GAS POWER GENERATION,

COMBINED CYCLE & COGENERATION

ENERGY CONVERSION

TOOBA ZAMAN (EE-14)

MAHAM AGHA (EE-36)
NEHA KANWAL (EE-39)
BE SECTION: B

GAS POWER GENERATION

What Is Gas Turbine?
Gas turbines are one of the most widely used power generating technologies. Gas turbines are a type of
internal combustion (IC) engine in which burning of an air-fuel mixture produces hot gases that spin a
turbine to produce power. It is the production of hot gas during fuel combustion, not the fuel itself that
gives gas turbines the name. Gas turbines can utilize a variety of fuels, including natural gas, fuel oils, and
synthetic fuels. Combustion occurs continuously in gas turbines, as opposed to reciprocating IC engines, in
which combustion occurs periodically.

Figure 1: Gas Power Generation

What Is Its Process?

Gas turbines are comprised of three primary sections mounted on the same shaft:
1

Compressor

Combustion chamber (or combustor) and

Turbine.

The compressor can be either axial flow or centrifugal flow. Axial flow compressors are more common in
power generation because they have higher flow rates and efficiencies. Axial flow compressors are
comprised of multiple stages of rotating and stationary blades (or stators) through which air is drawn in
parallel to the axis of rotation and incrementally compressed as it passes through each stage. The
acceleration of the air through the rotating blades and diffusion by the stators increases the pressure and
reduces the volume of the air. Although no heat is added, the compression of the air also causes the
temperature to increase.
The compressed air is mixed with fuel injected through nozzles. The fuel and compressed air can be premixed or the compressed air can be introduced directly into the combustor. The fuel-air mixture ignites
under constant pressure conditions and the hot combustion products (gases) are directed through the
turbine where it expands rapidly and imparts rotation to the shaft. The turbine is also comprised of stages,
each with a row of stationary blades (or nozzles) to direct the expanding gases followed by a row of
moving blades. The rotation of the shaft drives the compressor to draw in and compress more air to sustain

continuous combustion. The remaining shaft power is used to drive a generator which produces electricity.
Approximately 55 to 65 percent of the power produced by the turbine is used to drive the compressor. To
optimize the transfer of kinetic energy from the combustion gases to shaft rotation, gas turbines can have
multiple compressor and turbine stages.
Because the compressor must reach a certain speed before the combustion process is continuous or selfsustaining initial momentum is imparted to the turbine rotor from an external motor, static frequency
converter, or the generator itself. The compressor must be smoothly accelerated and reach firing speed
before fuel can be introduced and ignition can occur. Turbine speeds vary widely by manufacturer and
design, ranging from 2,000 revolutions per minute (rpm) to 10,000 rpm. Initial ignition occurs from one or
more spark plugs (depending on combustor design). Once the turbine reaches self-sustaining speed above
50% of full speed the power output is enough to drive the compressor, combustion is continuous, and the
starter system can be disengaged.

Figure 2: Block Diagram Of Gas Power Plant

What Are Its Performance Parameters?

The thermodynamic process used in gas turbines is the Brayton cycle. Two significant performance
parameters are the pressure ratio and the firing temperature. The fuel-to-power efficiency of the engine is
optimized by increasing the difference (or ratio) between the compressor discharge pressure and inlet air
pressure. This compression ratio is dependent on the design. Gas turbines for power generation can be
either industrial (heavy frame) or aero derivative designs. Industrial gas turbines are designed for
stationary applications and have lower pressure ratios typically up to 18:1. Aero derivative gas turbines
are lighter weight compact engines adapted from aircraft jet engine design which operate at higher
compression ratios up to 30:1. They offer higher fuel efficiency and lower emissions, but are smaller and
have higher initial (capital) costs. Aero derivative gas turbines are more sensitive to the compressor inlet
temperature.
The temperature at which the turbine operates (firing temperature) also impacts efficiency, with higher
temperatures leading to higher efficiency. However, turbine inlet temperature is limited by the thermal
conditions that can be tolerated by the turbine blade metal alloy. Gas temperatures at the turbine inlet can
be 1200C to 1400C, but some manufacturers have boosted inlet temperatures as high as 1600C by
engineering blade coatings and cooling systems to protect metallurgical components from thermal damage.

Because of the power required to drive the compressor, energy conversion efficiency for a simple cycle gas
turbine power plant is typically about 30 percent, with even the most efficient designs limited to 40
percent. A large amount of heat remains in the exhaust gas, which is around 600C as it leaves the turbine.
By recovering that waste heat to produce more useful work in a combined cycle configuration, gas turbine
power plant efficiency can reach 55 to 60 percent. However, there are operational limitations associated
with operating gas turbines in combined cycle mode, including longer startup time, purge requirements to
prevent fires or explosions, and ramp rate to full load.

Figure 3: Brayton Cycle

Advantages:

Great power-to-weight ratio compared to

reciprocating engines.
Smaller than their reciprocating counterparts of
the same power.
Lower emission levels.

Disadvantages:

Expensive.
High speeds and high operating temperatures.
Designing and manufacturing gas turbines is a tough problem from both the engineering and
materials standpoint.
Tend to use more fuel when they are idling.
They prefer a constant rather than a fluctuating load.

COGENERATION OR COMBINE HEAT AND POWER (CHP)

What is co-generation?
Combined heat and power or CHP, also called cogeneration or distributed
generation, is the simultaneous production of two types of energy heat and
electricity from one fuel source, often natural gas. The ability to create two forms of
energy from a single source offers tremendous efficiency and thus both cost savings
and environmental benefits.

How is it done?

The key components of a combined heat and power system are an internal
combustion, reciprocating engine driving an electric generator. The clean natural gas
fired engine spins a generator to produce electricity. The natural byproduct of the
working engine is heat. The heat is captured and used to supply space heating,
heating domestic hot water, laundry hot water or to provide heat for swimming pools
and spas. The CHP process is very similar to an automobile, where the engine
provides the power to rotate the wheels and the byproduct heat is used to keep the
passengers warm in the cabin during the winter months.

Figure 4: Cogeneration Cycle In A Gas Power Plant

How efficient is it?

Combined heat and power systems use fuel very efficiently. A CHP system provides
electricity and heat at a combined efficiency approaching 90%. This is a significant
improvement over the combination of the 35% efficient electric utility and a
conventional heating boiler with a 65% seasonal efficiency.
Why is there such a big difference in fuel efficiency between the electric utility and a
combined heat and power system? The electric utility and CHP system each produce

electricity and heat from one source of fuel. However, the heat produced at the
electric utility is not used; it goes into the cooling water or up the smokestack along
with greenhouse gases and other pollutants. Approximately two-thirds of the fuels
energy is wasted. Alternatively, while generating electricity, a properly sized
combined heat and power system recovers nearly all of the heat it produces and
deploys it on site.
In addition, when purchasing power from the electric utility, a separate source of
heat, usually a boiler, is required. Despite using an efficient boiler, the total fuel
required to produce conventional electricity and boiler heat is greater than the
amount of fuel required to produce simultaneous energy with a combined heat and
power system. This demonstrates why CHP-produced energy is more cost effective
than the combined energies from the electric utility and local boilers.

What are the benefits of co-generation?

Because of the high efficiency of the system, combined heat and power provides
considerable energy, environmental and economic benefits. CHP systems reduce the
demand on the utility grid, increase energy efficiency, reduce air pollution, lower
greenhouse gas emissions and protect the property against power outages, while
significantly lowering the utility costs of building operations.
From a societal standpoint, CHP can reduce the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions
normally associated with electricity and hot water production by as much as 50%.
This same efficiency gain with CHP is what helps an end-user cut his utility bills
significantly. The end users utility-related operating costs are typically reduced by a
similar percentage (as much as 50%).
Electricity is fed into the building, thereby reducing the facilitys electrical
consumption and bill significantly.
At the same time, free waste heat is recovered from the cogeneration systems
engine oil, jacket, and exhaust heat. Captured heat is then used to offset fuel that
would otherwise have to be burned in the sites water heaters and boilers. This
allows the sites boilers to not have to work as hard. So the sites gas bill (e.g., for
space heating, domestic hot water/ DHW, process hot water, pool heating, etc.) goes
down, too.
Waste heat captured from the cogeneration system can even be fed into a device
called an absorption chiller, which is able to convert the waste heat into cooling. This
relieves the sites other chillers (typically, electricity-powered) from having to do so
much of the sites air conditioning.

Figure 5: Cogeneration Production

COMBINED CYCLE POWER PLANT

Disadvantages of Simple Cycle Power Plants

The process for converting the energy in a fuel into electric power involves the
creation of mechanical work, which is then transformed into electric power by a
generator. Depending on the fuel type and thermodynamic process, the overall
efficiency of this conversion can be as low as 30 percent. This means that two-thirds
of the latent energy of the fuel ends up wasted. For example, steam electric power
plants which utilize boilers to combust a fossil fuel average 33 percent efficiency.
Simple cycle gas turbine (GTs) plants average just under 30 percent efficiency on
natural gas, and around 25 percent on fuel oil. Much of this wasted energy ends up
as thermal energy in the hot exhaust gases from the combustion process.

How is efficiency improved?

To increase the overall efficiency of electric power plants, multiple processes can be
combined to recover and utilize the residual heat energy in hot exhaust gases. In
combined cycle mode, power plants can achieve electrical efficiencies up to 60
percent.

What is a Combined Cycle Power Plant?

The term combined cycle refers to the combining of multiple thermodynamic
cycles to generate power. Combined cycle operation employs a heat recovery steam
generator (HRSG) that captures heat from high temperature exhaust gases to
produce steam, which is then supplied to a steam turbine to generate additional
electric power. The process for creating steam to produce work using a steam turbine
is based on the Rankine cycle. While Brayton cycle is used in gas turbine power
plant.
The Combined Cycle Power Plant or combined cycle gas turbine, a gas turbine
generator generates electricity and waste heat is used to make steam to generate
additional electricity via a steam turbine.

How is it done?

A heat exchanger or a series of heat exchangers also called a boiler creates

steam for the steam turbine by passing the hot exhaust gas flow from a gas
turbine or combustion engine through banks of heat exchanger tubes. The
heat exchanger can rely on natural circulation or utilize forced circulation
using pumps.
As the hot exhaust gases flow past the heat exchanger tubes in which hot
water circulates, heat is absorbed causing the creation of steam in the tubes.
The tubes are arranged in sections, or modules, each serving a different
function in the production of dry superheated steam. These modules are
referred to as economizers, evaporators, superheaters/ reheaters and
preheaters.
The economizer is a heat exchanger that preheats the water to approach the
saturation temperature (boiling point), which is supplied to a thick-walled
steam drum.
The drum is located adjacent to finned evaporator tubes that circulate
heated water. As the hot exhaust gases flow past the evaporator tubes, heat
is absorbed causing the creation of steam in the tubes.
The steam-water mixture in the tubes enters the steam drum where steam is
separated from the hot water using moisture separators and cyclones.
The separated water is recirculated to the evaporator tubes. Steam drums
also serve storage and water treatment functions.

Saturated steam from the steam drums or once-through system is sent to the
superheater to produce dry steam which is required for the steam turbine.
Preheaters are located at the coolest end of the heat exchanger gas path
and absorb energy to preheat heat exchanger liquids, such as water/glycol
mixtures, thus extracting the most economically viable amount of heat from
exhaust gases.
The superheated steam produced by the heat exchanger is supplied to the
steam turbine where it expands through the turbine blades, imparting
rotation to the turbine shaft.
The energy delivered to the generator drive shaft is converted into
electricity.
After exiting the steam turbine, the steam is sent to a condenser which
routes the condensed water back to the heat exchanger.

Figure 6: Operation Of Co-generation

T-S plot for the Bryton cycle and combined cycle power plant are shown in figure
.The ratio between the area enclosed by cycle and area below the upper line in the
cycle is called overall efficiency. Open cycle gas turbine has efficiencies of around 43
%. Because of the Rankine cycle present below the Brayton cycle, combined cycle
has efficiencies of around 60 %

Figure 7: Thermodynamic Cycle Of A Combined Cycle Power Plant

What are the advantages of Combine Cycle Power Plant?

A combined cycle power generation system offers many advantages.

As most combined cycle generation systems use natural gas as the fuel, the
environmental emissions are low. There is less pollution produced compared
to conventional steam or gas turbine power plants.
As such, complex and expensive environmental control systems are not
needed.
Transportation of fuel via pipelines is also easier than that of coal and oil.
The combined cycle power generation system also offers quick part-load
starting. For example, the GE Model-7000 gas turbine is able to produce
maximum output of 198MW within 30 minutes while the steam turbine portion
takes about an hour to operate from a cold start.

It can operate over a wide range of loads and is suitable for meeting peak
power requirement and also base load.
Supplementary firing can be used to increase steam turbine output in times of
increased output demand. On the other hand, the gas turbine can be stopped
when there is a decrease in demand.
It is also cheaper to build a combined cycle power plant than coal, nuclear or
renewable energy power plant.
Its capital cost is lower than that of steam turbine plant.

What are the disadvantages?

The combined cycle power generation system is not without its disadvantages.

As natural gas is the fuel used, its higher cost compared to coal and oil will
result in higher operating cost.
The system is also less flexible with regards to the types of fuel to be used,
thus this limit in resources means the supply of fuel is critical to the plant's
operation.
The combined cycle power generation system is a combination of two
technologies, the complexity will result in higher maintenance cost.
It will require highly skilled and better trained operating staffs.
The capital cost of a combined cycle power generation plant is higher than
that of gas turbine plant.