Turbine Inlet Air Cooling - Global Energy Solutions

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Turbine Inlet Air Cooling

Increase Gas Turbine Output By Cooling the Combustion Air Before Entering the Low Stage of the Compressor Section.

Improve Heat Rate By Cooling the Air.

Use Conventional Mechanical Compression Refrigeration for the Cooling and Have Gains Over the Dedicated Refrigeration of 8:1.

Use Otherwise Wasted Turbine Exhaust Heat to Drive an Absorption Refrigeration Cycle To Cool the Inlet Air in Simple Turbine Cycles.

Gas turbines are notorious for being very susceptible to power output depending on the ambient temperature and since turbine output decreases with increasing ambient temperature, the peak power demands, mainly due to air conditioning, occur when the turbine has its lowest output. By cooling the inlet air the power producer can achieve a stabilization and matching of the power demand and power output of the system. On new systems this can lower initial capital investment since a kW of increased output due to refrigeration costs $200-300 while an added kW of gas turbine capacity can cost twice that. On existing systems, pre-cooling can alleviate the need for expansion of turbine capacity.
The technical approach used is to cool water with a screw compressor driven water chiller and to spray this water directly to cool the air. This is done in a low velocity spray chamber with a staged mist elimination system. The spray water is then thoroughly filtered. The spray system is better for sandy desert environments such as in the Middle East. Some of the particles are soluable in the spray water, some are not. A special membrane filter is used for the soluable components.
Every turbine has its own performance curve and PRS can take its operating conditions and calculate the required cooling requirements based on that particular turbine and necessary external power demands. We can customize the cooling requirements based on the time of day and season. It may only be necessary to cool to 70 F on one day and may require 50 F the next day to meet the demand. This offers significant operational flexibility.