Energy Discussion

Illustrating the effectiveness of GE Energy’s Jenbacher biogas engine technology, Natural Palm Oil Ltd. in southern Thailand has installed a third Jenbacher unit at its mills to utilize biogas created from the anaerobic digestion of palm oil waste material.

The project ties in with the country’s efforts to increase renewable energy production to 8% of the nation’s total electricity supply, up from the current 1%, by 2011. This support includes specific feed-in tariffs to help make biogas applications more economically feasible for developers, making the return on investments more predictable and also easier to calculate additional income from the plants. The power generated by the two Jenbacher units, already commissioned on site, will be sold to the regional grid, able to serve the electricity requirements of about 33,000 Thai homes. Additionally, GE’s Jenbacher LEANOX lean mixture emission control system helps the customer attain NOx emissions levels of 500 mg/m3N @ 5% O2.

Because effluent (waste) from the extraction process cannot be disposed without treatment, the company has installed the three Jenbacher biogas engines as part of its waste-water treatment systems at separate mills in Surat Thani and Chumporn (also called “Chumphon”).

The effluent from the extraction process is collected in an open basin, cooled down and then fed into an anaerobic digester. The resulting gas must be dehumidified and cleaned in a desulpherization unit before it is delivered to the Jenbacher units for power generation.