Liquid Fuel Technology Enables Clean and Green Power

COLUMBIA, Md., Nov. 17, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- LPP Combustion, LLC, a Columbia, Maryland-based innovator in liquid fuel technology, has successfully demonstrated clean and green generation of renewable electric power using both   bio-ethanol   and   bio-diesel. LPP   Combustion   has   developed   a   Lean,   Premixed, Prevaporized (LPP) combustion technology that converts liquid fuels, including bio-ethanol and biodiesel, into a substitute natural gas called LPP Gas™.  The LPP Gas™ has been used to fuel a commercial Capstone 30 kW gas turbine designed for operation on natural gas, allowing the gas turbine to burn these liquid bio-fuels with natural gas level performance and emissions. The LPP Combustion fuel processing skid is designed to enable real-time operation of gas turbines on liquid fuels without requiring any modifications of the combustion system.

Currently,  combustion  of  bio-fuels  in  gas  turbines  is  accomplished  by  burning  these liquids as a spray.  This spray flame mode of combustion generates much higher emissions of pollutants such as NOx, CO, and particulates than the burning of natural gas.  However, the LPP Combustion system allows these bio-fuels to be burned in the same lean, premixed combustion system that provides extremely low emissions from natural gas operation.  Emissions from the Capstone gas turbine, operating in low emissions mode at 25 kW on LPP Gas™ derived from these  bio-fuels,  are  less  than  5  ppm  NOx  and  less  than  20  ppm  CO,  at  15%O2,  with  no observable  particulate  emissions. These  emissions  were  lower  than  those  obtained  during operation  of  the  gas  turbine  on  natural  gas.  In  addition,  no  problems  with  combustion instabilities, flashback, or autoignition have been observed.

The  bio-ethanol  fuels  tested  range  from  pure  alcohol  with  no  water  to  ethanol containing over 30% water.  Although the presence of even small amounts of water in ethanol used for blending with gasoline causes problems for automotive engines, the presence of up to 30% water mixed with the ethanol had no significant effects on performance or emissions from the  gas  turbine. The  bio-ethanol  was  provided  by  Dubay  Biofuels,  a  Stratford,  Wisconsin company.  Dubay has developed a proprietary process to create ethanol from waste streams of food manufacturers.

The biodiesel fuels tested in the 30 kW gas turbine included both a canola-based diesel fuel that meets the ASTM specification for biodiesel and a less expensive to produce, off-spec form  of  biodiesel  not  suitable  for  use  in  diesel  engines. Both  biodiesel  formulations  also provided performance and emissions in the gas turbine similar to natural gas, with less than 5 ppm NOx and less than 20 ppm CO, at 15%O2, and with no observable particulate emissions.

These biodiesel fuels were provided by Northern Biodiesel, an Ontario, NY company.  According to Northern Biodiesel, the off-spec biodiesel can be produced at a substantially lower cost than traditional biodiesel since the off-spec fuel can be made from a wider variety of feedstocks, including beef tallow and chicken waste.

Clean operation of gas turbines on biofuels provides a reliable alternative to wind or solar  power  for  renewable  electric  power  generation. Gas  turbines  equipped  with  LPP Combustion fuel skids can provide "dispatchable" (available on demand) renewable power to complement new or existing wind or solar farms.  LPP Combustion enables the cleanest use of renewable   fuels   by   using   existing   or   new   gas   turbine   infrastructure   while   providing dispatchable, green energy.   The LPP Combustion system allows for fuel flexibility, improved heat rate, and reduced maintenance for gas turbine operation on liquid fuels without the usual 80% increase in emissions associated with conventional burning of liquid fuels. The LPP System can be integrated into new combustion systems or deployed as a self-contained hardware skid that can be easily retrofitted into existing natural gas-fired equipment without modification of the combustion hardware.  This ease of installation makes LPP Systems using liquid bio-fuels an exciting option for industrial and utility scale power markets. Learn more at www.lppcombustion.com.

SOURCE LPP Combustion, LLC