Application of Exhaust Gas Recirculation in a DLN F-Class Combustion System for Postcombustion Carbon Capture

This paper describes experimental work performed at General Electric, Global Research Center to evaluate the performance and understand the risks of using dry low NOx (DLN) technologies in exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) conditions. Exhaust gas recirculation is viewed as an enabling technology for increasing the CO2 concentration of the flue gas while decreasing the volume of the postcombustion separation plant and therefore allowing a significant reduction in CO2 capture cost. A research combustor was developed for exploring the performance of nozzles operating in low O2 environment at representative pressures and temperatures. A series of experiments in a visually accessible test rig have been performed at gas turbine pressures and temperatures, in which inert gases such as N2/CO2 were used to vitiate the fresh air to the levels determined by cycle models. Moreover, the paper discusses experimental work performed using a DLN nozzle used in GE’s F-class heavy-duty gas turbines. Experimental results using a research combustor operating in a partially premixed mode include the effect of EGR on operability, efficiency, and emission performance under conditions of up to 40% EGR. Experiments performed in a fully premixed mode using a DLN single nozzle combustor revealed that further reductions in NOx could be achieved while at the same time still complying with CO emissions. While most existing studies concentrate on limitations related to the minimum oxygen concentration (MOC) at the combustor exit, we report the importance of CO2 levels in the oxidizer. This limitation is as important as the MOC, and it varies with the pressure and firing temperatures.