that, you may think of Abbott Power Plant, the campus cogeneration facility that makes both steam and electricity with massive boilers that power gigantic turbines – see for yourself! From Abbott, steam and electricity go through miles of underground pipes all over campus, keeping buildings comfortable and operational.
Outside of natural gas and other utility checks, they are the first responder of F&S after-hours calls on campus, identifying the issue, deciding what’s needed next, and interacting with any building personnel on site. They grease and oil up building mechanical systems, that’s basically anything with a motor. They change air filters, which can come in as many sizes as there are needs. They keep logs and records of the amount of utilities being used building by building, looking for spikes in a graph. They go underground, into cold environments, venture into tight compartments, and make important value judgements and decisions that make the campus safer and help avoid sudden, massive utility failures.
They also go on site whenever anyone needs to dig on campus for any reason. This includes a location near the intersection of Curtis Ave. and Neil St. in Savoy, on location of Solar Farm 2.0. But the utility here comes from a different place altogether.
Did you know: It’s from Monticello
Yes, the natural gas burned at Abbott comes from a pipeline that begins in Monticello, home to many university employees, Fighting Illini fans, and the Allerton Park & Retreat Center.
Operators regularly go to Monticello to check the source feed; they’ll make stops between there and Savoy for checks. At the Curtis location, the PSI in the piping is lowered from 800 to 400 PSI, and sent on to Abbott. Another portion of the facility takes it down further to 50 PSI, which is the distribution level for direct use at a facility; in this case, there are many agricultural buildings on nearby farms that require gas. Two more important modifications are made to the gas here.
Did you know: Add the Stink, Warm the Gas!!
Both at Curtis Avenue and Abbott, there are tanks that add an odorizer, called mercaptan, to produce the well-known “rotten egg” smell in gas.
“You have to put that smell in there,” said Justin Schmidt, steam distribution operator. “The natural gas originally, when it comes out of the ground, it’s odorless, tasteless. So they put that in there. This is a safety issue. If there’s a gas leak, somebody can notice it right away.”
There’s also a heating element to bring the gas to the perfect temperature to keep it flowing throughout cold pipes. It’s very important to prevent ice crystal formation, because a particularly cold, windy day might cause a problem…
Put Into Action: December 13, 2024
In the cold of early morning in Piatt County, that piping began to fail to achieve 800 PSI as it heads toward campus. Eventually it got so low as to prevent a boiler from firing at full power at Abbott. As fuel faded, steam stopped flowing, allowing freezing, windy temps to invade campus.
The cold’s rule didn’t last.
“We didn’t really notice any difference until about 1 or 2 in the morning,” Schmidt said of that event. “One of our guys called, like, ‘Hey, we might have some serious problems here with natural gas,’ because they couldn’t make steam. We had the gas back on by four or five in the morning. We had to make sure all the steam, everything came back up with steam through the tunnels, but since it wasn’t off long, everything was still hot.”
Most building occupants wouldn’t notice a change at all.
Per the F&S announcement, which came at 8 a.m., “[t]here may be cooler temperatures in some campus buildings and some specialized lab equipment that utilizes high-pressure steam may not work,” meaning this was not making all classrooms and offices unusable for the tens of thousands who populate the campus, and for those it did impact, it didn’t last long.