The new Waukesha gas engine can utilize biogases from landfills, wastewater treatment plants and agricultural waste.
Under an 18-month redesign and testing initiative, GE has done modifications to the combustion chamber; a new spark plug design; and a new fuel control system that simplifies engine start-up and operation.
GE said the changes were required to address the unique operational challenges of using biogases and were validated at both landfill and digester biogas-to-energy project sites.
Entec Services managing director Bob Weston said the APG1000’s new biogas fuel system has made a significant improvement to the engine’s load stability, despite fluctuations in the heating value of the fuel gas.
"The new system provides an automated response to fuel gas fluctuations that results in faster, more reliable engine starts as well as more consistent engine output with less manual intervention," Weston said.
GE Power & Water Gas Engines CEO Rafael Santana said the launch of the Waukesha APG1000 biogas engine helps to address the demand for more biogas engine choices in the lower output range as more industrial customers seek to recycle their own waste gases to generate cleaner and more cost-effective onsite power.
