1.

0 Natural Gas
Due to strict emission regulations, the adoption of alternative fuels has been regarded as one of
the most important strategies to address the issues of energy dependence, air quality and, more
recently, climate change. The use of alternative fuels becomes increasingly economical due to
increasing fuel cost and the dramatic increase in the rate of depletion of crude oil resources.
Several alternative fuels have been recognized as having a significant potential for producing
lower overall pollutant emissions compared to gasoline and diesel fuel.
Natural gas (NG), which is composed predominately by methane, has emerged as a perfect
leading solution to the problems of high oil prices and high exhaust emissions for transportation
applications among these fuels for several reasons.
Natural gas is a non-renewable fossil fuel that was formed 150 million years ago in pockets of
the earth rock and in porous rocks. It is a non-renewable fossil fuel recovered from gas wells or
tied in with crude oil production and is most commonly used in agricultural and industrial
applications for process and space heating, as a home heating or cooking fuel, and as a fuel for
electricity generation.
In comparison to other forms of energy, natural gas engenders low pressures on the environment.
At the same time, because of its technical characteristics, NG is very suitable for motor use as
vehicular fuel or power generation. Moreover, NG is relatively cheap.
1.1 Liquefied Natural Gas
LNG and CNG are simply two different ways natural gas is stored.
LNG is stored in small volume tanks by purifying NG and condensing it into a liquid by cooling
it to below -160 C. When natural gas is turned into LNG, its volume shrinks by a factor of
approximately 600. This reduction in volume enables the gas to be transported economically
over long distances. It must be kept at very cold temperatures to remain in liquid form, so it is
typically stored in a double-wall vacuum-insulated pressurized tank. Due to the difficulties of
storing and managing LNG, it is only used in heavy-duty, high fuel demanding mechanisms.

Table 1. LNG composition (source: RIPI)

Component

Symbol

Volumetric %

Methane

CH4

89.63

Ethane

C2H6

6.32

Propane

C3H8

2.16

Butane

C4H10

1.20

Nitrogen

N2

0.69

Table 2. Approximate energy value range for various fuels

Approximate Energy Value

Used in

Fuel

MJ/unit

BTU/unit

Mauritius

Gasoline

32.6 - 34.6 MJ/L

30,900 - 32,900 BTU/L

YES

Diesel

36.0 - 38 MJ/L

34,000 - 36,000 BTU/L

YES

Propane (LPG)

23.4 - 26.9 MJ/L

22,200 - 25,000 BTU/L

YES

Natural gas

35.3 - 40.6 MJ/m3

33,500 - 38,500 BTU/m3

NO

CNG (at 240 bar)

10.6 - 12.2 GJ/m3

10,040,000 - 11,600,000 BTU/m3

NO

LNG

20.4 - 23.6 MJ/L

19,400 - 22,400 BTU/L

NO

Biogas

22 - 27 MJ/m3

20,800 - 26,000 BTU/m3

NO

Table 3. Average Price of fuel (Source: AFDC 2015)

Fuel

Price

Used in

US Dollar

Rupees

Mauritius

Diesel

$3.58/GGE

Rs 129.60 /GGE

YES

Gasoline

$3.59/GGE

Rs 129.96/GGE

YES

Ethanol (E85)

$4.66/GGE

Rs 168.69/GGE

NO

CNG

$2.11/GGE

Rs 76.38/GGE

NO

LNG

$2.18/GCE

Rs78.92/ GGE

NO

Propane (LPG)

$3.77/GGE

Rs 136.47/GGE

YES

1.2 LNG Supply Chain

The LNG supply chain involves the extraction of natural gas from wellhead (extraction site) and
the transportation of the latter via pipelines to liquefaction plant. The liquefaction facility is an
assembly of compressors, condensers, pressure expansion valves and vaporisers. The LNG
produced during liquefaction is stored in especially designed cryogenic tanks and loaded on
LNG carriers. LNG is then transported to requiring users and regasified at receiving terminals.

Figure 1.1: LNG Supply Chain (Source: epd.gov.hk)

1.3 Safety and Environmental Considerations

Detection: Since LNG is a liquid stored at cryogenic temperature, it is practically impossible to
add an odorant and thus, with no natural odour, it is difficult to detect leakages unless a large
amount of natural gas is leaked to form a visible condensation cloud or localized frost formation.
Therefore, methane gas detectors need to be installed in order to detect leakages in areas where
LNG is stored.
Material failure: Another safety consideration is that materials of construction for the storage
tanks and pipes undergo considerable stresses at such low temperature that can cause vessel
failures making these vessels unsafe for their use.
Explosion risks: LNG is not explosive or flammable in the liquid state. However, explosion
events are possible in cases where the pressures relief systems in tanks fail completely. Another
hazardous issue is the leakage or spillage of LNG on land at ambient temperature which will
bring about a rapid vaporization of the liquid fuel and produce a relatively large flammable
atmosphere and present a risk of fire.

Freezing Liquid: As LNG is a cryogenic liquid, it is advised that all personnel wear gloves, face
masks and other protective clothing when accessing hazardous areas as a protection against the
freezing liquid.
Environmental Problems: There are no such disastrous environmental issues with the release of
LNG. In case of any spillage, LNG will float on water (LNG has a lower density than water) and
vaporise. Some environmentalists argue that LNG can cause considerable damage to fragile
ecosystems like damaging fishing resources when spilled at sea.
LNG can also be used as an automobile fuel but it is mostly applicable for heavy haul transport.
LNG requires 30 % of the space of CNG to store the same amount of energy. It is stored in
thermally insulated tanks on-board vehicles and when the engine is started, the LNG is heated
converting it back into gaseous form.
LNG-fuelled heavy vehicles can pose a risk when unmoved for a week or more. These vehicles
will vent out a flammable gas (methane) that can explode upon contact with an ignition source.
Therefore to address such issue, LNG is restricted to frequently-driven fleet and serviced by
trained personnel.
1.4 Benefits of LNG
Relatively Cheaper: On average, according to AFDC, LNG costs about 50% less than gasoline or
diesel fuel, while delivering the same power and performance.
Environmentally Friendly and Green: LNG is the cleanest burning fossil based fuel with 50%
lower emissions than the next best option. The beauty of LNGs simplicity is that it burns almost
completely, leaving only a small amount of CO2 and water behind (CH4 + 2O2 = CO2 + 2H2O)
LNG produces up to 90% lower emissions than gasoline or diesel. Non-methane hydrocarbons
are reduced by approximately 50%, NOx by 50-87%, CO 2 by 20-30%, CO by 70-95%, and the
combustion of natural gas produces almost no particulate matter. Not only does the reduced
amount of greenhouse gases by LNG make it the cleanest internal combustible fuel for our
environment, it also burns cleaner inside engines resulting in fewer oil changes and less
maintenance.

Safe Fuel: LNG is lighter than air. In the event of a spill, LNG disperses quickly without pooling
on the ground creating a fire hazard like petroleum based fuels. It also has a higher ignition
temperature making it less flammable than gasoline or diesel. LNG is also non-toxic and noncorrosive and will not contaminate ground water.

1.5 Risks and Challenges

The advent of CNG can be a strong driver for greater economic and social development in
Mauritius. These opportunities come with risks and challenges that need resolute and dedicated
attention.

Lack of local expertise in dealing with the fuels. Already labour cost is very expensive
in Mauritius, calling for international expertise for supervision and training of local
operators can be very costly. Local coast guards and other authorities are not well trained
to face any situation of LNG spills and the health system is not well equipped to deal
with massive burns or frostbites from LNG accidents. Potential risks of burns are less
likely when handling CNG.

Safety and risk prevention mechanism still non-existent in Mauritius. Less work has
been completed with regards to the safety and risk prevention mechanism in case of LNG
spills and implementation of a good safety code for LNG handling in Mauritius will
require intensive work in terms of research and development.

Social acceptance. Recently, the coal fired power plant, CT Power Ltd. was closed after
much protest by local residents. Any technology has to be accepted by the public before
implementation otherwise, it can trigger much disagreement among members of the
public who will make the construction of the gas power plant more difficult.

Recommendations

Government energy policies should consider natural gas in their long term strategic plan
and carry out more intense research on the implementation of LNG in Mauritius. This
report can show preliminary findings in this subject.

Training personnel. Crash course on gas turbine and combined cycle need to be run to
train people on the gas turbine complex functionalities and troubleshooting. The
combined cycle is more complex and untrained personnel can mess things up.

2.0 Natural Gas combined cycle

A combined cycle is a combination of two cycles namely, the Brayton cycle and the Rankine
cycle in a single power plant. In combined cycle mode, power plants can attain electrical
efficiency of 52 % or more. When two cycles are combined, the one operating at the higher
temperature level is called the topping cycle. The waste heat it produces is then utilised in a
second process that works at a lower temperature level, called the bottoming cycle.

Figure 2.1: Natural Gas Combined Cycle (Source: stlenergy.org)

Most combined cycles employ a Heat Recovery Steam Generator (HRSG) which is an
arrangement of heat exchangers that creates dry superheated steam for the steam turbine from the
hot exhaust from the topping cycle. The HRSG includes the economizer, evaporator and super
heater each serving for a specific function.

The economizer preheats the feed water to its saturation temperature and is stored in the steam
drum. Heat from the hot exhaust, is absorbed to generate steam in the evaporator tubes. The
steam-water mixture enters the steam drum where steam is separated using cyclones and
moisture separators. The separated water is re-circulated in the steam drum and the steam is sent
to the super heater to produce dry steam for the steam turbine. Condensate leaving the steam
turbine is cooled in condensers and pumped back to the HRSG.
2.1 CEB
In line with its objective to ensure security of supply, the Central Electricity Board (CEB) is
contemplating to set up a 135-150 MW thermal power plant based on Combined Cycle Gas
Turbine technology at its site at Les Grandes Salines in the Port Louis harbor vicinity. The
project is expected to cost around Rs 7 billion.
The site earmarked, which belongs to the CEB, has an area of approximately 6,3 acres and is
ideally located for the construction of the power plant due to its close proximity to the port for
bunkering as well as the CEB high voltage Saint Louis substation for power evacuation.
The CEB intends to run the CCGT plant on light diesel oil (gasoline) in the initial phase of its
operation for about 3 to 4 years, and later change over to LNG once it becomes available in
Mauritius. The plant will consist of two gas turbines (2 x 50 MW) and one steam turbine (1 x 50
MW).
According to the CEBs Integrated Electricity Plan 2013-2022, the electricity demand in
Mauritius is expected to increase from 459 MW in 2015 to reach 574 MW in 2022.
Comparing Generation Cost of Electricity
The cost of electricity is a function of total capital investment, efficiency of the plant, annuity
factor, fixed and variable operational costs. The cost of generating 1 kWh of electricity is
estimated as 3.80 MUR/kWh for a simple gas turbine, 5.24 MUR/kWh for a combined cycle and
3.60 MUR/kWh for gas engines. Comparing all these values with coal and HFO where the cost
of electricity generation is 4.58 MUR/kWh and 5.30 MUR/kWh respectively, it is seen that a
simple gas turbine or gas engines working with CNG can generate electricity at a lower cost than
coal or HFO derived power.