Technology Considerations for Optimizing IGCC Plant Performance

Author(s):  
James C. Corman ◽  
Douglas M. Todd

The integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) concept is gaining acceptance as the Clean Coal technology with the best potential for continued improvement in performance and continued reduction in capital cost. In large part this potential will be realized by optimizing the integration of power generation and fuel conversion subsystems and by exploiting advances in gas turbine technology. This paper discusses the impact that technology advances in the gas turbine combined cycle are having on the commercial viability of the IGCC concept. Technical innovations in such areas as coal gas combustion, plant control, and system integration will ensure that IGCC technology will continue to advance well into the future.

Author(s):  
Jens Wolf ◽  
Federico Barone ◽  
Jinyue Yan

This paper investigates the performance of a new power cycle, a so called Evaporative Biomass Air Turbine (EvGT-BAT) cycle with gasification for topping combustion. The process integrates an externally fired gas turbine (EFGT), an evaporative gas turbine (EvGT) and biomass gasification. Through such integration, the system may provide the potential for adapting features from different advanced solid-fuel based power generation technologies, e.g. externally fired gas turbine, integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) and fluidized bed combustion, thus improving the system performance and reducing the technical difficulties. In the paper, the features of the EvGT-BAT cycle have been addressed. The thermal efficiencies for different integrations of the gasification for topping combustion and the heat recovery have been analyzed. By drying the biomass feedstock, the thermal efficiency of the EvGT-BAT cycle can be increased by more than 3 percentage points. The impact of the outlet air temperature of the high temperature heat exchanger has also been studied in the present system. Finally, the size of the gasifier for topping combustion has been compared with the one in IGCC, which illustrates that the gasifier of the studied system can be much smaller compared to IGCC. The results of the study will be useful for the future engineering development of advanced solid fuel power generation technologies.


2002 ◽  
Vol 124 (4) ◽  
pp. 757-761 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Wolf ◽  
F. Barone ◽  
J. Yan

This paper investigates the performance of a new power cycle, a so called evaporative biomass air turbine (EvGT-BAT) cycle with gasification for topping combustion. The process integrates an externally fired gas turbine (EFGT), an evaporative gas turbine (EvGT), and biomass gasification. Through such integration, the system may provide the potential for adapting features from different advanced solid-fuel-based power generation technologies, e.g., externally fired gas turbine, integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC), and fluidized bed combustion, thus improving the system performance and reducing the technical difficulties. In the paper, the features of the EvGT-BAT cycle have been addressed. The thermal efficiencies for different integrations of the gasification for topping combustion and the heat recovery have been analyzed. By drying the biomass feedstock, the thermal efficiency of the EvGT-BAT cycle can be increased by more than three percentage points. The impact of the outlet air temperature of the high-temperature heat exchanger has also been studied in the present system. Finally, the size of the gasifier for topping combustion has been compared with the one in IGCC, which illustrates that the gasifier of the studied system can be much smaller compared to IGCC. The results of the study will be useful for the future engineering development of advanced solid fuel power generation technologies.


Author(s):  
Norman Z. Shilling ◽  
Robert M. Jones

Interest in Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) is developing from a need for fuel diversification as a hedge for natural gas price and availability. In IGCC, the gas turbine combustion system is critical to meeting this need. The combustion system also needs to achieve superior environmental performance. This paper discusses specific requirements for IGCC combustion systems that derive from characteristics of gasification fuels and integration with the gasification process. Tradeoffs between system physical design parameters and control strategies must be evaluated in terms of overall functionality of the IGGC process. The key metrics for evaluating “goodness” of design are reliability, availability, maintainability (RAM), robustness to process variability, response to upsets and trips, time to synchronization and startup and shutdown automation. For IGCC, high availability is achieved from the capability of the turbine to robustly co-fire low-calorific synthesis gas with supplementary fuels. Co-firing compensates for shortfalls in gasifier output and maintains continuity of power service during servicing of the gasification plant. Controls need to provide seamless transfers between varying levels of syngas and supplementary fuel, and over the widest range of fuel mixes and power levels. Low calorific fuels provide special challenges to control system design. Variability in syngas composition, temperature and pressure will impact the minimum and maximum nozzle pressure drops and controllability. The effect of fuel constituents on controllability is captured in the modified Wobbe index. Stability and margin against flameout is captured in the upper-to-lower flammability ratio. The paper discusses the restrictions on these parameters for IGCC combustion systems. Control hardware and manifolding necessary with low calorific fuel can potentially conflict with accessibility to the gas turbine. Safe transfers from natural gas to syngas and shutdowns require purge strategies that account for residual energy in ductwork. Finally, the design of the Exxon Singapore IGCC control system is described which provides an extended range of cofiring and load control.


Energy ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 55 ◽  
pp. 977-986 ◽  
Author(s):  
Young Sik Kim ◽  
Sung Ku Park ◽  
Jong Jun Lee ◽  
Do Won Kang ◽  
Tong Seop Kim

2015 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 178
Author(s):  
Mohsen Darabi ◽  
Mohammad Mohammadiun ◽  
Hamid Mohammadiun ◽  
Saeed Mortazavi ◽  
Mostafa Montazeri

<p>Electricity is an indispensable amenity in present society. Among all those energy resources, coal is readily available all over the world and has risen only moderately in price compared with other fuel sources. As a result, coal-fired power plant remains to be a fundamental element of the world's energy supply. IGCC, abbreviation of Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle, is one of the primary designs for the power-generation market from coal-gasification. This work presents a in the proposed process, diluted hydrogen is combusted in a gas turbine. Heat integration is central to the design. Thus far, the SGR process and the HGD unit are not commercially available. To establish a benchmark. Some thermodynamic inefficiencies were found to shift from the gas turbine to the steam cycle and redox system, while the net efficiency remained almost the same. A process simulation was undertaken, using Aspen Plus and the engineering equation solver (EES).The The model has been developed using Aspen Hysys® and Aspen Plus®. Parts of it have been developed in Matlab, which is mainly used for artificial neural network (ANN) training and parameters estimation. Predicted results of clean gas composition and generated power present a good agreement with industrial data. This study is aimed at obtaining a support tool for optimal solutions assessment of different gasification plant configurations, under different input data sets.</p>


Author(s):  
Walter W. Shelton ◽  
Robin W. Ames ◽  
Richard A. Dennis ◽  
Charles W. White ◽  
John E. Plunkett ◽  
...  

The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) provides a worldwide leadership role in the development of advanced fossil fuel-based energy conversion technologies, with a focus on electric power generation with carbon capture and storage (CCS). As part of DOE’s Office of Fossil Energy, the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) implements research, development, and demonstration (RD&D) programs that address the challenges of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. To meet these challenges, NETL evaluates advanced power cycles that will maximize system efficiency and performance, while minimizing CO2 emissions and the costs of CCS. NETL’s Hydrogen Turbine Program has sponsored numerous R&D projects in support of Advanced Hydrogen Turbines (AHT). Turbine systems and components targeted for development include combustor technology, materials research, enhanced cooling technology, coatings development, and more. The R&D builds on existing gas turbine technologies and is intended to develop and test the component technologies and subsystems needed to validate the ability to meet the Turbine Program goals. These technologies are key components of AHTs, which enable overall plant efficiency and cost of electricity (COE) improvements relative to an F-frame turbine-based Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) reference plant equipped with carbon capture (today’s state-of-the-art). This work has also provided the basis for estimating future IGCC plant performance based on a Transformational Hydrogen Turbine (THT) with a higher turbine inlet temperature, enhanced material capabilities, reduced air cooling and leakage, and higher pressure ratios than the AHT. IGCC cases from using system-level AHT and THT gas turbine models were developed for comparisons with an F-frame turbine-based IGCC reference case and for an IGCC pathway study. The IGCC pathway is presented in which the reference case (i.e. includes F-frame turbine) is sequentially-modified through the incorporation of advanced technologies. Advanced technologies are considered to be either 2nd Generation or Transformational, if they are anticipated to be ready for demonstration by 2025 and 2030, respectively. The current results included the THT, additional potential transformational technologies related to IGCC plant sections (e.g. air separation, gasification, gas cleanup, carbon capture, NOx reduction) are being considered by NETL and are topics for inclusion in future reports.


Author(s):  
Weimar Mantilla ◽  
José García ◽  
Rafael Guédez ◽  
Alessandro Sorce

Abstract Under new scenarios with high shares of variable renewable electricity, combined cycle gas turbines (CCGT) are required to improve their flexibility, in terms of ramping capabilities and part-load efficiency, to help balance the power system. Simultaneously, liberalization of electricity markets and the complexity of its hourly price dynamics are affecting the CCGT profitability, leading the need for optimizing its operation. Among the different possibilities to enhance the power plant performance, an inlet air conditioning unit (ICU) offers the benefit of power augmentation and “minimum environmental load” (MEL) reduction by controlling the gas turbine inlet temperature using cold thermal energy storage and a heat pump. Consequently, an evaluation of a CCGT integrated with this inlet conditioning unit including a day-ahead optimized operation strategy was developed in this study. To establish the hourly dispatch of the power plant and the operation mode of the inlet conditioning unit to either cool down or heat up the gas turbine inlet air, a mixed-integer linear optimization (MILP) was formulated using MATLAB, aiming to maximize the operational profit of the plant within a 24-hours horizon. To assess the impact of the proposed unit operating under this dispatch strategy, historical data of electricity and natural gas prices, as well as meteorological data and CO2 emission allowances price, have been used to perform annual simulations of a reference power plant located in Turin, Italy. Furthermore, different equipment capacities and parameters have been investigated to identify trends of the power plant performance. Lastly, a sensitivity analysis on market conditions to test the control strategy response was also considered. Results indicate that the inlet conditioning unit, together with the dispatch optimization, increases the power plant’s operational profit by achieving a wider operational range, particularly important during peak and off-peak periods. For the specific case study, it is estimated that the net present value of the CCGT integrated with the ICU is 0.5% higher than the power plant without the unit. In terms of technical performance, results show that the unit reduces the minimum environmental load by approximately 1.34% and can increase the net power output by 0.17% annually.


1980 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Caruvana ◽  
R. S. Rose ◽  
E. D. Alderson ◽  
G. A. Cincotta

This paper presents a preliminary design of a water-cooled gas turbine capable of operating on coal derived fuels and producing 73 MW when burning low Btu coal gas. Particular emphasis is placed on the critical technology issues of combustion and heat transfer at 2600 deg firing temperature. The recent technology developments; i.e., materials developments, composite construction, water cooling, fuels cleanup, etc., which now make this advanced concept possible are discussed. Detailed descriptions of the hot gas path components, the staged sectoral combustor, the water cooled nozzles and buckets, are described showing the implementation of these recent developments. The component development test program which is underway, is described and where testing results are available, design confirmation is demonstrated. Future plans for the construction of a full scale prototype machine and for design verification testing are presented. An analytical evaluation is included which demonstrates the advantages of the water-cooled gas turbine in an integrated gasification combined cycle.


2016 ◽  
Vol 139 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shi Liu ◽  
Hong Yin ◽  
Yan Xiong ◽  
Xiaoqing Xiao

Heavy duty gas turbines are the core components in the integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) system. Different from the conventional fuel for gas turbine such as natural gas and light diesel, the combustible component acquired from the IGCC system is hydrogen-rich syngas fuel. It is important to modify the original gas turbine combustor or redesign a new combustor for syngas application since the fuel properties are featured with the wide range hydrogen and carbon monoxide mixture. First, one heavy duty gas turbine combustor which adopts natural gas and light diesel was selected as the original type. The redesign work mainly focused on the combustor head and nozzle arrangements. This paper investigated two feasible combustor arrangements for the syngas utilization including single nozzle and multiple nozzles. Numerical simulations are conducted to compare the flow field, temperature field, composition distributions, and overall performance of the two schemes. The obtained results show that the flow structure of the multiple nozzles scheme is better and the temperature distribution inside the combustor is more uniform, and the total pressure recovery is higher than the single nozzle scheme. Through the full scale test rig verification, the combustor redesign with multiple nozzles scheme is acceptable under middle and high pressure combustion test conditions. Besides, the numerical computations generally match with the experimental results.


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