The Greenhouse Gas Technology Center (GHG Center) announced that it has independently verified the performance of a fuel cell operating on renewable biogas and an associated gas processing unit. The PC25C Power Plant from UTC Fuel Cells (South Windsor, CT), a part of United Technologies Corp. (South Windsor, CT), is a phosphoric acid fuel cell capable of producing nominal 200 kW of electrical power with the potential to produce an additional 205 kW of heat.
The PC25C selected for verification is owned and operated by the New York Power Authority. At the facility, two PC25Cs are operated on renewable biogas generated on-site in anaerobic sludge digesters. The raw digester gas is conditioned using a gas processing unit specifically designed for use with the PC25C. The gas processing unit removes H2S, excess moisture and other pollutants from the raw gas, as these gas components can damage the fuel cell. Results of the verification are favorable. Emissions from the PC25C are low, electrical efficiency was around 37%, and potential combined heat and power efficiency was approximately 90%.
