Advanced natural gas-fired turbine system utilizing thermochemical recuperation and/or partial oxidation for electricity generation, greenfield and repowering applications

The performance, economics and technical feasibility of heavy duty combustion turbine power systems incorporating two advanced power generation schemes have been estimated to assess the potential merits of these advanced technologies. The advanced technologies considered were: Thermochemical Recuperation (TCR), and Partial Oxidation (PO). The performance and economics of these advanced cycles are compared to conventional combustion turbine Simple-Cycles and Combined-Cycles. The objectives of the Westinghouse evaluation were to: (1) simulate TCR and PO power plant cycles, (2) evaluate TCR and PO cycle options and assess their performance potential and cost potential compared to conventional technologies, (3) identify the required modifications to the combustion turbine and the conventional power cycle components to utilize the TCR and PO technologies, (4) assess the technical feasibility of the TCR and PO cycles, (5) identify what development activities are required to bring the TCR and PO technologies to commercial readiness. Both advanced technologies involve the preprocessing of the turbine fuel to generate a low-thermal-value fuel gas, and neither technology requires advances in basic turbine technologies (e.g., combustion, airfoil materials, airfoil cooling). In TCR, the turbine fuel is reformed to a hydrogen-rich fuel gas by catalytic contact with steam, or with flue gas (steam and carbon dioxide), and the turbine exhaust gas provides the indirect energy required to conduct the endothermic reforming reactions. This reforming process improves the recuperative energy recovery of the cycle, and the delivery of the low-thermal-value fuel gas to the combustors potentially reduces the NO{sub x} emission and increases the combustor stability