Evolution of Land-Based Gas Turbines

Topic Information

Dear Colleagues,

We are witnessing a major overhaul in the approach taken in land-based gas turbine applications for power generation, with the goal of achieving the ambitious targets along the path to carbon neutrality. Gas turbines are evolving in different aspects sharing the common interest in flexibility. First, load flexibility is needed to cope with the intermittent nature of solar and wind energy sources. Second, fuel flexibility is essential to complement or even fully replace conventional fossil fuels, thus mitigating the environmental impact. Indeed, both contribute to defining a flexible operational mode, within safe limits. Third, size flexibility should be mentioned since nominal capacity may vary by three orders of magnitude for enhanced modularity. Accordingly, this topic relates not only to new installations, in the context of the distributed generation, but also to the existing gas turbine plants, in simple and combined cycle mode, which need to be retrofitted to be consistent with the Net Zero Scenario. All of this without neglecting the continuous effort to boost thermal efficiency, especially at part load conditions. Moreover, advanced thermodynamic cycles are promising for improving efficiency while facilitating CO₂ removal from the exhaust.

“Evolution of land-based gas turbines” invites papers dealing with the above-mentioned issues to take stock of advanced solutions and technologies for gas turbines, including, but not limited to, the following:

• integration with renewable energy sources (part load operation, cycling, fast load change)
• efficiency improvement
• alternative fuels (syngas, hydrogen, ammonia, synthetic methane, blends in general, “green” fuels, waste gases…)
• emission reduction (CO₂, CO, NO_x)
• small gas turbines for distributed generation
• retrofitting existing gas-fired plants (post-combustion capture technologies, co-firing, exhaust gas recirculation…)
• advanced and unconventional thermodynamic cycles (oxy-combustion cycles, super-critical CO₂ cycles, Allam cycle, hybrid cycle…)
• cogeneration of heat and power
• power plant modelling and simulation
• case studies of power plants at full/pilot scale
• analysis based on Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)

Dr. Silvia Ravelli
Dr. Pietro Bartocci
Topic Editors

Keywords

Participating Journals

Journal Name	Impact Factor	CiteScore	Launched Year	First Decision (median)	APC
Energies energies	3.0	6.2	2008	16.8 Days	CHF 2600
Sustainability sustainability	3.3	6.8	2009	19.7 Days	CHF 2400
Machines machines	2.1	3.0	2013	15.5 Days	CHF 2400
Processes processes	2.8	5.1	2013	14.9 Days	CHF 2400
Fuels fuels	2.7	-	2020	25 Days	CHF 1000

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Published Papers (6 papers)

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All Energies Sustainability Machines Processes Fuels

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17 pages, 6243 KiB  

Open AccessArticle

Exploration of Changes in Coal Pore Characteristics and Gas Adsorption Characteristics Based on Influence of Stress

by Le-Jing Qin, Hong-Qing Zhu, Jian-Fei Sun and Shao-Kui Ren

Fuels 2024, 5(4), 698-714; https://doi.org/10.3390/fuels5040038 - 18 Oct 2024

Viewed by 808

Abstract

As the mining depth increases, the effect of stress on the gas adsorption of coal gradually becomes significant. There are significant differences in the pore volume, specific surface area, and adsorption characteristics of coal before and after stress. In this study, the porosity [...] Read more.

As the mining depth increases, the effect of stress on the gas adsorption of coal gradually becomes significant. There are significant differences in the pore volume, specific surface area, and adsorption characteristics of coal before and after stress. In this study, the porosity variation characteristics of coal were studied using axial and confining pressure loading processes, and volumetric stress was introduced to characterize the pore variation law of coal under triaxial stress. By calculating the stress values at different burial depths, gas isothermal adsorption experiments were conducted on coal under different stress effects. The Langmuir equation, D-A equation, and Freundlich empirical formula were used to fit the adsorption experimental results. Combining experiments and models to predict the adsorbed and free gas content under stress, we described the gas adsorption law of coal under different stress effects. Full article

(This article belongs to the Topic Evolution of Land-Based Gas Turbines)

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22 pages, 14574 KiB  

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Evaluating the Impact of CO₂ Capture on the Operation of Combined Cycles with Different Configurations

by Elena Savoldelli and Silvia Ravelli

Energies 2024, 17(14), 3501; https://doi.org/10.3390/en17143501 - 17 Jul 2024

Viewed by 1024

Abstract

In order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions associated with power generation, the replacement of fossil fuels with renewables must be accompanied by the availability of dispatchable sources needed to balance electricity demand and production. Combined cycle (CC) power plants adopting post-combustion capture (PCC) [...] Read more.

In order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions associated with power generation, the replacement of fossil fuels with renewables must be accompanied by the availability of dispatchable sources needed to balance electricity demand and production. Combined cycle (CC) power plants adopting post-combustion capture (PCC) can serve this purpose, ensuring near-zero CO₂ emissions at the stack, as well as high efficiency and load flexibility. In particular, the chemical absorption process is the most established approach for industrial-scale applications, although widespread implementation is lacking. In this study, different natural gas combined cycle (NGCC) configurations were modeled to estimate the burden of retrofitting the capture process to existing power plants on thermodynamic performance. Simulations under steady-state conditions covered the widest possible load range, depending on the gas turbine (GT) model. Attention was paid to the net power loss and net efficiency penalty attributable to PCC. The former can be mitigated by lowering the GT air–fuel ratio to increase the CO₂ concentration (X_CO2) in the exhaust, thus decreasing the regeneration energy. The latter is reduced when the topping cycle is more efficient than the bottoming cycle for a given GT load. This is likely to be the case in the less-complex heat recovery units. Full article

(This article belongs to the Topic Evolution of Land-Based Gas Turbines)

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25 pages, 8203 KiB  

Open AccessArticle

Design and Thermo-Economic Analysis of an Integrated Solar Field Micro Gas Turbine Biomass Gasifier and Organic Rankine Cycle System

by Roberta De Robbio, Maria Cristina Cameretti and Salvatore Agizza

Energies 2023, 16(20), 7050; https://doi.org/10.3390/en16207050 - 11 Oct 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1701

Abstract

A micro gas turbine (MGT) is an advanced technology with a simple structure and fast load response. It represents a good choice for the next generation of distributed power systems, where fossil fuels are going to be largely replaced by biofuels and renewable [...] Read more.

A micro gas turbine (MGT) is an advanced technology with a simple structure and fast load response. It represents a good choice for the next generation of distributed power systems, where fossil fuels are going to be largely replaced by biofuels and renewable sources. In this context, this work aims to investigate and compare the performance of gradually more complex energy systems integrating a micro gas turbine plant: simple cogenerating asset, integrating a solar field, presence of a gasifier, and the addition of a bottoming ORC. In all cases, a thermo-economic analysis has been carried out for an application in the agricultural sector. Agricultural waste can be used to create a syngas as fuel for MGT through a gasifier, promoting the utilization of carbon-neutral alternative fuels to reduce harmful emissions. The authors considered the electrical and thermal needs of a hypothetical agri-food company to build the electrical and thermal load curves. The new and more complex cogeneration plant, designed by using the Thermoflex 30 software, leads to an increase in electrical power, recovered thermal power, overall electrical efficiency, carbon neutrality, and cogeneration indexes. In particular, the presence of the solar field promotes a reduction in fuel consumption as well as greater heat input to the thermal unit. The addition of a bottoming ORC system increases the electrical power by 36.4%, without significantly penalizing the thermal unit. Moreover, thanks to the gasifier that offsets the fuel reduction costs, through an economic analysis of the entire plant, a payback time of the investment of less than 4 years is obtained. Full article

(This article belongs to the Topic Evolution of Land-Based Gas Turbines)

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29 pages, 12577 KiB  

Open AccessReview

The Fuel Flexibility of Gas Turbines: A Review and Retrospective Outlook

by Michel Molière

Energies 2023, 16(9), 3962; https://doi.org/10.3390/en16093962 - 8 May 2023

Cited by 23 | Viewed by 8214

Abstract

Land-based gas turbines (GTs) are continuous-flow engines that run with permanent flames once started and at stationary pressure, temperature, and flows at stabilized load. Combustors operate without any moving parts and their substantial air excess enables complete combustion. These features provide significant space [...] Read more.

Land-based gas turbines (GTs) are continuous-flow engines that run with permanent flames once started and at stationary pressure, temperature, and flows at stabilized load. Combustors operate without any moving parts and their substantial air excess enables complete combustion. These features provide significant space for designing efficient and versatile combustion systems. In particular, as heavy-duty gas turbines have moderate compression ratios and ample stall margins, they can burn not only high- and medium-BTU fuels but also low-BTU ones. As a result, these machines have gained remarkable fuel flexibility. Dry Low Emissions combustors, which were initially confined to burning standard natural gas, have been gradually adapted to an increasing number of alternative gaseous fuels. The paper first delivers essential technical considerations that underlie this important fuel portfolio. It then reviews the spectrum of alternative GT fuels which currently extends from lean gases (coal bed, coke oven, blast furnace gases…) to rich refinery streams (LPG, olefins) and from volatile liquids (naphtha) to heavy hydrocarbons. This “fuel diet” also includes biogenic products (biogas, biodiesel, and ethanol) and especially blended and pure hydrogen, the fuel of the future. The paper also outlines how, historically, land-based GTs have gradually gained new fuel territories thanks to continuous engineering work, lab testing, experience extrapolation, and validation on the field. Full article

(This article belongs to the Topic Evolution of Land-Based Gas Turbines)

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19 pages, 6983 KiB  

Open AccessArticle

Comprehensive Thermodynamic Evaluation of the Natural Gas-Fired Allam Cycle at Full Load

by Lorenzo Colleoni, Alessio Sindoni and Silvia Ravelli

Energies 2023, 16(6), 2597; https://doi.org/10.3390/en16062597 - 9 Mar 2023

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 3890

Abstract

In this study, thermodynamic modeling and simulations were used to optimize the design point performance of the Allam cycle. The topic fits perfectly with the strategies for power sector decarbonization toward net zero emission. In fact, it offers an environmentally friendlier alternative to [...] Read more.

In this study, thermodynamic modeling and simulations were used to optimize the design point performance of the Allam cycle. The topic fits perfectly with the strategies for power sector decarbonization toward net zero emission. In fact, it offers an environmentally friendlier alternative to natural gas combined cycle (NGCC) plants. The focus is on oxyfuel combustion that, combined with supercritical CO₂ (sCO₂) stream as working fluid, produces high-purity CO₂, electricity, and water by means of a highly recuperated Brayton cycle. The former is ready for sequestration, pipeline injection, or other applications, such as enhanced oil recovery or industrial processes. Being designed within the last decade, large-scale plants are poorly documented in the published literature and not yet ready for operation. Accordingly, a thermodynamic model was developed for a net power (P_n) output of 300 MW. After validation against the little data available from academic studies, simulation sets were conceived to assess the impact of main process parameters on cycle efficiency. To that end, operating conditions of the compressor, turbine, and air separation unit (ASU) were varied in a parametric analysis, preparatory to performance optimization. For the chosen layout, the maximum net electric efficiency (η_el,n) was found to be 50.4%, without thermal recovery from ASU. Full article

(This article belongs to the Topic Evolution of Land-Based Gas Turbines)

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32 pages, 7018 KiB  

Open AccessReview

State of the Art in Humidified Gas Turbine Configurations

by Anwar Hamdan Al Assaf, Abdulkarem Amhamed and Odi Fawwaz Alrebei

Energies 2022, 15(24), 9527; https://doi.org/10.3390/en15249527 - 15 Dec 2022

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 4385

Abstract

This research investigates the most modern approaches to water treatment and recovery in power plants because of the scarcity of water sources and the significance of those sources in enhancing the performance of power-generating cycles. Gas turbines, which use mixes of air and [...] Read more.

This research investigates the most modern approaches to water treatment and recovery in power plants because of the scarcity of water sources and the significance of those sources in enhancing the performance of power-generating cycles. Gas turbines, which use mixes of air and water as the working fluid, provide superior efficiency, high specific power outputs, and reduced investment costs compared to combined cycles. Several different cycles for humidified gas turbines, including cycles of direct water injection, cycles of steam injection, and evaporative cycles that include humidity control towers, have been proposed. Despite this, only a few of these cycles have been put into practice, and even fewer are available for purchase on the market. This work aims to analyze the research and development literature on humidification-based gas turbines and highlight the cycles that have the most significant promise for the long run. In addition, work on development that still has to be carried out in order to deploy humidification-based gas turbine cycles is advised. This article may also be used as an overview of the research and development work that has taken place on humidification-based gas turbines over the course of the last thirty years. Full article

(This article belongs to the Topic Evolution of Land-Based Gas Turbines)

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