Request for Proposals (RFP)- Stationary Engines Air Emissions Research
Published on March 2, 2011
DUE: Monday, March 14, 2011 by 12:00pm to sdwyer@ptac.org
Request for Proposals
Background
The adverse health and/or environmental effects of atmospheric releases of smog precursors are a significant environmental concern in Canada today. The precursors to smog include NOx and other air pollutants, which also contribute to acid rain.
The majority of NOx emissions released by the upstream oil and gas industry are from stationary reciprocating engines used to compress and transport natural gas to processing facilities and transmissions pipelines. The upstream oil and gas industry emits 48% of industrial NOx in Canada and approximately 90% of those emissions originate from stationary engines.
There are technologies available to reduce NOx emissions; however, the understanding of how these technologies impact fuel consumption and GHG emissions is incomplete. A better understanding of these relationships would benefit both industry implementation of retrofits on existing engines and government decision making.
The benefits of retrofitting engines can be quite broad particularly for air fuel ratio controllers that convert a rich burn engine to lean burn. Benefits of retrofitting an engine with this technology can include reduced emissions of NOx and GHGs as well as improved fuel economy. The relationship between these improvements and a point where they can be optimized is still not well understood.
Requirement
The Project Steering Committee (PSC) is comprised of key stakeholders including the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP), and Environment Canada. The PSC is looking to answer the following research question: Reciprocating engines, used in the upstream oil and gas and natural gas transmission pipeline sectors, emit roughly 50% of Canada's industrial NOx emissions. During the multi-stakeholder CAMS work, sub-sector groups for both sectors recognized that significant emissions reductions could be achieved if Base Level Industrial Emission Requirements (BLIERs) limits were set for NOx emissions from this type of equipment. In attempting to set a BLIER for reciprocating engines it was recognized that key data was missing which would be required for the sub-sector groups to agree on a limit. The questions include:
- What is the relationship between NOx emissions, GHG emissions and fuel efficiency of natural gas reciprocating engines?
- Does this change significantly between different engine types?
- What is the impact of retrofit technology on these relationships?
- What is the relationship between NOx emissions, GHG emissions and the fuel consumption and efficiency of existing engines using commercially available retrofit technology?
The emissions from engines in their existing configurations should be compared to the emissions once a retrofit has been applied to the engine. The specific retrofits of interest are the REMvue Air Fuel Ratio controller (REMVue AFR) or equivalent to convert a rich burn engines to lean combustion for low NOx emissions, and non-selective catalytic converters using an air fuel ratio controller to optimize NOx reduction.. The final report should focus on the most common engines used in the oil and gas industry for gas compression.
The specific variables of interest are NOx emissions, GHG emissions and fuel consumption which include CO2, and CH4.. It is also important to understand the maintenance and reliability issues associated with applying the engine retrofits. The capital and operating costs of applying the retrofits are also of interest.
Two sources of information will be used to answer the research question; the first being engine testing, the second the collection of engine test data from industry. Engines will need to be tested as they currently operate in the field to provide the baseline for each engine in terms of its emissions and performance characteristics. Once the baseline has been established, the engine will need to be retested after it has been retrofitted to reduce NOx emissions to evaluate the effect on emissions and fuel consumption.
Industry has performed tests on engines that it has retrofitted to ensure the engine meets performance expectation and regulatory obligations. This test data could assist in answering the research question. The information collected from industry and engine testing will need to be collated and analyzed to answer the research question.
Scope of Work
- Review and analyze engine test data collected from industry and perform engine testing
- The contractor must be capable of testing and analyzing test data from natural gas fired stationary engines in the oil and gas industry. The contractor will be able to test and analyze test data from with the following parameters
- Nitrogen Oxides emissions (NOx), Carbon Dioxide emissions (CO2), Methane (CH4), Oxygen (O2), fuel consumption and efficiency, engine output, air fuel ratio.
- Capability of testing to U.S. EPA methods, with modifications to be discussed with the Project Coordinating Committee (e.g. a range of engine loads)
The primary deliverable of this contract will be to collate and analyze the data collected from industry and perform tests on 8 engines and provide a report on the results, with the funding provided by Environment Canada. It is expected that half of those tests will be performed on un-modified engines and the other half will be performed on modified engines.
The contractor will be responsible for keeping the PTAC informed of all aspects of this contract including the billing information.
Evaluation of Results and preparation of Draft and Final Reports
At the completion of the engine testing all the data will have to be collected and compiled. The engine testing data will be used with the data received from industry to write a report to address the research question. The raw data from the individual engine testing will also need to be supplied in an appropriate format to the PSC and Environment Canada.
The report will be prepared using a version of MS Word compatible with the 2003 version and distributed in an Adobe Acrobat PDF format. All graphics, spreadsheet and database objects shall be embedded directly in the word-processing document wherever practical to do so. This will allow easy distribution and use of the document by e-mail. Source files for all graphics, tables, etc. will also be supplied. The final report will be clear, straight-forward and complete.
Schedule and Deliverables
- Collate and analyze existing engine test information provided by industry identify gaps to choose engines to test
- Present a testing plan (list of engines to test, parameters to measure, methodology, etc) with a rational based on previous data analysis
- Commence Engine Testing
- Progress report on Engine Testing including the number of engines tested to date as well as preliminary results and analysis of existing data and testing
- Complete Engine Testing
- Preliminary draft report and full results of the engine testing will be presented to the PSC and Environment Canada
- Final Report and Final Database
DUE: Monday, March 14, 2011 by 12:00pm to sdwyer@ptac.org.
Please submit in PDF format.
Contact Information
Preliminary proposals should be submitted via email to Susie Dwyer of PTAC at sdwyer@ptac.org, 403-218-7708. The RFP and other related documentation will be available on PTAC's website at www.ptac.org or from Susie Dwyer. PTAC is the neutral facilitator of this RFP and PTAC staff will not screen, evaluate or make decisions on what will proceed.