DESALINATION

ELSEVIER

Desalination 127 (2000) 27-45

www.elsevier.com/locate/desal

The cogeneration power-desalting plant with combined cycle:

a computer program
M.A. Darwish
Mechanical & Industrial Engineering Department, College of Engineering and Petroleum, Kuwait University,
PO Box 5969, Safat 13060, Kuwait
Tel. +965 481-1188, ext. 5789; Fax +965 484-7131; email: darwish@kucOl.kuniv.edu.kw

Received 8 February 1999; accepted24 May 1999

Abstract

Recent developments in gas turbines encourage their use in utility power generation in many parts in the world. The
addition of a heat recovery steam generator (HRSG) to a gas turbine to utilize its waste heat f'mds good application in
many of the Arabian Gulf countries to desalt seawater from the steam generated by the HRSG. Also the addition of a
steam turbine to utilize this steam, to form what is called a combined power cycle, greatly increases the efficiency of
power generation. The use of a combined cycle as a cogeneration power-desalting plant looks very attractive as it saves
fuel in producing both electric power and desalted water.
Keywords: Cogeneration; Computer program; Power desalting plant

1. Introduction
In a power plant course for senior and
graduate students at Kuwait University, the
teaching of the combined cycle in its cogeneration mode of operation and showing how
different parameters are affecting its performance
are greatly facilitated by using a computer program. The combined cycle, as shown in Fig. 1,
consists of a gas turbine, heat recovery steam
generator (HRSG), and a steam turbine. The
affecting parameters for the gas turbines include

ambient temperature, air humidity ratio, the type

of fuel used, the compressor compression ratio
and its isentropic efficiency, the combustion
chamber efficiency, the turbine inlet temperature
and its efficiency and exhaust temperature, and
the pressure losses in the ducts of the cycle. As
for the HRSG, their performance depends on the
temperature of the inlet flue gases, number of
pressure stages in the HRSG, the conditions and
the flow rates of the generated steam, the pinch
point for each pressure stage, the water feed
temperature, and the exhaust flue gas tempera-

0011-9164/00/$- See front matter 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved
PII: s o 0 1 1 - 9 1 6 4 ( 9 9 ) 0 0 1 9 0 - 3

28

M.A. Darwish / Desalination 127 (2000) 27-45

I FuQ't

17

,_I2.

14 t|

H
IL

ST

D^

L_.I

~..;

.d |

k._-I

Fig. 1. Schematic diagram of a combined gas-steam turbine cycle with a two-stage pressure heat recovery steam
generator. Gas turbine: 1 compressor inlet, 2 combustion chamber (CC) inlet, 3 turbine inlet, 4, turbine outlet, 5 hot gases
stack outlet. Heat recovery steam generator: 4 supplementary fired boiler inlet, 6 HRSG hot gases inlet, 7 steam turbine
steam outlet and condenser inlet, 8 steam condenser outlet, deaerator outlet and feed water inlet to the HRSG, I0-11 lowpressure stage economizer, 12-13 low-pressure stage super-heater, 14-15 high-pressure economizer, 16-17 high-pressure
steam super-heater, 17 steam turbine inlet. AC, GT air compressor; CC, combustion chamber; GT, gas turbine; SF,
supplementary fired boiler; HRB, heat recovery boiler; BFG, boiler feed pump; ST, steam turbine; CP, condenser pump;
C, condenser; FWH, feed water heater; DA, open feed heater (deaerator).

29

M.A. Darwish / Desalination 127 (2000) 27-45

ture. The condition of the generated steam,

pressure and temperatures are the main factors
affecting the performance of the steam turbines.
The performance of the steam turbines depends
on the mode of its operation in the required
cogeneration mode. It can be condensing,
condensing-extraction, or back pressure turbine,
The pressure and temperature of the extracted
steam to supply the desalting plant have
significant effect on the cycle efficiency,
utilization factor and heat rate. All the mentioned
parameters interact with no simple relations
between them. Thus, it was decided to write a
computer program with the ability to change any
of the design and/or operating parameter(s) to see
their effect on the overall performance.
The equations used in this program with some
explanation are given here to give the reader the
physical meaning behind them. Samples of the
obtained results are given. The analysis is divided
to study of the gas turbine performance, the heat
recovery steam generator, the steam cycle, and
the combination of the desalting plant with the
cycle,

2. Components analysis of the gas turbine

cycle
The split gas turbine cycle, shown in Fig. 2, is
analyzed here as outlined by Cohen [1]. It
consists of a compressor, combustion chamber,
gas generator (turbine producing enough power
to drive the compressor), and the power turbine.
The analysis and equations used for each of the
cycle components are presented here. Most of the
equations are correlations derived by this study
from the available thermodynamic tables for
steam, air, and combustion product gases.

2.1. The compressor

The data required to start the analysis in

general are the air inlet temperature T1, and
humidity ratio W, the pressure ratio PR, the gas
turbine inlet temperature T3, and compressor and
turbine efficiencies (from manufacturers' data).
The air enthalpy was correlated as a function of
temperature from the Keenan thermodynamics
table [2] as:

{a)

(b}
Je,mbu~uo,

3/~'
Turblnal

P1 1
$

Fig. 2. Split shaft gas turbine, Brayton cycle, with its T-S diagram.

M.A. Darwish/ Desalination 127 (2000)27-45

30

h(T) : 16.383 +(.907* T) +(.000137 * T 2)

T(Pr) : 10.041 +(O.O0264*pr2)-(7.32E-6,Pr 3)

(1)

+ [263.273 *Pr3)-(O.9489*Pr7 ln(Pr)]

(1.44E-8 * T 3)

in kJ/kg where T is deg K.

The relative pressure Pr is defined by
exp(s/R), where

T
S O

in deg K,

Pr< 100

(3)

T(h) = 47.576 -(0.0625374,h 2)

+(O.114113,h l.8)- ~.859E-7 ,h 3)

d__T

= f G (T) T

(4)

+ [0.0050771 *h 2*ln(h)]

and consequently,

in deg K,

T us.

el S=constant-PrT- exp (S/R)

300<h<1000 kJ/kg

at the in.et oomprossor

from

T~ and Eqs. (2a)and (2b), and Pr2, is given by

The relative pressure Pr is used to obtain the

property changes during an isentropic process by
taking into consideration the variations of the
specific heat of the air with the temperature. Pr is
tabulated by Keenan in terms of temperature and
enthalpy. It is correlated here as a function of
temperature and enthalpy or vice versa in
equation form as:

Pr2, _ P2
Prl P1

The value of h 2 is obtained from Pr2s and the

following correlations, which express h in terms
of Pr:
for Pr<140

h(Pr) = 445.28 +(2865.42,Pr)-(8760.85 */~r 2)

for T<400 deg K

Pr(T) = .4945 -(.043486 * T) - (6.8579E-5, T 2)

+ (16,531.69,/~r 3)- (15,235.67 */~r 4) (5)

+(1.3416E-7*T3)+[O.OO96349*T*ln(T)]

+(5328.55,/Sr 5)

(2a)

for T>400 deg K

for Pr>140

PR(T) =4.497-(8.565E-4*T2)-(3.591E-7*T 3)
- (2.1635E- 10*T4)

inkJ/kg

(2b)

h(Pr) =915.36+(1313.65*Pr)-(1876.16*Pr~)
where + (2381 "93 */3-r3) - (1744"7 */~'r4)
+ (525.07,/7r 5)

in kJ/kg

M.A. Darwish / Desalination 12 7 (2000) 2 7-45

Pr = Pr - 70

31

CxHy +X(dry air) ~ xCO 2 + YH20

38O

(10)

- (x+y/4) 0 2 +Xdry air

The fuel-to-air ratio is defined by

where
P2/P1

=
288* [Standard pressure ratio (PR)-I] + 1 (7)
T1

Then Pr2,, T2s , and h2~ are obtained, and the

isentropic and actual work done can be given by

_ Dlf _ Mweight of fuel

ma
X* 28.97

where X is the number of moles of dry air

supplied/mole of fuel. X is chosen to give the
product of combustion the required TIT, and is
obtained by using the following:
/L/products = nreactant s

Wcomp(ideal ) = h2s - h I

(8)

Hence,
mcomp(actual) = (h2s - hi)/lqcomp

(9)
+Yh
X=

2.2. Combustion chamber

hair(T3)- hai~(T2)

The compressor only handles air, but

combusted gases result from the reaction of the
air with the fuel used in the combustion chamber.
The amount of heat input in the combustion
chambers is calculated by neglecting the heat loss
from the chamber in the following section,
Assume a hydrocarbon fuel having the
following formula: (Cx He); then the complete
combustion equation is:

The actual fuel-to-air ratio is calculated as

follows:

C x n y + (x + y / 4 ) 0 2 ~ x C O 2 + y H 2 0

C/,(mixture)2 = Cp(moist)(combustion inlet) +f*Cp(fuel)

Hence, the amount of excess air can be found as

follows:

f
f = -l']cmb

The mixture specific heat entering the

combustion chamber is calculated by:

- C (mixture)2 + % (mixture)3
Cp(mgas)l -

M.A. Darwish / Desalination 12 7 (2000) 27-45

32

where Cp(~xt~)3, the specific heat of the gaseous

product, and can be expressed with the following
equation:

T3 [Eqs. (2) and (3)] and Pr4~ is obtained from h4,

[Eqs. (8) and (9)].
The pressure at the gas generator exit (point 4)
is calculated by

c (gaseous) = 0.8397 + [0.00018* T~]

k

P4 = P 3

*(er4s/Pr3)

(14)

+ [0.017038exp (]) *In(T3)]

where
+ 0.032313 * TSs * f
P3 = (1 - fraction of combustion chamber

pressure loss) * PR
Hence the amount of heat input into the combustion chamber per unit mass of combustible
mixture is
Qin =Cp(mgas)l *(T3-T2a)

(12)

2.3. Gas generator turbine

W
compressor

0.95 + f

The actual enthalpy of the combusted air at

the gas generator exit may be calculated as
follows:
h4a = h3 -

The gas generator power output is equal to the

compressor power consumption, i.e.

WGT _

2.4. Power turbine

(13)

where 0.95 is the ratio of turbine to compressor

air flow rates where a 5% air loss from the
compressor is used to cool the turbine blades,
The specific ideal work obtained from the gas
generator under the isentropic, but impossible,
expansion is

WeT (actual)

The relative pressure at state 4a is Praa =f(h4a);

hence,

Pr5, = Pr4~ ,(ps /P4 )

where Ps~ is the pressure at state 5 = (Patmospheac/
1-fraction of duct pressure loss).
The enthalpy at state 5s can be calculated
from hs, = f(Pr5,). The power turbine specific
work output can be expressed by
WpT (actual) = 1]PT* (h4a-h5s)* (.95 +f)

(15)
WGT (ideal) = WGT (actual) / "qGT

WpT (actual) V = ~/air * WpT (actual)

The enthalpy of the combusted air after the

imaginary isentropic expansion is

Since hsa = Wpv(ac~al)-haa,the temperature at state

5a is calculated from Tsa =f(hs~).
The first low thermal efficiency of the gas
turbine cycle is

g4s = 8 3 - W'GT (ideal)

The relative pressure P r 3 is obtained from h 3 or

WPT(actual )
nth -

Qin

33

M.A. Darwish / Desalination 127 (2000) 27-45

3. Analysis of the heat recovery steam

generator
The HRSG (see Fig. 3) utilizes the heat
content of the gas turbine flue gases in generating
steam. It can be a non-fired or supplementary
fired type. The generated steam can be used for
process heat such as refrigeration, desalination,
and chemical processes needing heat, or to
supply steam to a bottoming steam power cycle,
The output of the non-fired steam generator
depends on the temperature and the flow rate of
the flue gases leaving the gas turbine, and this is
affected by the gas turbine operation (full or part
load). Supplementary firing is used to increase
the temperature and the capacity of the generated
steam during the gas turbine low loading periods.
It can also increase the temperature and the
capacity of the bottoming steam power cycle
beyond the thermal capacity of the flue gas
leaving the gas turbine even at full load. Thus,
the supplementary HRSG is independent of the
gas turbine operating mode. Both types can be of
a single- or double- (or rarely used triple-) stage

pressures type. The majority ofHRSG connected

to gas turbines are of the non-fired type with two
pressure stages. The hot gases and water
temperature profiles are given in Fig. 4. This is
the reason for concentrating the discussion of this
paper to that type.
The main components of the HRSG are
economizer, evaporator (boiling section), steam
drum including mist separator, super-heater
(when needed) for each pressure stage, and
recirculating and booster pumps. Sometimes the
super-heater of the low-pressure stage is not
really needed. As mentioned earlier, the
performance of the non-fired HRSG depends on
the operation of the gas turbine combined with it.
An analysis is developed here to determine how
the gas turbine operation in terms of ambient
condition and loading affects the performance of
the HRSG.
The performance of the HRSG is affected by
its operating on design parameters such as the
pinch point, the temperature approach, first- and
second-stage pressures, and the mass ratio of the

iExhaust oas out

[
1. Economizer
2. Evaporator

"

Oe-oerotor
~

3. Superheat.st

1st s~age

''

"-

1.
2.
3.
4.

Low pressure
Low pressure
Lew pressure
Hiqh pressure

De-a
economizer
evaporat.or
superheater
economizer

[2.
let It.a@
1;~ "
'~'

5. High pressure evaporator

J4
6. High pressure superheater
2nd stage

P.mp,

lea=it

L-LlJ

15
le

_1 Exhaust gas In
Fig. 3. Single- and dual-pressure stage HRSGs.

34

M.A. Darwish / Desalination 127 (2000) 27-45

two stages. The developed analysis is based on

the mass and energy balances for a dual-pressure
steam generator. The mass flow ratio of the high
pressure stage steam to the total feed water to the
economizer is allowed to change in an iterative
loop to satisfy the required energy and mass
balances within certain limitations. The limitations include the following:
1. The first stage pinch point is kept within a
specified design range of 5-30C.
2. The difference between the temperatures of
the hot gases and the low pressure superheated
steam is kept to a minimum.
3. The approach temperature is kept unchanged.
4. The quality of the steam leaving the steam
turbine should be higher than 0.87. This may
necessitate the increase of the condensing
pressure,
5. The stack temperature is allowed to vary to
satisfy the energy balance while keeping the
stack temperature higher than the dewpoint
temperature.
The energy balance for the second (high)
pressure sides of the steam generator gives:

T2 = Tat2 + Tpp2

msup2 =

(1-RADL). ragas Cp(gas)' (Tin- Tp2)

(I+ Sloss)* (Hsup2-/-/sat2)

(17)

(18)

where S~o~sis the steam loss which occurs only in

the superheater.
The enthalpy of the flow gases is correlated
by
Cp(gas) = 0.8397 + 0.00018.T h + 0.017031
(19)
' exp (J)' In (Texh)+0.032313" (Texh)Ss "f

The heat balance for the first (low) pressure

economizer gives
Mfeed.(nsatl-Hfeedl)
Tpl = (l_RADL).mgas. Cp(gas) +Ltk

(20)

where RADL is the fraction of heat transfer

losses.

High pressure

Tin ~
10W pressure
-r.~,~. ~'~) ~ ~ ' r ,
_

~.G)

The enthalpy of the feed water is correlated in

terms of the feed temperature by

T,,z~-,,,, IT ..

Hfeedl = 4'0864" (Tfeedl)1005714

\l\
--"~21
r,..,2\: ~. r,,t "r.tw

(E):(c}r... (B'~,

(A~'rf,,,,,

..................
Heot transferred CQ)

(21)

The value of TppI is calculated by assuming the

stack temperature T stack and the ratio, M,
defined by the second (high) pressure steam to
the total feed water flow rates, i.e.,
M =~

~,M~up2M
/ ~o~a

Fig. 4. Temperature profile vs. heat transfer for dual-

pressure HRSG.

The first pressure pinch point is given by

M.A. Darwish / Desalination 127 (2000) 27-45

(22)

T p l = T 1 - Tsatl

The value of Tpl should be equal or higher than

10 C. Otherwise new values ofMand T stack are
assumed until the corrected value is obtained.
The temperature of the exhaust gases at the
inlet of the first pressure stage superheater
section can be written as

T'gas = T 2 -

msup2"(Hsat2- Hfeed,2)
(1-RADL)'mgas'Cp~gas )

(23)

35

4. Steam bottoming cycle

The bottom steam cycle consists of a steam
condensing turbine, steam condenser, and an
open feed heater (deaerator) besides the HRSG.
The T-s schematic diagram of the cycle is given
in Fig. 5.
At the condenser side the enthalpy of seam at
the exit of the turbine (assumed identical to that
of the condenser inlet) is given by
/-/~o.d = Ho.df +~Cfg'Ho.dfg)

(26)

where [3] nfeed,2 is the second pressure stage feed

water enthalpy and is equal to

where

nfeed,2 =/ttsatl(COIT.) + Wpump(kJ/kg)

Hondf = 25.6 + (2.2687"Pco,d)- 0.00093 "(Pc

Hence, an energy balance around the first

pressure stage evaporator and superheater will
give the enthalpy of the first stage superheated
steam as f o l l o w s :

+ 62.689"1n (Pcona) (kj/kg)

(27)

ncndfg = 2492"06"(Pcha)001791 (kJ/kg)

(28)

//sup 1 = Hsal 1(corr.)

H
~V/sup I

EF

where
msupl = (mfeed-msup2)

(25)

Q.

is the first stage steam mass flow rate (kg/s).

If calculations reveal Ts,pl (corresponding to
Hsupl and Psatl) higher than Tsg~, then the mass
flow ratio (Mratio) has to be changed and the
calculations are repeated for all the past steps
(starting from step 1), until Ts,pl is sufficiently
lower than Tsgas.

Entropy (hi

Fig. 5. Temperature-entropy diagram for HRSG and

steam bottom cycle.

36

M.A. Darwish / Desalination 127 (2000) 27-45

A check is performed on the condensing

pressure by using the known superheated steam
condition and steam turbine efficiency to insure
that the quality of the steam at the turbine inlet is
within the acceptable conditions, i.e., 0.87<x<1.
The minimum quality in the condenser (i.e., for
100% turbine efficiency or isentropic expansion)
can be given as follows (assuming isentropic
expansion):
_ Ssup2 -Sco,df

Xcond, is

Scondfg

(29)

Hence, the enthalpy of steam at condenser

pressure if the expansion is isentropic is

Hondf.(mfeed-metl)+(metl.Hxn)

(32)

= mfeed'nfeed 1

Mfeed. (Hfeed-ncondf)
mextl =

(nextl _ ncondf )

Hence, the power output of the steam bottoming

cycle can be written, bearing in mind the amount
of steam extracted for feed water heating
purposes, as follows:

Power =Tlmech"qgen'[(msup2-Hcond,a)
+ (msupl-Mext i )" (nsup1-/-/cond,a)]

His= acondf + (Xcond,is" acondfg)

Hcond,a =/-/sup2- ['lqst'(Hsup2-His)]

(33)

(34)

_ (msup2"Wpump)
(30)

The exhaust energy or power can be written as

follows:

Thus,

_ (/-/cond,a -/-/condf)
Xcond,a -

Hondfg

Qinput = mgas

(Up(in) + Cp(stk))"(Tin- Tstk)

2

(35)

(31)

If calculations reveal Xcond,a lower than 0.87

(to be specified by the user), then the condenser
pressure has to be increased and the calculations
must be repeated until Xcona,a is higher than 0.87.
It is worth mentioning that the entropy of the first
pressure stage superheated steam should be close
to the entropy of the second pressure stage
superheated steam since great differences can
change the results of equation.
For feed heating purposes saturated steam is
extracted from the HRSG first pressure stage. An
energy balance around the feed water heater can
be written as

and the overall steam bottoming cycle efficiency

is
Power
]]cycle- Qinput

(36)

5. Coupling a desalting plant with a combined

gas-steam turbine cycle
Kuwait and other Arabian Gulf countries are
arid lands with scarce water sources. These
countries depend on desalted seawater to satisfy

M.A. Darwish / Desalination 127 (2000) 27-45

37

their potable water needs. Desalting seawater in

large capacities can be performed by two
methods. The first is reverse osmosis where
seawater (feed) is pumped to a high pressure
(60-80 bar) after pretreatment to the reverse
osmosis membranes. The membranes permit
fresh water, but not salt to permeate through it.
Energy recovery turbines are usually used to
regain the pumping energy of the brine stream
leaving the membranes at high pressure (5065 bar). A recovery turbine can regain up to 35%
of the high-pressure feed pump energy. Thus this
method needs mechanical energy to run its
pumps. For the water conditions in the Gulf area,
the specific energy consumption, when energy
recovery is used, is in the range of 7.5 kWh/m 3

mass of steam extracted to the MSF units

increases, the need for low-pressure steam
supplied from the HRSG is decreased. This in
turns increases the low-pressure steam supplied
to the steam turbine. The energy balances for the
opened feed heater and the steam turbine with
bleeding steam to the desalting units can be
written as:

product,
The other desalting method is multi-stage
flash (MSF), which consumes thermal energy in
the form of low-pressure steam (at 1-2 bar) with
a gain ratio (distillate per kg of supplied steam)
of 6-8. Besides thermal energy, this method also
consumes mechanical energy (in the range of
4-5 kWh/m3 product) to run its pumps. Since the
required heat source is low-pressure steam
(1--2 bar), it is wasteful to use a boiler to operate
the system directly. In the Gulf area MSF
desalting plants are combined with cogeneration
steam turbines where steam is supplied to the
MSF desalting units after being expanded in the
turbine to the pressure required by the MSF units,
For the combined cycle, the steam turbine can
supply mechanical work (through electric
motors) to reverse osmosis desalting units while
bleeding steam to the MSF desalting units (see
Fig. 6). The figure shows that the steam cycle
open feed heater (deaerator) receives condensed
water from the condenser and from the MSF
desalting units. It also receives a fraction of the
low-pressure steam generated in the HRSG. The
temperature of condensate returned from the
MSF is in the range of(100-110C), close to the
feed water to the HRSG. Consequently, as the

mfeed * (nfeedl -//eond,a) = mextl * (nxtl -ncond,a)

mreed*Hfeed 1 : mextl * n e x t l + n a b s

*/-/cond,a

+ (mfeed - nabs - mextl)

By rearranging the above equation,

nabs* (/-/abs-nond,a)

Thus, the extracted mass is,

_mfeed*(Hfeedl-ncond,a)-mabs*(Gbs-ncond,a)
mextl

(Hextl _ncond.a)

(37)
and the steam turbine output power can be
written as follows:
power 1 -- msup2 * (/-/sup2-ncond.a)

+[(msupl-mextl)*(nsupl-ncond.a)]

(38)

- n a b s *(Habs-Hond,a)-(msup2 * Wpump)

The above equation shows that a decrease in the

extracted mass will slightly increase the steam
turbine power output.
When the extracted mass to the feed heater is
diminished, the steam turbine power output is
written as follows:

M.A. Darw&h / Desalination 127 (1999) 27-45

38

J_

._.

"'

.~

.~
,.0

ij

]
r

.-H ~

-,----h

~-t

:1++

f,d!

7_~ A_ ~
~ 11_

tI

~'~

-H d- W"--- ]

,~:-7~_1_ ~
,

::

.....

"I

+
4o

M.A. Darwish / Desalination 12 7 (2000) 27-45

power2 = msup2 * (/-/sup2-/-/tonal,a)

+ [m~upl - (Hsupl - H~ond,a)]

(39)

__labs* (Habs_Hcond,a)_ (msup2 , (Dpump)

6. Results and discussion

Samples of computer analysis are presented
here. The case of a simple gas turbine was
previously reported [4]. The case of a combined
gas-steam cycle using an extraction-condensing
steam turbine is presented here. In the reported
results, the following assumptions are made. The
compressor, turbine, and combustion efficiencies
are 87%, 89%, and 97%, respectively. The
pressure loss in the combustion chamber was
assumed equal to 3% of the compressor discharge
pressure while the duct loss is equal to l%ofthat
pressure. The considered turbine inlet temperature (TIT) is 1300 K. The considered pressure
ratio is 11.9. The considered ambient temperature
is in the range of 0 to 60C. It is interesting to
note that for gas turbines the efficiency and
power output are functions of the pressure ratio,
the ratio of TIT to the ambient temperature, the
efficiencies of the turbine and the compressor. As
previously reported, the efficiency of the gas
turbine is a strong function of the air temperature
at the compressor inlet, and the efficiency
decrease becomes more pronounced at a highpressure ratio,
The results clearly show that the efficiency is
increased withthe increase ofthepressureratio
up to certain value; then the efficiency starts to
decrease, i.e., there is an optimum value of
pressure when the efficiency is maximum. This
effect tends to decrease as the TIT is increased,
The air temperature-density relation may be
expressed by Density = 352.32 x (T1) -0.9996 kg/m 3,
where T in is K. Also, the effect of the inlet
temperature can be significant on the specific

39

work output. This mainly is due to the decrease

of the density by increasing the air temperature at
the compressor inlet, while the volumetric air
flOW rate to the compressor is kept constant.
The considered combined cycle (see Fig. 6)
includes a typical gas turbine (model 13 of BBC)
of 89MW power output at 15C ambient
temperature and the same conditions considered
before. The HRSG has two pressure stages. The
hot gas flow rate is 363 kg/s with a temperature
equal to 503 C. The high-pressure steam flow
rate is 43 kg/s, and at 433 C it is 33.2 bar, while
the low-pressure steam flow rate is 7.95 kg/s and
at 188 C and 4.4 bar. The feed water temperature
is 80C, and the stack exit temperature is 110C.
The condenser pressure is 10 kPa and the quality
of the steam inlet to the condenser is 110C.
It is necessary to investigate the maximum
desalting capacity obtained by adding bottom
steam cycle to the gas turbine. The mechanical
energy output of the cycle is used to produce
desalted water by the reverse osmosis desalting
method. The specific energy consumption for the
seawater condition of the Arabian Gulf in Kuwait
(at 45,000 ppm) is 7.5 kWh/m 3 product when an
energy recovery is used to regain the pressure
energy of the leaving brine. For the predominantly used system in the Arabian Gulf area,
the multi-stage flash desalting system, steam at
low pressure (2-3 bar) is required to heat the
recirculating stream, and mechanical energy is
required to drive the pump of the system. A
typical mechanical energy consumption to drive
the pumps is 4-SkWh/m 3 (in Kuwait plants
16.2 kJ/kg product is usually used). The thermal
energy of 285kJ/kg product or a gain ratio
(kg product per kg supplied steam) of eight are
usually used to rate the system energy consumption [3]. The steam supplied to the MSF desalting
plant is extracted from the condensing-extraction
turbine at the condition suitable for the desalting
process.
Two special cases can be shown. When no
steam is extracted to the desalting units is a

40

M.A. Darwish / Desalination 127 (2000) 27-45

lflO~

144.0

170

43.g

160

Erflclmr~:g

"143.8

.... 140

43.7

130
(~

40.6 .q

120

43.5

I I0

43.4

i too

0. 90
80
o.

--

43.3
43.2 us

70

6O

50
40
250

43. I
Stlo~l Turblcm PowQr
f
2~

,
270

43.0
J
~]

P~olent

,
[~0

'
300

310

30

42.g

330

Temperol;ure( C )

Fig. 7. Effect of ambient temperatureon the combinedcycleoutput and efficiency.

special case of condensing turbine. When the
steam expanded in the turbine to the condition
required by the desalting units is totally extracted
to these units, a special ease of back pressure
turbine results,
Fig. 7 shows the combined cycle power output
and its efficiency as a function of ambient
temperature when no steam is extracted from the
steam turbine. Fig. 8 shows the change of the
high and low pressure steam generated by the
heat recovery steam generator as functions of the
ambient temperature. Fig. 9 shows the effect of
adding fuel to the exhaust gases leaving the gas
turbine. This increases the throttling steam
temperature, the steam cycle power output and
efficiency, and the combined cycle power output,
but, as expected, the combined cycle efficiency
decreases due to addition of more fuel. Fig. 10
shows the effect of extracting steam to the MSF
desalting system on the combined cycle
efficiency and utilization factor. It is noted here
that the efficiency (mechanical work output/heat
input) under estimates the performance of the
cycle as it does not include the cycle heat input to
the desalting system. Meanwhile, the utilization

factor (heat added to the desalting system + work

output)/heat input to the cycle)overestimates the
cycle performance since it adds the low availability heat given to the desalting system to the
high availability work output.
At the ISO standard condition of 15C
ambient temperature the total power output is
89 MW from the gas turbine and 42.5 MW from
the steam turbine. A total of 131.6MW which
can produce 92.63 mgd (1 mgd is equal to
4550 m3/d) by the reverse osmosis system. The
combined cycle efficiency is 43.65% at this
condition. If the ambient temperature is increased
to 47C, the total power output, combined cycle
efficiency, and water product are decreased to
120 MW, 43.15%, and 84.46 mgd, respectively.
When the steam turbine of the combined cycle
is working as back pressure turbine, all the steam
expanded in the turbine to the condition required
to the MSF desalting system is supplied to this
system. Then 114 MWthermal energy is supplied
to the MSF system. In this case the power output
of the combined cycle becomes 113 MW, and the
efficiency is 36.55%. In this case the MSF
desalting system produces 8.34mgd, and

M.A. Darwish / Desalination 127 (2000) 27-45

41

5O
~.
Ol 45
v

40

35

30

,7

I-.~ M,",,n

~- 25
E

o 20
co 15
I0

u.o ~cs..

250

?.60

270

280

2gO

,,.

300

, 310

320

330

FImbi emt T e n ~ e r a t ~ r e (C)

Fig. 8. Effect of ambient temperature on the high and low steam pressure flow rates produced by the HRSG.

~.0

3.0

4~.0

2.5

r,f

,.a

38.0

.0

Bc~ ~-T I~ower

3~.0

34.0
50(

.B

~
6130

'
700
F_.xh~,~t ~

,
800
Tempermtura

,
9130
(deg ~)

Fig. 9. Performance of the combined cycle with a supplementary fired HRSG.

,
I000

).0
[ tO0

M.A. Darwish / Desalination 127 (2000) 27-45

42
0.8

0.7

0.8

0.5
W

0.4
Efficien~

0 . ~

I0

20

30

....

40
50
N (Extracted t.o elzsorpticra system) ( k g / s )

,-

80

Fig. 10. Effect o f flow rate of steam bled from the steam turbine to the MSF desalters on the efficiency and utilization
factor o f the combined cycle.

consumes 6.32 MW mechanical energy. The net

mechanical energy (113-6.32=106.77MW),
produces 75.15 mgd. Then the total product of the
desalted water in this case is 83.5 mgd.
As the rate of steam extracted to the steam
turbine varies from zero (the case of condensing
turbine) to maximum (the case of back pressure
turbine), the product of the MSF desalting unit is
increased while that of the RO is decreased, as
shown in Table 1.
Although the mode with condensing turbine
gives more water production (92.63mgd) as
compared with back pressure mode, 82.05mgd),
the use of a back pressure turbine eliminates the
need for the condenser and the low turbine and
steam cycle. Moreover, with a back pressure
turbine, the desalted water produced by the MSF
system is almost salt free (25 ppm), and can be
blended with desalted water produced by RO; it
also eliminates the need for a second-stage RO
when the product salinity of the first stage (say

equal to 600 ppm) is higher than that accepted for

drinking.

7. Symbols
Cp(fuel)
Cp(air)

Cem,,
Cp(mix)
Cp(moist)
Cp(mgas )

Ce(ste~m)

- - Fuel specific heat at cornbustion chamber inlet, kJ/kg.K

- - Specific heat of dry air at
constant pressure, kJ/kg.K
- - Mean specific heat at constant
pressure, kJ/kg.K
-Average specific heat of fuel
and moist air mixture, kJ/kg.K
~
Moist air specific heat at constant pressure, kJ/kg.K
-Specific heat of gaseous mixture at constant pressure, k J/
kg.K
- - Specific heat of water vapor at
constant pressure, kJ/kg.K

51.40
41.20
30.84
20.56
10.28
0.0

0.0
10.28
20.56
30.84
41.20
51.40

89.1
89.1
89.1
89.1
89.1
89.1

W (Pt),
MW

42.50
39.25
35.90
32.10
28.10
23.85

W (St),
MW

131.6
128.4
125.0
121.2
117.2
113.0

W (total),
MW

0
22.9
45.8
68.7
91.6
114.0

Q supplied to MSF
desalters, M W

1.7
3.4
5.1
6.8
8.5

MSF desalter
production,
mgd

M condenser,
kg/s

51.40
41.20
30.84
20.56
10.28
0.0

M (ext),
kg/s

0.0
10.28
20.56
30.84
41.20
51.40

89.1
89.1
89.1
89.1
89.1
89.1

W (Pt),
MW

42.50
39.25
35.90
32.10
28.10
23.85

W (St)
MW

131.6
126.7
121.6
116.1
110.4
104.5

Net power
output

92.63
89.18
85.59
81.72
77.71
73.55

RO water
output in mgd

0
1.7
3.4
5.1
6.8
8.5

MSF water
output in mgd

92.63
90.88
88.99
86.82
84.51
82.05

Total water
output, mgd

Table lb
Operating parameters of a combined plant coupled to reverse osmosis and multi-stage flash desalting systems

M condenser,
kg/s

M(ext),
kg/s

63.6
64.82
66.2
67.86
69.7
71.8

Specific fuel
consumption,
kJ/kg product

42.45
41.40
40.30
39.10
37.80
36.44

Efficiency,
%

7.5
7.64
7.81
8.00
8.22
8.47

Equivalent
mech. specific
energy,
kWh/m 3

1.29
1.29
2.576
3.86
5.15
6.44

Work
consumed by
MSF, MW

Table 1a
Operating parameters o f a combined plant with steam extracted to MSF desalting units (steam temperature = 120 C) with Qinput= 310 MW

4~

~,q

~..,.

.~

M.A. Darwish / Desalination 127 (2000) 27-45

44

Cv(gas~

ragas

- - S p e c i f i c heat of a gaseous
mixture at a constant volume,
kJ/kg.K
- - Actual fuel-to-air ratio (dimensionless)
- - T h e o r e t i c a l fuel-to-air ratio
(dimensionless)
- - Fuel enthalpy, kJ/kg
-Air enthalpy at the compressor
outlet, kJ/kg
-Air enthalpy at the turbine
inlet, kJ/kg
-Actual enthalpy at the condenser pressure, kJ/kg -1
-Enthalpy of saturated liquid
water at condenser vacuum
pressure, kJ/kg -~
- - Latent heat of vaporization of
steam at the vacuum pressure
in the condenser, kJ/kg-1
-Enthalpy of the extracted lowpressure saturated steam, kJ/
kg -1
-Inlet make-up water enthalpy
going to the first pressure stage
steam drum, kJ/kg -1
- - Outlet make-up water enthalpy
going to the first pressure stage
steam drum, kJ/kg -1
- - L o w - p r e s s u r e stage saturated
liquid enthalpy, kJ/kg -I
-High-pressure stage saturated
enthalpy, kJ/kg -1
- - Second stage superheated
steam enthalpy, kJ/kg -l
- - Mass of air supplied, kg/s
-Blow-down mass loss, kg/s-I
--Total
feed flow rate to the
HRSG, kg s-1
-Exhaust gas mass flow rate,

remake

--

f
f
hgf~e0
hair(aT2)
hair(al3)
Heond,a
Hcondf

HoneCg

Hextl

nmake.i

Hm,keout

H~atl
nsat2

H~up2
ma
mblow
mfeed

kgs

Mw

MMw
Pond
Psatl
Psat2

RADL
R
gmois t

Scondf

Scondfg

Sloss

Ssur,2
Tafte r

Texh
T1

T3 (TIT)
T4a

Tsa
Tf~d~
Treed2

Tgas.p

-1

Make-up water mass supply,

kgs -~

- - M o l e c u l a r weight
- - Mixture molecular weight
- - Condenser vacuum pressure,
kPa
- - First-stage saturated pressure,
kPa
--Second-stage
saturated pressure, kPa
- - Exhaust gas heat loss due to
radiation from the HRSG, ratio
- - Universal gas constant
-Moist air gas constant
- - Entropy of water at condenser
pressure, kJ kg K -l
Latent heat of vaporization at
condenser pressure divided by
the condenser absolute temperature, kJ
- - Steam loss in the second stage
superheater, ratio
- - Entropy of second-stage superheated steam, live
-Exhaust temperature after additional burning, C
- - Exhaust gases temperature,
400-1800 K
- - Temperature at compressorinlet, K
- - Maximum turbine inlet temperature, K
--Actual
temperature at gas
generator exit, K
- - Actual temperature at power
turbine exit, K
- - First-stage feed water temperature, C
-Second-stage feed water temperature, C
- - Exhaust
gas temperature
entering the HRSG at part load,
~

Tin

- - Inlet exhaust gas temperature,

C

M.A. Darwish / Desalination 127 (2000) 27-45

Tpl
Tp2
Tpp I
Tpp 2
Tsatl

- -

Tsga~
Tsteam. p

Tsupl

Tsup2
X
Xcond,a
Xfg
Wcomp

WGT

Wrr
Wpump

Gas generator work output to

compressor
- - Total specific work output of
gas turbine
-Specific work required by the
booster pumps, kJ kg -I
--

- -

- -

Tsar2

Tst

- - Gas temperature at the evaporator inlet, C

- - Gas temperature at the secondstage evaporator inlet, C
First-stage pinch pointtemperature, C
Second-stage pinch pointtemperature, C
First-stage temperature (satura-

45

tion), C
- - Second-stage saturation temperature, C
- - Gas temperature at superheater
inlet, C
-Second-stage superheated steam
temperature at part load
operation, C
Outlet exhaust gas temperature,
C
-First-stage superheated steam
temperature, C
- - Second-stage superheated steam
temperature, C
- - Total number of supplied air
- -

moles
Actual steam quality at the
condenser pressure
- - Exit steam quality from the
steam turbine
-Actual specific work to compressor

- -

Greek
ehx
fist
rib
ric

- - Heat exchanger effectiveness

- - Steam turbine efficiency
- - Combustion efficiency of the
after-burner
- - Adiabatic efficiency for compressor

qGT

- -

I]pT

- -

Adiabatic efficiency of the gas

generator
Adiabatic efficiency of the
power turbine

References

[1] H. Cohen and G.F.C. Rogers, Gas Turbine Theory,

2nd ed., Longman, 1972.
[2] G.J. Van Wyine and R.E. Sonntag, Fundamentalof
Classical Thermodynamics,Wiley, 1978.
[3] M.A. Darwish, F.A. Yousef and N. AI-Najem,
Desalination, 109 (1997) 285.
[4] B.G. Jabboury and M.A. Darwish, Heat Recovery
Systems & CHP, 10(3) (1990) 243.