Our Company

Thermal & Power Engineering helps customers succeed with sound engineering recommendations and designs based on decades of experience within the boiler and process heating industry. Services include engineering design and consulting services for Solid Fuel Boilers and Thermal Oil Heaters, Thermal Fluid Systems, Process Gas Heaters, Direct Fired Heaters, Heat Recovery Equipment, Biomass Direct Fired Energy Systems for rotary dryers, wood products drying systems (OSB, MDF, particleboard), and thermal oil systems for hot presses.

Helping industrial clients succeed with sound engineering recommendations and designs based on decades of experience within the boiler and process heating industry.

What We Offer

  • Boiler and Thermal Oil Heater Tuning
  • Combustion Optimization for Emissions Performance
  • Grate and Stoker Design and Troubleshooting
  • Mechanical and Piping Design Services
  • 3D Modeling
  • Project Management
  • Boiler Tube Failure Analysis
  • Thermal Oil Testing
  • Thermal Oil Safety Audits
  • Energy Assessments
  • Biomass Combustion & Gasification
  • Reciprocating Grates
  • Heat & Mass Balances
  • Boiler, Superheater, & Economizer Design
  • Thermal Oil Heater Design
  • Thermal Oil System Design & Safety Audits
  • ASME/NBIC: Code, Repairs, Welding, Inspection
  • Cogeneration Systems
  • Environmental Calculations & Regulations
  • Energy Recovery
  • Boiler System Repair & Troubleshooting
  • Boiler Retubes, Rebuilds, Retrofits
  • ANSI B31.1 and B31.3
  • FM 7-99 & 6-4
  • DIN 4754
  • NFPA 85, 86 & 87 (Thermal Fluid Heaters)
  • API Standard 560 – Fired Heaters for General Refinery Service
  • Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC)
  • Energy Assessments

About Us

Christopher D. Culpepper, PE
President/Principal

Find the root cause of your issues and stop fixing the symptoms. Put Chris’ nearly 30 years of experience to work for you solving your most difficult issues with your biomass power boilers, heat energy, or drying systems. He is a seasoned mechanical engineer with a knack for solving problems. He is able to quickly identify the source of your issues, and work with you to implement a solution. Many times a solution can be found and implemented while he is onsite. He can optimize and tune any existing boiler and heat energy/dryer system, saving you big money with minimal capital costs. This is especially true for heat and production capacity, and also environmental compliance issues . Chris has over 28 years experience in process engineering design, project & construction management, consulting, field service, commissioning, OEM equipment and service sales (>one half billion $ career sales), and C-level executive management. The breadth of experience is in the following areas: biomass combustion, heat energy and drying systems, power boiler systems, energy recovery, thermal oil systems, biomass power generation, and air pollution control equipment (RTO’s, WESP’s, Dry ESP’s, and wet scrubbers). He is a licensed Professional Engineer, and has been an ASME Member for 28 years.Chris is a subject matter expert (SME) in the following specialties: Biomass Combustion & Gasification • High Alkali Fuels • Oil, Gas, and Sander Dust Burners • Combustion Grates (Reciprocating, Stationary, Vibrating, Travelling, and Rotary types) • Dryers (single pass rotary, triple pass rotary, flash tube, and conveyor types) • Dry Kilns • Heat & Mass Balances • Boiler, Super-heater, & Economizer Design • Thermal Oil Heater Design • Thermal Oil System Design & Safety Audits • ASME/NBIC: Section I & VIII Div 1 Code, Repairs, Welding, Inspection • Co-generation Systems • Environmental Calculations & Regulations • Energy Recovery • Boiler System Repair/Retubing • ASME B31.1 and B31.3 • FM 7-99 & 6-4 • DIN 4754 • NFPA 85, 86 & 87 (Thermal Fluid Heaters) • Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) • Energy Assessments • Boiler MACT • Single Loop Control Methods • Boiler Tuning

 

linkedin_002

Highly competent engineer with a compreshensive understanding of engineering fundamentals related to the combustion and energy business.

Jim Brown

Kestrel Engineering Group

Chris Culpepper’s company is involved in thermal combustion systems that many companies are looking at for renewable and sustainable recycled energy. I have consulted with Chris on various aspects of his Internet strategies and recommend him as a resource for anyone exploring energy recovery systems.

John Harper

Director of Marketing, OptiKodes, LLC

I had the pleasure of working with Chris for two years and I would have to say that Chris is perhaps the most technically proficient engineer I have ever worked with. His analysis of a unique and highly complex biomass thermal system was spot on and provided very accurate predictions of actual system performance. Chris’ competence and attention to detail ensured that our design group received the accurate information necessary to complete our work. If I needed to know that a job was going to be done right, I would go to Chris.

Buddy Hughes

Senior Engineering Professional