Abstract
Design of the combustor is of high priority in microturbine generators (MTG) due to the small and compact configuration of these type of generators and high range of the shaft revolution (normally over 100k rpm). Design process of the MTG components including the micro combustor and turbomachinery also require accurate description of the combustion phenomena, heat transfer, emission level and performance analysis of the system. Design of combustors for renewable fuels such as biogas has several complications including overcoming the lower heating value of the biogas (normally 1/3 of the natural gas), combustion instabilities and corrosion effects of burning these types of fuels. The main benefit of burning a carbon neutral fuel (e.g., biogas), however will be in reducing the carbon emission by avoiding fossil fuels and achieving the environmental targets (e.g., Paris Agreement). The tubular combustors are in the centre of attention in design and operations of the microturbines due to their low cost and the level of emission. This research work presents the design procedure and CFD modelling of a tubular combustor for a biogas burnt microturbine engine assembly. The biogas is generated from anaerobic digestions of agriculture waste and include a 57% and 43% mixture of methane and CO2 respectively. All the combustor parts are designed with empirical and practical equations and dimensions are optimised by CFD simulations. Operation of the combustor is then analysed in terms of its gaseous emissions. Finally, the operation of the new combustor in a closed heat and power cycle was verified and compared with conventional combustor of the microturbine burning diesel fuel, and as a result all the benefits and considerations for the application of biogas in microturbine assembly are carefully remarked and discussed.
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