Biogas Fuelled Micro Turbines
Biogas Fuelled Micro Turbines
Biogas Fuelled Micro Turbines
Biogas-fuelled
microturbines
a positive outlook for growth in the US
icroturbines are demonstrating some unique attributes problems have been resolved for existing and new sites.
■ Site operators are generally happy with the microturbines For many small digester and landfill sites, microturbines can
and would recommend them to other landfill sites and provide a better solution than the alternatives, which include
wastewater treatment plants – particularly for smaller sites. doing nothing, flaring off the waste gas, using it directly in a
■ Early landfill and digester installations had some start-up boiler, or running it through a reciprocating engine. Of
problems, including gas compressor failures, but those course, many factors determine whether on-site generation is
Table 1. Microturbine manufacturers with biogas models. The vast majority of biogas-fuelled microturbines are
installed in the US and Canada, with a handful of units in Europe, Japan and elsewhere
Manufacturer Model Model Status Number of
name capacity units running
(kW) on biogas
Capstone C30 Biogas 30 a Commercial 215
Ingersoll Rand EcoWorks 70 and 250 Commercial 10
ETTI b Turbo Charger 100 Prototype 1
Gas Turbine (TCGT)
FlexEnergy Flex-Microturbine 30 Prototype 1
Source: Platts; data from manufacturers Margarita Water District, California, puts it, ‘We would have to
a Capstone is also developing a 60 kW biogas model
do something with it anyway’. Also, grants and incentives for
b ETTI=Energy Technology Transition Inc.
biogas projects are available from multiple sources, improving
the economics.
appropriate for a site – and if so, which technology to use. Between grants defraying some of the capital costs and the
Reciprocating engines are well established in this market and fuel being a by-product of the treatment process, wastewater
will probably continue to be the technology of choice for many treatment plants and landfill sites have shown some attractive
landfill and digester project developers. But there is a growing economics for microturbine projects. According to our inter-
level of interest around microturbines due to their ability to use views, the Town of Lewiston Water Pollution Control Center,
low calorific value fuel, their low maintenance requirements, New York, is netting US$36,000 in annual savings, San Elijo
low NOx emissions, modularity and portability. Water Reclamation Facility, California, is saving about $48,000
Compared to other possible applications for microturbines, annually, Eastern Municipal Water District, California, has
biogas is a good fit because the fuel is free or cheap, improving $57,000–63,000 in electricity cost savings per year, the City of
the ‘spark spread’. The only fuel costs are for the collection and Allentown Wastewater Treatment Plant, Pennsylvania, is saving
pretreatment of the waste gas. Collection costs at many landfill $25,000 per year for 10 years and $150,000 annually thereafter,
sites and wastewater treatment plants are often insignificant, and the Daly City Department of Water and Wastewater
because, as Ron Meyer, Engineering Associate at the Santa Resources, California, estimates $216,000 in savings per year.
LANDFILL SITES
In total, about 100 microturbines currently run on biogas from mixed. In the US, there is currently a lack of financial assis-
wastewater treatment plants in the US. Most plants use all the elec- tance to farm operators for developing projects (‘carrots’), and a
tricity output from the microturbines, and don’t export to the grid. lack of regulations mandating stricter animal waste manage-
Besides having a good use for the waste heat, wastewater ment (‘sticks’). Both of these are slowly starting to shift.
treatment plants have some other specific advantages for The US currently has 35 farm-scale anaerobic digestion pro-
microturbine applications. Compared to other market sectors, jects in operation, generating about 4 MW. This is a 30%
municipal-owned wastewater treatment plants have access to increase from two years ago, and another seven projects are in
capital, can tolerate a longer payback period, and are already start-up or under construction. Most of these existing and new
somewhat familiar with distributed generation, since many have projects use reciprocating engines.
back-up generators. On the other hand, some installers anecdo-
tally report that water agencies can be bureaucratic to work with
(so the sales cycle is longer), and that, as a sector, wastewater Over 100 microturbines are currently
treatment plants are generally reluctant to try new or unfamiliar
technologies. running on landfill gas in the US
AGRICULTURAL AND LIVESTOCK OPERATIONS Compared with putting microturbines at landfills or waste-
water treatment plants, the costs of projects at agricultural and
With only minor modifications, microturbines can be run on livestock operations are higher, for two reasons. The waste col-
waste methane from digesters at dairy, hog (pig) and poultry lection system is more complicated, and farm operators are less
farm operations as easily as at wastewater treatment plants. The likely to already have a collection system or a digester in place.
driver for farm operators is to manage wastes – especially Organizations such as the New York State Energy Research
manure. In addition to providing a treatment route for manure, and Development Authority (NYSERDA), the California Energy
with fertilizer as an end product, digestion eliminates odour Commission, and the US Environmental Protection Agency’s
problems that arise from storing manure in a lagoon, and AGSTAR programme are helping by funding and facilitating
prevents groundwater pollution. new projects, and this will lead to an increase in biogas projects
The resource is enormous, the application is technically at farms. In general, though, we predict that this market will
feasible and proven, and the environmental and community continue to consist mainly of demonstration projects rather than
benefits are huge. However, the outlook for this application is widespread adoption for the next several years.
TECHNOLOGY CONSIDERATIONS for biogas applications. Ingersoll Rand uses its own screw
compressor.
Biogas is a challenging gas to work with. It often requires rigorous The moisture in biogas has to be removed, or it will build up
pretreatment to filter out siloxanes, moisture content, and trace sticky deposits inside the microturbine. Capstone has found that a
elements, which could otherwise wreak havoc on microturbines or refrigerated dryer is better than a desiccant dryer.
other prime movers. With
plenty of experimentation,
microturbine manufacturers
have developed a relatively
standardized fuel skid that
cleans and conditions the fuel.
Capstone’s fuel skid is shown
in Figure 4. Finding a cost-
effective gas pretreatment
approach has been a major
factor in the acceptance of
microturbines for landfill
and digester applications.
The operation and mainte-
nance costs of the pretreat-
ment system and compressor
are projected to be
1–2 cents/kWh. Figure 4. Capstone’s new standard fuel skid for landfills and digesters. All of the company’s
Most sites will need to new landfill and digester-gas installations will be set up with this standard gas cleanup
system. This is simpler and more compact than previous gas cleanup systems for biogas-
boost the pressure of the gas fuelled microturbines. Older systems used multiple compressors, multiple dryers, and a more
with a compressor. Capstone labour-intensive siloxane filtration system. Ingersoll Rand’s fuel skid is similar to Capstone’s,
has found that sliding rotary but it is testing out combining the dryer and siloxane filter into one unit
vane compressors work best
Siloxanes – which are found in the residues of shampoos, con- wastewater treatment plant are afraid of internal combustion
ditioners, and cosmetics – turn into a hard, sand-like precipitate engines – especially regarding the maintenance work, the cost
when combusted and can build up as deposits on the recuperator. outlays, and the skill level it takes to maintain engines – then
It usually needs to be filtered out, using activated carbon. There is I’d say yes, go ahead and throw in some microturbines. It’s easy
a wide range in both the first and operating costs of the siloxane to make some power with them, and your staff can easily learn
filtration, depending on the siloxane concentration. First costs can to work with them.’ Inland Empire has been testing some
range from $100–200 per kW installed. The medium in the silox- 20 microturbines and running several engines as well.
ane filter needs to be changed periodically, and each change-out
can be costly. The Town of Lewiston Water Pollution Control Center FUTURE DIRECTION
changes its media approximately every six months, at a cost of
$900 per change-out. At the Santa Margarita Water District, We believe that the market for microturbines at small landfill
replacing the media costs about $1600 per change-out, which sites and wastewater treatment plants will continue to grow in
occurs approximately every 80 operational days. North America. The technology design and performance, the
Ingersoll Rand is testing a new, super-refrigerated dryer that regulatory requirements, and the financial incentives combine
will eliminate moisture and siloxanes at the same time. Unlike the to give these applications a boost. However, agricultural and
situation with activated carbon siloxane filtration, this new method livestock operations, though excellent applications for micro-
will not require costly media change-outs. Ingersoll Rand expects turbines, will probably consist mostly of demonstration projects
that both first costs and operating costs will both be reduced. in the next few years, due to the higher cost of projects and the
Another difference between a biogas-fuelled microturbine and lack of incentives for farm operators.
a natural gas-fuelled microturbine is that, if hydrogen sulphide is
present in the gas, the exhaust heat recovery components should be
made of stainless steel construction to avoid corrosion. Christine Hurley is a Senior Research Associate with
Microturbines require a lot of gas pretreatment at the front the E SOURCE Distributed Energy Service, Boulder,
end, but as a result they require far less ongoing maintenance Colorado, US. E SOURCE is a registered trademark of
than reciprocating engines. Lower maintenance requirements Platts, a division of the McGraw-Hill Companies.
have been a key selling point for microturbines. Gary Bankston, Fax: +1 720 548 5001
Manager of Power Production at the California water utility e-mail: [email protected]
Inland Empire Utilities Agency, commented, ‘If the staff at a