Dresser-Rand and Ener-Core have made progress in their collaboration by scaling up to a 2 MW
version of the Dresser-Rand’s KG2-3G gas turbine that uses Ener-Core’s gradual oxidizer to burn a range of low-grade waste gases.
The product KG2-3GEF/PO promises wide fuel spec tolerance, less than 1ppmv NOx, and is said to accept H2S and tolerant to siloxane. Two units are likely to be installed at Pacific Ethanol’s plant in Stockton, California.
By replacing a gas turbine’s traditional combustor with Power Oxidation technology, low-quality and previously unusable waste gases that are currently flared into the atmosphere can be converted into heat that can be used to generate low-cost on-site clean power and steam.
Late last year, Ener-Core, Inc. entered into a global licensing agreement with Dresser-Rand to develop and market Dresser-Rand’s KG2-3GEF 2MW gas turbine coupled with Ener-Core’s oxidizer. As part of the agreement, Dresser-Rand will pay a $1.6 million initial license fee, and subsequently agrees to achieve annual sales thresholds agreed to by both companies in order to retain the commercial license.
With its 250 kilowatt power stations already operating in Europe and the United States, EnerCore’s Gradual Oxidation technology provides for base-load power and energy security while other renewable energy systems are dependent on intermittent sources of power generation. Executives with Ener-Core estimate that the amount of waste gases that are polluted annually into the atmosphere in the form of wasted methane could be used to generate up to 65,000 MW of clean energy.
The two companies will partner to market and sell the combined product to a variety of potential industrial customers including, coal mines, oil and gas refineries, oil and gas drilling sites, distilleries, food processing plants, and landfills.
