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Approximately 60% of the total installed capacity of 12 million horsepower of pipeline compressor station engines used to transport anddistribute natural gas within New York State and the U.S. are reciprocating internal combustion engines. These engines are typically only 30-33% efficient, and natural gas consumers pay the fuel costs with other operating costs. With higher gas prices, there is a growing interest in and incentive to reduce fuel consumption associated with gas compression and transmission. Engine manufacturers and service companies are pursuing retrofit technologies to increase efficiency and reduce fuel consumption by offering improved turbocharging and improved combustion controls. However, 40% of the input fuel energy is lost as rejected heat through the engine exhaust. This paper will present findings from a project to evaluate a potential means of recovering and utilizing this waste heat to increase fuel efficiencies and reduce the fuel requirements on a prominent class of existing engines in New York State. New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), Dresser-Rand and the Gas Technology Institute (GTI) are providing the funding for this project. The team of Dresser-Rand, GTI and National Fuel Gas recently collaborated on a project to evaluate the technical feasibility of using thermo chemical recuperation to reduce fuel consumption and emissions from pipeline compressor engines in New York State and the rest of the United States. Thermo chemical recuperation is a technology for converting waste heat energy typically rejected with the engine that can be recycled back to the engine to produce power. The reformed fuel resulting from TCR typically has as much as 25-30% hydrogen. Hydrogen enhanced combustion in reciprocating gas engines has been shown to be an effective means for extending the lean limit or increasing the engine tolerance for exhaust gas recirculation (EGR). Both lean combustion and the use of EGR are demonstra
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