Speaker Abstract
Biogas Fuels for Distributed Power Generation in Microturbines
Jeffrey Armstrong and Jim Watts
Microturbines are now available to operate on a variety of biogas fuels, including landfill, anaerobic digester, and pyrolysis derived gases. The microturbines convert these gases into electricity and heat for distributed energy applications while maintaining low exhaust emissions. However, these fuels require various treatments to ensure clean combustion and consistent gas turbine operation. The fuel concerns are listed along with common treatment approaches. The energy balance of a typical microturbine application including parasitic electrical cost of these treatments and thermal use is presented. Biogas research needs are presented in terms of gas turbine combustion and fuel conditioning.