MICROTURBINES
CAPSTONE WINS US PATENT FOR MICROTURBINE
A US patent has been issued to Capstone Turbine Corporation for a new fuel injector system for the firm’s microturbines. Capstone said its multistaged lean prevaporizing, premixing fuel injector meets the US Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Tier 4 requirements for power generation emissions when used with liquid fuel, reports APN.
The system is currently available for Capstone’s C65 microturbine but the company aims to extend it to other microturbine products. It said the fuel injector system [technically known as a multi- staged lean prevaporizing premixing fuel injector - United States Patent 9366432] is reverse-compatible with older units and can be integrated in the field with a software update. The technology move comes in response to the EPA’s new programme to reduce emissions from diesel-fired engines by over 90%.
T
Darren Jamison, Capstone's president and CEO, told AMERICAN POWER NEWS: “Interest in liquid fuel versions of our product are increasing as more remote applications and markets that do not have the benefit of low-cost natural gas are looking to become more environmentally conscious without sacrificing reliability.” Tony Lorentz, director of product develop- ment, added: “This additional achievement of our combustion and fuel development team is
broadening the worldwide application of our product. The team’s focus is now on the application of butane, ethane, syngas and high H2S fuels.”
What is the system all about? In the multi-
staged lean prevaporizing premixing fuel injector system the fuel injector may be utilized with a turbogenerator.
Preheated combustion air from the turbo- generator's recuperator is used by the fuel injector to prevaporize liquid fuel. The injector provides for the premixing of multiple fuel streams and include multiple stages with a flow distributor plate separating adjacent stages.
The injector may include multiple stages, with a pilot tube located in a final stage splitting the fuel stream into a premixed pilot stream and a premixed final fuel and air mixture stream. Capstone is best known for its comprehen- sive lineup of clean-and-green microturbines that are scalable from 30kW to 30MW and can operate on a variety of gaseous or liquid
“This
additional achievement of our
combustion and fuel
development team is
broadening the
worldwide
application of our product. ”
Capstone’s C65 microturbine.
Tony Lorentz, Director of Product
Development Capstone
18
fuels. In 2014, for example, Capstone supplied Texas-based Oncor - a regulated electric delivery business with 3 million customers - with a propane-fueled 65k micro- turbine able to parallel load with all other tech- nologies on one of Ocor’s sites, including solar, wind and renewable power. “Oncor selected an advanced propane- fueled Capstone microturbine as one of the primary sources for our advanced microgrid project. The microturbine integrated easily into the microgrid and has performed beyond our expectations,” commented Lance Spross, P.E., Director of Engineering Standards and Maintenance Strategy at Oncor.
Commissioned in December 2014, the grid-tied system consists of nine different distributed generation resources, including a 65kW Capstone microturbine, two solar PV arrays, two energy storage units and four generators.
The microgrid has a total peak capacity of
900kW; however, it is scalable to meet any load requirements. The system can operate at its peak capacity for two hours before dropping to a baseload of 550kW as solar generation falls off at night and the batteries deplete.
“Of all the components included in Oncor’s advanced microgrid, the Capstone propane- fuelled microturbine was the simplest to integrate and has consistently operated as designed. The advanced controls and technologies associated with the Capstone microturbine have enabled demonstration of important capabilities like peak shaving and load shifting with very low emissions,” added Spross.
www.capstoneturbine.com
NOVEMBER 2016 AMERICAN POWER NEWS
Texas-based Oncor is using one of Capstone’s microturbines.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28