Session: 04-14 Combustor Design II

Paper Number: 152870

Co-Firing Hydrogen With Natural Gas for 9 MW Siemens Energy Dry Low Emissions Combustor: Part I – High Pressure Rig Test 

To accelerate decarbonization in industrial gas turbine applications, Siemens Energy's Industrial gas turbine engines, ranging from 5 MW to 15 MW, are now capable of operating on a fuel blend containing at least 30% hydrogen (by volume) and natural gas. To validate this 30% hydrogen capability for the 9 MW SGT-300-2S engine, High-pressure rig testing was conducted at the Siemens Energy Clean Energy Centre in Berlin.

The Dry Low Emissions (DLE) combustor was initially operated with natural gas to establish a baseline. Subsequently, it was fuelled with a 30% hydrogen blend under various ambient temperature conditions, including ISO, -20 °C, and +45 °C. Both natural turndown and bleed-to-exhaust operation using different emissions turndown control temperatures were simulated. To evaluate operational margins, tests were extended to 35% and 40% hydrogen concentrations under ISO conditions.

The burner, combustor, and transition duct were extensively instrumented with thermocouples and pressure transducers to assess the impact of burning varying hydrogen concentrations on wall temperatures to ensure safe operation, monitoring combustion dynamics, and prevent flashback. NOx, CO, and UHC were measured along with combustion dynamic pressure monitoring.

This Part I paper presents the high-pressure rig test results. Numerical simulations to gain deeper insights into the physics are reported in Part II. The impact of hydrogen content in the fuel on combustor performance was investigated, focusing on factors such as burner metal temperature, NOx and CO emissions, combustion dynamics, and combustor and transient duct wall temperatures. Test results indicate that burner metal temperatures and NOx emissions increase with increasing hydrogen content in the fuel. The turbine inlet temperature at which CO emissions begin to rise decreases with increasing hydrogen content. This suggests that using hydrogen as a fuel can lower the emissions turndown temperature for controlling CO emissions, thereby improving the turbine's part-load efficiency. Combustion dynamic pressure amplitudes remained low for hydrogen concentrations up to 40%, however there was a general trend of increasing amplitudes with rising hydrogen content. Combustor and transition duct wall temperature profiles for hydrogen operation up to 40% were comparable to those for natural gas operation. Test results demonstrate that the combustion system can safely operate with up to 40% hydrogen (by volume) in the fuel without flashback or hardware damage.

Presenting Author: Kexin Liu Siemens Energy Industrial Turbomachinery Ltd

Presenting Author Biography: Dr. Kexin Liu is a Combustion Technical Specialist working for Siemens Energy Industrial Turbomachinery Ltd (SEITL), Lincoln, UK, and is responsible for fuel, combustion and heat transfer for aero-thermal design, rig, and engine testing for SEITL combustion systems. Before joining SEITL, Dr. Liu worked for the University of Leeds as a Research Fellow for six years after obtaining his PhD degree in Combustion Theory and Modelling at the University of Leeds

Authors:

Kexin Liu Siemens Energy Industrial Turbomachinery Ltd
Suresh Sadasivuni Siemens Energy Industrial Turbomachinery Ltd
Jadeed Beita Siemens Energy Industrial Turbomachinery Ltd