FLOX® Combustion at High Power Density and High Flame Temperatures

Author(s):  
Oliver Lammel ◽  
Harald Schütz ◽  
Guido Schmitz ◽  
Rainer Lückerath ◽  
Michael Stöhr ◽  
...  

In this contribution, an overview of the progress in the design of an enhanced FLOX® burner is given. A fuel flexible burner concept was developed to fulfill the requirements of modern gas turbines: high specific power density, high turbine inlet temperature, and low NOx emissions. The basis for the research work is numerical simulation. With the focus on pollutant emissions, a detailed chemical kinetic mechanism is used in the calculations. A novel mixing control concept, called HiPerMix®, and its application in the FLOX® burner are presented. In view of the desired operational conditions in a gas turbine combustor, this enhanced FLOX® burner was manufactured and experimentally investigated at the DLR test facility. In the present work, experimental and computational results are presented for natural gas and natural gas+hydrogen combustion at gas turbine relevant conditions and high adiabatic flame temperatures (up to Tad=2000 K). The respective power densities are PA=13.3 MW/m2 bar (natural gas (NG)) and PA=14.8 MW/m2 bar(NG+H2), satisfying the demands of a gas turbine combustor. It is demonstrated that the combustion is complete and stable and that the pollutant emissions are very low.

Author(s):  
Oliver Lammel ◽  
Harald Schu¨tz ◽  
Guido Schmitz ◽  
Rainer Lu¨ckerath ◽  
Michael Sto¨hr ◽  
...  

In this contribution, an overview of the progress in the design of an enhanced FLOX® burner is given. A fuel flexible burner concept was developed to fulfill the requirements of modern gas turbines: high specific power density, high turbine inlet temperature, and low NOx emissions. The basis for the research work is numerical simulation. With the focus on pollutant emissions a detailed chemical kinetic mechanism is used in the calculations. A novel mixing control concept, called HiPerMix®, and its application in the FLOX® burner is presented. In view of the desired operational conditions in a gas turbine combustor this enhanced FLOX® burner was manufactured and experimentally investigated at the DLR test facility. In the present work experimental and computational results are presented for natural gas and natural gas + hydrogen combustion at gas turbine relevant conditions and high adiabatic flame temperatures (up to Tad = 2000 K). The respective power densities are PA = 13.3 MW/m2/bar (NG) and PA = 14.8 MW/m2/bar (NG + H2) satisfying the demands of a gas turbine combustor. It is demonstrated that the combustion is complete and stable and that the pollutant emissions are very low.


Author(s):  
J. Arturo Alfaro-Ayala ◽  
Armando Gallegos-Muñoz ◽  
Alejandro Zaleta-Aguilar ◽  
Victor Hugo Rangel Hernandez ◽  
Alfonso Campos-Amezcua

The change of the fuel to a bio-fuel in a gas turbine combustor is a defiant challenge due to there is not enough information about the thermal behavior into the combustor, even there is not information about the change of conventional fuel used. In these sense, a numerical analysis using Natural Gas, Diesel and Bio-Ethanol is presented. The results show a significant reduction of the Turbine Inlet Temperature (TIT) when the diesel and bio-ethanol are used in the gas turbine combustor (TITNatural Gas = 1,262.24 K, TITDiesel = 1,204.67 K and TITBio-ethanol = 918.24 K). This leads to an increment of the diesel and bio-fuel mass flow rate in order to reach the allowable condition of the gas turbine combustor. As it is well known, the reduction of the TIT means a reduction of the output power of the gas turbine, thus to avoid this, the increase of bio-ethanol was about 255.5% and diesel was about 112.2% (considering 3.6 kg/s of fuel as the full load). This paper gives an attempt to discover the viability to use bio-fuels in gas turbines from the thermal-fluid dynamic standpoint.


Author(s):  
V. G. McDonell ◽  
M. W. Effinger ◽  
J. L. Mauzey

The deployment of small gas turbines at landfills and wastewater treatment plants is attractive due to the availability of waste fuel gases generated at these sites and the need for onsite power and/or heat. The fuel gases produced by these applications typically contain 35 to 75% of the heating value of natural gas and contain methane (CH4) diluted primarily with carbon dioxide (CO2) and sometimes nitrogen (N2). Demonstrations of 30 to 250 kW gas turbines operating on these waste fuels are underway, but little detailed information on the systematic effect of the gas composition on performance is available. Growth in the use of small gas turbines for these applications will likely require that they meet increasingly stringent emission regulations, creating a need to better understand and to further optimize emissions performance for these gases. The current study characterizes a modified commercial natural gas fired 60 kW gas turbine operated on simluated gases of specified composition and establishes a quantitative relationship between fuel composition, engine load, and emissions performance. The results can be used to determine the expected impact of gas composition on emissions performance.


Author(s):  
Candy Hernandez ◽  
Vincent McDonell

Abstract Lean-premixed (LPM) gas turbines have been developed for stationary power generation in efforts to reduce emissions due to strict air quality standards. Lean-premixed operation is beneficial as it reduces combustor temperatures, thus decreasing NOx formation and unburned hydrocarbons. However, tradeoffs occur between system performance and turbine emissions. Efforts to minimize tradeoffs between stability and emissions include the addition of hydrogen to natural gas, a common fuel used in stationary gas turbines. The addition of hydrogen is promising for both increasing combustor stability and further reducing emissions because of its wide flammability limits allowing for lower temperature operation, and lack of carbon molecules. Other efforts to increase gas turbine stability include the usage of a non-lean pilot flame to assist in stabilizing the main flame. By varying fuel composition for both the main and piloted flows of a gas turbine combustor, the effect of hydrogen addition on performance and emissions can be systematically evaluated. In the present work, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and chemical reactor networks (CRN) are created to evaluate stability (LBO) and emissions of a gas turbine combustor by utilizing fuel and flow rate conditions from former hydrogen and natural gas experimental results. With CFD and CRN analysis, the optimization of parameters between fuel composition and main/pilot flow splits can provide feedback for minimizing pollutants while increasing stability limits. The results from both the gas turbine model and former experimental results can guide future gas turbine operation and design.


Author(s):  
Jeffrey N. Phillips ◽  
Richard J. Roby

A screening level study has been carried out to examine the potential of using H2-enriched natural gas to improve the combustion performance of gas turbines. H2 has wider flammability limits and a higher flame speed than methane. Many previous studies have shown that when H2 is added to fuel, more efficient combustion and lower emissions will result. However, to date no commercial attempt has been made to improve the combustion performance of a natural gas-fired gas turbine by supplementing the fuel with H2. Four potential options for supplementing natural gas with H2 have been analyzed. Three of these options use the exhaust heat of the gas turbine either directly or indirectly to partially reform methane. The fourth option uses liquid H2 supplied from an industrial gas producer.


Author(s):  
Washington Orlando Irrazabal Bohorquez ◽  
João Roberto Barbosa ◽  
Rob Johan Maria Bastiaans ◽  
Philip de Goey

Currently, high efficiency and low emissions are most important requisites for the design of modern gas turbines due to the strong environmental restrictions around the world. In the past years, alternative fuels have been considered for application in industrial gas turbines. Therefore, combustor performance, pollutant emissions and the ability to burn several fuels became of much concern and high priority has been given to the combustor design. This paper describes a methodology focused on the design of stationary gas turbines combustion chambers with the ability to efficiently burn conventional and alternative fuels. A simplified methodology is used for the calculations of the equilibrium temperature and chemical species in the primary zone of a gas turbine combustor. Direct fuel injection and diffusion flames, together with numerical methods like Newton-Raphson, LU Factorization and Lagrange Polynomials, are used for the calculations. Diesel, ethanol and methanol fuels were chosen for the numerical study. A computer code sequentially calculates the main geometry of the combustor. From the numerical simulation it is concluded that the basic gas turbine combustor geometry, for some operating conditions and burning diesel, ethanol or methanol, are of similar sizes, because the development of aerodynamic characteristics predominate over the thermochemical properties. It is worth to note that the type of fuel has a marked effect on the stability and combustion advancement in the combustor. This can be seen when the primary zone is analyzed under a steady-state operating condition. At full power, the pressure is 1.8 MPa and the temperature 1,000 K at the combustor inlet. Then, the equivalence ratios in the primary zone are 1.3933 (diesel), 1.4352 (ethanol) and 1.3977 (methanol) and the equilibrium temperatures for the same operating conditions are 2,809 K (diesel), 2,754 K (ethanol) and 2,702 K (methanol). This means that the combustor can reach similar flame stability conditions, whereas the combustion efficiency will require richer fuel/air mixtures of ethanol or methanol are burnt instead of diesel. Another important result from the numerical study is that the concentration of the main pollutants (CO, CO2, NO, NO2) is reduced when ethanol or methanol are burnt, in place of diesel.


Author(s):  
G. J. Kelsall ◽  
M. A. Smith ◽  
H. Todd ◽  
M. J. Burrows

Advanced coal based power generation systems such as the British Coal Topping Cycle offer the potential for high efficiency electricity generation with minimum environmental impact. An important component of the Topping Cycle programme is the development of a gas turbine combustion system to burn low calorific value (3.5–4.0 MJ/m3 wet gross) coal derived fuel gas, at a turbine inlet temperature of 1260°C, with minimum pollutant emissions. The paper gives an overview of the British Coal approach to the provision of a gas turbine combustion system for the British Coal Topping Cycle, which includes both experimental and modelling aspects. The first phase of this programme is described, including the design and operation of a low-NOx turbine combustor, operating at an outlet temperature of 1360°C and burning a synthetic low calorific value (LCV) fuel gas, containing 0 to 1000 ppmv of ammonia. Test results up to a pressure of 8 bar are presented and the requirements for further combustor development outlined.


Author(s):  
A. Okuto ◽  
T. Kimura ◽  
I. Takehara ◽  
T. Nakashima ◽  
Y. Ichikawa ◽  
...  

Research and development project of ceramic gas turbines (CGT) was started in 1988 promoted by the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) in Japan. The target of the CGT project is development of a 300kW-class ceramic gas turbine with a 42 % thermal efficiency and a turbine inlet temperature (TIT) of 1350°C. Three types of CGT engines are developed in this project. One of the CGT engines, which is called CGT302, is a recuperated two-shaft gas turbine for co-generation use. In this paper, we describe the research and development of a combustor for the CGT302. The project requires a combustor to exhaust lower pollutant emissions than the Japanese regulation level. In order to reduce NOx emissions and achieve high combustion efficiency, lean premixed combustion technology is adopted. Combustion rig tests were carried out using this combustor. In these tests we measured the combustor performance such as pollutant emissions, combustion efficiency, combustor inlet/outlet temperature, combustor inlet pressure and pressure loss through combustor. Of course air flow rate and fuel flow rate are controlled and measured, respectively. The targets for the combustor such as NOx emissions and combustion efficiency were accomplished with sufficient margin in these combustion rig tests. In addition, we report the results of the tests which were carried out to examine effects of inlet air pressure on NOx emissions here.


Author(s):  
Elliot Sullivan-Lewis ◽  
Vincent McDonell

Ground based gas turbines are responsible for generating a significant amount of electric power as well as providing mechanical power for a variety of applications. This is due to their high efficiency, high power density, high reliability, and ability to operate on a wide range of fuels. Due to increasingly stringent air quality requirements, stationary power gas turbines have moved to lean-premixed operation. Lean-premixed operation maintains low combustion temperatures for a given turbine inlet temperature, resulting in low NOx emissions while minimizing emissions of CO and hydrocarbons. In addition, to increase overall cycle efficiency, engines are being operated at higher pressure ratios and/or higher combustor inlet temperatures. Increasing combustor inlet temperatures and pressures in combination with lean-premixed operation leads to increased reactivity of the fuel/air mixture, leading to increased risk of potentially damaging flashback. Curtailing flashback on engines operated on hydrocarbon fuels requires care in design of the premixer. Curtailing flashback becomes more challenging when fuels with reactive components such as hydrogen are considered. Such fuels are gaining interest because they can be generated from both conventional and renewable sources and can be blended with natural gas as a means for storage of renewably generated hydrogen. The two main approaches for coping with flashback are either to design a combustor that is resistant to flashback, or to design one that will not anchor a flame if a flashback occurs. An experiment was constructed to determine the flameholding tendencies of various fuels on typical features found in premixer passage ways (spokes, steps, etc.) at conditions representative of a gas turbine premixer passage way. In the present work tests were conducted for natural gas and hydrogen between 3 and 9 atm, between 530 K and 650K, and free stream velocities from 40 to 100 m/s. Features considered in the present study include a spoke in the center of the channel and a step at the wall. The results are used in conjunction with existing blowoff correlations to evaluate flameholding propensity of these physical features over the range of conditions studied. The results illustrate that correlations that collapse data obtained at atmospheric pressure do not capture trends observed for spoke and wall step features at elevated pressure conditions. Also, a notable fuel compositional effect is observed.


Author(s):  
Nicola Aldi ◽  
Nicola Casari ◽  
Mirko Morini ◽  
Michele Pinelli ◽  
Pier Ruggero Spina ◽  
...  

Abstract Energy and climate change policies associated with the continuous increase in natural gas costs pushed governments to invest in renewable energy and alternative fuels. In this perspective, the idea to convert gas turbines from natural gas to syngas from biomass gasification could be a suitable choice. Biogas is a valid alternative to natural gas because of its low costs, high availability and low environmental impact. Syngas is produced with the gasification of plant and animal wastes and then burnt in gas turbine combustor. Although synfuels are cleaned and filtered before entering the turbine combustor, impurities are not completely removed. Therefore, the high temperature reached in the turbine nozzle can lead to the deposition of contaminants onto internal surfaces. This phenomenon leads to the degradation of the hot parts of the gas turbine and consequently to the loss of performance. The amount of the deposited particles depends on mass flow rate, composition and ash content of the fuel and on turbine inlet temperature (TIT). Furthermore, compressor fouling plays a major role in the degradation of the gas turbine. In fact, particles that pass through the inlet filters, enter the compressor and could deposit on the airfoil. In this paper, the comparison between five (5) heavy-duty gas turbines is presented. The five machines cover an electrical power range from 1 MW to 10 MW. Every model has been simulated in six different climate zones and with four different synfuels. The combination of turbine fouling, compressor fouling, and environmental conditions is presented to show how these parameters can affect the performance and degradation of the machines. The results related to environmental influence are shown quantitatively, while those connected to turbine and compressor fouling are reported in a more qualitative manner. Particular attention is given also to part-load conditions. The power units are simulated in two different operating conditions: 100 % and 80 % of power rate. The influence of this variation on the intensity of fouling is also reported.


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