Vantagem da Geração de Energia com Gás LPG

The Advantages of LPG Energy Generation

LPG (Liquefied Petroleum Gas) is becoming a key fuel choice for energy generation in off-grid locations, demonstrating a growing track record of success.

While natural gas is a clear choice for homes and businesses near natural gas pipelines, the delivery of natural gas can be costly in remote areas, islands, and countries lacking established pipeline infrastructure.

To transport natural gas efficiently and safely, it must be cooled to extremely low temperatures of about -160 °C (-260 °F), turning it into a liquid state known as Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG). LNG needs to be maintained at a constant temperature during transport and storage, which requires significant investment in specially constructed receiving terminals and onsite cryogenic storage and vaporization solutions.

Propane, on the other hand, liquefies easily under moderate pressure and can be transported efficiently as a liquid (LPG) by ship, truck, or rail using readily available storage tanks and equipment.

In contrast to the significant infrastructure requirements and lengthy cycles associated with implementing natural gas off-grid, the use of propane can be deployed quickly at nearly any location and at a lower cost, making it a favorable solution for energy generation in remote and off-grid areas.

Energy Generation with LPG Ready for Growth

Driven by the shale gas revolution and, to a lesser extent, the growth of the associated natural gas market, propane has seen record production in recent years, becoming widely available and accessible in global markets.

The United States, which was once a net importer of propane, now leads the world as the largest propane exporter, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). In fact, as reported by the EIA, the U.S. exported 905,000 barrels of propane per day, making it the second-largest U.S. oil product exported, with widespread distribution to over 50 destinations worldwide.

The U.S. supply makes propane particularly attractive in areas dependent on imported fuels, such as the Caribbean and Central America, where TransTech Energy has observed an increase in orders for LPG plants in the region, including its recent 28 MW LPG power plant for the Roatan Electric Company (RECO), constructed in partnership with Wärtsilä.

The abundant supply, relatively low cost, and ease of implementation have already established propane as a desirable solution for heating, cooking, agriculture, and transportation worldwide. These benefits, combined with other advantages, suggest that propane will play an increasingly significant role in the global energy generation sector in the coming decades.

Due to its low carbon content, propane is a relatively clean fuel that poses no threat to soil, surface or groundwater, and is considered a clean fuel by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).

As a substitute for conventional fuels such as coal and heavy fuel oils (HFO), propane can achieve substantial reductions in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and indeed offers lower GHG emissions compared to many other energy options without compromising performance.

Propane also provides favorable energy density compared to other fuels, offering more than twice the energy of natural gas, measured in BTUs. In other words, per unit, propane provides double the amount of heat that natural gas does, ultimately resulting in lower fuel consumption (one cubic foot of propane = 2,516 BTUs, while one cubic foot of natural gas = 1,030 BTUs).

Applications of LPG Energy Generation

For existing energy providers in remote and off-grid locations, transitioning to natural gas typically requires converting oil, diesel, or coal power generators to gas units. With the relatively lower cost of natural gas today, there is a strong case for fuel switching, utilizing propane as an intermediary fuel with recognized returns on favorable timelines. This situation is even more compelling when new power plants are necessary to meet the growing demand for electricity while completely avoiding conversion costs.

In some cases, where natural gas will be available in the future, governments are exploring LPG as a transitional fuel as a strategy until LNG infrastructure can be built long-term.

Certain power generation engines are capable of combusting LPG and natural gas interchangeably, allowing users to start benefiting from propane, which is cheaper and burns cleaner, now, preparing to take advantage of low-cost natural gas once it becomes available in the future.

LPG can also serve as a backup fuel source. In the event of a natural gas supply interruption, peak shaving strategies allow users to supplement natural gas consumption with propane to offset high prices during times of sharp demand and/or to mitigate deficits in natural gas supply.

Multifuel engines, capable of burning a variety of fuels including LPG, ethane, condensate, and naphtha, alongside natural gas, also provide customers with greater fuel flexibility, with the option to always choose the most affordable fuel supplies available or select fuels that might be more readily available than others, depending on circumstances such as during natural gas restrictions.

For decentralized and distributed energy generation models and combined heat and power (CHP) applications, clean-burning LPG is again an obvious choice, providing an economical and environmentally friendly alternative to conventional fuels and delivering returns on investment (ROI) within highly desirable timelines.

Importantly, LPG is also gaining interest as a supplemental or backup fuel to complement energy generated from renewable sources and technologies, including solar and photovoltaic (PV) and wind power, which can be prone to disruptions.

With the abundant production of propane expected to continue through and beyond, TransTech anticipates accelerated growth of LPG energy generation capacity in the coming decades.

We continue to see a significant increase in demand for LPG terminal storage and LPG gasification equipment for energy generation applications in the Caribbean and Latin American markets," said Mark Wenik, Market Director for Terminals & Energy Generation at TransTech Energy. "Our focus on rapid implementation is yielding results for LPG power generation projects and industrial fuel conversions where short timelines are critical to our clients' success.

TransTech Energy provides comprehensive infrastructure solutions for LPG storage and handling to support LPG power generation, including distributed generation and CHP as well as backup power generation.

Our scalable bulk LPG storage solutions provide an ideal solution to support high levels of LPG consumption, with storage tanks available in a variety of sizes of up to 120,000 gallons or more.

TransTech also offers customized and turnkey solutions and services for LPG storage and gasification, including:

TransTech Energy also delivers comprehensive, best-in-class solutions for liquefied natural gas (LNG) storage and regasification across the LNG value chain for all off-grid applications.

Contact us to speak with one of our LPG power generation specialists today: 1-888-206-

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Preliminary Project Development Package for Power Generation

• A sample of P&IDs
• Site layout
• Projected cost per mmbtu for LPG vs LNG
• Cost of LPG infrastructure vs LNG infrastructure
• Assessment of gas combustion engine infrastructure vs gas turbines
• Key equipment requirements
• More...