Leading supplier of specialized equipment to the natural gas industries in Southern Africa, Energas Technologies, has entered into a distribution agreement with R Schmitt Enertec, a German manufacturer of gas engines, generator sets and co-generation sets, to offer Enertec’s highly efficient power generators to the local market.
Effective November 2017, R Schmitt Enertec’s range of highly efficient and innovative power generators is now available in South Africa and the neighboring countries through local supplier Energas Technologies. Depending on customer requirements, Energas will offer Enertec’s wide range of generator sets with or without heat recovery and co-generation; the ENERGIN, ENERGIN GEN+ and ENERGIN CHP units, ranging from 115 to 500 kW.
ENERGIN generator sets
ENERGIN generator sets are designed for power production in island or parallel mode with other generators and/or the utility. Based on the R Schmitt Enertec M Series Gas engines, fuel options include natural gas, biogas, wood gas and LPG.
ENERGIN GEN+ are gen sets with heat recovery from engine jacket water, lube oil and first stage mixture cooling. Heat recovery in the GEN+ units increases the overall engine efficiency by 28% by utilizing the thermal energy.
More than double the energy used to generate electricity is wasted in the form of heat discharged to the atmosphere. ENERGIN CHP units enable onsite electricity generation that captures heat that would otherwise be wasted to provide useful thermal energy, such as steam or hot water. Steam and hot water can be used for several processes such as space heating, cooling, domestic hot water and industrial processes. Through ENERGIN CHP waste heat recovery, the total energy efficiency is increased above 90% compared to 42% of conventional technologies where only electric power is generated.
According to Laetitia Botha, Energas Technologies Product Engineer, Enertec’s range of gen sets complements Energas Technologies’ existing product offering. “Energas specializes in the supply of specialized equipment to the natural gas industry in South Africa and neighboring countries. Generation of power by making use of natural gas, biogas or waste gas, complements the existing product range in our stable,” explains Botha.
Enertec’s generator sets can be used for pure electric power generation or a combination of electricity and thermal energy generation when waste heat recovery is included. Typical applications are diverse and include: Industrial – chemical, refining, pulp and paper, biogas, printing, food processing, glass manufacturing, drying plants and RDF gas; Commercial Buildings – hotels, health clubs, nursing homes and office buildings; Residential – apartments, planned communities and housing developments; Institutions – hospitals, prisons, colleges and schools; as well as Municipal – district energy systems and wastewater treatment facilities, among many others.
Unique product
A unique capability of Enertec generators, as Botha explains, is that they can also generate power from weak gas supplies. Most engines can only work with gas supplies of very good quality, but the ENERGIN engines can adapt as follows:
“Dependent on the gas analysis, Enertec can make the necessary adjustments as the manufacturer of the gas engines, the CHP unit, control unit as well as the gas cleaning and drying skid,” says Botha. “In comparison to other suppliers, the engines are not controlled to lambda 1 (ration of the actual air/fuel ratio to stoichiometric), because of a weak gas the lambda measurement is not exact enough. Instead, each cylinder in the engine have a thermocouple that measures the temperature inside (direct into the burning chamber).”
Meanwhile, if the gas is weak, the temperature will decrease, and if the quality gets better the temperature also rises. With low temperature, the ratio of the gas/air mixture will be adjusted to get the same performance and a stable power output in the engine. The same principle is applied when high temperature is measured.
The temperature measurements and controlling of the gas/air ratio is very accurate and adjustments are made rapidly, which makes it very suitable for fluctuating gas qualities. “This technology gives Enertec’s engines a big advantage to other competitors,” asserts Botha.
Botha says the arrival of these generators in the local market offers local customers new possibilities. “Electricity in South Africa is no longer as cheap and reliable as it used to be. Industry needs to become more energy efficient and independent with its energy usage,” concludes Botha.
About Energas Technologies:
Energas Technologies has been a leading supplier of high-end and specialized equipment to the oil and gas industries in Southern Africa since 2001 and is the distributor for Mokveld in South Africa.
The company’s core focus is to support and supply equipment to the natural gas industry and its products find application from the gas well, through the distribution network right up until the end user. Applications include, next to the Mokveld axial valves, pressure reduction and metering stations, pipeline ball valves, HDPE pipes and fittings, pig launching and receiving stations to domestic metering and regulating units. Energas can provide complete skid-mounted high pressure reduction and metering stations with gas-fired or electric heaters.
Energas Technologies offers a range of new products from its supplier, HTT energy GmbH in Germany. Products include fired heaters, indirect heating and cooling units from -80°C to 400 °C, and heat recovery products.
Energas’ secondary focus is on liquid storage tank protection equipment, such as conservation vents, flame arresters and emergency vents. Its products, such as valves, filters, flange insulating kits and process heaters, also find application in other industries, such as liquid pipelines, petrochemical and chemical industries.
Energas Technologies is a member of Southern African Gas Association NPC, 26% black-owned and recently obtained its ISO 9001 accreditation.
