Alliance experiencing over 97% reliability

with new gas turbine upgrade

870 MW combined cycle is
making money by idling
page 11

Turnkey retrofit for 5 ppm

NOx priced at $300,000
page 15

DLE combustors learning

to burn 610 Btu/scf gas
page 26

March - April 2008 • Volume 38 No. 2

CLN steam injection limiting
NOx emissions below 5 ppm
Operational tests on a 501 gas turbine confirm less than
5 ppm NOx at a 3 to 1 steam to fuel injection ratio.
I nternational Power Technology has
achieved ultra-low emission levels
on an Allison 501-KB5 gas turbine
with Cheng Low NOx (CLN) nozzle
steam injection at conservative steam-
to-fuel injection ratios.
This is a milestone, says IPT presi-
dent Randy Turley, in confirming the
practicality of CLN steam injection to
deliver predictable single digit reduc-
tion while increasing plant efficiency
and power output.
Currently IPT is offering guarantees
on equipping 501-KB5 gas turbines for
commercial CLN operation. Specifi-
cally:
■ Emissions. For commercial retro-
fit performance IPT is guaranteeing 5
ppm NOx and 80 ppm CO or less at
1895°F turbine inlet firing tempera-
ture.
■ Budget Price. Turnkey prices typi-
cally range from $235,000 to $295,000
installed, excluding combustion liners
and off-engine steam supply.
Sub-5 ppm NOx operation has been
achieved by retrofitting a redesigned
fuel nozzle compatible with the origi-
nal 501-KB combustion system but
with significantly different flow char-
acteristics from OEM steam-fuel injec-
tion nozzles.
Optimized low-NOx nozzle designs
involve testing a number of prototypes
under varying fuel-steam mass flow,
velocity, momentum, radial and axial
direction conditions – with the nozzle
positioned at different axial locations
within the combustion liner.
All of these nozzle design vari-
ables contribute to achieving ultra-low
NOx while keeping CO low enough
for flame stability, says Turley. Since
oxygen distribution from front to back
varies from one liner to another, differ-
ent flow patterns (and thus nozzle con-
figurations) are required for different
combustion liners.
Keep same liner
In its current retrofit designs, IPT has
deliberately left the 501KB combus-
tion liner unchanged so that only stan-
dard liners are required for all emis-
sions levels.
The sub-5 ppm NOx achieved in
engine tests was with a stock LE3.2
liner design at around a 3.0 to 1 steam-
to-fuel ratio.
In general, there is a predictive cor-
relation between the amount of steam
injected and emissions reduction. For
example, you can reduce NOx to 15
ppm at a 1.75 to 1 steam to fuel ratio
and to below 10 ppm by operating at a
2.25 to 1 ratio.
At any steam-to-fuel ratio, Turley
points out, CO emissions are safely
below the upper limit on combustion
stability.
He notes that the CLN technique
Low NOx nozzle. Design features a large diameter fuel-steam inlet port (for minimum
backpressure) and removable tip for low-cost nozzle maintenance. Nozzle diameter,
holes and flow angle are custom designed to match combustion liner.
By Victor de Biasi
of mixing steam with fuel to reduce
emissions is nothing new in the mar-
ketplace. For instance, Rolls-Royce
Allison has been using stock low-Btu
steam and fuel injection nozzles to ac-
complish this since the mid 1990s. The
difference today is in how and where
the steam and fuel are mixed and in-
jected.
General OEM practice is to adapt
standard fuel nozzles for simultaneous
steam and fuel injection. This helps
in reducing NOx but the design is not
optimized for maximum effectiveness
or operational flexibility.
The combination of short mixing
length (six inches in the fuel nozzle
neck) and much lower gaseous fuel
temperature (relative to the steam) in-
hibits homogeneous mixing.
It also leads to steam condensation
within the nozzle which can contribute
to droplets and high combustor can
temperature spreads.
Off-engine mixing
In contrast, with CLN injection the
steam and fuel can be mixed off-engine
to a very high degree of homogeneity.
GAS TURBINE WORLD: March - April 2008 15
 11,678 Btu

HHV Heat Rate (Btu/kW

Firing Temperature (deg
11,581 Btu 11,600
1866 F
Constant output. Variation in firing temperature and heat rate with increasing steam ratio as shown here by plots of
turbine
1850 F inlet temperature and42HHV
ppmheat
NOxrate (all values are approximate) for Allison 501-KB7S
11,462 Btu tests at constant 5270 kW
output over a range of CLN steam-to-fuel injection ratios.
1840 F 11,400
11,891 Btu 11,286 Btu
25 ppm NOx
1925 F 1809 F 11,800
1800 FF 11,200
1900
11,678 Btu 15 ppm NOx
Firing Temperature (deg F)

HHV Heat Rate (Btu/kWh)

11,581 Btu 1764 F
11,600
1866 F 11,000
9 ppm NOx

1850 F 42 ppm NOx Steam-to-Fuel Ratio (lb/lb) 11,462 Btu

0 0.25 0.5 0.75 0.85 1 1840 F
1.25 1.5 1.75 2 2.25 2.5 11,400
11,286 Btu
25 ppm NOx

1809 F
1800 F 11,200
15 ppm NOx

1764 F
11,000
9 ppm NOx

Steam-to-Fuel Ratio (lb/lb)

0 0.25 0.5 0.75 0.85 1 1.25 1.5 1.75 2 2.25 2.5

Constant temperature. Variations in heat rate and power output with increasing steam ratio as shown here by plots of
generator output and HHV heat rate (all values approximate) for Allison 501-KB7S tests at constant 1925°F turbine inlet
temperature over a range of CLN steam-to-fuel injection ratios.

11,891 Btu

11,800
6500 kW 6416 kW

11,485 Btu
HHV Heat Rate (Btu/kWh)

6250 kW
Power Output (kW)

11,311 Btu 11,400

6061 kW
6000 kW
11,104 Btu

5750 kW 5829 kW 11,000

11,891 Btu 10,819 Btu

5648 kW 11,800
6500
5500 kW
kW 6416 kW

10,600
42 ppm11,485
NOx Btu
HHV Heat Rate (Btu/kWh)

6250
5250 kW
kW
25 ppm NOx
15 ppm NOx
Power Output (kW)

5270 kW 9 ppm NOx 11,400

11,311 Btu
Steam-to-Fuel Ratio (lb/lb) 6061 kW
6000 kW
0 0.25 0.5 0.75 0.85 1 1.25 1.5 1.7511,1042Btu 2.25 2.5

5750 kW 5829 kW 11,000

10,819 Btu
16 GAS TURBINE WORLD: March - April 2008
5648 kW
5500 kW
And the fuel gas can be heated prior to
mixing so as to prevent any possibility
of condensation.
The combined effects of these de-
sign changes are what make it pos-
sible to achieve much lower NOx, says
Turley, and to control CO even at very
high steam injection rates (4 to 1) and
maintain better flame patterns.
The lower limits of NOx are deter-
mined by fuel nozzle design and the
amount of CO produced by the axial
location of the nozzle within the com-
bustion liner.
Standard or custom designed fuel
nozzles can be used for CLN opera-
tion, depending on requirements, pro-
vided they are properly located.
For gas turbine installations
equipped to operate at 15 ppm NOx,
for example, OEM hardware can be
used for all on-engine mounted com-
ponents of the system.
But getting down to between 5 and
15 ppm NOx requires specially de-
signed fuel nozzles tailored to com-
bustion liner configuration and flow
characteristics.
In either case, IPT claims that ret-
rofitting custom designed fuel nozzles
will produce much better BOT flame
patterns at the inlet to the first stage of
the turbine.
Nozzle options
For 501-KB5s equipped with LE3.2
combustion liners, IPT offers a “stan-
dard package” for emissions reduction
using OEM low-Btu fuel nozzles.
The standard package with a 1.75
to 1 steam-to-fuel injection ratio can
limit emissions to 15 ppm NOx and 25
ppm CO for operation at up to 1895°F
turbine inlet temperature.
Company also offers “customized
packages” with special nozzles capable
of operating with steam-to-fuel injec-
tion ratios of between 1.75 and 3.0 to
1 for limiting emissions to between 5
and 15 ppm NOx and 80 ppm CO at
1895°F firing temperature.
Off-engine steam requirements
call for a minimum 250 psig saturated
steam supply – with lower steam pres-
sures acceptable for higher NOx limits
– and minimum 275 psig natural gas
fuel pressure at the turbine inlet. No
On-Engine Test Results. Recent test results for a 501-KB5S gas turbine at
ISO conditions and 1895°F firing temperature for nozzle design optimized to
suppress CO to 60 ppm when reducing NOx to 5 ppm.
100 ppm
NOx and CO Emmisions
80 ppm
60 ppm
40 ppm
20 ppm
0 ppm
0 0.5
fuel treatment is required for pipeline
natural gas.
Turley notes that Rolls-Royce Al-
lison requires a steam injection quality
of 50 ppb total dissolved solids or less
for 501-KB5 gas turbines. This is done
by installing external steam separators
in the injection steam lines between
the outlet of the boiler and injection
steam control valve.
Steam quality and purity are func-
tions of the degree and effectiveness of
moisture separation devices, he points
out, and not related to feedwater qual-
ity which impacts on boiler operation.
IPT says its steam injection designs
can be applied to boiler systems with
high fluctuations in feedwater qual-
ity. For operational purposes, however,
silica levels must be minimized for
boiler pressures in excess of 500 psi
because silica will volatize above these
pressures.
Where CLN fits
Likely candidates for retrofit to CLN
steam injection include DLE gas tur-
bines suffering high maintenance costs
and operating problems such as high
heat rates at part-load, carbon blasting
and premature failure of combustion
liners.
Similarly, say application engineers,
water injected gas turbines (for emis-
sions control and power augmentation)
are subject to higher heat rates overall
NOx
CO
Steam-to-Fuel Ratio (mass)
1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0
and shortened combustion liner life-
times compared with steam injection.
CLN also helps reduce greenhouse
gases as a result of converting to steam
injection, they explain, in direct pro-
portion to reductions in heat rate.
Worldwide, the trend to enact in-
creasingly stringent emissions regula-
tions make CLN steam injection an
attractive low-cost alternative to SCR
and DLE combustion – whether for
limiting site NOx to meet air qual-
ity limits or to sell offsets on the open
market.
Clean up or else
San Joaquin Valley in California is a
case in point. Effective as of Septem-
ber 2007, air pollution control district
Rule 4703 requires all gas turbines
under 10 MW to comply with a 5 ppm
NOx limit or shut down.
With a 5 ppm guarantee point for
the KB5 achieved, Turley says that
other gas turbine models operating
locally (such as small Solar Turbine
units) are candidates for CLN steam
injection that will allow them to re-
main in service.
It does require interested collabora-
tion on the part of owner-operators,
however, to provide a host site for IPT
project engineers to develop and con-
firm the performance of appropriate
fuel nozzle designs tailored to the gas
turbine model.
GAS TURBINE WORLD: March - April 2008 17