Simulation of the operation of a gas turbine installation of a thermal power plant with a hydrogen fuel production system

The growth in demand for the production of heat and electricity requires an increase in fuel consumption by power equipment. At the moment, the most demanded thermal equipment for construction and modernization is gas turbine units. Gas turbines can burn a variety of fuels (natural gas, synthesis gas, methane), but the main fuel is natural gas of various compositions. The use of alternative fuels makes it possible to reduce CO2 and NOx emissions during the operation of a gas turbine. Under conditions of operation of thermal power plants at the wholesale power market, it becomes probable that combined cycle power units, designed to carry base load, will start to operate in variable modes. Variable operation modes lead to a decrease in the efficiency of power equipment. One way to minimize or eliminate equipment unloading is to install an electrolysis unit to produce hydrogen. In this article the technology of Power to gas production with the necessary pressure at the outlet of 30 kgf/cm2 (this pressure is necessary for stable operation of the fuel preparation system of the gas turbine) is considered. High cost of hydrogen fuel during production affects the final cost of heat and electric energy, therefore it is necessary to burn hydrogen in mixture with natural gas. Burning a mixture of 5% hydrogen fuel and 95% natural gas requires minimal changes in the design of the gas turbine, it is necessary to supplement the fuel preparation system (install a cleaning system, compression for hydrogen fuel). In addition, the produced hydrogen can be stored, transported to the consumer. For the possibility of combustion of a mixture of natural gas and hydrogen fuel in a gas turbine the methodology of calculation of thermodynamic properties of working bodies developed by a team of authors under the guidance of Academician RAS (the Russian Academy of Sciences) V.E. Alemasov has been adapted, resulting in a program that allows to obtain an adequate mathematical model of the gas turbine. The permissible range of the working body temperature is limited to 3000 K. This paper presents the developed all-mode mathematical model of a gas turbine. On the basis of mathematical modeling of a gas turbine, a change in the main energy and environmental characteristics is shown depending on the composition of the fuel gas. Adding 5% hydrogen to natural gas has little effect on the gas turbine air treatment system, the flow rate remains virtually unchanged. CO2 emissions decrease, but there is an increase in the amount of H2O in the turbine exhaust gases.(c) 2022 Hydrogen Energy Publications LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

The demand for heat and electricity production requires increased fuel consumption in power equipment, with gas turbine units being the most sought-after thermal equipment. Gas turbines can burn various fuels, but the main fuel is natural gas. The use of alternative fuels can reduce CO2 and NOx emissions during gas turbine operation. Incorporating 5% hydrogen into natural gas has minimal impact on the gas turbine design and requires only minor adjustments to the fuel preparation system. A mathematical model of the gas turbine has been developed to study the effects of fuel gas composition on energy and environmental characteristics.