The Power of Sugarcane-Ethanol

In January 2010, GE and Petrobrás celebrated the use of sugarcane-ethanol in a gas turbine system to produce electricity on a full commercial scale, a world’s first. The operation, at the Juiz de Fora power plant, is a significant milestone for Brazil.

GE’s investments in renewable energy should double to $6 billion in 2010. The Company’s continued investment in research and development of aircraft engines and industrial gas turbines enables the LM series aeroderivative gas turbines to maintain their leadership position in technology, performance, operational flexibility and value to the customer. The LM series has the ability to operate with a variety of fuels, and features state-the-art emission-control technologies.

At the Juiz de Fora site, GE made design changes to the combustor of the LM 6000 turbine to make the use of ethanol possible.

To date, the LM 6000 in Juiz de Fora has operated more than 1,000 hours on 100% ethanol, demonstrating the feasibility of using this fuel. The ethanol run has demonstrated that the combustion of this fuel does not cause additional wear to the turbine components; and, furthermore, emissions are very low. Both power and thermal efficiency have remained in values close to those of natural gas.

To achieve the same level of NO_x emissions as with natural gas, the turbine running on ethanol consumes less than 60% of the NO_x abatement water, resulting in substantial environmental benefits. There is no SO_x emission, and aldehydes emission is in the lower ppb (parts per billion) level.

After the conclusion of the 1,000-hour demonstration in May 2010, other units in Brazil and elsewhere are expected to be converted to use the renewable fuel.

Ethanol from sugarcane is a renewable energy source and can generate carbon credits for Brazil and for operators of power plants using this fuel, according to the legislation in effect in the countries operating these plants.

About Juiz de Fora Power Plant and Petrobrás

The Juiz de Fora power plant is a simple-cycle natural gas power plant with a total capacity of 87 MW, located in the south of Minas Gerais state, approximately 180 km (110 mi) north of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. This unit has two LM6000 gas turbines supplied by GE.

Brazil’s federal energy company, Petrobrás, owns and operates the power plant and has set a goal to increase the use of renewable fuels for power generation while demonstrating the feasibility of these fuels and enhancing fuel supply assurance.

This scenario has led to the creation of a project to use ethanol in thermal power plants originally designed to use natural gas or diesel as fuel.