As demand for resilient, on-site power grows across industries, microgrids are emerging as a vital solution—providing clean, reliable energy for critical operations. Whether powering industrial facilities, remote operations, or backup systems, natural gas gensets are key components of these self-sufficient systems. But to operate efficiently and within emissions limits, natural gas engines and turbines require consistent, high-quality fuel gas. That’s where fuel gas conditioning comes in.
Fuel Gas Conditioning (FGC) prepares natural gas for use in turbines and engines by removing impurities, including liquids, solids, and contaminants. Fuel gas conditioning is an essential step for microgrids gensets using raw or variable gas streams, such as associated gas from oil production, landfill gas, or biogas.
The Problem with Traditional Fuel Gas Conditioning Methods
The problem with most FGC systems, such as J-T skids is that they do not deliver effective separation of heavy hydrocarbons, also known as natural gas liquids (NGLs) from the fuel stream. As a result, these valuable BTU-rich NGLs are combusted in the fuel gas, wasting potential profits, generating higher emissions, and reducing engine efficiency.
J-T skids provide a “good enough” solution for some FGC applications, but they are vulnerable to freeze-ups, leading to process upsets and/or unplanned downtime, both of which threaten microgrid reliability and performance. Unfortunately, the J-T process leaves a significant volume of NGLs in the fuel gas stream and is not capable of precise selectivity.
Microgrid Applications
- Data Centers
- Healthcare
- Manufacturing
- Oilfield Electrification
- Agriculture and Waste
- Water Utilities
- Industrial Sites
- Cryptocurrency Mining
Innovative Technology for Fuel Gas Conditioning: MaCH4 NGL Recovery Solution
The performance and efficiency of microgrids using natural gas powered gensets is directly related to the quality of fuel gas.
The MaCH4 NGL Recovery Solution from Coldstream Energy is a PSA technology-driven solution for generating lean, pipeline quality fuel gas without the vulnerabilities associated with J-T skids. The MaCH4 solution uses patented, proven Pressure Swing Adsorption (PSA) technology that allows you to separate a feed gas stream from a high pressure pipeline into lean fuel gas stream to fuel the genset and a NGLs stream to be reinjected in a low pressure pipeline for downstream recovery, instead of burning them up in fuel gas.
Benefits of MaCH4
- Eliminate engine derating for maximum efficiency and throughput
- Reduce VOC emissions from gas powered engines by separating heavy hydrocarbons from the gas stream
- Increase revenue by separating NGLs from the gas stream for later recovery downstream, contingent on your gas gathering contract terms
Case Study
The MaCH4 solution proved its value proposition in a rigorous pilot project with Iron Horse Midstream that was converted into a permanent installation.
In the Pilot, the MaCH4 NGL Recovery Solution was benchmarked against a J-T Skid. The Pilot employs a 4-bed PSA system with a compressor package delivering high-pressure feed gas to the MaCH4 unit. The MaCH4 unit generates a lean fuel gas stream for the compressor station engines and recovers significantly more heavy hydrocarbons remaining in a gaseous state for later processing at a gas processing plant.
Importantly, the MaCH4 unit also delivered significant economic benefits by recovering and selling valuable NGLs instead of burning them in the fuel gas. Based on a field gas BTU value approximately 1,305 BTU/scf at the Pilot site, the total annual NGL value recovered would be greater than $1.2MM for a 7,500 HP Compressor Station.
MaCH4 Technology Beats J-T Skid
- Eliminated engine derating, for a horsepower increase of up to 9% for maximum throughput and fee-based revenue
- Delivered cryogenic-like recovery performance without low temperature requirements, capturing 60% C2 and 95% C3+ heavy hydrocarbons on site, separating valuable NGLs, and boosting profits
- Over 70% fewer VOCs were emitted when operating on fuel produced by the MaCH4 unit compared to J-T fuel gas
