To meet environmental emissions restrictions without reducing efficiency or increasing operational costs, Compañia Española de Petróleos (CEPSA), one of Spain’s leading petrochemical companies, has adopted new GE (NYSE: GE) gas turbine technology at its Gibraltar-San Roque refinery.

Developed by GE’s Power Generation Services business, the fuel-flexible High Hydrogen Fuel DLN1 technology increased the gas turbine’s efficiency by enabling it to use recycled refinery fuel gas (RFG) without needing additional water to generate power.

“GE Power Generation Services’ solution helped us to increase plant efficiency and reduce our environmental footprint, supporting our goals to produce cleaner energy and meet the region’s increasingly stringent emissions requirements,” said Antonio Berlanga, CEPSA’s operation manager. ”We appreciate GE’s commitment to investing in flexible and efficient technologies that enable us to reduce our emissions footprint.”

Refinery gases are used as fuel for CEPSA’s internal processes with excess gas flared. GE’s turbine configuration recaptures and reduces waste gas that otherwise must be flared or burned off. The gas, known as RFG, is a typical byproduct of the refining process and contains hydrogen and hydrocarbons, which contribute to greenhouse gases.

Using GE’s technology, refineries around the world can reduce both water consumption and emissions, helping them comply with tightening environmental regulations while also reducing operating expenses.

“GE is pleased to showcase the operational benefits, which is the first use of this technology for B/E Class turbines to run on refinery fuel gas in the petrochemical industry,” said Ramon Paramio, Europe general manager for GE Power Generation Services—GE Power & Water. “This project illustrates our commitment to working with our customers to develop innovative fuel flexible technology solutions that help refinery operators around the world meet their operational, environmental and financial requirements.”

This is the first time a refinery has adopted a process that uses RFG to power turbines for generating electricity without using water and reflects the fuel flexibility of GE’s 6B DLN1 heavy-duty gas turbine design that blends startup fuel (natural gas) with RFG fuel. The flexible fuel configuration caps GE’s three-year research and development effort.

GE completed the conversion process more than a year ago and since then, the unit has increased the power plant’s efficiency and lowered the release of gaseous emissions. The use of waste (RFG) gas has decreased the need to purchase natural gas resulting in a 7 percent heat rate improvement. CEPSA also has realized a 90 percent reduction in NOx emission with GE’s DLN1 combustion system.

Since the upgrade, the new combustion system hardware’s condition has exceeded CEPSA’s expectations as the unit has accumulated 10,000 hours of operation on RFG. In addition, the new configuration of the combustion system has 24,000 hours inspection intervals, which is three time longer than the previous combustion system. This extension will reduce the plant’s operating costs.

CEPSA operates three refineries that account for more than one-third of Spain’s total refining capacity.

About GE

GE (NYSE: GE) imagines things others don’t, builds things others can’t and delivers outcomes that make the world work better. GE brings together the physical and digital worlds in ways no other company can. In its labs and factories and on the ground with customers, GE is inventing the next industrial era to move, power, build and cure the world.

About GE Power & Water

GE Power & Water provides customers with a broad array of power generation, energy delivery and water process technologies to solve their challenges locally. Power & Water works in all areas of the energy industry including renewable resources such as wind and solar; biogas and alternative fuels; and coal, oil, natural gas and nuclear energy. The business also develops advanced technologies to help solve the world’s most complex challenges related to water availability and quality. Power & Water’s six business units include Distributed Power, Nuclear Energy, Power Generation Products, Power Generation Services, Renewable Energy and Water & Process Technologies. Headquartered in Schenectady, N.Y., Power & Water is GE’s largest industrial business.

About Cepsa

Cepsa is an energy group fully owned by the International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC). It employs more than 10,500 people and operates at every stage of the hydrocarbon value chain. It is engaged in petroleum and natural gas prospecting and production activities, refining, transport and sale of crude oil and natural gas derivatives, biofuels, co-generation and electricity sales. Cepsa has developed a world-class chemicals division that is tightly integrated with its oil refining segment, where feedstock is manufactured and sold for the production of components with high value-added, chiefly used in making new-generation plastics and biodegradable detergents. It has a prominent position in Spain and, through the continuing international expansion of its business, it also operates in 15 countries, marketing its products all over the world.

See the site of the San Roque Refinery in Gibraltar