Analysis of inlet air cooling for IGCC power augmentation

Integrated Gasification Combined Cycles are energy systems mainly composed of a gasifier and a combined cycle power plant. Since the gasification process usually requires oxygen as an oxidant, an air separation unit is also part of the plant. Moreover, a producer gas cleaner unit is always present between the gasifier and the gas turbine. With respect to Natural Gas Combined Cycles, IGCCs are characterized by a consistent loss in the overall plant efficiency due to the conversion of the raw fuel in the gasifier and the electrical power parasitized for fuel production which considerably reduce the plant net electric power. Moreover, since these plants are based on gas-steam combined cycle power plants they suffer from a reduction in performance (a further net power decrease) when ambient temperature increases. Regarding this latter topic, different systems are currently used in gas turbine and combined cycle power plants in order to reduce gas turbine inlet air temperature, and, therefore, the impact of ambient conditions on performances. In this paper, a review of these systems is presented. Both systems based on water evaporative cooling and on refrigeration by means of absorption or mechanical/electrical chillers are described. Thermodynamic models of the systems are built within the framework of a commercial code for the simulation of energy conversion systems. A sensitivity analysis on the main parameters is presented. Finally, the models are applied to study the capabilities of the different systems by imposing the real temperature profiles of different sites for a whole year