The Methane Emissions Reduction solution designed by Solar Turbines was installed and evaluated at the Berkshire Hathaway Energy (Dominion) Chambersburg station in Pennsylvania, USA. Solar Turbines supplied a dry seal recompression (DSR) system and a process vent recompression (PVR) system at the station. The objective of the field trial was to evaluate the durability of this new system, compare the performance in the field to simulation models and as needed make improvements to the mechanical design and/or software control.
The dry gas seal recompression system was installed and connected to...
The dry gas seal recompression system was installed and connected to a Solar Turbines C402 process compressor dry seal primary vent to capture, hold, and reuse dry seal gas leakage. The process vent recompression system was connected to the C402 compressor discharge piping to capture the process gas during pressurized hold and inject it back into the suction line in lieu of venting the gas to atmosphere. Operational data for the two systems was collected for 22-months starting in January 2020 and ending in October 2021. Data was collected at different sample rates; high speed (10ms, 100ms), 1 second, 10 seconds, and 1 hour through historical logs and analyzed for this period of time to evaluate the durability of the systems.
Several enhancements were implemented and validated. Data collected during a 12-month period showed that a recycle line and volume bottles on the suction of the compressor helped optimize the performance of the compressor and increased durability. In addition, the use of the auxiliary drain recapture tank on the DSR system allowed for the achievement of a capture rate greater than 99% and resolved issues associated with leakage back into the compressor’s first stage inlet during the charge period of the cycle.