Preliminary test on combustion of wood derived fast pyrolysis oils in a gas turbine combustor

Industrial gas turbines fueled by fast pyrolysis liquid made from biomass are a promising option for electricity generation from a renewable resource. This paper reports a preliminary study on combustion of wood derived fast pyrolysis oils and their mixtures with ethanol in a gas turbine combustor. The combustion of these biofuels is analyzed and their possible use in a gas turbine combustor without modification evaluated, comparing the results with a standard fuel. The high viscosity of pure fast pyrolysis oils creates problems at injection, but these can be addressed by using a mixture with ethanol. For some operation conditions the combustor performance with mixtures of 80% bio-oil–20% ethanol is similar to the combustion performance with JP-4; however, the range of efficient operation (fuel/air ratio and load parameter) decreases compared with operation with standard fuel.