Impact of Fuel Composition on Gas Turbine Engine Performance

An industrial gas turbine can run on a wide variety of fuels to produce power. Depending on the fuel composition and resulting properties, specifically the hydrogen-carbon ratio, the available output power, operability, and emissions of the engine can vary significantly. This study is an examination of how different fuels can affect the output characteristics of Solar Turbines Incorporated industrial engines, and highlights the benefits of using fuels with higher hydrogen-carbon ratios including higher power, higher efficiency, and lower carbon emissions. This study also highlights critical combustion operability issues that need to be considered such as autoignition, flashback, blowout and combustion instabilities that become more prominent when varying the hydrogen-carbon ratio significantly. Our intent is to provide a clear and concise reference to edify the reader examining attributes of fuels with different properties and how natural gas is superior to other fossil fuels with lower hydrogen carbon ratios in terms of carbon emissions, power, and efficiency.

Assessment of Biofuels/Jet A-1 Blends to Meet Cold Start and Altitude Relight Requirements

The certification of new fuels for aircraft applications requires preliminary extensive investigations for the most critical combustion phases. Especially, cold start and altitude relight of an aircraft gas turbine and thus its operating envelope could potentially be affected by the use of new fuels. To assess such effects, a test rig is designed using two different air-assist pressure atomizers. The ignition envelopes for seven different blends with a minimum of 50% Jet A-1 are compared to that of pure Jet A-1. Variation in combustor aerodynamics is accounted for by considering various pressure drops across the combustion chamber, and the ignition envelope is retrieved by finding the minimum and maximum fuel-air ratios leading to a successful ignition event. Effects of fuel physical properties, pressure and temperature which are critical factors for a successful ignition event are also investigated. To simulate cold start and altitude relight, a heat exchanger is used to cool air and fuel, while a bleed valve mounted between the combustor and a steam ejector is used to regulate the operating pressure. Globally, cold start for temperatures ranging from 10°C to −40°C, and the altitude relight for operating altitudes ranging from 4 572 m to 10 668 m, show that the lean limit for the seven blends of fuels are in some cases as good as, and for the other cases better than the pure Jet A-1. Some discrepancies are noted for altitude relight at 9 161 m and 10 688 m, for some biofuels with a minimum of 50% Jet A-1, suggesting a need of real engine testing before final approval. Apart from these isolate cases, almost all the biofuel blends with a minimum of 50% Jet A-1 are truly “drop-in” fuels and should qualify for aviation use since they do not present any negative impact on the typical engine components used in the test program. Furthermore, ASTM D1655 requirements are also achieved for all test conditions. Biofuel blends with less than 50% Jet A-1 are found to always be better than the biofuel blends with minimum of 50% Jet A-1 and, it is recommended to modify ASTM D1655 to include them as acceptable “drop-in” fuels.

Alternative Fuel Considerations for Gas Turbine Combustion

Gas turbines have the advantage of being able to operate on a wide range of fuels. Given the escalating cost of conventional fuel sources such as natural gas, there is increasing interest in, and implementation of, systems burning lower cost fuel gases. There are significant combustor performance effects when utilizing different fuels. Flame stability, emissions, durability, and combustion dynamics are critical combustion parameters which must be controlled when varying fuel constituents. Significant emphasis continues to be placed on the use of liquefied natural gas (LNG) as well as syngas derived from coal and petroleum coke. The elimination of carbon from gaseous coal based fuels also offers the possibility of burning hydrogen to reduce or eliminate carbon dioxide emissions. Existing stringent emissions permits must be met by power plants utilizing these different fuels. There is also a requirement for the flexible use of these fuels allowing power plants to switch real time between fuel sources using the same combustion hardware, without affecting commercial generating schedules. This highlights the requirement for fuel preparation and control skids, as well as robust combustion systems, for reliable plant operations. The objective of this work is to review fuel properties which affect combustion and consider the methods and tools used to characterize the subsequent combustion characteristics. The work focuses on gaseous fuel premixed combustion. A full scale high pressure combustion test stand was used to evaluate the effects of various gaseous fuels on given gas turbine combustor configurations. Data collected through the testing of natural gas containing heavy hydrocarbons, as might be expected from liquefied LNG or refinery offgas, and hydrogen based syngas fuel blends with natural gas to simulate various coal gas blends, is presented with conclusions drawn based upon the critical combustion parameters mentioned above. A methodology for fuel characterization and combustor qualification for the acceptable operation of gas turbine combustors on various gaseous fuels is discussed. The practical implementation of multi-fuel systems on commercially operating engines is also discussed, with emphasis on diluent free premixed systems.