Combustion Technology for Low-Emissions Gas-Turbines: Some Recent Modeling Results

1996 ◽  
Vol 118 (3) ◽  
pp. 201-208 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. M. Correa ◽  
I. Z. Hu ◽  
A. K. Tolpadi

Computer modeling of low-emissions gas-turbine combustors requires inclusion of finite-rate chemistry and its intractions with turbulence. The purpose of this review is to outline some recent developments in and applications of the physical models of combusting flows. The models reviewed included the sophisticated and computationally intensive velocity-composition pdf transport method, with applications shown for both a laboratory flame and for a practical gas-turbine combustor, as well as a new and computationally fast PSR-microstructure-based method, with applications shown for both premixed and nonpremixed flames. Calculations are compared with laserbased spectroscopic data where available. The review concentrates on natural-gas-fueled machines, and liquid-fueled machines operating at high power, such that spray vaporization effects can be neglected. Radiation and heat transfer is also outside the scope of this review.

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

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 on the coal gasification combined cycle power generation system has started in 1985 by the national government and Japanese electric companies. In this program, is planned to develop the 1300 °C class gas turbines. However, in the case of using a hot type fuel gas cleaning system, the coal gas 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 is one of the most important research subjects. This paper describes low fuel–NOx combustion technology for 1300 °C class gas turbine combustor using low BTU coal gas fuel. Authors have showed that the rich–lean combustion method is effective to decrease fuel–NOx (1). In general in rich–lean combustion method, the fuel–NOx decreases, as the primary zone becomes richer. But flameholding becomes very difficult in even rich primary zone. For this reason this combustor was designed to have a flameholder with pilot flame. Combustion tests were conducted by using a full scale combustor used in 150 MW gas turbine at the atmospheric pressure condition.


Energies ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. 3521 ◽  
Author(s):  
Panagiotis Stathopoulos

Conventional gas turbines are approaching their efficiency limits and performance gains are becoming increasingly difficult to achieve. Pressure Gain Combustion (PGC) has emerged as a very promising technology in this respect, due to the higher thermal efficiency of the respective ideal gas turbine thermodynamic cycles. Up to date, only very simplified models of open cycle gas turbines with pressure gain combustion have been considered. However, the integration of a fundamentally different combustion technology will be inherently connected with additional losses. Entropy generation in the combustion process, combustor inlet pressure loss (a central issue for pressure gain combustors), and the impact of PGC on the secondary air system (especially blade cooling) are all very important parameters that have been neglected. The current work uses the Humphrey cycle in an attempt to address all these issues in order to provide gas turbine component designers with benchmark efficiency values for individual components of gas turbines with PGC. The analysis concludes with some recommendations for the best strategy to integrate turbine expanders with PGC combustors. This is done from a purely thermodynamic point of view, again with the goal to deliver design benchmark values for a more realistic interpretation of the cycle.


Author(s):  
Oanh Nguyen ◽  
Scott Samuelsen

In view of increasingly stringent NOx emissions regulations on stationary gas turbines, lean combustion offers an attractive option to reduce reaction temperatures and thereby decrease NOx production. Under lean operation, however, the reaction is vulnerable to blowout. It is herein postulated that pilot hydrogen dopant injection, discretely located, can enhance the lean blowout performance without sacrificing overall performance. The present study addresses this hypothesis in a research combustor assembly, operated at atmospheric pressure, and fired on natural gas using rapid mixing injection, typical of commercial units. Five hydrogen injector scenarios are investigated. The results show that (1) pilot hydrogen dopant injection, discretely located, leads to improved lean blowout performance and (2) the location of discrete injection has a significant impact on the effectiveness of the doping strategy.


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.


2021 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Vedant Dwivedi ◽  
Srikanth Hari ◽  
S. M. Kumaran ◽  
B. V. S. S. S. Prasad ◽  
Vasudevan Raghavan

Abstract Experimental and numerical study of flame and emission characteristics in a tubular micro gas turbine combustor is reported. Micro gas turbines are used for distributed power (DP) generation using alternative fuels in rural areas. The combustion and emission characteristics from the combustor have to be studied for proper design using different fuel types. In this study methane, representing fossil natural gas, and biogas, a renewable fuel that is a mixture of methane and carbon-dioxide, are used. Primary air flow (with swirl component) and secondary aeration have been varied. Experiments have been conducted to measure the exit temperatures. Turbulent reactive flow model is used to simulate the methane and biogas flames. Numerical results are validated against the experimental data. Parametric studies to reveal the effects of primary flow, secondary flow and swirl have been conducted and results are systematically presented. An analysis of nitric-oxides emission for different fuels and operating conditions has been presented subsequently.


Fluids ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 126 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kai Zhang ◽  
Ali Ghobadian ◽  
Jamshid M. Nouri

The scale-resolving simulation of a practical gas turbine combustor is performed using a partially premixed finite-rate chemistry combustion model. The combustion model assumes finite-rate chemistry by limiting the chemical reaction rate with flame speed. A comparison of the numerical results with the experimental temperature and species mole fraction clearly showed the superiority of the shear stress transport, K-omega, scale adaptive turbulence model (SSTKWSAS). The model outperforms large eddy simulation (LES) in the primary region of the combustor, probably for two reasons. First, the lower amount of mesh employed in the simulation for the industrial-size combustor does not fit the LES’s explicit mesh size dependency requirement, while it is sufficient for the SSTKWSAS simulation. Second, coupling the finite-rate chemistry method with the SSTKWSAS model provides a more reasonable rate of chemical reaction than that predicted by the fast chemistry method used in LES simulation. Other than comparing with the LES data available in the literature, the SSTKWSAS-predicted result is also compared comprehensively with that obtained from the model based on the unsteady Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (URANS) simulation approach. The superiority of the SSTKWSAS model in resolving large eddies is highlighted. Overall, the present study emphasizes the effectiveness and efficiency of coupling a partially premixed combustion model with a scale-resolving simulation method in predicting a swirl-stabilized, multi-jets turbulent flame in a practical, complex gas turbine combustor configuration.


Author(s):  
R. A. Dalla Betta ◽  
J. C. Schlatter ◽  
S. G. Nickolas ◽  
D. K. Yee ◽  
T. Shoji

A catalytic combustion system has been developed which feeds full fuel and air to the catalyst but avoids exposure of the catalyst to the high temperatures responsible for deactivation and thermal shock fracture of the supporting substrate. The combustion process is initiated by the catalyst and is completed by homogeneous combustion in the post catalyst region where the highest temperatures are obtained. This has been demonstrated in subscale test rigs at pressures up to 14 atmospheres and temperatures above 1300°C (2370°F). At pressures and gas linear velocities typical of gas turbine combustors, the measured emissions from the catalytic combustion system are NOx < 1 ppm, CO < 2 ppm and UHC < 2 ppm, demonstrating the capability to achieve ultra low NOx and at the same time low CO and UHC.


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.


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