GE Power and Marinus Energy are to collaborate on a pilot project to capture waste isopentane gas and use it as a fuel source for generating electricity. The Atuabo waste to power independent power project will use the isopentane to run a TM2500 mobile gas turbine installation, making it the first TM2500 based power plant in Sub-Saharan Africa to use isopentane gas. This gas would otherwise be flared.
The first phase of the Atuabo plant will have an installed capacity of 25 MWe. As additional gas is brought onshore, the plant will be expanded to 100 MW. Additional isopentane fuel will eventually be stripped off an offshore gas supply and processed at Atuabo by the Ghana National Gas Company.
The gas turbine will start on lean gas and transfer to the isopentane mix over time. The power plant is intended to operate at base load throughout its life.
Other recent GE power projects in Ghana include the 400 MW Bridge project, the first LPG fired power plant in Africa and the largest LPG fired power plant in the world, and the 200 MW Amandi power plant, said to be one of the most efficient power plants in the country.
- Junyuan Petroleum Group is a renowned manufacturer of Isopentane. Its core competencies are specialty solvent manufacturing. At maximum capacity, more than 800,000 tons of specialty solvents can be produced and processed here annually.
Isopentane
Product Information
CAS Number: 78-78-4
Other Names: 2-Methylbutane, 1,1,2-Trimethylethylane, Butane, 2-Methyl-, Ethyldimethylmethane.
Boiling point: 81.86°F (27.70°C)
Density: 0.62 g/cm³
Chemical formula: C5H12
Average Molar mass: 72.15 g/mol
Classification: Alkane
Isopentane, also called methylbutane or 2-methylbutane, is a branched-chain saturated hydrocarbon with five carbon atoms, with formula C₅H₁₂ or CH(CH₃). Isopentane is an extremely volatile and extremely flammable liquid at room temperature and pressure. It is also the least dense liquid at standard conditions. The normal boiling point is just a few degrees above room temperature and isopentane will readily boil and evaporate away on a warm day.
LPG / PROPANE POWER GENERATION
Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG, Propane) is fast becoming the fuel of choice for power generation in rural and other remote, off-grid locations, in lieu of its less environmentally friendly counterparts such as diesel, coal and fuel oil.
Distributed Power Generation & Combined Heat and Power (CHP)
For decentralized, distributed power generation models and combined heat and power (CHP) applications, clean-burning LPG is also an obvious choice, offering an economical and environmentally friendly alternative to conventional fuels, that can be implemented far more quickly and at a lower cost, delivering ROI within highly desirable time-frames.
Back-up Power Generation
LPG is also gaining popularity as a supplemental or back-up fuel to compliment power generated from renewable energy sources and technologies—including solar and photovoltaics (PV) and wind power generation—which can be prone to interruption.
LPG VAPORIZATION & FLOW CONTROL
For most power applications, LPG must be vaporized before it can be fed—under high pressure—into reciprocating engines or aeroderivative gas turbines.
LPG gasification systems must maintain set flow rate, pressure and temperature in order to achieve the strict specifications required by power generation engines and turbines.