Lubrication contributes to improved landfill cogeneration plant operation
The Prince George`s county, Maryland, cogeneration plant consists of three lean-burn, 12-cylinder, Waukesha 5790GL turbocharged gas engines, each powering an 850 kW Kato generator. Four Waukesha F1197G engines run gas compressors that draw and compress gas from the landfill, pumping an average of 28000 m{sup 3}/day at 6.2 bar from 29 wells. Landfill gas is 50% methane, 30% carbon dioxide, 10% nitrogen and 10% other gas constituents. These other gas constituents consist of 160 chemical compounds, many of which are very destructive to engines and other equipment. Probably the worst of these are the total organic halide expressed as chloride (TOH/CL), formed from the decomposition of household cleaning preparations and other materials containing chlorides. Landfill gas also contains an abundance of water, which combines not only with the TOH/CLs but with oxides of nitrogen, which are by-products of the combustion process, to form acids. To handle the highly contaminated landfill gas, the Waukesha Engine Division and people from Curtis Engine and Equipment modified the equipment and maintenance practices. One of the first changes was in lubrication. Curtis switched from a standard gas engine oil to Mobile Pegasus 446 oil, an SAE 40 oil that has a total base number (TBN) of 9.5, because of its extended acid-neutralizing capabilities.
- OSTI ID:
- 136111
- Journal Information:
- Diesel and Gas Turbine Worldwide, Vol. 27, Issue 8; Other Information: PBD: Oct 1995
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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