Analysis of the influence of hydrogen co-firing on the operation and performance of the gas turbine and combined cycle

Abstract

The effect of hydrogen co-firing on the performance and operating conditions of gas turbines (GTs) and gas turbine combined cycles (GTCCs) was investigated. Two operating scenarios were applied, and off-design analyses were conducted for three GTs with different turbine inlet temperatures (TITs). In the first scenario, the TIT was kept constant. As the hydrogen co-firing ratio increases, the pressure ratio of GT increased, and the power outputs of both GT and GTCC increased. With 100 % hydrogen in the 1650 °C GT, power output and efficiency improved by 5.36 % and 1.55 %p for GT, and 2.90 % and 0.72 %p for GTCC. In the second scenario, the power output was kept constant. The operating point moves toward lower pressure ratio and TIT regimes, and the efficiency of both GT and GTCC increased. With 100 % hydrogen in the 1650 °C GT, TIT decreased by 50.3K, and efficiency increased by 1.42 %p for GT, and 24.9K and 0.42 %p for GTCC. In both scenarios, the higher the TIT, the impact of hydrogen co-firing was more pronounced. It is expected that the second scenario might reduce NOx emissions while still increasing system efficiency in comparison to the NG fired case by operating the GT at a lower TIT and equivalence ratio.

Keywords

• Gas turbine and combined cycle
• Hydrogen
• Turbine inlet temperature
• Power output
• Efficiency
• Nitrogen oxide