Abstract
The operation of natural gas grids requires electric-powered devices as data acquisition and control systems, surveillance and communication appliances, etc., often located in remote, unpopulated off-the-grid areas, where there is no personnel for surveillance, and maintenance costs are prohibitive. The literature on the power generating systems for these devices is limited to specific applications without a comparison between competing technologies, making their choice a difficult task for natural gas operators. This work presents a comprehensive up-to-date survey of market available technologies for remote power generation in the range of 20–1000 W for gas grid applications: thermoelectric generators, solid acid, direct methanol and solid oxide fuel cells, Stirling engines and microturbines. The work aims at sorting the technologies by techno-energetic, economic and environmental performance while providing specific technological characteristics and limitations. The results indicate well-defined ranges of power in which only some of the technologies are suitable and have very different efficiencies (3–30%). The capital cost of equal power technologies is similar (EUR 5000–30,000) and roughly linear with power (34.8Pel + EUR 6553), whereas operation costs (10–120 cEUR/kWh) and lifetime (0.5–20 yr) significantly depend on the technology. The indications of this review may constitute helpful guidelines to choose properly power generation systems for remote applications.
Subject
Energy (miscellaneous),Energy Engineering and Power Technology,Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment,Electrical and Electronic Engineering,Control and Optimization,Engineering (miscellaneous),Building and Construction