Svend Bram

Exergy analysis tools for Aspen applied to evaporative cycle design

Abstract A general two-step approach for cycle development and finding optimal cycle layouts is discussed. Tools for applying this approach with ASPEN+ are presented. The technique is applied to evaporative gas-turbine cycles with one intercooler stage, no reheat and no steam-turbine. In a first step, several evaporative cycle layouts are optimized by considering one single black box evaporative heat recovery system. The feasibility of each cycle is quantified by the exergy destruction and exergetic efficiency of the black box heat recovery system. In a second step, after cycle optimization, insights provided by a composite curve analysis of the black box are used to guide the design for a feasible evaporative heat exchanger network. All cycle simulations are performed with ASPEN+. Two recently home-made ASPEN+ subroutines are presented. One introduces the exergy concept in ASPEN+, the other generates composite curve, hence avoiding the use of ADVENT™. The analysis shows that optimal evaporative gas-turbine cycles yield performances similar to that of combined cycles. A new heat recovery system is disclosed (REVAP®), where the intercooler heat, the aftercooler heat and the turbine exhaust heat are recovered simultaneously.

REVAP® Cycle: A New Evaporative Cycle Without Saturation Tower

A new evaporative cycle layout is disclosed that is shown to have a performance similar to the HAT cycle, but where the saturation tower has been eliminated. This new cycle is a result of a combined exergetic and composite curve analysis discussed in a previous paper, assuming one intercooler and no reheat (De Ruyck et al., 1995). The new cycle uses two-phase flow heat exchange in the misty regime, which is a well-known process. Existing aeroderivative gas turbine equipment can be adapted for application of this cycle, which therefore needs a minimum of development.

Status of external firing of biomass in gas turbines

Abstract Dry biomass can be used as a fuel for gas turbines in different ways: it can be gasified or pyrolysed for internal combustion or it can be used as an external heat source. This heat source can be used to replace the combustor, to preheat the ccombustion air, or eventually to feed a primary reformer to yield hydrogen for the gas turbine. The present paper discusses the use of biomass as on external heat source from both a technical and an economic point of view. Past, present, and future projects are discussed. Possibilities range from cogeneration with microturbines where the biomass can cover a major part of the primary energy, to combined cycle plants where biomass can replace a small percentage of the natural gas. A microturbine EFGT project under construction is disclosed.

Exergy analysis and design of mixed CO2/steam gas turbine cycles

Abstract The capturing and disposal of CO 2 from power plant exhaust gases is a possible route for reducing CO 2 emissions. The present paper investigates the full recirculation of exhaust gases in a gas turbine cycle, combined with the injection of steam or water. Such recirculation leads to an exhaust gas with very high CO 2 concentration (95% or more). Different regenerative cycle layouts are proposed and analyzed for efficiency, exergy destruction and technical feasibility. Pinch Technology methods are next applied to find the best configuration for heat regeneration and injection of water. From this analysis, dual pressure evaporation with water injection in the intercooler emerges as an interesting option.

T100 Micro Gas Turbine Converted to Full Humid Air Operation: Test Rig Evaluation

Micro Gas Turbines (mGTs) are very cost effective in small-scale Combined Heat and Power (CHP) applications. By simultaneously producing electric and thermal power, a global CHP efficiency of 80 % can be reached. However the low electric efficiency of 30 % makes the mGT profitability strongly dependent on the heat demand. This makes the mGT less attractive for applications with a non-continuous heat demand like domestic applications. Turning the mGT into a micro Humid Air Turbine (mHAT) is a way to decouple the power production from the heat demand. This new approach allows the mGT to keep running with water injection and thus higher electric efficiency during periods with no or lower heat demand. Simulations of the mHAT predicted a substantial electric efficiency increase due to the introduction of water in the cycle. The mHAT concept with saturation tower was however never tested experimentally. In this paper, we present the results of our first experiments on a modified Turbec T100 mGT. As a proof of concept, the mGT has been equipped with a spray saturation tower to humidify the compressed air. The primary goal of this preliminary experiments was to evaluate the new test rig and identify its shortcomings. The secondary goal was to gain insight in the mHAT control, more precisely the start-up strategy. Two successful test runs of more than 1 hour with water injection at 60 kWe were performed, resulting in stable mGT operation at constant rotation speed and pressure ratio. Electric efficiency was only slightly increased from 24.3 % to 24.6 % and 24.9 % due to the limited amount of injected water. These changes are however in the range of the accuracy on the measurements. The major shortcomings of the test rig were compressor surge margin reduction and the limited energy transfer in the saturation tower. Surge margin was reduced due to a pressure loss over the humidification unit and piping network, resulting in possible compressor surge. Bleeding air to increase surge margin was the solution to prevent compressor surge, but it lowers the electric efficiency by approximately 4 % absolute. The limited energy transfer was a result of a low water injection temperature and mass flow rate. The low energy transfer causes the limited efficiency increase. The first experiments on the mHAT test rig indicated its shortcomings but also its potential. Stable mGT operation was obtained and electric efficiency remained stable. By increasing the amount of injected water, the electric efficiency can be increased.Copyright

T100 Micro Gas Turbine Converted to Full Humid Air Operation: A Thermodynamic Performance Analysis

Waste heat recovery has become more and more important for the profitability of small-scale Combined Heat and Power (CHP) plants like micro Gas Turbines (mGTs). Adding a saturation tower to the mGT unit is such a waste heat recovery route. The cycle includes the saturation tower after the compressor to humidify the compressed air. Simulations show that this cycle, known as the micro Humid Air Turbine (mHAT), increases mGT electric efficiency by 7% relatively (2% absolute), improving the general economic performance. The mHAT concept with saturation tower was however never tested experimentally. To show the potential of the cycle, the Turbec T100 mGT of the University of Brussels was converted into a mHAT cycle by adding a spray saturation tower to the system. In this paper, we present the results of several water injection tests in the T100 mGT at part and nearly nominal load. The water injection experiments resulted in stable mGT operation at reduced rotational speed and pressure ratio and increased electric efficiency. Experimental results showed a reduced fuel mass flow rate by 4.3% and a relative electric efficiency increase of 4.8% for the different experiments. In addition, the impact of the water on the other turbine parameters has been studied.Copyright

Transient Simulations of a T100 Micro Gas Turbine Converted Into a Micro Humid Air Turbine

Micro Gas Turbines (mGTs) have arisen as a promising technology for Combined Heat and Power (CHP) thanks to their overall energy efficiencies of 80% (30% electrical + 50% thermal) and the advantages they offer with respect to internal combustion engines. The main limitation of mGTs lies in their rather low electrical efficiency: whenever there is no heat demand, the exhaust gases are directly blown off and the efficiency of the unit is reduced to 30%. Operation in such conditions is generally not economical and can eventually lead to shutdown of the machine. To address this issue, the mGT cycle can be modified so that in moments of low heat demand the heat in the exhaust gases is used to warm up water which is then re-injected in the cycle, thereby increasing the electrical efficiency. The introduction of a saturation tower allows for water injection in mGTs: the resulting cycle is known as a micro Humid Air Turbine (mHAT).The static performance of the mGT Turbec T100 working as an mHAT has been characterised through previous numerical and experimental work at Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB). However, the dynamic behaviour of such a complex system is key to protect the components during transient operation. Thus, we have modelled the Turbec T100 mHAT with the TRANSEO tool in order to simulate how the cycle performs when the demanded power output fluctuates. Steady-state results showed that when operating with water injection, the electrical efficiency of the unit is incremented by 3.4% absolute. The transient analysis revealed that power increase ramps higher than 4.2 kW/s or power decrease ramps lower than 3.5 kW/s (absolute value) lead to oscillations which enter the unstable operation region of the compressor. Since power ramps in the controller of the Turbec T100 mGT are limited to 2kW/s, it should be safe to vary the power output of the T100 mHAT when operating with water injection.Copyright

A comparison between the combustion of natural gas and partially reformed natural gas in an atmospheric lean premixed turbine-type combustor

A small-scale combustor was set up to analyze the combustion of natural gas and two mixtures of partially reformed natural gas. The partially reformed mixtures can be formed using biomass to feed the endothermic reforming reactions. Before combusting these mixtures in a gas turbine, experimental work was done on a primary zone combustion chamber to examine the combustor behavior when switching from natural gas to the wet and dry hydrogen-rich mixtures. Temperature profiles, flame location and ignition limits have been investigated for a variety of stoichiometries and several air temperatures. Possible problems concerning blow-off, flashback, increased pollutant products and excessive liner wall temperatures were analyzed. It was concluded that the switch in operation from natural gas to these wet and/or dry partially reformed natural gas mixtures lowers the blow-off limits while maintaining similar liner wall temperature profiles. Furthermore, no significant changes in pollutant production were observed. Flame area, shape and position display considerable differences in combustion regime for the three tested fuel types.

Experimental Investigation of the Effect of Steam Dilution on the Combustion of Methane for Humidified Micro Gas Turbine Applications

ABSTRACT Water introduction in the micro gas turbine (mGT) cycle is considered the optimal route for waste heat recovery and flexibility increase of such a small-scale combined heat and power (CHP) unit. However, humidification of the combustion air in a mGT affects combustion stability, efficiency, and exhaust gas emissions. This can lead to a non-stable, incomplete combustion, which will affect the global efficiency negatively. Additionally, CO emissions will increase. The non-stable, incomplete combustion might result in an engine shutdown due to a flameout. To study the impact of humidification on the combustion of methane in a humidified mGT, we performed combustion experiments in an atmospheric, variable-swirl, premixed combustion chamber. The results of these experiments are summarized in this article. The effect of the humidification of the combustion air was simulated by adding steam to the combustion air. The impact of the steam injection on methane combustion has been studied at variable swirl number and steam fraction. Experimental results showed a linearly increasing lean blowout (LBO) equivalence ratio for methane combustion with increasing steam fraction. In addition, CO emission levels started to rise at higher equivalence ratio for higher steam fractions compared to combustion under dry conditions. The CO emission levels at stable combustion were however still the same order of magnitude as for the dry combustion. The swirl number has little effect on the LBO limit. Final results indicated the possibility to maintain complete and stable combustion under humidified conditions with low CO emissions at higher equivalence ratio compared to the dry combustion.

A Study on the Performance of Steam Injection in a Typical Micro Gas Turbine

Microturbines are very promising for small-scale Combined Heat and Power (CHP) production. Due to the simultaneous production of heat and power, the Turbec T100 microturbine CHP System has the potential of realizing considerable energy savings, compared to classic separate production. The power production however is strictly bound to the heat production. A reduction in heat demand will mostly lead to a shutdown of the unit, since electric efficiency is too low and not competitive with electricity from the net. The reduced amount of running hours has a severe negative impact on the lifetime profitability of the unit. A solution is proposed by injecting auto-generated steam in the T100 micro Gas Turbine (mGT), in order to increase electric efficiency during periods with low heat demand. By doing so, a forced shut down of the unit can be avoided.The goal of this study was to investigate and quantify the beneficial effect of steam injection on the performance of a typical recuperated mGT. This paper reports on an extended series of steam injection experiments performed on a Turbec T100 microturbine. Previous experiments revealed the necessity for a more accurate determination of the mass flow rate and more precise compressor characteristics. Therefore the test rig was equipped with an additional oxygen analyzer in the exhaust and a pressure gauge to allow for the accurate determination of the pressure ratio. Experiments with steam injection in the compressor outlet of the T100 were performed to demonstrate and validate the benefits of introducing steam in the cycle and to verify its ability to handle the injected steam. It is expected that the mGT will produce a constant power at reduced shaft speed and increased electric efficiency.Steam injection experiments validated the increase in electric efficiency during stable operation of the mGT. At nominal 100 kWe power production, the replacement of 3.5% of the air mass flow with steam (adiabatic steam injection limit) resulted in an absolute electric efficiency increase of 1.7%. The experiments successfully demonstrated the potential for steam/water injection in the T100 mGT.Copyright