Evaluation of Reformer Produced Synthesis Gas for Emissions Reductions in Natural Gas Reciprocating Engines

Rolls-Royce Fuel Cell Systems (US) Inc. (RRFCS) has developed a system that produces synthesis gas from air and natural gas. A near-term application being considered for this technology is synthesis gas injection into reciprocating engines for reducing NO{sub x} emissions. A proof of concept study using bottled synthesis gas and a two-stroke reciprocating engine showed that injecting small amounts of high-flammable content synthesis gas significantly improved combustion stability and enabled leaner engine operation resulting in over 44% reduction in NO{sub x} emissions. The actual NO{sub x} reduction that could be achieved in the field is expected to be engine specific, and in many cases may be even greater. RRFCS demonstrated that its synthesis gas generator could produce synthesis gas with the flammable content that was successfully used in the engine testing. An economic analysis of the synthesis gas approach estimates that its initial capital cost and yearly operating cost are less than half that of a competing NO{sub x} reduction technology, Selective Catalytic Reduction. The next step in developing the technology is an integrated test of the synthesis gas generator with an engine to obtain reliability data for system components and to confirm operating cost. RRFCS is actively pursuing opportunities to perform the integrated test. A successful integrated test would demonstrate the technology as a low-cost option to reduce NO{sub x} emissions from approximately 6,000 existing two-stroke, natural gas-fired reciprocating engines used on natural gas pipelines in North America. NO{sub x} emissions reduction made possible at a reasonable price by this synthesis gas technology, if implemented on 25% of these engines, would be on the order of 25,000 tons/year