Maryland firm generates renewable power from cheese

June 3, 2010

Maryland company LPP Combustion has reported successful demonstration of a 30-kilowatt power generator running on a subsitute for natural gas made from a renewable ethanol sourced from cheese by-products.

The company based in Columbia, Maryland, has developed a technology that converts a range of liquid fuels into a substitute for natural gas, called Lean Pre-mixed Pre-vaporized (LPP) Gas.

LPP Combustion said its technology could provide dispatchable green power that is not dependent on weather conditions as are wind or solar projects.

It has now demonstrated the LPP Gas generating renewable power with a Capstone C30 gas turbine.

The gas turbine is on loan to LPP Combustion from Harbec Plastics of Ontario, New York. The plastics manufacturer aims to convert all 25 of its Capstone C30 gas turbines to operate on biofuels using the LPP technology, in a bid to reduce the carbon footprint of its plastics production.

Fuel

Fuel for the demonstration project has been made from 90% ethanol and 10% water, with the ethanol provided by Caseus Energy LLC, a Californian company that makes biofuels from waste materials from cheese production.

The fuel was not produced to the standards required in transportation, which would require less than 1% water, which saves money when using the fuel for power generation purposes.

The firm said emissions from the gas turbine operating at full load with LPP Gas were three parts per million for nitrous oxide (NOx), and 18ppm for carbon dioxide with oxygen levels at 15%. This was the same level of NOx emissions as natural gas, but an improvement on the 30ppm emission level for carbon dioxide with natural gas.

The demonstration project is delivering renewable power to the Baltimore Gas & Electric grid through a net-metering agreement.

Cheese

Caseus Energy LLC, which has its head office in Los Angeles, California, is in the process of launching its first commercial facility in Greenwood, Wisconsin, through its wholly-owned subsidiary Dubay Biofuels-Greenwood LLC.

The company’s technology converts whey permeate – a by-product from the production of cheese – into fuel ethanol and dry yeast, which can be used in the dairy industry.

Subject to further testing, Caseus plans to use the LPP Combustion system to produce renewable electricity and steam in combined heat and power facilities.

LPP Combustion said it will be seeking to demonstrate use of other biofuels, like biodiesel and bio-butanol, in the very near future.