Siegfried Forster

A Low NOx Combustion System and a Ceramic Cross Flow Heat Exchanger for Small Gas Turbines

A new low NOx oil-combustion system with superheated steam fuel evaporation prior to combustion has been found especially feasible for open cycle gas turbines with high turbine inlet temperatures and ceramic cross flow heat exchanger.The actual state of development of both the low NOx light fuel-oil combustion system and ceramic heat exchanger elements, especially the cross flow type, is outlined in this paper. The use of this combustion system results in considerably lower combustion temperatures in the primary combustion zone, reducing the NOx-production even at high air temperatures when the air is preheated in the heat exchanger. The water vapour used for the evaporation of the fuel oil before combustion has an improving effect on the cycle efficiency comparable to the Cheng-dual-fluid-cycle. Illustrative evaluations for a gas turbine cycle for a shaft power of 70 kW are given.Copyright