Session: 08-01 Hydrogen-Fired Gas Turbines

Paper Number: 101283

101283 - Hydrogen Co-Firing Demonstration at New York Power Authority’s Brentwood Site: Ge Lm6000 Gas Turbine 

The state of New York’s Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA) calls for an orderly and just transition to clean energy and economy-wide decarbonization. Supporting this transition, the New York Power Authority (NYPA) conducted a green hydrogen pilot project to advance low-carbon technologies for power generation.  The project aligned with NYPA’s strategic VISION2030 priority to decarbonize its natural gas plants by 2035.

The project was conducted at the Brentwood Power Station is in Suffolk County on Long Island. The 45-MW Brentwood plant was commissioned in the summer of 2001 and consists of a GE LM6000 gas turbine firing natural gas. The gas turbine is equipped with a single annular combustion (SAC) system, which is not a dry-low emissions technology and requires water injection for NOx control. The plant is also equipped with post-combustion catalyst systems for NOx and CO control. The Brentwood plant’s location and layout, combined with its relatively low-capacity factor as a peaking unit, facilitated the temporary modifications required for this demonstration project.

NYPA, partnering with EPRI, General Electric (GE) and other industry collaborators, led the project to investigate the potential of substituting hydrogen for a portion of natural gas for power generation for the purpose of reducing carbon emissions. The gas turbine was operated on a 5–44% (by volume) blend of hydrogen and natural gas to specifically examine the impact on operation and emissions (CO₂, NOx, and CO). The demonstration was initiated in the summer of 2020 with testing performed from the fall of 2021 through the spring of 2022.

Key findings of the demonstration program focused on emissions:

·        Reductions in the calculated CO₂ mass emission rates (ton/hr) with increasing hydrogen fuel percentages followed the expected trends. At 47 MWe, CO₂ mass emission rates were reduced by approximately 14% at 35% by volume hydrogen co-firing.

·        At steady-state conditions, the current SCR and CO catalyst systems were able to control the stack NOx, CO, and ammonia slip levels below the regulatory permit limits (based on the current natural gas fuel permit) with hydrogen co-firing.

·        At steady water injection rates based on burning natural gas, gas turbine outlet NOx levels increased, and CO levels decreased as the hydrogen fuel percentage increased. By increasing water injection rates less than 20% by volume, gas turbine outlet NOx levels were maintained at a constant level as hydrogen fuel increased to greater than 35% by volume. 

·        CO levels decreased as much as 88% as the hydrogen fuel fraction increased during testing. Even with increasing water injection rates for NOx control, CO levels decreased with increasing hydrogen percentages.  This is believed to happen due to enhanced CO oxidation in the presence of OH radicals formed during hydrogen combustion.

·        As the hydrogen fuel percentage increased with steady water conditions, the NO₂/NOx fraction decreased by up to 61%.

The paper describes site modifications, operational lessons learned, key findings, and provides recommendations for future LM6000 SAC hydrogen co-firing studies. 

Presenting Author: Robert C. Steele EPRI

Presenting Author Biography: Dr. Robert Steele is a Technical Executive in Gas Turbine Advanced Components and Technologies at EPRI and currently the co-chair of the power generation sub-committee in the Low Carbon Resources Initiative (LCRI).
Dr. Steele has 30 years of experience in gas turbine combustion research, development and testing, and electric power generation industry technologies including low carbon fuels, carbon capture and compression.
He also worked at Solar Turbines in San Diego as the Mars Solo NOx Engine Combustion Team Leader. Dr. Steele is focused on gas turbine combustor designs, low carbon fuels including expertise with hydrogen and ammonia, IGCC gas turbine syngas applications, new oxygen separation technologies, and advanced laser techniques for measuring flame temperatures.
Steele has been published in more than 30 technical publications, including nine archival journal articles, and has had several technical articles published in engineering magazines and handbooks. Steele is a current member of the ASME Electric Power committee. He earned his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering at the University of Calgary in Alberta, Canada, and his master’s degree in Aeronautics and Astronautics and doctorate degree in mechanical engineering at the University of Washington in Seattle, Washington.

Authors:

Robert C. Steele EPRI
Thomas D. Martz EPRI
Alan Ettlinger New York Power Authority
Timothy Zandes New York Power Authority
Michael J. Alexander GE Power
Brian K. Hockman GE Power
Jeffrey Goldmeer GE Power