Oct 25 2014
Tecogen® Inc. today announced the sale of its proprietary emissions reduction system to the Eastern Municipal Water District (EMWD) in Perris, California. The system will be a larger scale version of Tecogen's Ultra emission after-treatment product, this time applied to a 48 liter engine to be fueled by biogas, extracted from an anaerobic digester at the District's Moreno Valley Regional Water Reclamation Facility.
The water district has utilized the Tecogen emissions technology successfully on one of their municipal water pumping engines fueled by pipeline quality natural gas for over one year. However, this will be the first time the Tecogen Ultra system has been utilized for a biogas (or biofuel) application.
Biogas is a significant byproduct of wastewater treatment plants, whose chemical energy is often reclaimed by its utilization as a fuel for generating renewable power in the form of electricity or as mechanical water pump drive. By 2016, however, digester gas (biogas) engines in the region will be mandated to operate to the stricter pollution standards currently in place for natural gas engines, the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) Rule 1110.2.
"We believe the application of the Tecogen Ultra technology for biofuels is an important step for the company," said Bob Panora, Tecogen's president and chief operating officer. "Being renewable, biofuels are becoming an increasingly important resource in power generation and we are pleased to be making inroads in eliminating pollution in one of the major biofuel markets, wastewater treatment."
The biogas system from the Moreno Valley digester is currently feeding a fuel cell, which will be decommissioned in 2015 when the engine drive pump begins operation.