Part-load thermal efficiency enhancement in gas turbine combined cycles by exhaust gas recirculation

Abstract

Gas turbine power plants are popular for offshore power generation due to high power density and their reliability. However, growing usage of renewable energies put gas turbines in a load following backup operation. These power plants suffer part-load efficiency losses when operating at less than full capacity, resulting in higher carbon dioxide (CO2) emission from natural gas combined cycles or higher consumption of carbon-free fuels in decarbonized gas turbines. In this article, a solution is proposed for enhancement of power plant part-load thermal efficiency based on exhaust gas recirculation in the gas turbine cycle. Recirculating exhaust gas into the gas turbine have been studied by several researchers and engineers due to its benefit for carbon-free combustion and carbon capture mechanisms. The proposed operation strategy is evaluated for single-spool and two-spool gas turbines operating jointly with a steam bottoming cycle harvesting the waste heat for further power production. In the suggested strategy, eliminating the necessity to cool down the recirculated gas resulted in less equipment footprint for the power plant which makes it more favorable for offshore applications. An in-house design and simulation tool is developed for evaluating gas turbines with modern gas recirculating systems and a flexibility in operation with carbon-free fuel mixtures. The enhancement in efficiency boost, emission reduction, and fuel consumption is quantified demonstrating the improvements with the proposed solution.