Clean Combustion of Liquid Biofuels in Gas Turbines for Renewable Power Generation

Keywords:
biodiesel, renewable energy, biofuels, ethanol, gas turbines

Abstract:
Many states have recently enacted renewable portfolio standards (RPS) requiring a specified percentage of the power generated to come from renewable energy sources. This has created a need to find reliable sources for renewable energy other than wind, solar, geothermal and hydro. A Lean, Premixed, Prevaporized (LPP) combustion technology has been developed that converts liquid biofuels, such as biodiesel and ethanol, into a synthetic natural gas. This LPP gas can then be burned with low emissions in virtually any combustion device in place of natural gas, providing users substantial fuel flexibility. A DLE gas turbine utilizing LPP combustion technology to burn biofuels creates a low emissions power plant with no net greenhouse gas emissions. This technology provides a clean and reliable form of renewable energy using liquid biofuels that can be a primary source for power generation or be a back-up source for inconsistent renewable energy sources such as wind and solar. The technology allows for the clean use of biofuels in combustion devices without the use of post-combustion pollution control equipment and can easily be incorporated into both new and existing gas turbine power plants. No changes are required to the DLE gas turbine combustor hardware.