Performance of a capstone gas turbine based power plant working on high Butane LPG

Abstract

This paper presents the operational performance results of a 30 kW microturbine generator (MTGs) fed with high butane content liquefied petroleum gas, while subjected to a test procedure involving steady and transient load conditions. To evaluate the performance, measurements of turbine and generator parameters were gathered from its original unit controller, as load changes were applied. For the stand-alone mode detailed graphs of the test results are presented, showing the transparency and robustness of the turbine-generator set to the used fuel, judging by the quality of the output electric parameters. The results from this performance testing provide good insight into the use of high-butane content liquefied petroleum gas as fuel for the tested microturbine. The continuous use of a fuel would need more tests to establish that the life of the critical components of the microturbine are not hampered from what they are on the baseline fuel.
 The course of selected performance parameters in the microturbine generator is described in this document. The analysis of test results of the microturbine under steady-state and transient operation have been made. Both in steady state and transient conditions, values of output power, speed fluctuation, emissions, noise levels, and exhaust gas temperatures remained under acceptable levels.