Addressing Measurement Challenges in Biogas

Transcription

1 Addressing Measurement Challenges in Biogas Accurate, reliable measurement in the biogas industry is essential to optimise production processes, reduce maintenance and enhance safety. This presentation explores some of the areas where measurement is essential and discusses the challenges in this measurement task. MTL have launched a new product, the MTL GIR6000 which addresses these challenges with an innovative solution.

2 Addressing Measurement Challenges in Biogas Iain Gordon Line Manager, MTL Gas Business Biogas Asia Pacific Forum April 2015, Kuala Lumpur

3 Landfill gas monitoring Flare stack monitoring Gas-to-grid / Biogas upgrader monitoring Combined heat & power 3

4 Key elements of a typical Biogas plant 4

5 1. Collection and storage of Biomass Typical raw materials (Biomass) are collected into a central pit or basin and mixed: Animal (cows, pigs, chickens) and waste Food & Alcohol production residue (apple juice, wine, oil, sugar, beer, brewer grains) Residues from food & vegetable packing plants Leftovers from restaurants, greenhouses, milk and dairy production and past-dated foods Organic fraction of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) Residues from biofuel production Slaughterhouse waste Plant waste: maize, sugar, beets, grains, grass, straw Feedstock for Biogas varies greatly this presents a process & measurement challenge to optimise production! 5

6 2. Fermentation process Anaerobic digestion: A fermentation tank where micro-organisms digest the biomass in a sealed, light-proof vacuum at C. Digestion time varies with feedstock from several hours to several weeks depending on the feedstock Raw gas is stored in the hood of the tank, a balloon or another storage vessel Fermentation process requires control to optimise its output without measurement there is no control! 6

7 What is Biogas and what are the challenges? 30% 2% 2% 1% Composition 5% of a typical Biogas 60% Methane (CH4) Carbon Dioxide (CO2) Water Vapour (H2O) Nitrogen (N2) Oxygen (O2) Trace Gases (NH3, H2, H2S) Composition varies depending upon the feedstock and the process. Upgraders are used to maximise the CH4 content before use up to 98%. Measurement is critical to the upgrading process 7

8 3. Gas processing Raw Biogas exits the anaerobic digester and is processed to improve the gas: Gas is cooled Dried of water vapour Particles are removed Hydrogen Sulphide is scrubbed Further upgrade may involve removing the CO 2 Final Methane content may be as high as 98% and H 2 S as low as 5 ppm, depending upon the intended use. Gas-to-grid Combined Heat & Power Process & Domestic Heat Biogas fuel for transport Upgrading of the gas optimises quality and energy content 8

9 1. Combined Heat & Power Large internal combustion engines GE Jenbacher, MWM, MTU, Wartsila, Typically from 8 to 16 cylinders Turbocharged for efficiency 1 MW power output or more Often containerised for portability Gas fuels a large stationary engine Rotational energy drives a generator Electricity is produced Gas must be carefully measured <200ppm max H 2 S is desired H 2 S pollutes oil & damages valve seats Corrosion or premature failure may occur Monitoring helps reduce maintenance and engine lease costs Oil change cycle frequency may need increasing 9

10 2. Gas-to-grid Biogas can be processed to remove the CO 2 to create Bio-methane. Cleaning techniques must be used to dry, remove impurities and to upgrade the Methane content (>95%) to resemble the qualities of Natural Gas. Bio-Methane of suitable final quality can be supplied into the national Gas grid. Gas quality and composition is carefully monitored to avoid polluting the national grid system. This is normally done with a Gas Chromatograph which provides high accuracy repeatable online measurement Growing crossover of Oil & Gas EPC s developing scrubber technologies, such as UOP and Mustang. Governments, pay lucrative feed-in tariffs for supplying bio-methane into the grid. Standards for this are being created / regulated. 10

11 3. Upgraders / Scrubbers Application is to measure the Biogas before and after the upgrader process. Upgraders may use many different techniques, such as: Amine Water Pressure Adsorption Membrane Organic Solvent Accurate online analysis is necessary to ensure control of the scrubber process. 11

12 4. Flare stack Some of the gas on a Biogas plant is flared. Application is to measure the Biogas before the flare stack and provide feed-forward control to optimise the combustion process. Stack is designed to optimise the burning process, reduce emissions and noise. Accurate analysis prior to flaring means an intelligent flare can correct for changes in gas composition to ensure efficiency. The analyser may also act as a safety and monitoring device to ensure that the flare can cope with highly explosive gas compositions. 12

13 Users Who is interested to measure Biogas? Potential Customer/User Influencer Operator EPC System Supplier Gas- Togrid Design Consultant System Builder /EPC Owner Biogas plant Gen-set Electricity Industry Expertise Gen-set OEM Maintenance Company Engine Builder These users have concerns on biogas measurement related issues! 13

14 development to meet your Biogas needs Over 30 years of gas experience and over 40 years of hazardous areas New MTL GIR6000 analyser meets customers specification through advanced features Customised platform concept available from global support network Global product for a global reach 14

15 Process Engineer RESPONSIBLE for the WHOLE plant. Decision to buy driven by fulfilment of his specification, confidence in product, AVAILABILITY RELIABILITY Assertive to Increased operating EFFICIENCY, decreased DOWNTIME and minimal MAINTENANCE Needs to REDUCE operating expense and maintenance COSTS 15

16 *phase 2 release Dedicated sensors measure up to six gases 16

17 Addressing Measurement Challenges in Biogas MTL GIR6000 The next generation in biogas measurement To find out more and to see our MTL GIR6000. Visit Booth 15 under EATON Corporation

18

19 Our solutions help you to 1 Reduce your operational costs 2 Optimise your productivity 3 Increase plant availability 4 Gives you peace of mind 32