Comparison between externally fired gas turbine and gasifier-gas turbine system for the olive oil industry

The olive oil industry generates during the extraction process several solid wastes as olive tree leaves and prunings, exhausted pomace and olive pits. These renewable wastes could be used for power and heat applications. The aim of this paper is to compare the performance of two small-scale CHP systems: a gasification- gas turbine system and an EFGT (externally fired gas turbine system). For this reason, several parameters have been calculated: generated heat and power, electric and overall efficiencies, biomass consumption, exergy efficiency, optimum pressure ratio, etc. These systems provide 30 kW_e and about 60kW_th. Simulation results show that the electrical and overall efficiencies achieved in EFGT system (19.1% and 59.3%, respectively) are significantly higher than those obtained in the gasification plant (12.3% and 45.4%). The proposed CHP systems have been modeled using Cycle-Tempo^® software.     

Gas turbine steam injection and combined power cycles using fog inlet cooling and biomass fuel: A thermodynamic assessment

The results of energy and exergy analyses of two biomass integrated steam injection cycles and combined power cycles are reported. Fog cooling, steam injection and adding steam turbine cycles to gas turbine cycles can enhance the performance of power generation systems. Even with its lower heat value, biomass can be substituted for fossil fuels. The performances of the cycles are assessed under the same conditions. The assessments show that the combined cycle has a higher efficiency at lower values of compressor pressure ratio but the steam injection plant is advantageous at higher pressure ratio values. The steam injection plant has a higher net power under the same conditions, while the exergy loss rate is higher for the combined cycle at all pressure ratios. But the exergy destruction rate is higher for the steam injection cycle at lower compressor pressure ratios, and for the combined cycle at higher pressure ratios.     

Exergy analysis and optimization of a biomass gasification, solid oxide fuel cell and micro gas turbine hybrid system

A hybrid plant producing combined heat and power (CHP) from biomass by use of a two-stage gasification concept, solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC) and a micro gas turbine was considered for optimization. The hybrid plant represents a sustainable and efficient alternative to conventional decentralized CHP plants. A clean product gas was produced by the demonstrated two-stage gasifier, thus only simple gas conditioning was necessary prior to the SOFC stack. The plant was investigated by thermodynamic modeling combining zero-dimensional component models into complete system-level models. Energy and exergy analyses were applied. Focus in this optimization study was heat management, and the optimization efforts resulted in a substantial gain of approximately 6% in the electrical efficiency of the plant. The optimized hybrid plant produced approximately 290 kW_e at an electrical efficiency of 58.2% based on lower heating value (LHV).     

Exergy analysis of synthetic natural gas production method from biomass

The paper presents the results of exergy analysis for a biomass-to-synthetic natural gas (SNG) conversion process. The presented study is based on wood gasification, which is analysed for different gasification conditions like temperature and/or pressure. The analysed temperature was varied in the range from 650 to 800 °C and the pressure range was from 1 to 15 bar. The main process units of biomass-to-SNG conversion technology are gasifier, gas cleaning, synthesis gas compression, CH₄ synthesis and final SNG conditioning. The results showed that the largest exergy losses take place in the biomass gasifier, CH₄ synthesis part and CO₂ capture unit. The overall exergetic efficiency of the biomass-to-SNG process was estimated in the range of about 69.5–71.8%.     

Energetic and exergetic performance analyses of a combined heat and power plant with absorption inlet cooling and evaporative aftercooling

In this paper, exergy method is applied to analyze the gas turbine cycle cogeneration with inlet air cooling and evaporative aftercooling of the compressor discharge. The exergy destruction rate in each component of cogeneration is evaluated in detail. The effects of some main parameters on the exergy destruction and exergy efficiency of the cycle are investigated. The most significant exergy destruction rates in the cycle are in combustion chamber, heat recovery steam generator and regenerative heat exchanger. The overall pressure ratio and turbine inlet temperature have significant effect on exergy destruction in most of the components of cogeneration. The results obtained from the analysis show that inlet air cooling along with evaporative aftercooling has an obvious increase in the energy and exergy efficiency compared to the basic gas turbine cycle cogeneration. It is further shown that the first-law efficiency, power to heat ratio and exergy efficiency of the cogeneration cycle significantly vary with the change in overall pressure ratio and turbine inlet temperature but the change in process heat pressure shows small variation in these parameters.     

Energy and exergy analyses of an externally fired gas turbine (EFGT) cycle integrated with biomass gasifier for distributed power generation

Biomass based decentralized power generation using externally fired gas turbine (EFGT) can be a technically feasible option. In this work, thermal performance and sizing of such plants have been analyzed at different cycle pressure ratio (r_p = 2−8), turbine inlet temperature (TIT = 1050–1350 K) and the heat exchanger cold end temperature difference (CETD = 200–300 K). It is found that the thermal efficiency of the EFGT plant reaches a maximum at an optimum pressure ratio depending upon the TIT and heat exchanger CETD. For a particular pressure ratio, thermal efficiency increases either with the increase in TIT or with the decrease in heat exchanger CETD. The specific air flow, associated with the size of the plant equipment, decreases with the increase in pressure ratio. This decrease is rapid at the lower end of the pressure ratio (r_p < 4) but levels-off at higher r_p values. An increase in the TIT reduces the specific air flow, while a change in the heat exchanger CETD has no influence on it. Based on this comparison, the performance of a 100 kW EFGT plant has been analyzed for three sets of operating parameters and a trade-off in the operating condition is reached.     

Effect of various inlet air cooling methods on gas turbine performance

Turbine air inlet cooling is one of many available commercial methods to improve the efficiency of an existing gas turbine. The method has various configurations which could be utilized for almost all installed gas turbines. This paper presents a comparison between two commons and one novel inlet air cooling method using turbo-expanders to improve performance of a gas turbine located at the Khangiran refinery in Iran. These methods have been applied to one of the refinery gas turbines located at the Khangiran refinery in Iran. Two common air cooling methods use evaporative media or a mechanical chiller. The idea behind the novel method is to utilize the potential cooling and power capacity of the refinery natural gas pressure drop station by replacing throttling valves with a turbo-expander. The study is part of a comprehensive program with the goal of enhancing gas turbine performance at the Khangiran gas refinery. Based on the results, it is found that using turbo-expanders is the most economically feasible option and so is recommended to be utilized for improving gas turbine performance at the Khangiran refinery.     

Comparison of evaporative inlet air cooling systems to enhance the gas turbine generated power

The gas turbine performance is highly sensitive to the compressor inlet temperature. The output of gas turbine falls to a value that is less than the rated output under high temperature conditions. In fact increase in inlet air temperature by 1°C will decrease the output power by 0.7% approximately. The solution of this problem is very important because the peak demand season also happens in the summer. One of the convenient methods of inlet air cooling is evaporating cooling which is appropriate for warm and dry weather. As most of the gas turbines in Iran are installed in such ambient conditions regions, therefore this method can be used to enhance the performance of the gas turbines. In this paper, an overview of technical and economic comparison of media system and fog system is given. The performance test results show that the mean output power of Frame‐9 gas turbines is increased by 11 MW (14.5%) by the application of media cooling system in Fars power plant and 8.1 MW (8.9%) and 9.5 MW (11%) by the application of fog cooling system in Ghom and Shahid Rajaie power plants, respectively. The total enhanced power generation in the summer of 2004 was 2970, 1701 and 1340 MWh for the Fars, Ghom and Shahid Rajaie power plants, respectively. The economical studies show that the payback periods are estimated to be around 2 and 3 years for fog and media systems, respectively. This study has shown that both methods are suitable for the dry and hot areas for gas turbine power augmentation. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

On the technical feasibility of gas turbine inlet air cooling utilizing thermal energy storage

The potential of using thermal energy storage (TES) in the form of ice or chilled water to cool gas turbine inlet air is evaluated for a remote oil field location in the Sultanate of Oman using local hourly typical meteorological year weather data. It is found that under the conditions investigated seasonal TES in chilled water storage tanks or ice bins for the location considered is prohibitively expensive and thus not recommended. Application of partial TES option shows that the cool storage does not result in any noticeable reduction in the chiller size. Hence, TES whether seasonal, partial, or full storage is not a viable option for the considered location, especially in the absence of time‐of‐use utility rate structure. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Design and thermodynamic assessment of a biomass gasification plant integrated with Brayton cycle and solid oxide steam electrolyzer for compressed hydrogen production

In this paper, a comprehensive thermodynamic evaluation of an integrated plant with biomass is investigated, according to thermodynamic laws. The modeled multi-generation plant works with biogas produced from demolition wood biomass. The plant mainly consists of a biomass gasifier cycle, clean water production system, hydrogen production, hydrogen compression, gas turbine sub-plant, and Rankine cycle. The useful outputs of this plant are hydrogen, electricity, heating and clean water. The hydrogen generation is obtained from high-temperature steam electrolyzer sub-plant. Moreover, the membrane distillation unit is used for freshwater production, and also, the hydrogen compression unit with two compressors is used for compressed hydrogen storage. On the other hand, energy and exergy analyses, as well as irreversibilities, are examined according to various factors for examining the efficiency of the examined integrated plant and sub-plants. The results demonstrate that the total energy and exergy efficiencies of the designed plant are determined as 52.84% and 46.59%. Furthermore, the whole irreversibility rate of the designed cycle is to be 37,743 kW, and the highest irreversibility rate is determined in the biomass gasification unit with 12,685 kW.     

Exergy, economic & environmental (3E) analysis of inlet fogging for gas turbine power plant

In the present paper, the effects of inlet fogging system on the first and second law efficiencies are investigated for a typical power plant (Shahid Rajaee) which is located near Ghazvin in Iran. Also a new function is proposed for system optimization that includes the social cost of air pollution for power generating systems. The new function is based on the first law efficiency, energy cost and the external social cost of air pollution for an operational system. Social cost of air pollution is based on the negative effects of air pollution on the health of society and environment. The economic aspect of these effects is called external social cost of air pollution. Other pollution sources such as water, soil, etc. produced by an operational power generation system are ignored. The theoretical results obtained from the model are validated by registered practical performance results from Shahid Rajaee power plant. It is concluded that using of inlet fogging system, increases the average output power production, the first and the second law efficiencies through three months of year (June, July and August) by 7%, 5.5% and 6% respectively and reduces the objective function value by about 4%.     

燃气轮机进气喷雾蒸发式冷却与Li-Br吸收式制冷冷却增能对比分析

燃气轮机进气冷却技术是一种能够有效提高高温环境下燃气轮机发电机组输出功率的重要手段。介绍了几种主要的进气冷却技术方法,并分析了进气冷却技术的作用机理。着重对比分析了华菱涟钢能源中心所采用的两种进气冷却技术对燃气轮机输出功率的影响规律,并阐明了两种进气冷却技术各自的优缺点。根据运行参数以及相关数据分析的对比研究结果,为燃气轮机进气冷却技术在实际工程上的应用提供一定的参考。     

生物质化学链气化联合燃气轮机发电系统模拟

使用Aspen Plus软件对以Fe_2O_3为载氧体的生物质化学链气化系统进行模拟,分析温度、压力、载氧体与生物质摩尔比、水蒸气与生物质摩尔比等因素对合成气制备的影响;对不同生物质的气化条件进行优化;将气化制得的合成气通入M701F燃气轮机中发电,考察系统的发电效率。结果表明:常压下,不同生物质气化的优化温度均在740℃左右,此时制备的合成气冷煤气效率较高;提高反应压力有利于系统热量自平衡,但合成气的冷煤气效率降低;载氧体与生物质摩尔比的优化值与生物质中氧碳摩尔比呈负相关,且达到优化值时,气化环境中氧碳摩尔比在1.25左右;水蒸气通入气化系统后冷煤气效率可提高15.00%～20.00%,主要原因为H_2的产量显著增加,通入水蒸气后的气化环境的氧碳比在1.4左右时,制备合成气的冷煤气效率较高;系统的发电效率在30.00%～37.00%,高于生物质发电效率。     

Exergoeconomic and environmental impact analyses of a renewable energy based hydrogen production system

In this study, exergoeconomic and environmental impact analyses, through energy, exergy, and sustainability assessment methods, are performed to investigate a hybrid version renewable energy (including wind and solar) based hydrogen and electricity production system. The dead state temperatures considered here are 10 °C, 20 °C and 30 °C to undertake a parametric study. An electrolyzer and a metal hydride tank are used for hydrogen production and hydrogen storage, respectively. Also, the Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC) and battery options are utilized for electricity generation and storage, respectively. As a result, the energy and exergy efficiencies and the sustainability index for the wind turbine are found to be higher than the ones for solar photovoltaic (PV) system. Also, the overall exergy efficiency of the system is found to be higher than the corresponding overall energy efficiency. Furthermore, for this system, it can be concluded that wind turbine with 60 gCO₂/month is more environmentally-benign than the solar PV system with 75 gCO₂/month. Finally, the total exergoeconomic parameter is found to be 0.26 W/$, when the energy loss is considered, while it is 0.41 W/$, when the total of exergy loss and destruction rates are taken into account.     

回热燃气轮机余热利用进气冷却的研究

本文研究了利用余热制冷进气冷却的回热燃气轮机系统,并对该系统性能进行了模拟计算,得到了压比、流量比等参数对系统性能的影响规律。并通过与常规回热循环比较,指出利用余热制冷来进气冷却的方式能使系统效率提高11%,是提高燃气轮机系统性能的有效途径之一。     

Influence of system integration options on the performance of an integrated gasification combined cycle power plant

An IGCC (integrated gasification combined cycle) plant consists of a power block and a gasifier block, and a smooth integration of these two parts is important. This work has analyzed the influences of the major design options on the performance of an IGCC plant. These options include the method of integrating a gas turbine with an air separation unit and the degree of nitrogen supply from the ASU to the gas turbine combustor. Research focus was given to the effect of each option on the gas turbine operating condition along with plant performance. Initially, an analysis adopting an existing gas turbine without any modifications of its components was performed to examine the influence of two design options on the operability of the gas turbine and performance of the entire IGCC plant. It is shown that a high integration degree, where much of the air required at the air separation unit is supplied by the gas turbine compressor, can be a better option considering both the system performance and operation limitation of the gas turbine. The nitrogen supply enhances system performance, but a high supply ratio can only be acceptable in high integration degree designs. Secondly, the modifications of gas turbine components to resume the operating surge margin, such as increasing the maximum compressor pressure ratio by adding a couple of stages and increasing turbine swallowing capacity, were simulated and their effects on system performance were examined. Modification can be a good option when a low integration degree is to be adopted, as it provides a considerable power increase.     

Analytical method for evaluation of gas turbine inlet air cooling in combined cycle power plant

Gas turbine inlet air cooling technologies (GTIAC), mainly including chilling with LiBr/water absorption chiller and fogging as well, are being used during hot seasons to augment the power output. To evaluate the general applicability of inlet air cooling for gas–steam combined cycle power plant (GTCCIAC), parameters such as efficiency ratio, profit ratio and relative payback period were defined and analyzed through off-design performances of both gas turbine and inlet air cooling systems. An analytical method for applicability evaluation of GTCCIAC with absorption chiller (inlet chilling) and saturated evaporative cooler (inlet fogging) was presented. The applicability study based on typical off-design performances of the components in GTCCIAC shows that, the applicability of GTCCIAC with chilling and fogging depends on the design economic efficiency of GTCC power plant. In addition, it relies heavily on the climatic data and the design capacity of inlet air cooling systems. Generally, GTCCIAC is preferable in the zones with high ambient air temperature and low humidity. Furthermore, it is more appropriate for those GTCC units with lower design economic efficiency. Comparison of the applicability between chilling and fogging shows that, inlet fogging is superior in power efficiency at t_a = 15–20 °C though it gains smaller profit margin than inlet chilling. GTCC inlet chilling with absorption chiller is preferable in the zones with t_a > 25 °C and RH > 0.4.     

Exergy analysis and multiobjective optimization of a biomass gasification based multigeneration system

Biomass gasification is a process of converting biomass to a combustible gas suitable for use in boilers, engines and turbines to produce combined cooling, heat and power. This paper presents a detailed model of a biomass gasification system and designs a multigeneration energy system which uses the biomass gasification process for generating combined cooling, heat and electricity. Energy and exergy analyses are first applied to evaluate the performance of the designed system. Next, minimizing total cost rate and maximizing exergy efficiency of the system are considered as two objective functions and a multiobjective optimization approach based on differential evolution algorithm and local unimodal sampling technique is developed to calculate the optimal values of the multigeneration system parameters. A parametric study is then carried out and Pareto front curve is used to determine the trend of objective functions and assess the performance of the system. Furthermore, a sensitivity analysis is employed to evaluate effects of design parameters on the objective functions. Simulation results are compared with two other multiobjective optimization algorithms and effectiveness of the proposed method is verified using various performance indicators.     

Effects of evaporative inlet and aftercooling on the recuperated gas turbine cycle

Inlet air cooling and cooling of the compressor discharge using water injection boost both efficiency and power of gas turbine cycles. Four different layouts of the recuperated gas turbine cycle are presented. Those layouts include the effect of evaporative inlet and aftercooling (evaporative cooling of the compressor discharge). A parametric study of the effect of turbine inlet temperature (TIT), ambient temperature, and relative humidity on the performance of all four layouts is investigated. The results indicate that as TIT increases the optimum pressure ratio increases by 0.45 per 100 K for the regular recuperated cycle and by 1.4 per 100 K for the recuperated cycle with evaporative aftercooling. The cycles with evaporative aftercooling have distinctive pattern of performance curves and higher values of optimum pressure ratios. The results also showed that evaporative cooling of the inlet air could boost the efficiency by up to 3.2% and that evaporative aftercooling could increase the power by up to about 110% and cycle efficiency by up to 16%.