Peña Puerto, José MiguelAyala Mendoza, Miguel Eduardo2012-05-042012-05-0420081909-0455http://hdl.handle.net/10567/227Introduction. This article shows the evaluation of the demand and the tendencies of fuel in the plant of ANDERCOL-Medellín, the current and future trends of the prices for the fuels available (fuel oil and natural gas) and also the operation costs, the investments required for their substitution and the limitations and benefits of substituting fuel oil with natural gas. Objective. To evaluate the impact of substituting fuel oil with natural gas in the ANDERCOL´s plant in Medellín. Materials and methods. A technical study was made in order the make the fossil fuel substitution project feasible, taking into account the current gas net both in and out of the plant, the consuming index and regulation, the oil heater burner and the burners of the boilers. The project took 14 months divided into two big phases: a) the substitution of the current equipment into natural gas and b) the connection of the new equipment to that same fuel, according to the prospective of future demands of the market. Results. Making the substitution of gas oil to natural gas has a cost of US $ 112000 and benefits per month of US $ 9700, therefore, it is easy to be executed. Besides, 62% of the benefits of the project is supported by the lower cost per energy unit gas has if compared with fuel oil. Conclusion. Substituting the fuel oil equipments to a natural gas system represents, also, an environmental benefit not yet measured, because CO2, CO, SO2, NOx and other material’s particles emissions are lower with gas oil, thus permitting the accomplishment of the future environmental regulations, a better economical feasibility and a reduction of production costs, increasing the company’s competitiveness in its sector.esGas naturalCorporación Universitaria LasallistaÁrea Metropolitana del Valle de AburráAhorro de energíaUso racional de energía (URE)AndercolGas naturalCombustible fósilContaminación ambientalArticle