ADDING A BIOMASS-FIRED COGENERATION POWER PLANT TO A NATURAL GAS PROCESSING PLANT

Natural gas processing plants typically consume natural gas to generate steam for mechanical power and process heating use. In western Canada, these plants remove hydrogen sulphide and carbon dioxide and extract hydrocarbon liquids from the incoming raw natural gas. These plants are sometimes located remotely in Forest Management Areas. Such locations are key to the concept of installing a biomass power plant at a natural gas processing plant. Harvesting of local wood waste to supply this boiler could be economically viable. A high-pressure biomass-fired power boiler and a back-pressure steam turbine generator would replace the duty of the natural gas-fired power boilers in the gas processing plant. The back-pressure steam turbine would exhaust into the existing steam system. Internal natural gas consumption used for steam generation would be eliminated, imported power would be reduced, and there would be a net reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.