H2S and CO2 Filtration of Biogas Used in Internal Combustion Engines for Power Generation

Abstract

Currently, there is an increasing interest in connecting thousands of small electrical plants powered by renewable energy sources to national electrical grids. The use of biogas as fuel for internal combustion engines connected to an electric generator is emerging as one of the most attractive alternatives because of its very low cost benefit ratio and very high positive impact on the environment. However, the use of biogas to generate electricity has been limited by its high content of H2S (1800–3500 ppm) and CO2 (∼40%). CO2 presence reduces the energetic density of the fuel and therefore the power output of the system. The high content of H2S corrodes important components of the engine like the combustion chamber, bronze gears and the exhaust system. This work aims to design and manufacture a low-cost industrial filter for this application. Among the different available methodologies, CaO, NaOH and amines where selected as the most appropriate for a typical farm application of 100 kW electric generations. Since there is not reported data for the H2S absorbing capacity of these substances, it was proposed to measure it by means of a bubbler. It is an experimental set up where the gas stream passes through a fixed amount of the absorbing substance until it becomes saturated. The absorbing capacity is determined as the amount of substance being trapped divided by the mass of the absorbing substance being used. Results showed an absorbing capacity of 2.8, 41.4 and 124.8 g of H2S per Kg of NaOH, CaO and monoethanolamine respectively. A gas absorbing system of amines was designed and manufactured for H2S and CO2 biogas filtration. Three different types of amines were evaluated: Monoethanolamine, Diethanolamine, and methyldiethanolamine. Results show that all the amines require a ratio of amines to biogas flow of 0.7 to obtain a 95% of H2S filtering efficiency. This data represent only a 30% of H2S mass transfer efficiency of the filter when it is compared against the mass transfer expected under quasi equilibrium conditions. Work is under way to design a high efficiency amine column for biogas treatment.