Historical need
ZoneGen was conceived from the need to provide independent, low power direct current battery charging for telemetry equipment on unmanned gas production facilities.
On offshore locations in West Africa and other areas, this charging power has traditionally been provided by solar panels, wind turbines or dc generators powered by air motors.
The dilemma with solar panels and wind turbines is that they are an easy target for removal by intruders on unmanned platforms. By definition, the units have to be mounted on the outside of the facility in full view, exposing them to theft, sabotage and the effects of weather and wave action when offshore.
This has proved to be a real problem, requiring costly and disruptive remedial work with the prospect of further theft a reality. Both power sources are dependant on the vagaries of the weather.
The issue with using air motors as gas turbines is as follows:-
- They are essentially not designed for this purpose and currently only available for operation at relatively low pressures (up to 150psig).
- There is always the danger of a shaft seal blowing, or gas leaking into the atmosphere due to wear. It is particularly undesirable to have an explosive mixture being produced on an installation that may be visited infrequently.
- Conventional air motor design almost always requires the propellant gas to be filtered and lubricated.
- It is necessary either to vent the exhaust gas from the generator to atmosphere (i.e. waste the gas), thereby creating an atmospheric pollutant, or to recompress the gas to feed it back into the supply lines (thus consuming a significant proportion of the power produced).
DC generators with zone 1 certification tend to be unreliable, have problems with bearing failure and will require brush replacement periodically.
ZoneGen design overcomes all the drawbacks of traditional methods
The ZoneGen has been designed from scratch to provide electrical power safely in hazardous locations, using a hazardous fluid for motive power. It addresses the theft problem inherent with solar panels and wind generators because the unit is installed out of sight and securely in the interior space of the platform. The restrictions and drawbacks associated with air motors coupled to d/c generators have been completely designed out. No gas is vented to atmosphere and no waste products are produced. Only previously wasted energy is turned into clean power.