srn206 Petcoke: an alternative ua source - Power Engineering International POWER ENGINEERING aa een Petcoke: an alternative fuel source ‘An alarming rise inthe Middle East's use of oll o generate power threatens the region's exports ofthe resource. Robert Giglio says a refinery byproduct can be an economical alternative energy source, Unlike anywhere else in the world, the Middle East depends strongly on oll to produce electricity. About 30 per cent of the electricity generated in the region comes from oil fuels, predominantly diesel, crude oll and heavy fuel il }HFO). Inthe res ofthe world the fraction is only 8 per cent. This is a direct consequence of decades of generous government subsides for oll and power Electricty rates are typically regulated so that consumers pay Ile fort and to ensure that power producers stay in business, the value of ol fuel Is set so that these companies earn a profit. This subsidised in-country oll fuel value can be ten to 20 times less than the global market value. The intention behind most government subsidies in the region sto grow and diversity the economy and create employment for a rising population by expanding or developing industries such as refining, petrochemicals, manufacturing, steel akiminum, computing and data storage. These industries happen to be energy Intensive. Another aim Isto provide an energy discount to all consumers. But the negative side ofthis s the Inefficiency and ver-consumption of electricty and valuable ol fuels In the past this model has worked because the electricity consumption inthe region has been modest. However, with electricity demand now growing, the use of oll fuels for power production is dramatically increasing and driving domestic oll consumption ta high levels. The low value of domestic ol and electricity is exacerbating the situation because it discourages energy efficiency and ol conservation, Wile the economies of North America, Eurape and now China are slowing due to a weak global economic recovery, annual GOP growth in the Middle East is expected to average 4.5 per centto five per cent aver the next fv years, drven primarily by the expectation of sustained global cil demand and high prices Power consumption growth in the Middle East is expected to be ever higher, averaging from 5-10 per cent over this perlod, driven by not only high GDP growth, but also by energy intensive structural changes accurring to many economies in the rego, GGrowch in new residential homes, tourism, and commercial an industrial sectors is creating new electric loads needed to support more fresh water, air conditioning, ighting, appliances, home and business electronics, 3s well as energy-intensive industries. The energy challenge ‘perfect example ofthe energy challenges facing many counties in the region s the kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the region's largest and fastest growing power market. Over the last 11 years, total electricity consumption inthis nation has grown by 81 per cent. Residential consumption has more than doubled over the same period, as Figure 1 shows. This high growth in power demand puts the country's power supply infrastructure Under stress in summer, when peak loads can even cause temporary power shortages. ipihwwrw ponrengjneernginlcom/arclesfprrvclume-21issve-Steaturesipelccke-a-alernatve-fuc-source im! “4sanirats Petcoke: an alternative ue source - Power Engineering International “Hheh_.. S/O? Figure 1: Sectoral power consumption growth To keep up with the expected future growth in the demand for power, Saudi Arabia's power capacity would have to nearly double by 2020, which ‘works out to be an ambitious average annual capacity addition of 5.8 Gwe per year over the next elght years. Today about 55 per cent ofthe power generated inthe county i from ol fuels, andi the current plans to build capacity are implemented, the nation’s internal ail consumption will dramatically increase due to a heavy reliance on HFO, crude and diesel fuels to produce the bulk of the power needed in 2020 (see Figure 2) cue Msi i cue * lou uate ro" ‘2 ler! de cs * Figure 2:60 per cent of power capacity is expected to depend on ol fuels in 2020 Saudi Arabia's government has realised that this sa serious energy issue for the country and has embarked on energy efficiency, nuclear and renewable energy initiatives that aim to decrease the growth of oil consumption. But many believe that these initiatives will take at least 10-15 years ta realise even a modest impact, and will nt be sufficient to avoid the threat of declining cil exports. But countries inthe region de have another option, Petroleum coke (petcoke) isan economical and secure alternative fuel for power that can reduce the region's growing oll dependency. Two enabling technologies behind tare delayed coking (0G) and the circulating fluidised bed (CFE), which are proven in ether parts ofthe world and can bring mukple benefits to te power and olbrefining sectors in the region. Using petcoke as 2 fuel and feedstock for power and hydrogen would provide strategic benefits to the Middle East. These are: + provision ofa large-scale solution for new power capacity that does not use liquld oll fuels + improvement of fuel security for te region because petcoke isa byproduct of el refining + improvement in refinery efficiency and economics because DC technology improves refinery yields by more than 20 per cent ‘provision of new jobs inthe refining, petrochemical, power and construction sectors Foster Wheeler has established a proven concept for turning petcoke into power. ruses DC and CFB technology, extracts addtional ight petroleum products from refinery residues, and produces power and steam from the solid petcoke byproduct from the delayed cokers The technology ‘The gases and liquids the DC process creates from refinery residues are: coker gas; iquefied petroleum gas (LPG); naphtha, which is processed and blended into gasoline; light coker gas ol (GO), which is processed and blended into diesel; and heavy coker gas oil (WGCO}, which Is suitable for downstream hydrodesulphurisation (HDS), hydrocracking (HC) o fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) to produce transportation fuels. ‘Across the world more than 170 refineries in 37 countries employ cokers, Despite the Mice East's crude oll reserves, refineries in this region and In Africa account for only about 3 per cent ofthe total global coking capacity today. ipihwwrw ponrengjneernginlcom/arclesfprirvlume-21issve-Steaturesipelccke-a-alernatve-fuc-source im! easanirats Petcoke: an alternative ue source - Power Engineering International However, as petroleum-producing nations in the Middle East pursue plans to become major exporters of petroleum products, complex refinery projects with delayed coking units (DCUs) are underway in Saudi Arabia, Oman and UAE's Abu Dhabl Projections are that by 2014 coking capacity in the Midale East wil triple from its current level and grow at 25 per cent per year on average between 2011-16, the highest rate in the worl. CFB steam generation CFB boller technology has proven its abilty to convert petcoke into high-value steam and power efficiently, cleanly and reliably (see Figure 3) ‘There are 44 Foster Wheeler CFBS units operating in the world today that fire petcake as thelr primary fuel, producing a total of 4700 MWe. The largest operating petcoke-fired power plant inthe worlds in Louisiana, US. It employs two 330 MWe CFBs. Figure 3: Foster Wheeler's CFB steam generating technology (CFB technology is ideal for petcoke because Is long burning process ensures the complete combustion ofthe lowly volatile petcoke. ‘The technology also captures a large amount of the petcoke's sulphur during the combustion process typically 5-7 per cent, The vigorous mixing lof the fue, imestone and ash particles during the low-temperature fluidised process allows the CFE to cleanly and efficiently burn almost any combustiole material, while minimising the formation of NOx and optimising the capture of SOx asthe fuel burns. ‘The combustion temperature is well below the melting point ofthe fue's ash, which allows the CFB to minimise the corrasion and fouling issues experienced in conventional boilers. For petcokes with high levels of metals, such as vanadium, nickel, sodium and potassium, CF8 technology has demonstrated years of reliable and low-maintenance operation, Comparing economics Atypical refinery in the Midle Fast uses a two-step atmospheric and vacuum distlation process that produces @ heavy vacuum residue (VR) byproduct. The VR has limited uses and is typically blended with distilates, such as kerosene and diesel, to produce HFO, which isa high-sulphur fuel (containing 2-4 per cent) typically limited to use in barges, ships and power plants. ‘The process of blending consumes about 20 per cent more distilates, whereas the PetroPower concept uses DC technology to convert about 45, per cent ofthe VRinto high-value dstilates and gases. Figure 4 compares a conventional 400,000 barrels per day refinery linked to an HFO power plant with one that uses PetroPower technology. The latter produces petcoke instead of HFO, resulting in 323 per cent boast in high-value liquids and gases, “Te Poe RF Figure &: Comparison of typical refinery ws. PetraPower configuration ‘The typical 490,000 barrels per day refinery produces enough HO for about 2,600 MWe of net power, whereas the PetroPomer power refinery produces only enough petcake for about 600 MWe of power. But additional petcoke can be supplied from both domestic and international sources to increase the power of the PetroPower configuration to be the same or more than the conventional refining case ipihwwrw ponrenjneernginlcom/arclesfprrivclume-21issve-Steatureipelccke-a-alernatve-fue-source im! aasanirats Petcoke: an alternative ue source - Power Engineering International ‘This is achievable because new delayed cokers are under construction and planned forthe region. In addition, there isa vibrant international petcoke market, which allows petcoke to be easily imported into the region. By applying an aggregate market value to the refined Iquids and gases at $160 per barrel bbl, the PetroPomer configuration produces $11 milion of refined products each stream day than the conventional HO refinery. On an annual basis, assuming a 90 per cent onstream factor, this, works out to be $3.6 billion per yea. Figure S compares the electricity production cost for both configurations. It shows tha, with assumptions, the PetroPower configuration can Produce power at less than half the cost of the HFO power plant. This s primarily cue tothe dramatic aference inthe international values of. HFO and petcoke, which stand at $80 per bbl and $60 per tonne, respectively, or $11 per bbl of oll equivalent. Figure 5: Comparison of electricity production cost between typical refinery and PetroPower configuration Inorderto ensure a consistent comparison of economies, HFO and PetroPower plants are both assumed to produce 2600 MWe of net electrical power. ‘Additional petcoke is supplied to the Petropower plant from damestic or import petcoke markets at tre same $60/tonne market value assumed forthe pelcoke produced by the refinery, whichis based on the current market price for petcoke delivered tothe region. Ifyou then add the value forthe additional refined products to the savings in electrcty generation, the annual value from the PetroPower conviguration totals $5 billion compared with the conventional refinery configuration, Since the PetroPawer option requires a capital investment of about $23 billion forthe delayed coker and CFB power plants, above that of the ‘ypieal case of refinery and HFO power plant, the analysis shows thatthe payback period is only about five months Further, by deducting the $2.3 billion capital investment from the 10-year net present value (NPV) of the annual $5 billion this works out to an NPV of $24 ilion ‘The analysis assumes that only 0 per cent ofthe additional sales of refined products translates into additional profits fr the refinery because adaitional operating and capital expensitures would be needed to operate the DCUs and refine the light products. Asignifcant factor Inthe analysis isthe large sifference between the market values of solid and liquid fuels, which has ballooned over the las ten years, The latter has risen by four times that of the former. Petcoke is a viable economic and secure alternative fuel for power that can reduce the regions growing ol dependency. thas been demonstrated that DC and CFB technologies can bring mukiple benefits to both the power and oll refining sectors in te region. Rober Giglio Vice President of Strategic Planning and Marketing for Foster Wheeler's Global Power Group, and is responsible for marke forecasting, strategic analysis and planning, For more information visit wee fe com More Power Engineering International issue Articles Power Engineering International Archives View Power Generation Articles on PennEnergy.cam ipihwwrw ponrengjneernginlcom/arclesfprirvlume-21issve-Steaturesipelccke-a-alernatve-fuc-source im! 48