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© 2014 Eaton, All Rights Reserved.

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.


Iain Gordon – Product Line Manager, MTL Gas Business

Biogas Asia Pacific Forum 27 - 30 April 2015, Kuala Lumpur


3 © 2014 Eaton, All Rights Reserved.

Combined heat & power

Gas-to-grid / Biogas upgrader

monitoring

Flare stack monitoring

Landfill gas monitoring

Approvals &

Certification

Reference

Materials Markets

Product

Introduction Architecture

Value

Proposition Applications Competition

MTL GIR6000


Key elements of a typical Biogas plant

Approvals &

Certification

Reference

Materials Markets

Product


Value


MTL GIR6000


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!

Approvals &

Certification

Reference

Materials Markets

Product


Value


MTL GIR6000


2. Fermentation process

Anaerobic digestion:

• A fermentation tank where micro-organisms digest the

biomass in a sealed, light-proof vacuum at 30-40°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!

Approvals &

Certification

Reference

Materials Markets

Product


Value


MTL GIR6000


What is Biogas and what are the challenges?

60% 30%

5%

2% 2% 1% Composition of a typical Biogas

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

Approvals &

Certification

Reference

Materials Markets

Product


Value


MTL GIR6000


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 CO2

Final Methane content may be as high as 98%

and H2S 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

Approvals &

Certification

Reference

Materials Markets

Product


Value


MTL GIR6000


Approvals &

Certification

Reference

Materials Markets

Product


Value


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 H2S is desired

• H2S 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

MTL GIR6000


Approvals &

Certification

Reference

Materials Markets

Product


Value


2. Gas-to-grid

• Biogas can be processed to remove the CO2 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.

• Governments, pay lucrative feed-in tariffs for

supplying bio-methane into the grid.

• Standards for this are being created / regulated.

• 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.

MTL GIR6000


Approvals &

Certification

Reference

Materials Markets

Product


Value


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.

MTL GIR6000


Approvals &

Certification

Reference

Materials Markets

Product


Value


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.

MTL GIR6000


Users – Who is interested to measure Biogas?

Owner

Operator

Maintenance Company

System Builder /EPC

Design Consultant

Industry Expertise

EPC

Gen-set OEM

Gen-set

Engine Builder

Biogas plant

Electricity

Gas- To- grid

System Supplier

Potential Customer/User Influencer

These users have concerns on biogas measurement related issues!

MTL GIR6000

Approvals &

Certification

Reference

Materials Markets

Product


Value



Global product for a global reach

Product 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

Approvals &

Certification

Reference

Materials Markets Architecture

Value


MTL GIR6000

Product

Introduction


Process Engineer

RESPONSIBLE for the

WHOLE plant.

Assertive to

Increased operating

EFFICIENCY, decreased

DOWNTIME and minimal

MAINTENANCE

Needs to REDUCE

operating expense

and maintenance COSTS

Decision to buy driven by

fulfilment of his

specification, confidence

in product, AVAILABILITY

RELIABILITY

Approvals &

Certification

Reference

Materials Markets Applications Competition

MTL GIR6000

Product


Value

Proposition


Dedicated sensors measure up to six gases

*phase 2 release

Approvals &

Certification

Reference

Materials Markets Architecture

Value


MTL GIR6000

Product

Introduction



MTL GIR6000 The next generation in biogas measurement

To find out more and to see

our MTL GIR6000….

Visit Booth 15 under EATON

Corporation


1 Reduce your operational costs

2 Optimise your productivity

3 Increase plant availability

Our solutions help you to…

4 Gives you peace of mind

Approvals &

Certification

Reference

Materials Markets Applications Competition

MTL GIR6000

Product


Value

Proposition

addressing measurement challenges in biogas - icesnicesn.com/bgap2015/slides/biogas kl day 2...

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