Performance analysis of large-scale industrial gas turbine considering stable combustor operation using novel blended fuel

Highlights: • Operation characteristics of gas turbine for various fuel compositions are predicted. • New diluting fuel supply system is applied to flame stability. • Pure hydrogen fuel cannot be used in gas turbine system due to compressor surge. • High-hydrocarbon blended fuel can be used in conventional system without danger. • Maximum power is 45.3% improved using hydrogen blended fuel with steam diluent. The allowable Wobbe index (WI) range proposed by gas turbine companies spans from 0 to 5%. System tuning is required when out-of-range fuel is used. In this study, thermodynamic analysis is conducted to study the gas turbine performance and operability of each component with the fuel exceeding 5% of WI. The novel diluting fuel supply system is employed to apply novel fuel compositions for the J-class gas turbine system. High-hydrocarbon and hydrogen blending fuels are used to study the operability and main parameters of each component. The largest diluent mass flow is required when 100% hydrogen fuel is used with nitrogen diluent method. The compressor cannot be operated with 100% hydrogen fuel due to the compressor surge. The maximum turbine blade temperature with steam diluent methods increases up to 80 °C. The power output and efficiency are enhanced with the increasing blending ratio of high-hydrocarbon and hydrogen employing two diluent methods. When the novel fuel supply system is considered for the stable operability of combustor, both its power and efficiency are increased; however, the operability of compressor and turbine is not always stable, especially with hydrogen fuel.