Sequential Combustion in Ansaldo Energia Gas Turbines: The Technology Enabler for CO2-Free, Highly Efficient Power Production Based on Hydrogen

Author(s):  
Andrea Ciani ◽  
John P. Wood ◽  
Anders Wickström ◽  
Geir J. Rørtveit ◽  
Rosetta Steeneveldt ◽  
...  

Abstract Today gas turbines and combined cycle power plants play an important role in power generation and in the light of increasing energy demand, their role is expected to grow alongside renewables. In addition, the volatility of renewables in generating and dispatching power entails a new focus on electricity security. This reinforces the importance of gas turbines in guaranteeing grid reliability by compensating for the intermittency of renewables. In order to achieve the Paris Agreement’s goals, power generation must be decarbonized. This is where hydrogen produced from renewables or with CCS (Carbon Capture and Storage) comes into play, allowing totally CO2-free combustion. Hydrogen features the unique capability to store energy for medium to long storage cycles and hence could be used to alleviate seasonal variations of renewable power generation. The importance of hydrogen for future power generation is expected to increase due to several factors: the push for CO2-free energy production is calling for various options, all resulting in the necessity of a broader fuel flexibility, in particular accommodating hydrogen as a future fuel feeding gas turbines and combined cycle power plants. Hydrogen from methane reforming is pursued, with particular interest within energy scenarios linked with carbon capture and storage, while the increased share of renewables requires the storage of energy for which hydrogen is the best candidate. Compared to natural gas the main challenge of hydrogen combustion is its increased reactivity resulting in a decrease of engine performance for conventional premix combustion systems. The sequential combustion technology used within Ansaldo Energia’s GT36 and GT26 gas turbines provides for extra freedom in optimizing the operation concept. This sequential combustion technology enables low emission combustion at high temperatures with particularly high fuel flexibility thanks to the complementarity between its first stage, stabilized by flame propagation and its second (sequential) stage, stabilized by auto-ignition. With this concept, gas turbines are envisaged to be able to provide reliable, dispatchable, CO2-free electric power. In this paper, an overview of hydrogen production (grey, blue, and green hydrogen), transport and storage are presented targeting a CO2-free energy system based on gas turbines. A detailed description of the test infrastructure, handling of highly reactive fuels is given with specific aspects of the large amounts of hydrogen used for the full engine pressure tests. Based on the results discussed at last year’s Turbo Expo (Bothien et al. GT2019-90798), further high pressure test results are reported, demonstrating how sequential combustion with novel operational concepts is able to achieve the lowest emissions, highest fuel and operational flexibility, for very high combustor exit temperatures (H-class) with unprecedented hydrogen contents.

Author(s):  
Ioannis Hadjipaschalis ◽  
Costas Christou ◽  
Andreas Poullikkas

In this work, a technical, economic and environmental analysis concerning the use of three major power generation plant types including pulverized coal, integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) and natural gas combined cycle, with or without carbon dioxide (CO2) capture and storage (CCS) integration, is carried out. For the analysis, the IPP optimization software is used in which the electricity unit cost and the CO2 avoidance cost from the various candidate power generation technologies is calculated. The analysis indicates that the electricity unit cost of IGCC technology with CCS integration is the least cost option with the lowest CO2 avoidance cost of all candidate technologies with CCS integration. Further investigation concerning the effect of the loan interest rate on the economic performance of the candidate plants revealed that up to a value of loan interest of approximately 5.7%, the IGCC plant with CCS retains the lowest electricity unit cost. Above this level, the natural gas combined cycle plant with post-combustion CCS becomes more economically attractive.


2007 ◽  
Vol 1041 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roberto Dones ◽  
Christian Bauer ◽  
Thomas Heck ◽  
Oliver Mayer-Spohn ◽  
Markus Blesl

AbstractThe NEEDS project of the European Commission (2004-2008) continues the ExternE series, aiming at improving and integrating external cost assessment, LCA, and energy-economy modeling, using multi-criteria decision analysis for technology roadmap up to year 2050. The LCA covers power systems suitable for Europe. The paper presents environmental inventories and cumulative results for selected representative evolutionary hard coal and lignite power technologies, namely the Ultra-Supercritical Pulverized Combustion (USC-PC) and Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) technologies. The power units are modeled with and without Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS). The three main technology paths for CO2 capture are represented, namely pre-combustion, post-combustion, and oxy-fuel combustion. Pipeline transport and storage in geological formations like saline aquifers and depleted gas reservoirs, which are the most likely solutions to be implemented in Europe, are modeled for assumed average conditions. The entire energy chains from fuel extraction through, when applicable, the ultimate sequestration of CO2, are assessed, using ecoinvent as background LCA database.The results show that adding CCS to fossil power plants, although resulting in a large net decrease of the CO2 effluents to the atmosphere per unit of electricity, is likely to produce substantially more GHG than claimed by near-zero emission power plant promoters when the entire energy chain is accounted for, especially for post-combustion capture technologies and hard coal as a fuel. Besides, the lower net power plant efficiencies lead to higher consumption rate of non-renewable fossil fuel. Furthermore, consideration of the full spectrum of environmental burdens besides greenhouse gas (GHG) results in a less definite picture of the energy chain with CCS than obtained by just focusing on GHG reduction.


Author(s):  
Giovanni Cerri ◽  
Carmine Basilicata ◽  
Ambra Giovannelli

Economic reasons, leading to the use of coal and the environmental concerns, call for clean technologies for the electric power production. Accordingly the adoption of Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) plants with Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) has been pushed. Such a technology is promising but it still shows some critical aspects. Some of them are related to stable and controllable operations of commercially available Gas Turbines (GTs) designed to be fed with Natural Gas (NG) once the original fuel is replaced by the hydrogen-rich syngas produced in an IGCC-CCS plant. The thermo-physical properties of the H2-rich syngas require investigations and modifications of the combustor and of the turbomachines to meet stable and safe GT behaviour. Such properties strongly affect the matching between GT compressor and expander. To run the GT with the syngas, various options can be taken into account. Some of them do not require GT flow function modifications, while other options involve compressor and expander structural changes. In the present paper some compressor modifications that can be adopted to maintain an F Class GT performance and stability are explored. Such modifications have been analysed by means of a high fidelity quasi-one-dimensional model based on an Elemental Component Finite Volume approach for the GT sizing and analysis. Results have been compared and deeply discussed.


Author(s):  
M. Sato ◽  
T. Abe ◽  
T. Ninomiya ◽  
T. Nakata ◽  
T. Yoshine ◽  
...  

From the view point of future coal utilization technology for the thermal power generation systems, the coal gasification combined cycle system has drawn special interest recently. In the coal gasification combined cycle power generation system, it is necessary to develop a high temperature gas turbine combustor using a low-BTU gas (LBG) which has high thermal efficiency and low emissions. In Japan a development program of the coal gasification combined cycle power generation system has started in 1985 by the national government and Japanese electric companies. In this program, 1300°C class gas turbines will be developed. If the fuel gas cleaning system is a hot type, the coal gaseous fuel to be supplied to gas turbines will contain ammonia. Ammonia will be converted to nitric oxides in the combustion process in gas turbines. Therefore, low fuel-NOx combustion technology will be one of the most important research subjects. This paper describes low fuel-NOx combustion technology for 1300°C class gas turbine combustors using coal gaseous low-BTU fuel as well as combustion characteristics and carbon monoxide emission characteristics. Combustion tests were conducted using a full-scale combustor used for the 150 MW gas turbine at the atmospheric pressure. Furthermore, high pressure combustion tests were conducted using a half-scale combustor used for the 1 50 MW gas turbine.


2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 4400 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kyriaki Kelektsoglou

As the demand for the reduction of global emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) increases, the need for anthropogenic CO2 emission reductions becomes urgent. One promising technology to this end, is carbon capture and storage (CCS). This paper aims to provide the current state-of-the-art of CO2 capure, transport, and storage and focuses on mineral carbonation, a novel method for safe and permanent CO2 sequestration which is based on the reaction of CO2 with calcium or magnesium oxides or hydroxides to form stable carbonate materials. Current commercial scale projects of CCS around Europe are outlined, demonstrating that only three of them are in operation, and twenty-one of them are in pilot phase, including the only one case of mineral carbonation in Europe the case of CarbFix in Iceland. This paper considers the necessity of CO2 sequestration in Greece as emissions of about 64.6 million tons of CO2 annually, originate from the lignite fired power plants. A real case study concerning the mineral storage of CO2 in Greece has been conducted, demonstrating the applicability of several geological forms around Greece for mineral carbonation. The study indicates that Mount Pindos ophiolite and Vourinos ophiolite complex could be a promising means of CO2 sequestration with mineral carbonation. Further studies are needed in order to confirm this aspect.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document