New flue gas source at TCM

In 2017

In 2017, Equinor decided to execute a plan to shut down the combined heat and power plant (CHP) in the coming years. This CHP plant is located adjacent to TCM testing facility and is based on a combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) with two gas turbines, each with a waste heat recovery unit. The plant is fuelled by a mixture of natural gas from the Troll offshore gas field and refinery fuel gas.

In 2022

In the third quarter of 2022, Equinor completed the shutdown of the CHP plant and rebuilt one of the gas turbine trains into a new steam boiler, including revamp of the waste heat recovery unit. This plant is now referred to as the Mongstad Heat Plant (MHP). The intention of this steam boiler is to replace the old gas turbine.

As the MHP plant is only fuelled by the refinery gas, one of the main changes is the CO₂ concentration in the flue gas, is 8 – 9 vol% compared to 3.5 – 3.7 vol% in the CHP flue gas.

Enable TCM to test at higher CO₂ concentrations

Due to the design flexibility in the TCM amine plant, it should still be possible to provide low CO₂ testing concentrations simulating CCGT type flue gas by diluting the MHP flue gas with air to around 3.7 vol% CO₂. Moreover, this new flue gas type will enable TCM to test at higher CO₂ concentrations up to 20 vol% CO₂ (with CO₂ product recycling to inlet) to mimic other industry applications such as steel and cement type flue gases.