Combustion of Syngas Fuel in Gas Turbine Can Combustor

Numerical investigation of the combustion of syngas fuel mixture in gas turbine can combustor is presented in this paper. The objective is to understand the impact of the variability in the alternative fuel composition and heating value on combustion performance and emissions. The gas turbine can combustor is designed to burn the fuel efficiently, reduce the emissions, and lower the wall temperature. Syngas mixtures with different fuel compositions are produced through different coal and biomass gasification process technologies. The composition of the fuel burned in can combustor was changed from natural gas (methane) to syngas fuel with hydrogen to carbon monoxide (H2/CO) volume ratio ranging from 0.63 to 2.36. The mathematical models used for syngas fuel combustion consist of the - model for turbulent flow, mixture fractions/PDF model for nonpremixed gas combustion, and P-1 radiation model. The effect of syngas fuel composition and lower heating value on the flame shape, gas temperature, mass of carbon dioxide (CO2) and nitrogen oxides ( ) per unit of energy generation is presented in this paper. The results obtained in this study show the change in gas turbine can combustor performance with the same power generation when natural gas or methane fuel is replaced by syngas fuels. 1. Introduction Over the past decades domestic and imported oil was used for transportation, and domestic coal and natural gas have been used as the primary fuels for power generation systems.Today the emission regulations for power plant have become more stringent.The concern today with the combustion of fossil fuels is the new emission regulations for power plant with regards to carbon dioxides (CO2) and nitrogen oxides ( ). Nitrogen oxides ( ) are responsible for smog and acid rain, and the carbon dioxides (CO2) are one of the main green house gases responsible for global warming. Another concern with fossil fuels is the high cost of imported oil. Alternative fuels that can be produced using local feed stocks, burn efficiently, and produce low emissions are needed. With the development of advanced technologies, coal, biomass, or waste products can be used in power generation systems to produce low emissions comparable to the ones obtained with natural gas fuel. This can be achieved through the Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC). Different types of gasifiers are used to gasify the solid fuels (coal, biomass or waste products) and produce synthetic gas. The syngas is then cleaned and burned in gas turbine and the hot exhaust gas is used to produce steam for steam