In September 1988, a Hitachi-GE model PG5341 gas turbine installed at the Tokuyama refinery of Idemitsu Kosan Co., Ltd. (Japan) successfully recorded 100,325 hours of base load operation over a period of 13 years with 99.4% reliability. The generated power totalled 1,341,770 MWh at the time of final shutdown.
The gas turbine, burning Bunker A oil, LPG, and heavy distillate oil, had been the main equipment in a cogeneration plant with a simple heat recovery steam generator using waste heat from the exhaust gas, plus a refired boiler.
It was expected that several costly hot gas path components of this turbine would have to be replaced in the near future, and it was not as fuel efficient as more modern designs, so it was decided to replace the PG5341 with a Hitachi H-25 gas turbine.
This new model H-25 is designed to have a rated output of 26,200kW and an efficiency of 32.3% (LHV) at the generator terminals under ISO conditions. By the use of a pressure ratio of 14.7 (up from 10.1) and a combustor outlet gas temperature of 1,260°C (up from 980°C), it is expected that efficiency of gas turbine will be improved relatively by 18.7% on a design basis, compared with the PG5341.
A factory full-load test of the prototype H-25 gas turbine was completed in August 1988 with excellent results. This machine has been in place and in operation at the Tokuyama plant since the end of November 1988. This is the first commercial application of the Hitachi H-25 advanced gas turbine.
Preliminary Evaluation of the Leak in the MSRE Primary System Which Occurred During the Final Shutdown
