Design issues and performance of a chemically recuperated aeroderivative gas turbine

A number of innovative gas turbine cycles have been proposed lately, including the humid air turbine (HAT) and the chemically recuperated gas turbine (CRGT). The potential of the CRGT cycle lies in the ability to generate power with a high efficiency and ultra-low NOx emissions. Much of the research work published on the CRGT cycle is restricted to an analysis of the thermodynamic potential of the cycle. However, little work has been devoted to discussion of some of the relevant design and operation issues of such cycles. In this paper, part-load performance characteristics are presented for a CRGT cycle based on an aeroderivative gas turbine engine adapted for chemical recuperation. The paper also includes discussion of some of the design issues for the methane-steam reformer component of the cycle. The results of this study show that large heat exchange surface areas and catalyst volumes are necessary to ensure sufficient methane conversion in the methane steam reformer section of the cycle. The paper also shows that a chemically recuperated aeroderivative gas turbine has similar part-load performance characteristics compared with the corresponding steam-injected gas turbine (STIG) cycle.