Meeting Regulatory Challenges

through Advances in
Gas Turbine Emissions Control
 Contents

Page

INTRODUCTION ..........................................................................1
REGULATORY IMPACT...............................................................1
LEAN-PREMIXED COMBUSTION................................................2
COMBUSTION SYSTEM DESCRIPTION .....................................4
DLE EXPERIENCE.......................................................................9
FUTURE DLE GAS TURBINE ADVANCES ................................10
SUMMARY .................................................................................17
BIBLIOGRAPHY .........................................................................17

Caterpillar is a registered trademark of Caterpillar Inc.

Solar, Centaur, Taurus, Mars, Titan, and SoLoNOx are trademarks of Solar Turbines Incorporated.
Specifications subject to change without notice. Printed in U.S.A.
© 2003 Solar Turbines Incorporated. All rights reserved.
STOC03(Emissions)/1003
 Meeting Regulatory Challenges
through Advances in
Gas Turbine Emissions Control
L. Cowell
Product Manager, Combustion Systems

L. Witherspoon
Manager, Environmental Programs

INTRODUCTION
The trend to lower gas turbine emission lev-
els over the last 25 years has been driven by
NOx Levels, ppm

regulation, competition, and customer re-

quests. Regulatory requirements are ever- 100 - 200+
changing and vary significantly around the
world. Since the early 1990s, nearly every
gas turbine manufacturer has introduced a
dry low emissions (DLE) gas turbine product 25 - 42
line based on lean-premixed combustion. 15 - 25
The gas turbine industry has responded to
Pre-1992 1992 - 1995 Today
the need of the customers to meet lower
emissions over the past decade. Solar has
placed more than 1000 SoLoNOxÔ DLE gas Figure 1. Typical Mid-Range Gas Turbine
turbines into service. NOx Levels over Last Decade

REGULATORY IMPACT
in the power generation market, compressor
Despite the significant improvement in gas stations in the U.S. have seen increased
turbine emissions over the last decade (Fig- pressure to evaluate add-on technologies.
ure 1), regulatory agencies continue to con- To date, there have not been many require-
sider and implement more stringent emission ments for add-on control technologies out-
regulations. In the last five years, mid-range side the U.S. However, there is a worldwide
gas turbine users in the U.S. have witnessed trend requiring lower emission levels.
a large step-change reduction in required Outside the U.S., the requirement for
emission levels for gas turbines due to the DLE is at levels between 15-to-80 ppm NOx.
application of NOx add-on control technolo- Note that some parts of the world are still un-
gies such as selective catalytic reduction regulated and allow for the installation of
(SCR) and CO oxidation catalyst. While the conventional diffusion flame combustors.
add-on control requirements are focused Many regulated areas also allow diffusion

1
flame combustion for demanding applica- LEAN-PREMIXED COMBUSTION
tions or with nonstandard fuel composition.
In the U.S., one of the primary benefits of Solar’s SoLoNOx system employs lean-
reducing NOx emissions for the gas turbine premixed combustion to reduce NOx emis-
user is that many projects will be able to sions. Lean-premixed combustion reduces
avoid triggering regulatory reviews, including the conversion of atmospheric nitrogen to
Prevention of Significant Deterioration NOx by reducing the combustor flame tem-
(PSD), Non-Attainment New Source Review perature. Since NOx formation rates are
(NSR), and, in some cases, Title V permit- strongly dependent on flame temperature,
ting. All these programs are triggered on a lowering flame temperature (by lean opera-
ton-per-year basis. Further reductions in tion) is an extremely effective strategy for
lean-premixed NOx levels have the potential reducing NOx emissions (Figure 2). Minimal
to avoid triggering the federal major emissions are further achieved by premixing
modification or federal major source ton-per- the fuel and combustor airflow upstream of
year thresholds. The ability to stay under the the combustor primary zone. This premixing
thresholds (without add-on control) and, prevents stoichiometric burning locally within
therefore, avoid Best Available Control the flame, thus ensuring the entire flame is at
Technology (BACT) and Lowest Achievable a fuel lean condition.
Emission Rate (LAER) review is extremely There are four aspects of lean-premixed
advantageous to gas turbine users. combustion that warrant attention:
As technology advances and regulatory
levels continue to ratchet down, Solar is pur- · CO / NOx tradeoff
suing a strategy of being technically pre- · Combustor operating range
pared for future customer emission require- · Combustor pressure oscillations
ments. · Ambient operating range

Figure 2. How Lean-Premixed Combustion Reduces NOx Emissions

2
 CO / NOx Tradeoff Combustor airflow control can be
achieved with compressor air bleed at part-
Since the optimum flame temperature of a load to broaden the operating range of the
lean-premixed combustor is close to the lean lean-premixed combustion system for two-
flammability limit, lean-premixed combustor shaft engines. Although effective, compres-
performance is characterized by a CO / NOx sor bleed results in a reduction in part-load
tradeoff (Figure 3). At the combustor design efficiency because high-pressure air is
point, both CO and NOx are below target vented to the atmosphere upstream of the
levels. However, deviations from the design gas generator turbine.
point flame temperature cause emissions to Single-shaft gas turbines can use the
increase. A reduction in temperature tends to inlet guide vanes (IGV) to perform the vari-
increase CO emissions due to incomplete able geometry function without a significant
combustion; an increase in temperature will part-load efficiency impact. The IGV tech-
increase NOx. This tradeoff must be ad- nique is not applicable to two-shaft gas tur-
dressed during part-load turbine operation bines.
when the combustor is required to run at an
even leaner condition overall. The tradeoff
Combustion Instability
also comes into play in development efforts
to reduce lean-premixed combustor NOx The introduction of lean-premixed combus-
emissions by further reducing the primary tion systems for gas turbines has raised
zone design point temperature. manufacturer awareness of the conse-
quences of combustion instabilities. These
Combustor Operating Range occur as either low-frequency combustor
“rumble” or higher-frequency combustor
In a gas turbine, the lean-premixed CO / pressure oscillations. Simply put, lean flames
NOx tradeoff is manifested as a limited load have a greater tendency to cause combus-
range over which emission limits can be sat- tion instabilities that can lead to engine dam-
isfied. Without any engine control to maintain age. It is recognized that the reduced stabil-
a constant flame temperature, as a gas tur- ity of a lean-premixed flame contributes to
bine moves away from full-load operation, a these oscillations. Solar has been very suc-
lean-premixed combustor will quickly pro- cessful at dealing with both combustor rum-
duce increased CO emissions, the combus- ble and pressure oscillations. However, all
tion will become unstable, and flame-out will manufacturers continue investment in devel-
ultimately occur. To broaden the operating oping design methodologies and combustion
range, low emission gas turbines can use system features that will universally prevent
combustor airflow control within the gas tur- excessive combustion instabilities.
bine to maintain a nearly constant flame
temperature.
Ambient Operating Range
Desired The lean-premixed combustion system must
CO
Operating
Range
be capable of operating over a broad range
NOx of ambient conditions. Changes in ambient
conditions that affect the combustor primary
Emissions

zone temperature can influence emissions.

Based on experience with conventional
combustion, the ambient conditions that
have potential to impact emissions perform-
ance on DLE combustion systems include
Lean Rich relative humidity, barometric pressure, and
Fuel/Air Ratio ambient temperature. Factory testing and
Figure 3. Typical Lean-Premixed field experience has shown that relative hu-
Combustor Emissions midity and barometric pressure have only a

3
small impact on the combustor primary zone pilot fuel flow at temperatures below -20°C
temperature and, thus, a small influence on (0°F) to augment flame stability. Therefore,
emissions from DLE gas turbines. Typically, below -20°C (0°F) the NOx and CO emis-
the changes are not discernible from normal sions increase significantly. Because of this,
data scatter experienced with emission the standard emissions warranty is limited to
measurements. ambient temperatures above -20°C (0°F).
The influence of ambient temperature on In order to compensate for changes in
emissions is more significant. Ambient tem- ambient conditions, SoLoNOx packages are
perature has a direct impact on the primary required in factory test to operate with a
zone temperature, but also influences how minimum of 20% emissions margin below
the DLE gas turbine is controlled. The gas the warranty level (e.g., a unit with a 25-ppm
turbine power and speed are limited differ- NOx guarantee must demonstrate less than
ently as ambient temperature is reduced, 20 ppm in factory test). For part-load opera-
which has a direct impact on full-load com- tion, the engine low emission control system
bustor primary zone temperature. In practice, includes biasing for ambient temperature.
emissions from SoLoNOx packages vary
less than 5 ppm from -20 to 38°C (0 to COMBUSTION SYSTEM
100°F). To illustrate this point, Figure 4 DESCRIPTION
shows typical NOx emissions data at varying
ambient temperatures. This plot was taken Development of the SoLoNOx combustion
on a MarsÒ 100S operating at full load. Simi- system required modifications to the follow-
lar data have been collected on TaurusÔ 70 ing engine components:
and Taurus 60 SoLoNOx gas turbines.
For colder conditions, SoLoNOx pack- · Combustor liner
ages are generally configured to increase · Fuel injectors
100

NOx (92% NGG)

90
NOx (96% NGG)
80 NOx (100% NGG)
NOx (103% NGG)
70
O2
15% O2]
@15%

60
[ppmvd @
NOx ppmvd

50

40
NOx,

30

20

10

0
-20 0 20 40 60 80 100 120
Ambient Temperature [F] °F
Ambient Temperature,

Figure 4. Emission Trends with Variation in Ambient Temperature

on Mars 100 SoLoNOx Gas Turbine

4
 · Combustor air management (bleed
valve and inlet guide vane control)
· Control system
· Fuel delivery systems

SoLoNOx
Combustor Liner
The lean-premixed combustor liner is gener-
ally similar to a conventional liner in terms of
geometry, materials and construction. The
most significant difference is an increase in
combustor volume. The larger volume is re-
quired to ensure complete combustion and
low CO and UHC emissions at the lower
overall flame temperature of the lean- Conventional
premixed combustor (Figure 5). Since com-
bustor length was constrained by the engine
exchangeability objective, the increased
combustor volume was achieved by increas-
ing the outer liner diameter. The larger liner
required an increase in the diameter of the
combustor housing (Figure 6). Figure 6. SoLoNOx and Conventional
A second difference in the lean-premixed
Combustion Systems
liner is the absence of large air injection
ports in the combustor primary zone. All air
used in the combustion process is introduced
Louver Cooling
through the air swirlers of the fuel injectors.
The remaining air delivered by the compres- First-generation production SoLoNOx com-
sor is used for cooling the walls or for dilution bustors use louvers on the inside of the liner
to achieve the specified radial temperature to direct air axially along the walls to produce
profile and pattern factor at the combustor a protective film of cooling air between the
exit. wall and the hot combustion gases (Figure
Combustor liner cooling techniques used 7). This method of liner cooling is commonly
at Solar include film (louvered and effusion) used in industrial and aircraft gas turbine
and backside cooling. combustors. The cooling air film gradually
mixes with the hot gas stream; thus, a suc-
cession of louvers must be placed along the
liner to maintain the required temperatures.
This method of wall cooling uses relatively
high levels of cooling air because the wall
just downstream of the louver must be over-
cooled in order to keep the wall adjacent to
the next louver below the maximum tempera-
ture limit.

Effusion Cooling
Effusion cooling of the combustor walls has
been developed for SoLoNOx combustor
Figure 5. Conventional and SoLoNOx liners in order to reduce the cooling air re-
Combustor Liners quired and, in turn, reduce CO emissions.

5
Figure 7. Louver Cooling Design Figure 8. Effusion Cooling Design

The injection of cooling air along the tor re-optimization to a lower flame tempera-
combustor wall can quench the combustion ture. This produces lower NOx levels along
reactions in the wall region, thus contributing with the lower CO concentrations. Figure 9
to CO and UHC emissions. This quenching shows how the ABC liner reduces CO emis-
process leads to high CO emissions because sions and the corresponding optimum fuel/air
the CO, a combustion intermediate, is pre- ratio reduces NOx emissions.
vented from oxidizing to CO2. ABC liners forego cooling air injection
The basic geometry of the effusion- completely. Instead, combustor wall tem-
cooled liner is the same as the louvered ver- peratures are controlled solely through
sion. Effusion cooling is obtained by starting convective cooling by a high velocity
a film of air with a cooling louver at the front airstream on the cold side of the liner (Figure
of the combustor and then continuously feed- 10). In most instances, the high heat flux
ing this film with additional air through a mul- from the flame requires augmenting of the
titude of small diameter holes laser drilled at backside convective process to keep liner
a shallow angle to the wall surface (Figure wall temperatures from becoming excessive.
8). Turbulators in the form of trip strips, fins, and
An effusion liner enables a reduction of pins act to increase the cooling flow
the total cooling air of about 20% relative to turbulence at the liner wall and augment the
the louvered liner. Thermal gradients in an heat removal process.
effusion liner are significantly less than in the
louvered liner while still maintaining accept- ABC Liner Film Cooled Liner
able wall temperatures. Additional cooling Design Range Design Range
CO
effectiveness is achieved by adding an im- NOx
pingement shield to the SoLoNOx combustor
Emissions

liner and combining air impingement on the

back side of the combustor wall with effusion
CO w/ Hot
through the wall. Wall Liner

Augmented Backside Cooled (ABC)

The development of an advanced liner that Lean
Fuel/Air Ratio
Rich

does not promote reaction quenching pro-

vides a two-fold benefit in terms of emis- Figure 9. Extension of Design Range
sions. First, CO emissions are reduced. with ABC Combustor Liner
Second, the lower CO levels allow combus- for Low Emissions

6
 Fuel Injectors
Incorporating lean-premixed combustion into
gas turbines also required significant change
to the fuel injector. As seen in Figure 11, So-
LoNOx injectors are significantly larger than
the conventional combustion counterpart.
The size increase is required to accommo-
date higher airflow through the injector air
swirler and the larger volume of the premix-
ing chamber used to mix the fuel and air.
The injector module includes a premixing
main fuel injector and a pilot fuel injector.

Main Fuel Circuit

Figure 10. ABC Combustor Cross Section
The premixing main fuel injector uses an ax-
ial swirler to impart a high degree of swirl to
An additional degree of liner protection the primary zone air. A series of multi-
can be achieved through the application of a orificed, radial-fuel tubes (or spokes) injects
thermal barrier coating (TBC) on the hot natural gas fuel into air just downstream of
sides of the liner walls. These TBCs are fre- the air swirler. Uniform mixing of the fuel and
quently composed of zirconia-based materi- air occurs within the annular premixing
als that are plasma-sprayed on the liner. A chamber prior to reaching the combustor
typical TBC coating of approximately 0.25 primary zone. The strong swirl stabilizes the
mm (0.01 in.) can reduce wall temperatures combustion process in the primary zone by
by approximately 40°C (72°F). establishing a recirculation zone that draws
Acceptable liner durability is a key reacted hot gases back upstream, thus pro-
requirement of any liner cooling technique. It viding a continuous ignition source. Above
is determined by two factors: temperature 50% engine load, more than 97% of the fuel
and temperature gradient. Wall temperatures is introduced through the main fuel tubes.
must be kept sufficiently low to prevent long-
term oxidation or thermal creep. Solar’s ex-
perience indicates that, in most circum-
stances, a wall temperature limit of 872°C
(1600°F) provides excellent life. This criterion
is applied to the design of all gas turbine lin-
ers, including film-cooled diffusion flame and
DLE film-cooled liners as well as backside-
cooled liners.
Excessive thermal gradients along the
liner wall can lead to high stress concentra-
tion gradients that cause buckling or crack-
ing. Assessing liner thermal gradient limits
requires a combination of thermal paint tem-
perature analysis, stress analysis and oper-
ating experience. The thermal gradients in
Solar’s liners have been determined to be Figure 11. Comparison of SoLoNOx and
acceptable for long liner life. All three liner Conventional Combustion
cooling configurations have demonstrated System Fuel Injectors
durability in excess of design targets.

7
Pilot Fuel Circuit
The pilot fuel injector circuit is used mainly
for lightoff and low-load operation. The pilot

Emissions
fuel injector consists of an air swirler and
tangential fuel inlet ports to provide partial CO
premixing of air and fuel prior to combustion.
During lightoff and low-load operation, ap- NOx
proximately 30 to 50% of the fuel passes Pilot Fuel
Added for
through the pilot injector, providing a rich Flame Stability
fuel/air mixture. Combustor stability is en- Idle ~50 100
hanced in this mode compared to lean- Engine Load, %
premixed operation, although NOx and CO
emissions are higher. Above 50% engine Figure 12. Emission Trends with
load, the pilot fuel is reduced to less than 3% Variation in Engine Load
of the total fuel flow to optimize emissions
performance. The pilot fuel is also momen-
tarily increased during load transients to help temperature over this load range. At lower
stabilize the flame. loads, the pilot is increased and the combus-
tor air management control algorithm is cur-
Combustor Air Management tailed. A corresponding increase in emis-
sions is evident.
Two techniques are currently used on So-
LoNOx to control the airflow to maintain the Control System
primary zone fuel/air ratio near its optimum,
low-emissions level during part-load engine Engine controls have also been changed to
operation. Two-shaft gas turbines used for incorporate SoLoNOx. This includes the ca-
mechanical drives, bleed air from the com- pability to regulate the combustor airflow and
bustor casing at part load. A consequence of pilot fuel flow over the engine operating map.
air bleed, however, is a reduction in engine The requirement to control these two pa-
part-load thermal efficiency since the com- rameters has added complexity to the So-
pressed bleed air no longer enters the tur- LoNOx control system not required in a con-
bine section of the engine. ventional engine, but can be easily handled
Single-shaft gas turbines used for power by modern microprocessor-based control
generation maintain optimum primary zone systems.
fuel/air ratios by modulating the compressor During start-up and low-load operation,
inlet guide vanes (IGV). Closing the IGVs the pilot flow rate has been optimized to
reduces the airflow through the engine com- achieve maximum flame stability for the most
pressor and combustor. Regulating IGVs for rapid and flexible transient capability. Below
single-shaft engines to control combustor 50% load, the combustor airflow is managed
airflow has a very small reduction in part- in the same way as in a conventional engine.
load thermal efficiency. IGV airflow man- Above 50% of the rated load, the SoLoNOx
agement does not work on two-shaft ma- engine is in low-emissions mode. The control
chines because with a separate power tur- system modulates either the bleed valves or
bine shaft the gas producer turbine speed IGVs to keep the combustion primary zone
cannot be maintained with a reduction in temperature within a specified range.
compressor airflow at part load. Accurate control of the primary zone tem-
The resulting variation in emissions with perature is critical to controlling NOx and CO
engine load is shown in Figure 12. The com- emissions. SoLoNOx requires highly ac-
bustor airflow management is active from curate electric actuators to ensure repeat-
approximately 50-to-100% load. The system able and precise emissions control. The
is operated to maintain the optimum flame benefits of using precise actuators extends

8
beyond emissions to other elements of en- lot is used to augment flame stability and
gine performance and transient response support engine transients, as was described
and electric, high force actuators are being for the gas only engines.
incorporated on many new products. The The gas turbine package fuel system for
SoLoNOx gas turbine controls use the power dual fuel is based on the conventional dual
turbine inlet temperature (T5) as an indirect fuel gas turbine package fuel system and
measurement of the primary zone tempera- controls. Controls and a fuel distribution sys-
ture to control the bleed valve or IGV position tem have been added to accommodate the
as a function of engine load. pilot fuel injection capability. A pilot fuel split-
ter valve is used to control the fuel flow
Fuel Delivery Systems through the main and pilot fuel passages.
Significantly improved capabilities have
The final change to Solar’s gas turbines for also been added to the liquid fuel purge sys-
SoLoNOx was made to the fuel system. tem of the conventional gas turbine package.
Removing liquids from the injector after en-
Gas-Only Fuel System gine operation is essential to prevent injector
The natural gas fuel system for SoLoNOx fouling. Static liquid remaining within the in-
gas turbines includes two separate fuel cir- jector will form carbon/tar deposits at com-
cuits: one for the pilot system and one for the bustor inlet temperature and block liquid
main. Separate fuel manifolds are used to passages.
supply pilot and main gas to the respective
fuel circuits of each fuel injector. The fuel DLE EXPERIENCE
flow split between main and pilot is controlled Production CentaurÒ, Taurus, Mars and Ti-
with an accurate and fast electronic valve on
tanÔ SoLoNOx gas turbines are now in ser-
the pilot line. High quality, accurate, precise
vice as prime movers throughout the world.
and fast fuel valves are required for So-
DLE gas turbines have been used exten-
LoNOx. During start-up and low-load opera-
sively in the Oil & Gas and Power Genera-
tion, high-flow rates of pilot are used. When
tion industries. Applications include natural
the engine is in the low-emissions mode, the
gas transmission, oil and gas platforms, con-
pilot fuel valve throttles the pilot valve to low
tinuous and peaking-duty simple-cycle and
levels. The low-pilot flow is used to stabilize
cogeneration power generation, and me-
the flame.
chanical drives for many varieties of indus-
trial and gas transmission applications. In
Dual Fuel Systems these applications, SoLoNOx engines have
SoLoNOx gas turbines with dual fuel capabil- offered reduced emissions capability from
ity are designed to accommodate natural gas extremely low ambient temperatures in
and light distillates. These systems employ Alaska, Canada and Siberia to very hot con-
unique fuel injectors with main and pilot fuel ditions found in the deserts of the Arabian
delivery flow paths for both gas and liquid. peninsula.
The injector design basis is similar to the gas As of July 2003, cumulative SoLoNOx
only injector previously described, with many operating experience for all engine models
of the gas injection features the same on has surpassed 22 million hours. This operat-
both. As with gas injection, the main liquid is ing time has been gained on more than 1000
premixed with the injector swirler air to burn engines. This considerable experience illus-
in a lean-premixed, low-emissions mode. trates how complete the market acceptance
Liquid fuel is injected into the premixing pas- of DLE gas turbines has been. Within the
sage through multiple airblast atomizers. 4000-to-30,000 hp gas turbine market, the
Liquid pilot fuel is also introduced through an total DLE equipment for all original equip-
airblast atomizer, but, in this case, is injected ment manufacturers is estimated at 1400 to
directly into the primary zone of the combus- 1500 units. More than 130 dual fuel DLE
tor and burns as a diffusion flame. Liquid pi- units have been sold.

9
A Decade of DLE Progress to monitor and control emissions of other
species, including particulate matter (PM),
The first prototype production SoLoNOx gas SOx, and hazardous air pollutants (HAPs)
turbines used in gas transmission service such as formaldehyde.
were installed at customer field evaluation Solar continues DLE gas turbine com-
sites in 1992. A Centaur 50S gas turbine, bustion development work as the preferred
rated at 4100 kW (5500 hp), was installed at approach to meet these future requirements.
the El Paso station near Window Rock, Ari- From a life-cycle cost perspective, prevent-
zona. In mid-1992, a Mars 100S gas turbine, ing pollutant formation has been shown to be
rated at 10 500 kW (14,000 hp), was in- more cost effective than exhaust clean up.
stalled at the Pacific Gas Transmission sta- Work is in progress using the latest experi-
tion near Rosalia, Washington. mental and analytical development tools to
These units (and all other pre-1995 So- improve emissions and flexibility of SoLoNOx
LoNOx shipments) were offered with emis- lean-premixed combustion systems. In addi-
sion warranties of 42-ppm NOx on natural tion, a parallel effort with a longer-term focus
gas fuel. The ability to operate with less than is proceeding to develop next generation,
42-ppm NOx was limited by unacceptably ultra-low emissions, gas turbine products
high combustion pressure oscillations. De- using advanced combustion technologies.
sign optimization of the fuel injector premix-
ing section was completed in the mid-1990s
Design Tools
so that combustor pressure oscillations are
now low at all points within the operating en- Designing gas turbine components to
velope. With completion of this work, NOx achieve greater emission reductions is re-
warranty levels were reduced to 25 ppmv. quiring the use of more sophisticated ex-
The first dual fuel Centaur 50S gas tur- perimental and analytical tools. Obtaining a
bines were placed in service in a district fundamental understanding and optimizing
heating application in Germany in 1994 with the aerodynamic, heat transfer, mechanical
NOx emission warranties of 72 ppm on gas stress and combustion of the DLE gas tur-
and 96 ppm on liquid fuel. Extensive injector bine are key to a successful design. These
design improvements and development pro- components are developed and qualified us-
grams have been completed to allow NOx ing both experimental and analytic tools.
emission warranties of 25 ppm on gas and
96 ppm on liquid on all engine models. Experimental Tools
In 2001, an augmented backside-cooled
(ABC) combustor liner was incorporated into Advanced DLE combustion systems are
the Centaur 50S and Taurus 60S, allowing a evaluated experimentally at the component
further emissions warranty reduction to 15- level and then as a system in rig and engine
ppm NOx and 25-ppm CO from 50-to-100% testing. Component testing is completed to
load on gas fuel. This introduction follows understand the aerodynamics within each
extensive development and more than component by making velocity measure-
32,000 hours of field operation with a pre- ments and using flow visualization. Fuel in-
production ABC liner. jectors are evaluated to document premixing
by measuring the fuel/air profile exiting the
FUTURE DLE GAS TURBINE injector. Visualization (Figure 13) of the
flame front is completed through a sub-scale
ADVANCES
quartz tube rig to identify flame anchor
Emission regulations for industrial gas tur- points.
bines continue to drive reductions in NOx, The injectors and combustor liners are
CO and UHC. Future DLE gas turbines will operated in sub-scale and full-scale combus-
need to meet these lower levels plus in- tion rigs as seen in Figure 14. In addition,
crease operating range and fuel flexibility. In these rigs are used to assess emissions per-
addition, regulatory pressures are increasing formance as well as combustor liner wall

10
 network (CRN). CFD is widely used through-
out the automotive, aerospace, and gas tur-
bine industries to model and detail flow
fields. The CFD flow field from a Mars ABC
combustor liner is shown in Figure 15.
In combustion-related applications,
considerable effort has been completed on
CFD models to include both flow and
chemistry calculations. However, completing
combustion reaction calculations at each
point within the flow field makes the model
computationally intensive with associated
high costs and long “run” times. In order to
reduce computation time, an alternate
approach for combustion system modeling is
being developed. This model breaks the flow
field into multiple flow reactors, forming a
network prior to solving the chemical equa-
Figure 13. Combustion within a Quartz
tions.
CRN elements are generated that consist
Tube (injector outlet at base
of perfectly stirred, plug-flow and mixing re-
with upward flow)
actors. The CRN is built to approximate the
flow field from the CFD model. Each of the
elements has assumed flow characteristics
and, thus, computations are completed only
for the chemical equations, greatly simplify-
ing the computation requirements.
Included in Figure 16 is a CRN model
developed for the Mars ABC system. Figure
17 shows the good predictions from this
modeling compared to rig testing. Additional
work is being completed to use CRN model-
ing to predict emissions for non-standard fu-
els such as associated gases.

Figure 14. Full-Scale Combustion Rig

for Evaluating Outlet
Temperature Profiles

temperatures through thermal paint meas-

urements and combustor outlet gas tempera-
tures. The combustion stability characteris-
tics are assessed at both the sub-scale and
full-scale levels.

Analytical Tools
These tools are categorized into flow model- Figure 15. Mars ABC Combustor Velocity
ing with computational fluid dynamics (CFD) Flow Field (injector at left with
and chemical modeling with chemical reactor flow to right)

11
Figure 16. Mars ABC Combustor CRN Model

18
16
NOx Exit Plane, dry,

14
15% O2, ppm

12
10
E x p e rim e n t
8
C R N a 1 = 3 .2
6
4
0 1 2 3 4 5
% P ilo t F u e l

Figure 17. Mars ABC Combustor Liner Modeling Emissions

Predictions Compared to Experimental Rig Data

Advances in DLE Lean-Premixed combustion. However, as ex-plained, in prac-

Combustion Systems tice the constraints of production variations
and the requirements of flexible operation
The full potential of emissions reduction us- over a broad range of ambient conditions
ing lean-premixed (LPM) combustion has limit the extent to which emissions can be
been well documented through perfectly reduced. Producing a practical lean-
stirred reactor laboratory experimentation, as premixed gas turbine combustion system to
depicted in Figure 18. In theory, it should be operate with NOx emissions in the upper
possible to design and build a gas turbine single digits seems to be a realistic target.
combustion system capable of operating as In order to reduce emissions to their low-
low as 5-ppm NOx using lean-premixed est levels, further optimization of the com-

12
 20 1. Current Products
NOx Emissions Corrected to 15% O2 2. Implementation of ABC Liner
Current
3. Improved Injector Performance
LPM 4. Reduce Product Variability
15 5. Control/Package Development

NOX
1
10
2
New
Designs 4
3
5
5

Flame Temperature

0 Figure 19. Design and Production

2800 2900 3000 3100 3200 Changes Required to
Injector Flame Temperature (Tpz), °F Reduce NOx Emissions

Figure 18. Theoretical Lowest Possible

NOx Emissions Demonstrated
with Perfectly Stirred Reactor

bustor liner, fuel injectors and engine control

system, as well as reducing production varia-
tions are required. The optimization goal is to
reduce the flame temperature both locally
and globally while preventing local quench-
ing. Figure 19 illustrates potential NOx emis-
sion reductions achieved by lowering the
primary zone temperature while reducing
emission variations through improving con-
trol and production processes. Figure 20. Machined Combustor Liner
for Reducing Production
Combustor Liner Improvements Variations
As described previously, the ABC combustor
liner is the preferred liner concept for achiev- liner can be manufactured with tighter di-
ing the lowest emission level using lean- mensional tolerances, which will improve
premixed combustion. This liner design is product emission consistency. Sealing
already in production on the Centaur 50 and around the fuel injector, torch ignitor, and
Taurus 60 has typically demonstrated a 10- between the liner and the turbine case is be-
ppm reduction of NOx emissions. The ABC ing improved as well.
liner is currently being developed for the Ti-
tan, Mars 100 and Taurus 70 engine models. Fuel Injectors
A further manufacturing improvement is
being developed to reduce flow variations The next generation of gas only and dual fuel
and seal leakages by replacing the current injectors is being optimized with the goal of
formed sheet metal construction with ma- reducing operating flame temperature both
chined components (Figure 20). A machined locally and globally. This is accomplished

13
through optimizing the fuel and air premixing of the fuel spray as illustrated in Figure 23 is
profile exiting the fuel injector. As seen in an important part of the design process. The
Figure 21, the fuel/air profile has a significant atomizer is being designed to reduce the
effect on NOx emissions. mean and maximum droplet sizes.
Once again, reducing production varia-
tion is an important part of the emission re- Fuel System and Engine Controls
duction strategy of the next generation injec-
tor design. Figure 22 illustrates how the in- A final area of improvement will be gas tur-
jector manufacturing process is being im- bine controls for low emissions. As men-
proved by using an integral casting to reduce tioned previously, there are two features that
the number of injector pieces. The reduced are controlled for low-emissions operation:
number of injector pieces will reduce assem-
bly variations significantly. Also, the air
swirler is more aerodynamic and fuel spokes
are being replaced with “through vane” injec-
tion. These changes allow more accurate
assessment and optimization of the fuel/air
mixing.
Next generation dual fuel injectors are
also being developed with the integral swirler
platform. Liquid fuel atomizer design and lo-
cation are being improved to maximize fuel Integral Cast Multi-Piece
vaporization rate while generating the opti- Assembly Fabrication
mal fuel/air profile. One of the keys to rapid
fuel vaporization is to direct the liquid spray Figure 22. Lean-Premixed Injector
trajectory such that there is minimal “wetting” Improvements
of the injector premixer walls. CFD modeling

NOx Emissions Comparison (Rig Data)

30
Centerbody Peaked
Midspan Peaked
Corrected NOx, ppmvd @ 15% O2

25 Near Flat

20

15

10

0
0.85 0.90 0.95 1.00 1.05 1.10
Normalized Flame Temperature

Figure 21. Emission Reductions Achieved with More Even Fuel/Air Distribution

14
 technologies fundamentally decrease NOx
emissions in the same way as lean-premixed
combustion by reducing global and local
flame temperature. The primary difference is
that these systems can maintain stable com-
bustion at much lower global flame tempera-
tures than with lean-premixed combustion.
This enhanced flame stability is achieved
through technologies such as catalytic or
surface combustion.
Solar has been investigating three tech-
nologies: lean catalytic, rich catalytic, and
surface combustion. The feasibility assess-
ment is being conducted through rig testing
and single-can development engine testing
Figure 23. Modeling of Liquid Fuel Spray
to select technologies that will then undergo
Trajectory in DLE Injectors
a full engine evaluation.

combustor airflow and pilot fuel level. The DLE Gas Turbine Fuel Flexibility
improved electric, high-force actuators incor- Solar’s DLE engines can operate on “pipe-
porated on the bleed valve, guide vanes, and line quality” natural gas, diesel and kero-
fuel valves have improved engine operation sene. While these fuels are readily available
and are an essential starting point for further in the industrialized world, large markets ex-
emission reductions. The combustor airflow ist in developing countries and on offshore oil
control algorithms are being changed to al- and gas platforms where the fuel composi-
low more direct control of the combustor tion is not as refined. Typically, these gas
flame temperature at part-load engine oper- fuels contain higher concentrations of eth-
ating points. A calculated primary zone tem- ane, propane, and butane than a pipeline
perature (TPZ) will control the guide vanes or quality natural gas fuel. In addition, liquid fu-
bleed valve as a function of load to maintain els such as propane, butane, NGLs and nap-
low NOx and CO emissions. The TPZ algo- thas are also commonly used.
rithm is directly correlated to ambient tem- Figure 24 indicates current SoLoNOx fuel
perature and engine load. For the longer flexibility for gas fuels along with near-term
term, on-line emissions monitoring with extension targets. The range of fuels listed
closed-loop control feedback is being evalu- can already be used in conventional com-
ated. bustion gas turbines. The challenges associ-
The fuel system is being improved to al- ated with using these fuels in DLE gas tur-
low direct control of the pilot fuel valve based bines include their influence on flame loca-
on a measured pilot/total fuel ratio. Since the tion within the premixing injector, combustor
emissions are such a strong function of the oscillations, and emissions performance. The
pilot fuel flow rate, ensuring precise and re- SoLoNOx combustion system is being
peatable operation of the pilot fuel valve is evaluated with these fuels.
critical to minimize emissions. A fuel blending system, as shown in Fig-
ure 25, has recently been installed to allow
Ultra-Low Emissions Technologies factory rig and engine testing with up to three
Over the longer term, gas turbine emissions blended fuel streams (e.g., city natural gas,
may be achieved below levels possible with propane, and butane).
lean-premixed combustion technology. Solar One of the major challenges in assessing
is conducting a feasibility study of alternate applicability of a customer’s fuel stream on
combustion technologies targeting low sin- gas turbine performance is the variability of
gle-digit ppm of NOx, CO and UHC. These the gas stream. Experimentally evaluating

15
 Std Control Adjust Liquid
Turbine Control
Modification Adjust Fuel Gas System
Preheating

Raw NG NG (Pipeline)

Process NG Syn Gas Associated Gas LPG

Landfill Town Refinery Natural Gas Liquids

500 1000 1500 2000 2650

WOBBE INDEX = LHV/ÖS.G. (Btu/scf)

Figure 24. Gas Fuel Flexibility of Current (blue) and Future (green)
SoLoNOx Gas Turbines

increasingly controlled by regulatory agen-

cies. HAP emissions include compounds,
such as formaldehyde, that are known car-
cinogens. Particulate emissions include soot
and condensable hydrocarbons, such as ni-
trates, sulfates, and phosphates that are
linked to respiratory disorders such as
asthma. Lastly, SOx emissions consist of
SO2 and SO3, which are linked to acid rain
formation.
To date, numerous studies have indi-
cated that gas turbines burning pipeline qual-
ity gas have very low-emission levels of par-
ticulate, SOx, and formaldehyde compared
Figure 25. Fuel Blending System with other types of combustion sources. The
relationship between the combustion process
and the formation rate of HAP and PM spe-
fuel streams that may include up to 20 gas cies with DLE systems is not well-
species is not practical. Therefore, test work documented at this time. HAP species such
is structured to augment and calibrate a as formaldehyde have been shown to trend
combustion model (Figure 26) that will allow with CO emission rates, but the correlation is
a detailed assessment of the gas turbine not linear. For SOx production, it is generally
emissions and operating performance with assumed that all the fuel-bound sulfur will
various alternate fuels. react completely to SO2 and SO3, but again
this is also not always true.
Other Pollutants Additional study of the combustion pa-
Other pollutant emissions (i.e., HAP, particu- rameters that influence these pollutants is
late, and SOx) from gas turbines are being required to develop a control strategy. At

16
 10
Ethylene

O 2)O2
9 Ethane (W I=1528)

@15%
8 (W I=1593) (W I=1709)

ppmvd15%
7
(W I=1310)
X (ppmvd, 6
Various
5 liquids
Corr. NONOx,

4 Various Propane (W I>2000)

3 mixtures of (W I=1883)
Methane
Corrected

2 C 1 to C4 16 cc JSR Data
(W I=1225)
blends 64 cc JSR Data
1
3 PSR CRN Model
0
0.20 0.25 0.30 0.35 0.40 0.45 0.50 0.55
Fuel Carbon/ Hydrogen Ratio

Figure 26. Jet Stirred Reactor Modeling of Alternate Fuels

present, it is known that DLE gas turbines low emission combustion technologies with a
emit negligible amounts of these pollutants, longer-term focus.
but that may not be consequential if regula- Timing this development to coincide with
tory agencies take a different position. The regulatory changes so that customers will be
improvements being made to the SoLoNOx able to permit their gas turbines cost effect-
combustion system that will significantly re- tively is a primary goal. Solar is committed to
duce emissions of NOx, CO and UHC may remaining a DLE leader, offering gas turbine
potentially reduce HAP and PM emissions as products that are environmentally compliant,
well, but this has not been confirmed. durable, and cost effective. Solar intends to
have gas turbine products available with the
SUMMARY required emission reduction capability when
customers need them.
Solar’s SoLoNOx gas turbines and packages
utilizing lean-premixed combustion have
BIBLIOGRAPHY
been in operation for more than 10 years.
With an experience base of more than 1000 Etheridge, C., 2001, “Recommendations
units, Solar remains an industry leader in for the Sourcing, Handling, Storage and
DLE technology. SoLoNOx gas turbines are Treatment of Fuels for Solar Gas Turbines,”
in service using natural gas, diesel and kero- PIL 162, Solar Turbines Incorporated.
sene fuels with emission warranties being Smith, K.O. and Fahme, A., 1998, “Back-
offered as low as 15-ppm NOx and 25-ppm side-Cooled Combustor Liner for Lean Pre-
CO on gas fuel. mixed Combustion,” International Gas Tur-
Solar’s emissions strategy continues to bine and Aeroengine Congress and Exhibi-
be focused on pollution prevention as the tion, Stockholm, Sweden.
preferred approach to exhaust clean up. De-
velopment of the SoLoNOx combustion sys- Steele, R.C., et al, 1998, “Characteriza-
tem is continuing to further reduce emissions tion of NOx, N2O, and CO for Lean-Premixed
and to extend operation and fuel flexibility. Combustion in a High-Pressure Jet-Stirred
Changes are being made to the combustor Reactor,” ASME Journal of Engineering for
liner, fuel injector, and fuel and control sys- Gas Turbines and Power, Vol. 120, pp. 303-
tems. In parallel, Solar is investigating ultra- 310.

17
Solar Turbines Incorporated
P.O. Box 85376
San Diego, CA 92186-5376