Turbines exhaust gases, useful fuel

Figure 3-19 shows the thermal efficiency of the gas turbine and the Brayton-Rankin cycle (gas turbine exhaust being used in the boiler) based on the LHV of the gas. This figure shows that below 50% of the rated load, the combination cycle is not effective. At full load, it is obvious the benefits one can reap from a combination cycle. Figure 3-20 shows the fuel consumption as a function of the load, and Figure 3-21 shows the amount of steam generated by the recovery boiler. 

The combination of the fuel cell and turbine operates by using the rejected thermal energy and residual fuel from a fuel cell to drive the gas turbine. The fuel cell exhaust gases are mixed and burned, raising the turbine inlet temperature while replacing the conventional combustor of the gas turbine. Use of a recuperator, a metallic gas-to-gas heat exchanger, transfers heat from the gas turbine exhaust to the fuel and air used in the fuel cell. 

Most gas turbine appHcations in the chemical industry are tied to the steam cycle, but the turbines can be integrated anywhere in the process where there is a large requirement for fired fuel. An example is the use of the heat in the gas turbine exhaust as preheated air for ethylene cracking furnaces as shown in Figure 4 (8). 

Cracking reactions are endothermic, 1.6—2.8 MJ/kg (700—1200 BTU/lb) of hydrocarbon converted, with heat supplied by firing fuel gas and/or fuel oil in side-wall or floor burners. Side-wall burners usually give uniform heat distribution, but the capacity of each burner is limited (0.1—1 MW) and hence 40 to 200 burners are required in a single furnace. With modem floor burners, also called hearth burners, uniform heat flux distribution can be obtained for coils as high as 10 m, and these are extensively used in newer designs. The capacity of these burners vary considerably (1—10 MW), and hence only a few burners are required. The selection of burners depends on the type of fuel (gas and/or liquid), source of combustion air (ambient, preheated, or gas turbine exhaust), and required NO levels. 

Instead of gas turbine exhaust, air preheat has been used in some plants to reduce fuel consumption. Flue gas leaving the furnace stack passes through an air preheater, and the preheated air is suppHed to the burners. By using mostly hearth burners, the duct work and the investment cost can be minimised with air preheat and gas turbine exhaust. It is also possible with 100% waH-fired furnaces, and has been proven in commercial operation (34). 

The gas turbine eontrol loop eontrols the Inlet Guide Vanes (IGV) and the Gas Turbine Inlet Temperature (TIT). The TIT is defined as the temperature at the inlet of the first stage turbine nozzle. Presently, in 99% of the units, the inlet temperature is eontrolled by an algorithm, whieh relates the turbine exhaust temperature, or the turbine temperature after the gasifier turbine, the eompressor pressure ratio, the eompressor exit temperature, and the air mass flow to the turbine inlet temperature. New teehnologies are being developed to measure the TIT direetly by the use of pyrometers and other speeialized probes, whieh eould last in these harsh environments. The TIT is eontrolled by the fuel flow and the IGV, whieh eontrols the total air mass... 

Because fuel costs are high, the search is on for processes with higher thermal efficiency and for ways to improve efficiencies of existing processes. One process being emphasized for its high efficiency is the gas turbine combined cycle. The gas turbine exhaust heat makes steam in a waste heat boiler. The steam drives turbines, often used as lielper turbines. References 1, 2, and 3 treat this subject and mention alternate equipment hookups, some in conjunction with coal gasification plants. 

The basic idea of using TCR in a gas turbine is usually to extract more heat from the turbine exhaust gases rather than to reduce substantially the irreversibility of combustion through chemical recuperation of the fuel. One method of TCR involves an overall reaction between the fuel, say methane (CH4), and water vapour, usually produced in a heat recovery steam generator. The heat absorbed in the total process effectively increases... 

As discussed in Section 15.2.2, the gas turbine s main disadvantage is its low efficiency of around 25-35 per cent in open cycle. However, this can be significantly improved by the use of a heat-recovery boiler that converts a good proportion of the otherwise waste heat in the turbine exhaust gases to high-pressure superheated steam, which, in turn, drives a conventional steam turbogenerator for supplementary electrical power. This can increase the overall efficiency to 50 per cent for no further heat input as fuel. 

Figure 16.33 shows a schematic of a simple gas turbine. The machine is essentially a rotary compressor mounted on the same shaft as a turbine. Air enters the compressor where it is compressed before entering a combustion chamber. Here the combustion of fuel increases its temperature. The mixture of air and combustion gases is expanded in the turbine. The input of energy to the combustion chamber allows enough power to be developed in the turbine to both drive the compressor and provide useful power. The performance of the machine is specified in terms of the power output, airflow rate through the machine, efficiency of conversion of heat to power and the temperature of the exhaust. Gas turbines are normally used only for relatively large-scale applications, and will be dealt with in more detail in Chapter 23. 

Heat from all the hot exhaust gas streams is used for steam generation to drive the steam turbine. Thus, the final products from the GE fuel-flexible process are pure hydrogen from the first reactor, C02 from the second reactor, and heat for electricity production from the third reactor. A portion of the solids in the chemical loops needs to be purged to avoid ash accumulation and maintain solid reactivity (Rizeq et al., 2002). The overall energy conversion efficiency for the GE fuel-flexible process is estimated to be 60% (Rizeq et al., 2003). 

Biomass gasifiers have the potential to be up to twice as efficient as using conventional boilers to generate electricity. For even greater efficiency, heat from the gas turbine exhaust can be used to generate additional electricity with a steam cycle. These improvements in efficiency can make environmentally clean biomass energy available at costs more competitive with fossil fuels. 

There can be many different cycle configurations for the hybrid fuel cell/turbine plant. In the topping mode described above, the fuel cell serves as the combustor for the gas turbine, while the gas turbine is the balance of plant for the fuel cell, with some generation. In the bottoming mode, the fuel cell uses the gas turbine exhaust as air supply, while the gas turbine is the balance of plant. In indirect systems, high-temperature heat exchangers are used. 

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