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This paper presents the results of an evaluation of advanced combined cycle gas turbine plants with precombustion capture of CO2 from natural gas. In particular, the designs are carried out with the objectives of high efficiency, low capital cost, and low emissions of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere. The novel cycles introduced in this paper are comprised of a high-pressure syngas generation island, in which an air-blown partial oxidation reformer is used to generate syngas from natural gas, and a power island, in which a CO2-lean syngas is burnt in a large frame machine. In order to reduce the efficiency penalty of natural gas reforming, a significant effort is spent evaluating and optimizing alternatives to recover the heat released during the process. CO2 is removed from the shifted syngas using either CO2 absorbing solvents or a CO2 membrane. CO2 separation membranes, in particular, have the potential for considerable cost or energy savings compared with conventional solvent-based separation and benefit from the high-pressure level of the syngas generation island. A feasibility analysis and a cycle performance evaluation are carried out for large frame gas turbines such as the 9FB. Both short-term and long-term solutions have been investigated. An analysis of the cost of CO2 avoided is presented, including an evaluation of the cost of modifying the combined cycle due to CO2 separation. The paper describes a power plant reaching the performance targets of 50% net cycle efficiency and 80% CO2 capture, as well as the cost target of 30$ per ton of CO2 avoided (2006 Q1 basis). This paper indicates a development path to this power plant that minimizes technical risks by incremental implementation of new technology.

The evaporative gas turbine (EvGT), also known as the humid air turbine (HAT) cycle, is a novel advanced gas turbine cycle that has attracted considerable interest for the last decade. This high efficiency cycle shows the potential to be competitive with Diesel engines or combined cycles in small and intermediate scale plants for power production — and/or cogeneration. A 0.6 MW natural gas fired EvGT pilot plant has been constructed by a Swedish national research group in cooperation between universities and industry. The plant is located at the Lund Institute of Technology, Lund, Sweden. The pilot plant uses a humidification tower with metallic packing in which heated water from the flue gas economizer is brought into direct counter current contact with the pressurized air from the compressor. This gives an efficient heat recovery and thereby a thermodynamically sound cycle. As the hot sections in high temperature gas turbines are sensitive to particles and alkali compounds, water quality issues need to be carefully considered. As such, apart from evaluating the thermodynamic and part load performance characteristics of the plant, and verifying the operation of the high pressure humidifier, much attention is focused on the water chemistry issues associated with the recovery and reuse of condensate water from the flue gas. A water treatment system has been designed and integrated into the pilot plant. This paper presents the first water quality results from the plant. The experimental results show that the condensate contains low levels of alkali and calcium, around 2 mg/l Σ(K,Na,Ca), probably originating from the unfiltered compressor intake. About 14 mg/l NO2− + NO3− comes from condensate absorption of flue gas NOx. Some Cu is noted, 16 mg/l, which originates from copper corrosion of the condenser tubes. After CO2-stripping, condensate filtration and a mixed bed ion exchanger, the condensate is of suitable quality for reuse as humidification water. The need for large quantities of demineralized water has by many authors been identified as a drawback for the evaporative cycle. However, by cooling the humid flue gas, the recovery of condensed water cuts the need of water feed. A self supporting water circuit can be achieved, with no need for any net addition of water to the system. In the pilot plant, this was achieved by cooling the flue gas to around 35°C.

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Humidified gas turbine (HGT) cycles are a group of advanced gas turbine cycles that use water–air mixtures as the working media. In this article, three known HGT configurations are examined in the context of short-term realization for small to mid-sized power generation: the steam injected gas turbine, the full-flow evaporative gas turbine, and the part-flow evaporative gas turbine. The heat recovery characteristics and performance potential of these three cycles are assessed, with and without intercooling, and a preliminary economic analysis is carried out for the most promising cycles.