Hydrogen Turbine

1. The role of Hydrogen in Electric Power sector

In order to meet the growing demands for electrical energy and at the same time, to mitigate the problems caused
by green house gas emissions, we need to look for the right combination of clean energy sources as well as energy
storage technologies. Along with the development of renewable energy sources, the existing methods of electricity
generation need to be modified. Hydrogen can serve the purpose!

1. Hydrogen is the simplest and most abundant element in the universe. It makes up about 75% of all matter
in the universe.
2. Hydrogen produces clean energy. When oxidized, or combined chemically with oxygen, its only byproducts
are heat and pure water.
3. The specific energy of hydrogen is 141 kilo Joules per gram which is roughly thrice that of gasoline.
4. Hydrogen is an energy carrier like electricity. Just like electricity carries energy by transmission lines from
power plants to the end users.
5. Hydrogen is successfully used as an energy storage medium.
6. The flexibility of hydrogen allows for its integration in many areas of the system. Hydrogen can act as a
clean fuel, which can be combusted in gas turbines to generate electricity, in hydrogen internal combustion
engines and in fuel cell based automobiles to generate electricity electrochemically etc.
The idea is to produce hydrogen from the renewable electricity generated by solar, wind, biomass and other
sources. This process will not only help in utilizing and developing the renewable technologies, but also will help in
mitigating emissions. The figure below shows schematic representation of the model.

The current gas turbines run on natural gas. In order to use hydrogen in place of natural gas, some modifications
are required to be made. Various companies in the power sector are developing hydrogen turbines.
2.1 Generating hydrogen: steam methane reforming
In this process, natural gas (methane) is reacted with water with a catalyst and heat to generate H 2 and CO2 via two reactions
CH4 + H2O → CO + 3H2
CO + H2O → CO2 + H2
2.2 Generating hydrogen: electrolysis of water
One established method for generating hydrogen is electrolysis of water. Splitting water follows the following chemical reaction:
H2O → H2 + ½ O2
3. Hydrogen in Gas Turbines
For hydrogen produced from renewables and delivered to the power plants, some design modifications are needed
to use it in existing gas turbines operating on natural gas. Many companies are doing research on hydrogen
turbines. Some strategies like variable guide vanes operations, increased pressure ratio and re-engineered
machines are being investigated to burn hydrogen in a large-sized, heavy duty gas turbine13. Dilution seems
mandatory for using hydrogen in gas turbines. Steam or nitrogen dilution is possible. Efforts are made to reduce
nitrogen oxide (NOX) emissions as well as to increase the efficiency of the system.
3.1 Hydrogen in IGCC Power plants
Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) is employed to convert coal, oil or biomass into gaseous fuel called
synthetic gas or syngas. Synthetic gas is a mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen. The gas produced is cleaned
up and fed into a shift reactor where water-gas shift reaction occurs. Carbon dioxide is formed and can be
separated from hydrogen fuel. This process is usually accompanied by carbon sequestration method or enhanced
oil recovery (EOR) method to capture and store carbon back into the earth’s crust. Hydrogen fuel can be used in
the combined cycle power plant to generate electricity. Moreover, hydrogen generated from the renewables can
be externally fed into the combined cycle, thus utilizing hydrogen for electric power generation. The figure2 in the
next page gives a schematic representation of the process.

Figure 2: Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle Figure 3: Integrated Reforming Combined Cycle (IRCC)

4.2 Hydrogen in IRCC Power Plants

Integrated Reforming Combined Cycle (IRCC) is employed to extract hydrogen fuel from natural gas and use it in
generating electricity. The process involves a reforming unit that produces synthetic gas and the shift reactor that
separates carbon dioxide from hydrogen fuel. Similar carbon capture methods are employed as in the case of
Integrated gasification combined cycle. Externally produced hydrogen from renewables can be fed into the
combined cycle thus utilizing hydrogen for electric power generation. The figure 3 shows a schematic
representation of IRCC power plants.
5. THE CHALLENGES OF HYDROGEN
Heating value
The lower heating value (LHV) of hydrogen is 120 MJ/kg (51,593 BTU/lb). In comparison, the LHV of 100% methane
is 50 MJ/kg (21,515 BTU/lb).
Flame speed
In a combustion reaction, the flame velocity or flame speed is the velocity at which the unburned gases propagate into the flame. The flame speed
of hydrogen is an order of 170 cm/s which is very large in comparison to methane 38.3 cm/s.
Safety
There are additional operational challenges with hydrogen that relate to overall safety.
6. Modern Research
In recent, many turbines operated on fuels with hydrogen concentration ranging from 50% (by volume) to 80%. Some examples are 6B.03
Turbine(GE) at the Deasan refinery South Korea working under 70% by volumes of hydrogen fuels. Asecond example of high hydrogen
turbineis at Enel’s Fusina, Italy which was inaugurated in 2010 used a GE-10 gas turbine to produce 11.4 MW on a fuel 97.5% by volume
of hydrogen. Gas turbine running on 100% hydrogen have been a long term dream. Baker Hughes GE (BHGE) is working to bring the 100%
hydrogen dream to reality. It has signed an agreement (Dec 2018) to Australian Hydrogen Infrastructure Developer H2U to modify a
NovaLT GT to run solely on hydrogen at a green hydrogen power facility in port lincoln, Australia.