Tronox is the largest fully integrated producer of titanium ore and titanium dioxide in the world.
The Tronox Mineral Sands cogeneration power generation plant, located in the Western Cape, uses the waste gas from two open arc DC furnaces as an energy source. The gas engine power plant operates on waste gas produced by titanium melting.
The facility consists of 8 of GE’s JMS620GS-SL Jenbacher gas engines and is the second largest furnace gas-fuelled power plant in South Africa.
The waste furnace gas consisting of hydrogen and carbon monoxide from the two furnaces is burned in GE’s Jenbacher reciprocating internal combustion spark ignition gas engines.
The plant consists of eight engines. Each engine has an electrical output of 1,698 kW, and the total generating capacity of the plant is 13.6 MW. This electricity is provided to the Tronox Mineral Sands internal 11 kV grid and is used to offset the power drawn from the ESKOM national electrical grid, thus providing a saving on Tronox Mineral Sands’ electricity consumption.
Ordinarily, the waste gas would be burned in a flare to yield carbon dioxide and steam and the energy wasted to the atmosphere. However, in this process electrical energy is extracted before releasing carbon dioxide and steam to the atmosphere.
The engines are serviced by Clarke Energy’s South African gas engine service team.
