Cost Optimization of Water Recovery Systems for Steam Injected Gas Turbines

Abstract

Steam injection in gas turbines has been used for many years to increase the power output as well as the efficiency of the system and, more recently, to reduce the formation of NOx during the combustion. The major drawback in steam-injected gas turbine technology is the need of large amounts of fresh water that is eventually lost into the atmosphere along with the exhaust gases. Nowadays, fresh water is not readily available in many places due to either local water shortages or environmental legislation that protects water sources from depletion and pollution. In order to deal with water constraints, water recovery systems (WRS) to recuperate the injected steam from the exhaust gases and return it to the steam injection system can be implemented. In this project, computer models for two different WRS configurations have been developed and tested. The computer models allow finding the optimum size, power requirements and capital costs of the heat exchangers involved in a particular WRS configuration. The models can also simulate the performance of WRS during a given period of time, calculating the energy consumed by fans and pumps in the process. This paper explains the details of the computer models and illustrates, as an example, the results obtained when both WRS configurations are applied to the GE LM2500 gas turbine. These results support the technical and economic feasibility of steam recovery for medium-size steam-injected gas turbines.