Biofuels – Challenges and Opportunities for Gas Turbines
(Room Rheinsaal 4)
29 Jun 17
2:00 PM
-
3:30 PM
Tracks:
Track E - Gas Fired Generation
The trend towards small-scale decentralized power generation has led to a growing interest to utilize fuels that are locally available. This trend, together with the wish to find alternatives to the fossil fuels, has led to an increasing interest to operate gas turbines on biofuels. Biofuels refer to fuels derived, directly or indirectly, from organic matter and include syngas, biogas, pyrolysis oil and bioethanol. Biofuels differ significantly from conventional fossil fuels, such as natural gas and diesel, as they have low energy density, different chemical composition and might contain unwanted contaminants. These aspects have a direct and significant impact on the gas turbine operation in terms of the combustion process, emissions and equipment life time. To meet the increasing demand to utilize biofuels, OPRA Turbines has developed and introduced the OP16-3C gas turbine. The OP16-3C, rated at 1.85 MWe, has been developed to burn liquid and gaseous biofuels and is based on the well-proven OP16 gas turbine configuration. This paper will start by presenting an overview of the potential for biofuel utilization in Europe and how the opportunities and possibilities differ throughout the continent. Next, the paper will review the technical challenges associated with operating gas turbines on different biofuels and how these can be addressed with current and future technologies. In addition, the Medium Combustion Plant Directive (MCPD), which regulates the pollutant emissions from combustion plants with a thermal input of 1-50 MW, will be discussed in relation to the combustion of biofuels. Throughout the paper, data from tests in the OP16-3C combustion chamber will be used to explain the effects of various liquid and gaseous biofuels on the combustion process and pollutant emissions.