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CaterpillarWhathastheBiggestImpactonGasGenSetOperati...OnlineCommunity

OnlineCommunity : ElectricPowerGenerationDiscussion : BLOG:PowerPerspectives :

WhathastheBiggestImpactonGasGenSetOperati...

WhathastheBiggestImpactonGasGenSetOperating
Costs?
byKentGashaw(gashaka)on
0507201010:00AM

Didyouknowthatfuelisthesinglegreatestfactoraffectingenginemaintenanceandoperatingcosts?Thereasonisthat
thecompositionandqualityoffuelaffectstheheatandothercharacteristicsofcombustionintheenginecylinders.
Therearemanysourcesoffuelthatcanbeusedingasengines,including:
pipelinenaturalgas
wellhead
biogas
propane

Itisimportanttoknowyourfuel.Forexample,varyinglevelsofLowHeatValue(LHV)andmethanecanputair/fuelratios
outofbalance.Fuelimpuritiescandegradeenginecomponents.Thereareseveralfactorsthatcanimpactoperating
performanceandmaintenanceneeds,someofwhichI'veoutlinedbelow:
MaintainingProperLHV
Eachcommercialfuelgasisamixtureofgases.Someofthegasesarecombustibleandsomeofthegasesareinert.The
compositionsofthesegasmixtureshaveextremevariations.Routinetestingofthefuelwillhelpyoudeterminethatthe
properLowHeatValue(LHV)contentisbeingmaintained.TheLHVofthefuelcanimpacttheenginesoverall
performance:
LHVthatistoolowcanresultinstarvingtheengineforthefuelenergynecessarytoproducepower.
LHVthatistoohighmaycausethefuelsystemtobeunabletomixairandfuelintheproperratios,resultinginpoor
combustionandreducedpower.

MethaneContent
Afuel'spotentialfordetonationisindicatedbyamethanenumberandshouldbemonitored.Methaneisthemajor
constituentofnaturalgasandisreleasedduringthedecompositionofplantorotherorganiccompounds.
Dependingonthemanufacturer,gasenginescanoperatesuccessfullyonarangeofgaseousfuels.However,
adjustmentsmustbemadetothefuelsystemwhenthefuelischangedtomaintainproperair/fuelratioinordertocomply
withtheemissionrequirementsforyoursite.
Contaminants&Filters
Contaminantsinthefuelcanalsoaffectenginelife.Gaseousfuelscontainanumberofcontaminantsthatcanattack
differentenginecomponentsandleadtoearlyfailure.Monitoringyourfuelwillhelpyouavoidcostlydowntimeand
possiblymajorfailures.
Fuelfiltersarenolessimportantthanairfilterstoprotectgasenginesfromdirtanddebris.Aproperfuelfilterremoves
impuritiesthatcandamagetheinternalcomponentsoftheengine.Propertreatmentcanremovethefollowing:
Moisture
ParticulateMatter(PM)
Sulfur
Siloxanes(partialremovalonly)

Thegasmustbesuppliedtotheengineatapressurethatisacceptable.Foroptimumoperation,useafuelfilterthatis
properlysizedforthegaspressure.Infact,formanygasengines,fuelfiltersareaprovisionofthedesignforthe
application.
Questions
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DoyouregularlymonitoryounaturalgasLHVand/ormethanelevels?
Howdoyoureducecontaminantsinfuel?
Arethereanyadditionaltipsthatyouhaveonfuelnotmentionedabove?
Doyouadjustyourmaintenanceintervalsbasedonoil/fuelsampling?
Pleasepostyourfeedbackbelow.
Everyone'sTags: biogas contaminated filter fuel gas

ViewAll(9)

Comments
bywangzzyon
0512201004:32AM
gashaka,

Youareright,fuleisimportforagasgensetprojectsuccessfuloperation.
InChinawehavesomelandfill,coalminemethaneproject,youknowinlandfillgasandcoalminemethane,therehas
100%moistureandsomePM,weuseasystemscalledpretreatmenttoremovethese.pretreatmentunitwithchillercan
removemoisturetobelow80%,whichisacceptableforgasengineanduseprimiaryfilterandfinefiltertoremovePMto
1um.alsouseblowertomaintainthegaspressure.
H2Sinlandfillorbiogasisharmfultogasenginepartscontainscopper.weaskthirdpartyusebiochemialtoremoveH2S
toSulfurandremoveitbeforeinletofgasengine.
Yourarticleisgood,hopecanreadmoreinfuture.

Thanks

wangzzy,China

bymattlambon
0512201006:38AM
Treatmentraisesagoodquestion.Atwhatpointdoesthecostoftreatmentoutweighthecostofincreasedmaintenanceor
downtime?SIloxanesareincreasinglybecomingmoretroublesomeinlandfillgas,buttreatmentsystemsmaystartat
$500,000incapital,withadditional$50,000ormoreinO&Monthetreatmentsystem,peryear.Landfillsarecurrently
tryingtofindthepointofincreasedengineO&Mandlostavailability,beyondwhichitmakeseconomicsensetoadd
treatment.Iwouldbeinterestedinother'sexperience.

byKentGashaw(gashaka)on
0512201007:59AM
Matt,Youmakeaverygoodpointastowhatpointdoesthecostoftreatmentoutweighthecostofincreasedmaintenance.
Becauseofsitefuelvariationsthereisnoonerightanswerthatfitseverycase.Youshouldgetacompletefuelanalysis
andthenevaluatethedifferentfueltreatmentoptionsandcostsbasedontheanalysis.Developmaintenancecostsin
$/kWhrbasedontreatedfuelandwithouttreatedfuel,compareandevaluateoptions.Thiswayyoucanreviewthecosts
andbenefitstofuelpretreatment.Itmaybeyoucanrealizebenefitusingminimalfuelpretreatment.Therightanswerfor
anyoneprojectcouldbeacombinationoftreatmentandoptimizedenginemaintenancepractices.Landfillstodayarealot
differentthenwhatwewereusedto1520yearsago.GoodLuck

byDaveon
0512201008:52PM

Irunfourlandfillsitesandwedonttreatthegasaswellasweshould.Moistureinthegasisveryimportantaswehave
foundthatacidsarecarriedintotheenginewiththemoisture.Byreducingthemoisturewehaveextendedouroilchange
intervalsfrom400hourto875hours.Kentmakessomegoodpointswithgasqualitytheproblemweareincurringisthe
highertheMethane40%uplevelthelowerhoursweareachievingonoursparkplugs.WehavetriedCat,Championand
Boschplugsandareonlygetting1500hoursbeforereplacementwithonecleaninbetween.Wealsohaveplayedwith
enginetimetoreduceburningofcylinderheadvalvesandreducingcylinderheadtemperatures,weareachieving10,000
hours.Iwouldbeinterestedinexperiencesofotherlandfilloperators.

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bypervinon
0713201005:38PM
Dave,
Soundslikeyouareontherighttrack.Itoohavemanaged
LFGsites(22enginesacross8sitesand2coasts).Wefoundmoisturetootobeabigproblematallofthesitesregardless
ofregionalhumidtylevels.Becausemostsiteshavetheengineplacementatthebaseofthelandfillthereisaninherent
problemwithwaterintrusionanddamagetotheprefilter/chillersystems.Oncethathappensitisjustamatteroftimeuntil
themoisturegetsintheengine.

Withregardtoburnedheads(exhaustvalves)thereareseveralthingsthatIhaveseenlowoxygencontent(lessthan.5%)
inthegasbeingthemostprevalent.Alsoleakingvalvesduetocontaminationorbadrebuilds(wrongseatangles)have
beenaproblem.

Ihavehadtodevelopacustomizedmaintenanceprogramwherewestrictlydependonoilanalysis,valverecessionand
compressionlevels.Inadditionwehavetossedtheoldcalendardayschedulesandbaseallmaintenanceonengine
hours.Thisseemstoworkthebestsowegetthemostoutofourdowntime.

Becausemostofthesesitesaresomewhatremote,vendorresponsecanbedelayedandasyouknowextendeddowntime
isextendedmoneyloss.

Ifyouwouldliketofurtherdiscussissuescontactmeatpervin12000@yahoo.com

byrah1969on
0806201009:58PM

Afterayearandahalfoftestingdifferentruntimeswithoil,filtersandplugswefoundwhatworksforusis,At1000hrs(
giveortakeafewhundred)wedoplugs,oil,filters,valveset.(needitornot)

Wefoundanoilthatcango1000hrsbeforeitstartsflaggingusinggoodfiltersand2separateanalysisprograms(to
keeptheoilsupplierhonest)

Plugs,wefoundthatcleaningthemdidnotbenefituswell,toomanymissfires,shutdownsetc.Wenowgowitha"oneand
donetheory"withacheaperplug(champion)Theywilljustmake1000hrs.

Valvesetevery1000hrs.

I'mata98+%runtimewitha$1200maintenancecostper6weeks.

Mypointis,Spendthetimeandmoneyintesting,Inthelongrunitwillpayoff!!!

byfiltersupplyon
0920201005:20AM
Hi

thiscool!thankyousomuchforsharingyourknowledgetous..verywellappreciated!
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AirFiltersinWisconsin
Thanksagain...

byoperatoron
0922201011:45AM
Theolderlandfillsseemtoproducemoresiloxanessincetheybeganbeforetrashrecycling.Thenewerlandfillsaresealed
betterbutstillhavealotofwastedumpedintothemthatcausesiloxanestoattachtothegas.Dryingthegasoutmakesa
bigdifferenceinbothreducingsiloxanesandincreasingpoweroutput.Onalowhumiditydaywithlowhumidityinthegas
supplystream,theexhausttempsrunlowersomoreoftheheatisusedtomakepowerratherthangoinguptheexhaust
stackassuperheatedwatervapor.Humidityalsotakesupsomeroominthecombustionchambersandpipingwhichhas
noeffectonproducingpower.

Landfillsarehotinsideandoilsandhydrocarbonsevaporatejustasapanofmineralspiritswouldevaporateifleftoutin
thesunonawarmday.Thesehydrocarbonsandoilsalsopickupsiloxanesjustasthewaterdoesbutaremuchharderto
knockoutascondensate.Thisisbecausetheyaremuchlighterthanwater.Ionceseenthesehydrocarbonscondensingin
myheadersandabovegroundlandfillpipingbutonlywhentheambienttempwas20F.Thisoccuredoneearlymorning
butassoonasthedaygotalittlewarmer(around0deg),theycompletelydisappered.Theoilwasverylightincolorand
wieghtandsmelledlikemineralspirits.BecausethesehydrocarbonsareofadifferentmolecularmakeupthanCH4they
alsoburnslowerorfasterthantheprimarymethanefuel.Theymayrequiredifferentamountsofoxygeninthecombustion
cambertoburncorrectly.

I'vefoundthatifthegasqualityisdroppingintheheadertotheplant,theamountofsiloxaneswillalsodropandifitis
rizingthesiloxaneswillalsorizeinthegasstream.Dosen'tmaterifthegasqualityis40%or60%althoughhottergas
seemstocreatemoresiloxane.Thegasisalwayscleanerinthedrymonthsofsummer.Duringthewintermonthsthereis
awiderswingofthebarometerbecauseofbiggerchangesinoutsidetempscausedbystrongfrontsandstorms.This
causesthelandfillto(exhale)duringthestormorbeforethefrontpasses.Acoldfrontoccursrightafterthestormcausinga
dramaticincreaseinbaropressurewhichinturncausesthelandfilltoinhalewhichnowweakensthegaswithOxygenand
Nitrogen.Myvalveswillusuallyburnrightbeforethecoldfrontcomesthur.Thisisprobablybecausethebaropressureis
atitslowestpointatthistimeandsincethelandfillisstillexhaling,thegasisatitshotteststate.SincenoOxygenhasbeen
gettingintothelandfillduringitsexhale,thelandfillhadachancetostartheatingupagainandputtingmoresiliconeinto
thegasstream.ThebarometerismeasuringininchesofMercurybutwemeasurewellvacininchesofwater.Oneincheof
Mercury=alotofinchesofwatersoyoucanseehowmuchbaropressurechangesthings.

Ihavealsonoticedthatleaksinthecappingandaroundwellsaffecthowmuchsiloxanegetsintothegasstream.Ithink
thatatightlysealedhillandtheproperextractionwellbalancingisoneofthebestwaystolowersiloxanes.Ifgasisnot
constantlypulledfromallarea'softhelandfill,oilsandsiloxaneswillsaturatethegasstoredinthatareathenmovetoward
wellsduringstormsandchangesinbaropressure.Cappingandwellboresealleakspreventsystemvacfromreaching
outandpullingstagnentgasfromarea'sfatherawayfromextractionwells.Theoils,siloxanesandH2Srisetothetopand
ifahotwellisopenedafterbeingclossedforawhile,theenginesgetafullshotofallthisstuffinthesaturatedgas.Same
occursifthesiteisdownforawhileandthegasisnotbeingflaredoffbeforestartingtheengines.

Afterrunningadirtygaslandfillsitefor20yearsandchangingmorethan500cylinderheadsthesearesomeofthethings
I'vefoundtohelpalittle.Thebestwayistoinstallagoodgascleaningsystembecausenomaterwhat,thesiloxaneswill
alwayscausevalvestoburnandotherproblems.Runningleanwillhelpjustalittlebutthereisnowaytokeepsilicone
frombuildingonvalveseatsunlessthegasiscleananddry.Everytimeaengineistakenofflinetoreplaceahead,the
gashasachancetoreboundandbringinmoresiliconeunlessitisflaredduringthatperiod.Alsopowerfailuresthatthat
thesitedownduringstormscauseaevenworseproblemattheworstpossibletimewhenthegasisatit'smostrapid
increaseinqualityandsilicone.

byTom_Moskalon
0912201202:53AM
Isanyonerunninganengineoffofsyngasfromagasifier?

Ihavetriedtofindinformationonthecatwebsiteforenginesthatcanrunonthisfuelsofaritseemsthattheonlysupplier
ofenginesthatarecabableofrunningonthesyngasaremadeinChina

Theyrangeinsizefrom500KW1.2MW/run500RPMandareclaimingtheycanrunanaverageof20,000hoursbefore
majormaintance

Theyhaveseveralinstalationsatricemillsthathavebeenrunninginexcessof12yearswithoutmajorproblemsoftar
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buildupinenginesandaresaidtobereliable

IfanyonehasanyknowledgeofagasifersystemintheUSthatisproducingcleansyngasfromricehullspleaseletme
know

Ihaveheardthatsomesmallturbinesareabletorunthisfuelaswellbuthaveyettofindamanufacturer

I'mlookingtoinstallinga4MWChinaGasifierplantatourricemilllocatedinthePhilippinesbuttheonlytechnologythat
seemstobeavailableisfromChina

IsanyonedoingthisintheUSA

Thanks

byNicholasKelsch(KelscNM)on
0913201209:27AM
HelloTom,

I'dbehappytosharewithyouthedifferentoptionsthatCaterpillarhasavailableforgeneratorsetsoperatingonsyngas
fuel.Willbeincontact.

Nick

bygordinimotorion
0929201211:52AM
ifollowsupmore20Mweofbiogasdigesterinitaly,weuseMWMengine,becousecatpoliticabeforeMWmacquisition,i
havesyngasenginerunningandgassificatorinmyhomelabrunning,sooihaveonlynore25yearsienegysectors,soo
notnaturalgasusemanutancecostisalotifnottodothis:

cleanproplythegasbeforeengine

notusesmallzisetosavesmallmoneyofpipe.miesperiencemostengnotmakegooddimension

usegoodblowertopushgasunderinvert

gasneedcooledbeforeengineunder15/20celcius

wehavetryalldifferentalltimemorecostandhaedsalotvalveeccc..eccc.ecc......,soospecialifyouhavestationwith4
engineinparallelingtonetworkandcustomerwantsavemoneyneedpatienttoexsplainhemthecorectviatoproduct
energyisnotsamegotobarorpub,

wehavealotoflandfillengineinoperationbutis80%GEjeanbhacher320,MWM2020tgserie,andsomelastCat3512
notmore,thedealerCGTinpersonofdoctA.Cernilianowhehavestartafternewcampainforcatengineistallation,
MWMyellowsnextyearmaeby,butistohardbecouseafteryearswithoutpresentsonmercant,

costallcompetitorismoreespensiveofcatengine,andmoredifficultosetofoundspareparts,electronicproblembecouse
PLCuseallislooked,bypasswordalsoforchangestupidparameters,esamplecarburationmix,becousealldaysgasso
bedifferent,runfrom48%ofch4to55%,withoutsomeadjustisnotpossiblerunningproply,allfullautoritycontrollihave
alottofproblemMWMincluse,thebestisfuelcontrollbytrimvalveandlambda,wehavelambdacontrollinsyngasuse
engine,wewanttotryinbiogasdigester,

goodcarburationreducecostandincresehaeadsandvalve,

engineoilq,ualitywithsupportfronvendoris50%lessproblem,wereplaceoilnowat4000hourswithoutproblem,we
takeesampleevery500hoursandwehavefeedbakin24hours,emdofstoruyiscostreduction

soobasiclenothingnewinCatwordbutneedpushdealertospendmoremoneyandtimetodogoodrelationshipand
servicethecustomer24H,energyengineinnotatractor,needchangementalitytomanyoperatorsfromCatdealer,still
oldthing,
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esempleismistationinAlessandria,wenwehavestartprojectihavelookfor43520,butdealerspook,catnotmake
warrantyandefficensiislowofcompetitor,realesperiencecompetitorisonlymoreaggressiveonmerchant,efficentyis
samebutnotmore,alliscarburation,learnburnenginecatissamebutnotlesscompetitor,lambda1ismorecostfor
exsaustsystem(3VIAcatalist),efficenceisnotcoverthecost,soobetterlearnburnengine,

watisneed,sampleengine(oldCatstyle),goodservicefromlocaldealer,trainigcustomerforbasicserviceuse,not100%
onlyfromservice,
givetocustomerinstrument,partsservicemanualeccecc...orviawebtooltofollowsandmakesomeservicetoengine,
customeriasyourfontofbusiness,

aboutsyngasuseallisinvitatetoseeperkinsmodificatefrommerunningwithsyngas,80kwe,initaly,localdealernext
weekmakevisittome
maebyitrytoputsomemovieandpicture
salutiatuttiregardsClaudioGordini
idonoifsomebodyunderstamme(badenglicesure),

1 min to Spreed

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