Author(s)

J. Huertas & A. Valencia

Abstract

Economical benefits for industries that convert thermal equipments into natural gas J. Huertas, A. Valencia Department of Mechanical Engineering, Los Andes University, Colombia. Abstract In Bogotá, the capital city of Colombia, the use of natural gas began in 1996. Today, the use of natural gas has reached the domestic, industrial and vehicular areas. However, despite the effort of the government and the private sector, the use of natural gas is not massive yet. For the case of the industries, the issue that still remains is: What is the economical and environmental benefit for the industries that convert thermal equipments into natural gas under the local conditions of Bogotá? To address this issue, a representative sample of 24 industries and 36 thermal equipment were chosen to evaluate their operation cost and their pollutants emissions. The sample included boilers and furnaces working with natural gas, LPG, Fuel Oil No. 2, Fuel Oil No. 6 and coal. In this report the results related to the economic aspect appear. The environmental issue is presented in a separate report. 1 Introduction Bogotá, the capital city of Colombia, is located at 8531 ft (2600 m) above sea level. It has a population of 11 million inhabitants. It is one of the most important industrial centers in Colombia. At present, the industries that operate in the city of Bogotá mainly use Natural Gas, LPG, Fuel oil No. 2, Fuel oil No. 6 and Coal as fuels for their thermal equipments. In Bogotá, the use of natural gas began in 1996. Today, the use of natural gas has reached the domestic, industrial and vehicular areas. However, despite the effort of the government and of the private sector, the use of the natural gas is not massive yet. It is not clear which is the economic and environmental benefit

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