13MW BIOGAS GENERATORS FOR A BIOMASS & NATURAL GAS POWER PLANT BASED IN CHINA

Five biogas generators were provided by Jereh Combined Energy Co., Ltd. to a biomass natural gas power plant based in China.

Manufactured by INNIO the biogas gensets are powered by NIDEC/Leroy Somer alternators, 4 x LSA54 ZL105/4P and 1 x LSA53.1 XL80/4P, offering 13MW in power output in total.

These gensets have been installed at two cattle farms in China. The annual production capacity of the site’s biogas facility is over 100 million kWh, making this is the largest project of biogas power generation in the field of animal husbandry in China.

Biogas is produced from cattle slurry through anaerobic fermentation processes. The gas gensets can convert biogas into electricity with an efficiency of 44.1%.

The converted electrical energy not only meets the daily electricity consumption of the farms, it also supplements China’s national grid.

Thanks to the installation the client now recycles waste heat from the flue gas and cylinder liner water of the genset instead of using conventional heating from biogas boiler. The heat is then sent to the ranch’s fermentation tank. Overall energy use efficiency reaches 88%, effectively reducing CO2 emissions.

The Leroy-Somer LSA 54 installed on the gensets also plays its part in this highly-efficient system. The LAS 54 offers high performance and is the kind of reliable industrial alternator which suits all types of generator sets.

“The LSA Series industrial alternators have been built for performance and intensive use. They are engineered to withstand the test of time and extreme conditions, sourcing the best materials and focusing on sturdy construction,” reports NIDEC.

“LSA alternators are also highly customizable and can be adapted to fit any specification,” explains a company spokesman.

Other China projects involving biogas

The INNIO group is currently also supporting Wuhan in its efforts to become the most sustainable city in China. The Wuhan Waste-to-Energy project, for example, has entered its second phase with the commissioning of six additional Jenbacher J320 engines by Wuhan Environmental Investment and Development Co., Ltd (WEID).

A total of 14 Jenbacher gensets now generate 14.9 MW of flexible, scalable, and resilient power for the Wuhan Jiangxia Changshankou Municipal Solid Waste landfill gas (LFG) project. The captured landfill gas used in the gensets is enough to power up to 35,000 homes in Wuhan.

INNIO distributor Guangzhou Shenfa Electromechanical Industrial Development Co., Ltd. (Shenfa) provided the project’s genset containers, landfill gas pre-treatment equipment, and NOx reduction equipment.

Shenfa also will continue to provide technical services for the customer. More than 800 Jenbacher generator sets have been delivered across China, where INNIO is recognised as a leading energy solution and service provider in the power generation segment.

Dr. Olaf Berlien, president and CEO of INNIO Group, comments: “INNIO continues to move energy forward with our innovative technology and engineering. With our energy solutions and services, we actively support the battle to combat climate change. Our technology now provides even more energy for Wuhan and creates a more sustainable and circular economy.”

The landfill site is designed for daily treatment of 1,700 tons of domestic garbage.

WEID first turned to INNIO’s proven landfill gas power generation technology in 2020, selecting eight J320 gensets for the project’s first phase. Even in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the INNIO team was able to deliver the units on schedule, with commissioning in April 2021. The units have been operating reliably for the past two years - a result which convinced WEID to purchase the six additional J320 gensets in April 2022. www.innio.com

Commissioning for Phase 2 took place in December 2022.

Landfill gas is composed of about half methane, half CO2, and a small amount of non-methane organic compounds. Instead of letting this potent greenhouse gas escape into the atmosphere, it can be collected and used as a valuable energy source, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and creating financial value. When an engines operates with methane, it converts to CO2, which is approximately 25 times less harmful to the climate than methane itself. While landfill gas has many potential applications, its use in a Jenbacher genset delivers high profitability with exceptional overall efficiencies of up to 86% in combined heat and power (CHP) applications.