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Special
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Written by Sabrina Deparine
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Monday, 11 October 2010 12:33 |
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Page views: 1755 |
If you think ethanol is just for motor vehicles, think again. It can also be used to fuel power plants.
General Electric (G.E.) has recently notched a deal with leading Brazilian energy company, Petrobras to transform the latter’s simple-cycle natural gas plant to a sugarcane ethanol-based facility.
The said power plant currently has an output capacity of 87 megawatts and is serving the city of Juiz de Fora in Rio de Janeiro. Petrobras thought of collaborating with G.E. because the plant already includes equipment from this manufacturer. For instance, the plant has two units of G.E. LM6000 PC gas turbines installed.
According to the agreement signed by both parties, G.E. will be installing one of the two turbines with their modified combustors so that it will allow the use of either ethanol fuel or natural gas. The other gas turbine, on the other hand, will be restructured to consume ethanol. Hopefully, this will also be able to generate electricity on a commercial scale.
 Prior to this project, Petrobras had conducted a 1,000-hour test and commercialization on the plant’s first unit last May. The demonstration, which lasted for about five months, showed that a power plant can run on both hydrous and anhydrous ethanol without any significant changes in performance, power and efficiency. The performance of an ethanol-based plant is the same as those running on natural gas. An ethanol-based power plant is even better as it cuts down the levels of oxide water usage from nitrogen oxide. It also reduces the aldehyde emissions.
The project involving the second unit is a clear indication of the company’s initiative to try out different sources for power generation. Petrobras believes that this will promote greater flexibility among power plants all over the world.
In addition, the capability to utilize both ethanol and natural gas for its operations can contribute significantly to the improvement of the plant’s sustainability. It gives the plant an alternative fuel source.
If plans push through, the Juiz de Fora plant will be the first power-generating facility to run on ethanol fuel. It will bring new light to ethanol since the substance has never been used before in any electricity-generating operations.
Both G.E. and Petrobras ensures that this new type of ethanol-based power plant will not produce high volumes of emissions. Although emissions are inevitable from power plants, this new plant will definitely not go beyond the limit.
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