Potencjał eliminacji pochodni ORC

The Reality of Flaring.

The flaring of methane is commonplace at many landfills, biogas and wastewater treatment plants (WWTP), and oil and gas well sites across the globe. Industries routinely flare to dispose of unwanted gases and to prevent pressure build up. Not only are these flares a waste of valuable energy and an unsightly reminder of our impact on the planet, but have grown to be a topic of concern as the world strives for a carbon-neutral future. Flares are currently responsible for 2% of the world’s total greenhouse gas emissions – which means if flaring were to be represented as a country, that country would be the 5^th largest gas consumer in the world after the US, Russia, China, and Iran.

By visiting SkyTruth, one can observe global natural gas flaring via satellite. However, this satellite will only pick up the larger concentrations of gas flaring, indicating there are many more smaller sites also flaring. With that in perspective, the burning of this gas is not only a significant contributor to greenhouse gases (GHGs), but an immense waste of a valuable resource as well. Globally, the emissions from flared gas equate to an estimated 280 million metric tons of CO2 a year. To put things further into perspective, the value of gas flared in New Mexico alone in 2019 was $10 million.

With the data revealing the scale of the issue, it is easy to understand why this practice has come under increasing scrutiny with regulatory agencies seeking to eliminate or reduce flaring through the imposing of fines and stricter air quality standards. Some US states such as Alaska, Colorado, and New Mexico have already banned the practice of routine flaring. States such as Pennsylvania and Texas are close in pursuit, eager to appease industry regulators and environmental lobbyist. In the oil and gas industry, being ahead of the curve will be the key to longevity.

Take BP for example. Facing increasing pressure from regulators, investors, and buyers of natural gas to reduce their carbon footprint, BP pledged to spend $1.3 billion to build a network of pipes and other infrastructure to capture natural gas in their Texas and New Mexico oil fields that will effectively eliminate natural gas flaring at those locations by 2025. While this news is excellent, it is a drop in the bucket and not feasible for many locations currently flaring natural gas. Since numerous industries flare – such as landfills, wastewater treatment plants, oil and gas wells, and even biogas plants – a solution needs to be both practical and profitable to see widespread integration.

There are two main approaches to flare elimination. The first approach is to burn the excess gas in an engine to generate power. This route requires the installation of biogas cleanup and storage along with an engine genset. The cost of this equipment can easily be in excess of $1 million USD and engines running off biogas routinely face issues with siloxane buildup. Siloxane buildup requires expensive maintenance leading to increased downtime (lost revenue and more flaring) or even a complete engine replacement.

Another approach is to burn the excess gas in a boiler. Not only is this approach far less extensive and expensive, but modern biogas boilers are designed to be less susceptible to siloxane buildup and damage. Since most all biogas and wastewater treatment plants have biogas or natural gas boilers installed, this method is simple and more cost-effective than the one mentioned above. In other instances, such as well site applications where a boiler will need to be installed, the capital costs are still far less than the alternative. The only dilemma with this approach is that those who cannot make use of the thermal energy provided by the biogas boiler are simply wasting energy, which leads us to a simple solution…

ORC Flare Elimination

An easily adaptable solution is an Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) waste heat recovery system integrated with a biogas boiler. All we need to know about an ORC is that it exploits the temperature difference between hot and cold water to generate electricity. This means converting heat into power, using hot water as a medium to transfer the thermal energy. The process for ORC flare elimination is simple.

// Excess gas is routed to a boiler which heats water for the ORC.

// Woda jest następnie kierowana przez ORC, który jest systemem zamkniętym i generuje energię elektryczną.

// Wykorzystanie nadmiaru gazu do zasilania kotła pozwala wyeliminować pochodnie.

// Skierowanie większej ilości gazu do kotła pozwala zwiększyć produkcję wody i zmaksymalizować wydajność ORC.

An appropriate ORC flare elimination system must be able to handle fluctuations due to the inconsistent supply of thermal energy. With turbine systems incapable of reliably operating under those conditions, the only ORC technology that makes sense are those utilizing screw expanders. This is due to their comparatively better turndown ratios and transient operation capabilities. An example of this technology is ElectraTherm’s Power+ Generator. In a previous demonstration in collaboration with the Department of Energy Research Partnership to Secure Energy for America (REPSEA), Houston Advanced Research Center (HARC), Gulf Coast Green Energy, and HESS at a North Dakota oil well, ElectraTherm reduced carbon monoxide emissions by 98%, nitrogen oxide by 48%, and VOCs by 93% while generating emission-free electricity.

ElectraTherm has an upcoming flare elimination application at a wastewater treatment plant in New York which, once completed, will be the first ORC application of its kind. The successful demonstration of ORC technology at a wastewater treatment plant will open up opportunities across municipalities, further advancing waste heat recovery technology in the marketplace.

 

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Informacje o ElectraTherm

ElectraTherm firmy BITZER Group zapewnia światowej klasy rozwiązania w zakresie odzyskiwania ciepła odpadowego, wykorzystując organiczny cykl Rankine'a wraz z zastrzeżonymi technologiami do przekształcania ciepła niskotemperaturowego w czystą energię. Proste i skuteczne rozwiązania ElectraTherm generują czystą energię elektryczną, zwiększają wydajność, obniżają koszty energii i zmniejszają emisje - bez dodatkowego zużycia paliwa. Po dostarczeniu ponad 100 jednostek ORC do ponad 13 krajów, które przepracowały ponad 2 000 000 godzin, ElectraTherm jest światowym liderem w odzyskiwaniu ciepła odpadowego na małą skalę.

Połączona przewaga inżynierii ElectraTherm wraz z wartością wsparcia ze strony BITZER, największego na świecie niezależnego producenta sprężarek chłodniczych, który może pochwalić się blisko 3500 pracownikami na całym świecie i średnią roczną sprzedażą zbliżającą się do $1 miliarda, pozwala zespołowi ElectraTherm kontynuować rozwój wiodącej w branży technologii ORC, która jest dobra zarówno dla biznesu, jak i dla planety.

ElectraTherm Power+ Generator to rozwiązanie typu heat to power, przekształcające ciepło odpadowe w czystą energię elektryczną i ciepło użytkowe. The Aktywny cooler służy jako rozwiązanie typu net-zero cooling to power, wykorzystując ten sam proces ORC do zapewnienia samozasilającego się chłodzenia przy jednoczesnym generowaniu energii elektrycznej. Oba rozwiązania ElectraTherm zmniejszają emisje i koszty energii, zapewniając jednocześnie podstawowe zasilanie / chłodzenie. Wykorzystanie ciepła odpadowego jest nie tylko opłacalne, ale i praktyczne. Umożliwia firmom czerpanie korzyści z gospodarki o obiegu zamkniętym przy jednoczesnym osiąganiu celów zrównoważonego rozwoju.