S.1 Steam Injection Gas Turbine Cycle Already in the early 20th century it was known that water injection into the combustion chamber could increase the turbine work in a gas turbine. In 1903 Aegidus Elling constructed the first gas turbine which was able to give a net power output and this turbine used water injection to compensate for its poorly functioning compressor The research on improvements of power cycles became intensive during 1970’s, due to the oil crisis and increased awareness of negative environmental effects from power generation. During this period the steam injection gas turbine was developed. Example of a steam injection power cycle with supplementary firing (Cheng-cycle). P1.1 Acknowledgements Author: Catharina Erlich, 1999. Updated and modified in year 2007 by Catharina Erlich. Calculation exercises created by Catharina Erlich during 2005 - 2007. Reviewer: First Name Last Name, Affiliation, Year P1.2 Literature Annerwall, K, 1990; “Gas Turbines with Steam Injection or Evaporative Regeneration” Licentiate Thesis, Energy Processes, KET/KTH, Stockholm, Sweden Bathie, W.W., 1996; “Fundamentals of Gas Turbines”, Second Edition, John Wiley & Sons, Inc, USA , ISBN 0-471-31122-7 Cheng, DY. and Saad, MA 1996; “The New LM2500 CHENG Cycle for Power Generation and Cogeneration”, ECOS’96, June 25-27, STOCKHOLM. Energy Conversion and Management Proceedings of the 1996 International Symposium on Efficiency, Costs, Optimization, Simulation and Environmental Aspects of Energy Systems, p 1637-1646, ISSN: 0196-8904 CODEN: ECMADL Hunyadi, L. 1994; “Overview of Different Power Cycles”, Lecture notes, Chair of Heat & Power Technology, EGI/KTH, Stockholm, Sweden 1 Rosén, PM 1993; “Evaporative gas turbine cycles-A thermodynamic evaluation of their potential”, Dep. of Heat and Power Engineering, LTH, Lund, Sweden, ISSN 0282-1990 Wester, L. 1990; “Kraftcyckler”, Lecture notes, Mälardalens Högskola, Västerås, Sweden Wingård, S. 1990; “Ånginsprutning i gasturbiner för kraft- och värmeproduktion” , Licentiate Thesis, Energy Conversion, Energy Technology /CTH, Gothenburg, Sweden, ISBN: 99-092-4232-X Ågren, N., 1997; “Simulation and Design of Advanced Air/Water Mixture Gas Turbine Cycles”, Licentiate Thesis, Energy Processes, KET/KTH, Stockholm, Sweden, ISSN 1104-3466 P1.3 Prerequisites Basic thermodynamics (at least 160 LU = 4 weeks of fulltime studies), At least one year of studies in an engineering career at university level. The Compedu books: S1B2 Steam Cycles S1B3 Gas Turbine Cycles S1B4 Commercial Combined Cycles P1.4 LU and TU Learning Units: 9 h Teaching Units: 3 h (including open-ended calculation exercises) Explanation: Learning Units (LU) correspond to estimated number of hours for self-learning. Teaching Units (TU) correspond to estimated number of hours for teacher to present the material. 2 P1.5 The first gas turbine combustor (g) g water (e) f turbine (c) compressor (d) e c d fuel (h) water (e) air d regenerator (f) e The water injected gas turbine by Aegidus Elling Water was injected between the compressor-stages (d) where it partly evaporated. The rest of the water was evaporated in the regenerator (f). Thereafter the steam and air were heated in the combustion chamber (g), expanded in the turbine (c) and finally cooled in the regenerator (f). The first in practice working gas turbine was built by Aegidus Elling and operated for the first time in 1903. This gas turbine consisted of a radial compressor, a combustion chamber, a heat exchanger and a radial-inflow turbine and used water injection to compensate for the poorly functioning compressor. The net power output of this gas turbine was about 8 kW. S.2 Educational Objectives After this chapter the student should be able to: Describe the concept of the steam injection gas turbine cycle Know and understand the limitations the steam injection gas turbine Perform a thermodynamic analysis of the steam injection gas turbine cycle 3 S.3 Working principle of the Steam Injected Gas Turbine Gas Turbine Cycle Fuel Air Steam generated from heat recovery is injected in the combustion chamber of a gas turbine increasing the flow through the turbine. Superheated steam Steam injection increases the power output of a gas turbine and the electrical efficiency. Heat Recovery Steam Generator Steam injection reduces the NOX emission in a gas turbine. The steam injection gas turbine has lower investment cost than a common combined cycle and is suitable for process industries, due to flexible operation conditions. Water Treatment There are limitations of the amount of steam that can be injected. Process Make-up water The steam injected gas turbine consumes water and requires a flow flexible gas turbine. Flow-scheme of a steam injected gas turbine P3.1 Is injected The steam entering the combustor is at superheated condition, being an energy carrier of recovered heat from the hot exhaust. The steam is assumed not to participate in the chemical reactions of the combustion. The injected steam will be heated with the rest of the gases to the turbine inlet temperature. The pressure of the steam when injected must be somewhat higher than the pressure of air coming from the combustor. Steam staying in superheated state can be modeled as an ideal gas. To keep the turbine inlet temperature, more fuel is added in a steam injection gas turbine to make up for the increased mass in the combustion chamber 4 P3.2 Increases the power output The gross power output of a gas turbine could generally be written as: [ ] PGT = m& ⋅ c p ⋅ (Tin − Tout ) − Pc When steam is injected before the turbine, the mass flow through, m, will be higher than without steam injection. The specific heat of steam in superheated form is about twice as large as the specific heat of the combustion gases; therefore also the average cp for the gas mixture passing the turbine will be higher than without steam injection. The compressor work, PC, is virtually not being affected by the steam injection The turbine inlet temperature is set to be the same as without injection and the outlet temperature of the turbine will remain at a similar value. The conclusion is thus that the power output of the steam injection gas turbine will be higher than for the same gas turbine without injection. P3.3 And the electrical efficiency The electrical efficiency of a gas turbine is: P η EL = & GT Q FUEL For a steam injection gas turbine, the gain in power output is relatively large, but this depends on the steam injection temperature as well as the amount of steam injected. To keep a constant turbine inlet temperature, the amount of fuel supplied in the combustor is larger for a steam injection gas turbine compared to a common gas turbine to cover the increase of mass to be heated. However, the superheated steam, which is injected in the combustion chamber, contains significant amount of energy that has been recovered from the hot gas turbine exhaust in the HRSG. The increase of fuel power in a steam injection gas turbine will thus be smaller than the gain in net power output of the gas turbine, which gives that the efficiency will increase. Shortly said; energy is recovered in the HRSG and brought back to the gas turbine generating additional electricity with help of the energy carrier: water-to-steam. A steam-injected gas turbine can reach an electrical efficiency of 40% - 45 % (maximum steam injection). 5 However, the steam injection gas turbine cannot reach the high electrical efficiency of a combined cycle since water in vapor form leaves in the stack and thus the water vaporization (latent) heat of the gas/steam flow is lost. P3.4 NOX emission By injecting steam in the combustion zone, the peaks in flame temperature are decreased. In high temperature spots in combination with a high air excess factor (which gas turbines usually have), thermal NOX production takes place, where O2 and N2 in the air react with each other according to: N2(air) + O2(air) Æ 2 NO This reaction is temperature dependent, and the rate increases exponentially with temperature. The rate becomes significant for an air temperature higher than about 1500°C. Before low-NOx burners were developed, steam injection was used as a method to reduce the thermal NOX production. P3.5 Lower investment cost than a common combined cycle In a combined cycle the investment cost typically is distributed as: • • 1/3 of the cost is for the gas turbine, which gives 2/3 of the total electrical power output 2/3 of the cost is for the steam cycle including HRSG, steam turbine and condenser. The steam cycle gives around 1/3 of the total electrical power output. For a steam injection gas turbine there is no need for a steam turbine or a condenser system, but the efficiency is relatively high giving that the investment cost is lower. In the investment of a steam injection gas turbine it is needed to take into consideration the cost of the water treatment plant (popup “consumes fresh water”). Comparison of investment cost for three power plants: Simple GT GT Combined Cycle Steam injection GT Power output (MW) 29,1 41,3 37,3 Electrical efficiency 36 51,1 46 11,6 31 20,9 398,6 750,6 560,3 Investment cost (MEuro) Investment cost (Euro/installed kW) 6 Table reproduced from: Kakaras et al; 2004 "Combined cycle power plant with integrated low temperature heat (LOTHECO)"; Applied Thermal Engineering, Volume 24, Issues 11-12, Pages 16771686 To keep the investment cost low, it provides that there is no shortage of fresh water supply. If there is not enough water available, the flue gases from the HRSG may need to be condensed to recover the water content, and the installation cost of this piece of equipment may be costly. P3.6 Process industries The steam injection gas turbine is attractive in process industries, such as paper pulp, textile and provisions industries. The alpha-value (α-value) is parameter used in cogeneration and is the ratio between produced electricity and heat, i.e.: α= & Q PEL [%] PROCESS There are several advantages using a steam injected gas turbine in connection to an industrial process: Higher efficiency than a gas turbine without steam injection The steam injection rate can vary from 0 to 20% of air mass flow, which means that the amount of process steam also can be varied, giving a very flexible α-value. The gas turbine can be operated on full or part-load, with or without steam injection, also contributing to a very flexible α-value. Lower capital cost than a combined cycle Occupies less space than both a combined cycle and a steam cycle If the industry has a large demand of steam, it is additionally possible to use supplementary firing in the HRSG for a higher steam production. If the HRSG is combined with a flue gas condensing unit to recover water contained in the gas turbine exhaust and the vaporization heat of this water is utilized as further process heat, the total cogeneration efficiency can be very high. P3.7 Amount of steam that can be injected The amount of steam that can be injected is highly dependent on the gas turbine type, whether it is a one-shaft or double-shaft gas turbine and on the pressure and temperature in the combustor. The amount of steam injected is also dependent on the heat recovery rate in the HRSG and on the temperature and pressure of the steam. One limiting factor is the increased risk for compressor surge; see popup "Requires a flow flexible gas turbine". 7 Another limiting factor is the increased risk for production of unburned hydrocarbons (UHC) and CO, since the steam injection causes a drop in flame temperature in the combustor. A third limiting factor is the amount of heat available in the gas turbine exhaust in the HRSG. If the steam is not superheated, the losses in the HRSG generally are higher. Also, smaller gas turbines have lower combustion temperature and thus lower exhaust temperature before the HRSG, causing a limited amount of energy available for recovery. T T Flue gas Flu Vaporisation eg as Vaporisation Superheating Enthalpy in flue gas Enthalpy in flue gas The losses in the HRSG are larger if no steam superheating takes place Indirectly, the amount of steam that can be injected is also dependent on the need of process heat in case the gas turbine is connected to an industry. Usually, the amount of steam that maximum can be injected is in the range of 1520 % of the air mass flow. For a gas turbine this corresponds to about 1.7 kg steam per produced kWh electricity (when maximum amount of steam is injected and the gas turbine runs on maximum speed). P3.8 Consumes water The most significant drawback of a steam injection gas turbine is that it consumes fresh water. The quality of the water to be used for injection is very important. Before entering the HRSG, the water passes treatment plant in order to remove salts and other contaminants, which can cause corrosion both in the turbine and in the HRSG. The steam, which is injected in the combustion chamber of the gas turbine, is blended with the combustion gases, and will follow the gas steam to the stack. If no flue gas condensing is performed, the water is lost in the atmosphere. If flue gas condensing is employed, up to 75% of the water can be recovered if the flue gas exiting the HRSG is cooled down to 50°C. 8 Also, if the plant is connected to an industry, condensed water from the process can be recovered and re-used after cleaning. P3.9 Requires a flow flexible turbine In reality, the steam-injection affects the function of both the turbine and compressor. Steam-injection gives a larger risk for compressor surge. Compressor surge means that the gases from the combustion chamber turns direction and flows through the compressor leading to an intermediate breakdown. If the flow through the turbine is increased, the pressure drop over the turbine is also increased. This means as well that the compressor is forced to work with an increased pressure ratio. Consequence for a one-shaft turbine Consequence for a double-shaft turbine P3.9.1 Consequence for a one-shaft turbine Compressor performance diagram p2 /p1 For a one-shaft gas turbine: Surge limit The turbine and thus the compressor works with constant revolution speed, as this is set by the electrical grid frequency (50 Hz = 3000 rpm). n2 Increased pressureratio n1 Decreased airflow If the pressure ratio of the compressor is forced to be higher, the airflow will decrease, according to the compressor performance diagram. massflow When the airflow decreases along a constant rpm-curve, the compressor approaches the limit for surge. The steam injection rate must be limited so that a marginal to the surge limit is kept. Typical compressor performance diagram 9 P3.9.2 Consequence for a double-shaft turbine Compressor performance diagram p2 /p1 Increased pressureratio For a double-shaft gas turbine: Surge limit In a double-shaft gas turbine, the compressor and the turbine are placed on separate shafts, and have different revolution speeds (turbine is however connected to the generator frequency). n2 n1 Increased airflow If the pressure ratio over the turbine increases, the pressure ratio over the compressor will as well increase. massflow However, the compressor can compensate for the increased pressure ratio by increasing the revolution speed. The airflow with then increase, and the risk for compressor surge is minimized. The steam injection rate is in this case limited by the maximum speed of the compressor. Typical compressor performance diagram 10 S.4 Analysis of the Steam Injected Gas Turbine Gas Turbine Cycle 1 Superheated steam d Fuel Air 2 3 Heat Recovery Steam Generator 6 Fuel, steam and air are supplied in the combustion chamber forming a steam/gas mixture at high temperature. 4 The gas/steam mixture expands in the turbine. 5 7 a b c Air is compressed in the compressor. Steam is generated in the HRSG, while cooling the gas/steam exhaust. d Net power output and efficiency of the steam injected gas turbine. Flow-scheme of a steam injected gas turbine P4.1 Air is compressed The compressor power input is virtually not affected by the steam injection The compressor power need can thus be modeled in the same way as for a gas turbine without steam injection. The power input into the compressor is: & AIR ⋅ ( h 2, AIR − h 1, AIR ) PC = m [kW] The temperature increase of the air during the compression is: κ C −1 ⎞ T1 ⎛⎜ p 2 κ C ⋅ ( ) − 1⎟ T2 − T1 = ⎟ η SC ⎜⎝ p1 ⎠ [°C or K] The ratio of specific heats for air, κ, is dependent on the temperature. The isentropic efficiency of the compressor, ηSC, is assumed to remain unchanged with the steam injection. 11 P4.2 Forming a gas/steam mixture at high temperature The steam injected is not taking active part in the combustion process, but will be heated to the same temperature as the rest of the gas, i.e. to the turbine inlet temperature. The fuel flow needed to bring the gas/steam mixture up to this temperature is found from a heat balance similarly made as for a gas turbine without steam injection. Since the steam is not reacting in the combustion process, the gas and steam flows can be treated separately. The heat balance thus becomes: & AIR · h 2, AIR + m & FUEL· LHV+ m & ST · h d,ST = (m & AIR + m & FUEL) · h 3, GAS + m & ST · h 3, ST m [kW] The gas enthalpy is found in the same way as for the common gas turbine: h3, GAS = h3, AIR + x·DH3 where the gas content, x, is based on the gas part of the flow: x = (1 + f ) ⋅ β 1+ β The specific fuel consumption, β, is defined identically as for the common gas turbine: β= & FUEL m & AIR m [kg fuel/kg air] Inserting the expressions of the gas content and the specific fuel consumption, and dividing with mAIR, the heat balance equation becomes: h 2, AIR + β · LHV + & ST & m m · h d,ST = h 3, AIR + β ⋅ [h 3, AIR + (1 + f ) ⋅ DH 3 ]⋅ + ST · h 3, ST & AIR & AIR m m Solving for the specific fuel consumption, β: β = & ST m ⋅ ( h 3, ST − h d, ST ) & m AIR LHV − h 3, AIR − (1 + f ) ⋅ DH 3 h 3, AIR − h 2, AIR + [kg fuel/kg air] Comparing this expression for the specific fuel consumption with the one for the basic gas turbine cycle, it is seen that the ratio is identical except from the extra term which represents the heating of steam from the injection temperature up to the turbine inlet temperature. 12 Thus, to compensate for the additional heating in the combustor, the fuel flow for a steam injected gas turbine is higher than for gas turbine without injection for the same turbine inlet temperature and compressor performance. Very often, steam tables do not treat steam temperatures over 800°C or 900°C, and since the steam, which is injected in the gas turbine, reaches the turbine inlet temperature (often higher than 1000°C) it may be suitable to introduce a diagram "Specific heat for superheated steam" The term for steam heating can also be expressed as function of specific heat and temperature increase: ( h 3, ST − h d, ST ) = c P ,ST ⋅ (T3 − Td ) [kJ/kg] where the specific heat of superheated steam, cP,ST, is taken at the pressure prevailing in the combustor and the mean temperature of heating, i.e. Tm = T3 + Td 2 P4.2.1 Specific heat for superheated steam Specific heat, Cp, for superheated steam (H2O) 3900 1 bar 3700 5 bar Specific heat (J/kg deg C) 3500 10 bar 3300 20 bar 3100 30 bar 2900 60 bar 2700 100 bar 2500 2300 160 bar 2100 Saturation line 1900 0 100 200 300 400 500 Temperature (deg C) 13 600 700 800 P4.3 The gas/steam mixture expands Similarly as for the heat balance on the combustion chamber, the steam and gas flows can be treated separately when modeling the expansion. The turbine power gets contribution both from the expanding gas and from the expanding steam. The turbine power can thus be expressed as: & AIR + m & FUEL ) ⋅ (h 3, GAS − h 4, GAS ) + m & ST ⋅ ( h 3, ST − h 4, ST ) PT = (m [kW] Where h3, GAS = h3, AIR + x·DH3 h4, GAS = h4, AIR + x·DH4 and the gas content, x, is: x = (1 + f ) ⋅ β 1+ β Since the specific fuel consumption, β, becomes higher in a steam injected gas turbine, the gas content will also be higher. The steam expansion can also be modeled in terms of specific heat (if the turbine inlet temperature is high): (h 3, ST − h 4, ST ) = c P ,ST ⋅ (T3 − T4 ) [kJ/kg] where the specific heat of superheated steam, cP,ST, is taken at the average pressure and temperature of the expansion, i.e. pm = p3 + p 4 T3 + T4 and Tm = 2 2 The temperature decrease during the expansion can be modeled as without steam injection, as steam staying in superheated form can be assumed to behave as an ideal gas. The temperature decrease thus becomes: T3 − T4 = T3 ⋅η ST ⎛ ⎞ ⎜ ⎟ ⎜ ⎟ 1 ⋅ ⎜1 − κT −1 ⎟ p ⎜ ( 3 ) κT ⎟ ⎜ ⎟ p4 ⎝ ⎠ [°C or K] The ratio of specific heats, κ, is dependent on the temperature, on the gas content and on the steam. 14 To simplify the model for temperature decrease, it is assumed that the ratio of specific heats, κ, is dependent only on the gas content and on the temperature decrease. Since the gas content, x, is increased with the steam injection, the ratio of specific heats, κ, will be somewhat lower compared to a gas turbine without steam injection. It is furthermore assumed that the isentropic efficiency of the turbine, ηST, stays unchanged with the steam injection. P4.4 Steam is generated Commonly, the heat recovery steam generator is built up similarly to the combined cycle, i.e. an economizer heating pressurized water, an evaporator generating steam from water and a superheater bringing the steam to superheated state. The water entering the economizer is pumped to a pressure somewhat higher than the compressor pressure. The heat recovery rate to the steam cycle is: & ST ⋅ (h d, ST − h a, ST ) Q& rec = m [kW] (A) The heat recovery rate for each heat exchanger is: Economizer: & ST ⋅ ( h b, ST − h a, ST ) Q& eco = m (B) Evaporator: & ST ⋅ (h c, ST − h b, ST ) Q& vap = m (C) Superheater & ST ⋅ ( h d, ST − h c, ST ) Q& sup = m (D) To make energy balances in the HRSG, the equations (A’-D’) under popup “Cooling the gas/steam exhaust” are put equal to the equations (A-D) above so that A=A’, B=B’, C=C’ and D=D’. P4.5 Cooling the gas/steam exhaust Steam for injection is generated from heat recovery of the gas/steam exhaust. Similarly as for both the heat balance on the combustor and as for the expansion in the turbine, the gas/steam mixture can be treated as two separate flows. The total gas cooling rate on the gas side in the HRSG can be expressed as: 15 & AIR + m & FUEL ) ⋅ (h 4, GAS − h 7, GAS ) + m & ST ⋅ (h 4, ST − h 7, ST ) [kW] Q& rec = (m (A’) In terms of specific heats and temperatures, the gas cooling rate can also be expressed as: & AIR + m & FUEL) ⋅ cP,GAS + m & ST ⋅ cP,ST ]⋅ (T4 − T7 ) Q&rec = [(m [kW] (A’’) For each heat exchanger the gas cooling rate is: Economizer: & AIR + m & FUEL ) ⋅ (h 6, GAS − h 7, GAS ) + m & ST ⋅ (h 6, ST − h 7, ST ) Q& eco = (m (B’) Evaporator: & AIR + m & FUEL ) ⋅ ( h 5, GAS − h 6, GAS ) + m & ST ⋅ ( h 5, ST − h 6, ST ) Q& vap = ( m (C’) Superheater: & AIR + m & FUEL ) ⋅ (h 4, GAS − h 5, GAS ) + m & ST ⋅ (h 4, ST − h 5, ST ) Q& sup = (m (D’) To make energy balances in the HRSG, the equations (A-D) under popup “Steam is generated” are put equal to the equations (A’-D’) above so that A=A’, B=B’, C=C’ and D=D’. P4.6 Net power output and efficiency of the steam injected gas turbine The net power output of the steam injected gas turbine is expressed in the same way as for the simple gas turbine: PSTGT = ηG · (PT· ηm – PC) [MW or kW] The electrical efficiency of the steam injected gas turbine is η EL = PSTGT − PPUMP PSTGT ≈ & & AIR ⋅ LHV Q β ⋅m FUEL [%] The pump work of the liquid water before entering the HRSG is significantly less than the compressor work of the gas turbine; therefore the pump work can be neglected. If steam produced in the HRSG also is brought to an industrial process, the total (cogeneration) efficiency becomes: ηTOT & PSTGT + Q PROCESS = & AIR ⋅ LHV β ⋅m [%] 16 S.5 Calculation exercises Here there are a number of calculation exercises with solutions for download in PDFformat. 1. Steam injection gas turbine fired on natural gas 2. Steam injection gas turbine with the gas content, x, given 3. Steam injection gas turbine using high turbine inlet temperature 4. Steam injection gas turbine with heat balance on the HRSG 5. Steam injection gas turbine with given net power output S.6 Summary In a steam injection gas turbine, steam is generated by heat recovery of the hot gas turbine exhaust and thereafter injected in the gas turbine combustor, where it is heated up to the turbine inlet temperature. The steam injection leads to a higher mass flow through the turbine and thus increases the net power output compared to a gas turbine without steam injection. The efficiency of a steam injection gas turbine is also higher compared to a common gas turbine since the heat recovered from the hot gas turbine exhaust is brought back to the expansion. In reality, the increased flow in the turbine causes an increased pressure drop, which also leads to that the compressor needs to work with a higher pressure ratio. The maximum steam injection rate is about 15-20% of the air mass flow. The steam injection gas turbine consumes water but some of the water content in the gases can be recovered if flue gas condensing is employed. A thermodynamic analysis of a steam injection gas turbine is similar to the one of a common gas turbine and simplified by treating the gas/steam flow as two separate working media. 17