Changuinola peat deposit of northwest Panama. Deposito de turba de Changuinola en el noroeste de Panama; Volumen 1, Resumen ejecutivo (in English; Spanish)
Results are given for a series of studies designed to access the economic potential of a newly discovered peat deposit located near Changuinola in northwestern Panama. We have focused on using the peat to fuel an electrical power plant for this town, which currently uses high-cost imported oil to generate its electrical power. Analyses of the chemical and physical properties of over 250 samples reveal that the deposit is large (greater than 82 km{sup 2} and averaging 8 m thick), high in purity (greater than 96% organic and less than 0.2% sulfur), and high in heating value (averaging 10,000 Btu/lb dry). In all parameters measured, this peat matches or exceeds in quality peats already fueling power plants in other parts of the world. A preliminary economic assessment reveals that the costs of producing electrical energy in a power plant using Changuinola peat could be competitive with the costs of using either coal or oil. This conclusion was found to be valid regardless of which combination of mining techniques and boiler type was utilized. Furthermore, internal rates of return on investment of between 12.8% and 21% were obtained using a computer code supplied by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). These rates exceed the minimum (12%) this bank requires in order to consider such projects for loans. Based on these results, we would strongly recommend that additional funding be sought to conduct prefeasibility studies for building a peat-fired power plant for the town of Changuinola.
- Research Organization:
- Los Alamos National Lab., NM (USA)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- AID
- DOE Contract Number:
- W-7405-ENG-36
- OSTI ID:
- 7018639
- Report Number(s):
- LA-11211-Vol.1; ON: DE90010078
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English; Spanish
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