To meet environmental emissions restrictions without reducing efficiency
or increasing operational costs, Compañia Española de Petróleos (CEPSA),
one of Spain’s leading petrochemical companies, has adopted new GE
(NYSE:GE) gas turbine technology at its Gibraltar-San Roque refinery.
Developed by GE’s Power Generation Services business, the fuel-flexible
High Hydrogen Fuel DLN1 technology increased the gas turbine’s
efficiency by enabling it to use recycled refinery fuel gas (RFG)
without needing additional water to generate power.
“GE Power Generation Services’ solution helped us to increase plant
efficiency and reduce our environmental footprint, supporting our goals
to produce cleaner energy and meet the region’s increasingly stringent
emissions requirements,” said Antonio Berlanga, CEPSA’s operation
manager. ”We appreciate GE’s commitment to investing in flexible and
efficient technologies that enable us to reduce our emissions footprint.”
Refinery gases are used as fuel for CEPSA’s internal processes with
excess gas flared. GE’s turbine configuration recaptures and reduces
waste gas that otherwise must be flared or burned off. The gas, known as
RFG, is a typical byproduct of the refining process and contains
hydrogen and hydrocarbons, which contribute to greenhouse gases.
Using GE’s technology, refineries around the world can reduce both water
consumption and emissions, helping them comply with tightening
environmental regulations while also reducing operating expenses.
“GE is pleased to showcase the operational benefits, which is the first
use of this technology for B/E Class turbines to run on refinery fuel
gas in the petrochemical industry,” said Ramon Paramio, Europe general
manager for GE Power Generation Services—GE Power & Water. “This project
illustrates our commitment to working with our customers to develop
innovative fuel flexible technology solutions that help refinery
operators around the world meet their operational, environmental and
financial requirements.”
This is the first time a refinery has adopted a process that uses RFG to
power turbines for generating electricity without using water and
reflects the fuel flexibility of GE’s 6B DLN1 heavy-duty gas turbine
design that blends startup fuel (natural gas) with RFG fuel. The
flexible fuel configuration caps GE’s three-year research and
development effort.
GE completed the conversion process more than a year ago and since then,
the unit has increased the power plant’s efficiency and lowered the
release of gaseous emissions. The use of waste (RFG) gas has decreased
the need to purchase natural gas resulting in a 7 percent heat rate
improvement. CEPSA also has realized a 90 percent reduction in NOx
emission with GE’s DLN1 combustion system.
Since the upgrade, the new combustion system hardware’s condition has
exceeded CEPSA’s expectations as the unit has accumulated 10,000 hours
of operation on RFG. In addition, the new configuration of the
combustion system has 24,000 hours inspection intervals, which is three
time longer than the previous combustion system. This extension will
reduce the plant’s operating costs.
CEPSA operates three refineries that account for more than one-third of
Spain’s total refining capacity.
To view a video on the CEPSA project, click here.
About GE
GE (NYSE:GE) imagines things others don’t, builds things others can’t
and delivers outcomes that make the world work better. GE brings
together the physical and digital worlds in ways no other company can.
In its labs and factories and on the ground with customers, GE is
inventing the next industrial era to move, power, build and cure the
world. www.ge.com
About GE Power & Water
GE Power & Water provides customers with a broad array of power
generation, energy delivery and water process technologies to solve
their challenges locally. Power & Water works in all areas of the energy
industry including renewable resources such as wind and solar; biogas
and alternative fuels; and coal, oil, natural gas and nuclear energy.
The business also develops advanced technologies to help solve the
world’s most complex challenges related to water availability and
quality. Power & Water’s six business units include Distributed Power,
Nuclear Energy, Power Generation Products, Power Generation Services,
Renewable Energy and Water & Process Technologies. Headquartered in
Schenectady, N.Y., Power & Water is GE’s largest industrial business.
Follow GE Power & Water and GE’s water business on Twitter @GE_PowerWater
and @GE_Water.
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