FCI Green Energy Applications Guide
12Pages

Methane-to-Market Greenhouse Gas Reduction Biogas-to-Energy Specifying Gas Flow Meters in Green Energy and Pollution Reduction Applications g Landfill Gas Recovery g Biogas/Organic Biomass Fermentation Systems g Wastewater Treatment Plant Digester Gas g Livestock and Dairy On-Farm Biogas Recovery g Ethanol Production and Refining g Coal Mine Methane Recovery g Biomass Gasification g Flare Gas Measurement g Flue Gas Monitoring FCI Green Energy Applications Guide Emissions Measurement, Control & Reduction

3 Landfills produce a mixture of methane and carbon dioxide with traces of nitrogen, oxygen and other gases. These gases are extracted from multiple wellheads and collected through a network of pipes to a common header pipe. Typical systems also involve blowers, pumps, knock-out pots and a flare or oxidizer. The collected “greenhouse gas” may be disposed of or recovered as a fuel source for a co-generation engine to produce electric power. An accurate measurement of the landfill gas flow through the system provides operators with information on the amount of gas being extracted for...

4 Klärgastechnik Deutschland GmbH is a leading engineering designer, manufacturer and installer of biogas and digester gas processing systems headquartered in Germany. After extensive testing and evaluation of various flow metering technologies, Klärgastechnik Deutschland GmbH selected and standardized FCI ST98 and ST51 flow meters for use within their gas systems. Klärgastechnik Deutschland GmbH found that FCI’s no moving parts to plug or foul design, low pressure drop, biogas-specific calibration, hot tap ball valve installation and agency safety approvals provided the best engineered and...

5 Wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) digester processes produce digester gas, a combination of methane (CH4) and carbon dioxide (CO2) with a small percentage of other trace gases. The gas composition can vary with the process and temperature (e.g. seasonally) but a typical average is in the 65% (±5%) CH4 35% (±5%) CO2 range. Digester gas is also a wet and dirty gas, typically containing entrained hydrogen sulfides, which condense and deposit on pipe walls and anything else in the pipe. Modern WWTP processes incorporate digester gas flow measurement for: – Data on digester process performance...

6 Decomposition of livestock waste and other agricultural operations are a major source of methane rich biogas being harvested as fuel gas. Rather than emit greenhouse gases into the environment, modern farm operations invest in a digester system to recover gases and reduce emissions. Recovered gases are used to fuel co-generation engines to power the facility, and often excess power is sold to the local electric power grid. Clean energy development credits (CDM) and certified emission reduction (CER) programs offer additional incentives to implement recovery systems. In all biogas recovery...

7 As costs of fossil fuels continue to climb and air pollution reduction regulations become more stringent, the production of ethanol fuel and fuel supplements grows. At the forefront of ethanol production is the need to continuously improve processes and reduce costs to maximize effectiveness and efficiency. Ethanol production is a distillation process which involves boilers. Efficiency is optimized with measurement and control of air-to-fuel mixtures/ratios. The process may also utilize catalytic or thermal oxidizers to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases or VOCs. Accurate air and gas...

8 An emerging application gaining attention from stakeholders in mining operations and from environmentalists is coal mine methane recovery. It has been estimated that 8% of the world’s anthropogenic methane air pollution is a by-product of coal mining. There are three major sources of coal mine methane (CMM): degasification systems (drainage) both pre-mine and gob; ventilation air (VAM); and abandon or closed mines. As technology, economics, environmental regulations and greenhouse gas reduction incentives increase, this gas is increasingly being captured and used as a fuel source. Gas...

9 For accurate and efficient process control, biomass gasification requires measurement and control of fuel, inlet air and measurement of the extract gas (outlet). The biomass gasification process produces a mixed composition gas consisting primarily of hydrogen (H2) and carbon monoxide (CO) with trace methane (CH4). The extracted gas stream will also contain water, tar or ash, so typical systems include a separator tank to remove these elements. Biomass gasification applications present several challenges in selecting the proper flow meter: – Ease of installation in a variety of pipe sizes...

10 Flaring systems are used to burn-off waste or off-gases in both normal and upset process conditions. Many processes are outfitted with relief valves to safely vent process gases to the flare system under upset conditions. Flare systems can be a simple single pipe run or a complex series of feeder and header pipes. All flares are highly scrutinized as a source of air pollution and often subjected to stringent regulation to measure, record and report the amount of flared gases and to show continuous improvement to reduce the amount produced. Flare gas applications present several...

11 Flue gases are the general name given to the mixed composition gases that are the by-product of a combustion process. A flue is typically a large pipe, duct, stack, chimney or other venting attached to a process system such as a boiler, furnace, steam generator, oven, etc. through which waste flue gases are exhausted from the combustion process. Depending on the process, the fuel used and efficiency, flue gases can consist of nitrogen, carbon dioxide, trace amounts of oxygen and water vapor, and environmentally sensitive pollutants such as sulfur oxides, nitrogen oxide, carbon monoxide...

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