Hydrogen-Rich Fuel Combustion in Power Gas Turbine Plants

This article discusses the approaches to the combustion of high hydrogen fuels in dry low NO x (DLN) combustion chambers of gas turbine units produced by two leading manufacturers of power equipment: Mitsubishi and General Electric. The designs of burner devices addressing key challenges in traditional DLN are analyzed, including flame flashback into the premixing zone, combustion process instability, and high-pressure losses on burners. These designs feature the absence of a vane swirler and the organization of separate small mixing and flame zones within the combustion chamber. The stages of research on such burner devices are discussed, and a comparative evaluation is provided. The results of full-scale tests conducted during the combustion of fuels with a high hydrogen content are presented.