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Exploitable results
The object of this project was to assess the feasibility of burning biomass-derived gases in a catalytic combustor which will replace the ordinary flame combustor, as a mean to overcome difficulties arising from the use of such fuels as gas turbines, with the range of 1 to 5 MWe. A dual fuel strategy is necessary for the practical use of gases generated from biofuels, because Diesel fuel will be used for start-up and back-up only. It includes laboratory and pilot-scale investigations, as well as a preliminary technical and economic analysis of the system.
Hexaaluminates and noble metal catalysts (as well as combinations of both) are suitable materials for the dual-fuel combustor, while perovskites ought to be excluded for low durability season. Ignition temperatures over base metal or noble metal catalysts were low enough so as to avoid a preheating system. The fuel-N conversion and the NOx formation were studied extensively, and conversion of ammonia to molecular nitrogen ranging between 60 % to 80 % have been achieved with low activity catalysts and in the 800 950 degree Celsius temperature window. This conversion is probably due to a complex combination of SNCR and SCR processes, which were not clearly discriminated.
Pilot testing showed that low emissions of both unburned hydrocarbons and carbon monoxides could be achieved. For fuels with a low levels of fuel bound nitrogens, low emissions of NOx were attained. However, poor ammonia-to-molecular nitrogen conversions were achieved with the catalysts combination used.
The models developed to simulate the catalytic section of the combustor were used for the analysis of the pilot tests as well as for the preliminary design of the full-scale catalytic combustor.
Thermodynamic cycle calculations showed that a 35 % gas turbine efficiency could be reached with a machine running on a biomass based gas, while the performance was a bit lower with Diesel. However, the global efficiency (including gas compression) is limited to 28 % with biomass based gas, and many configurations were investigated in order to improve this performance. Among them the use of a recuperator seemed to be the best solution.
The system analysis showed that the catalytic combustor might bring real benefits regarding NOx emissions. With costs reduced more than twenty to fifty times lower than SCR or scrubbing, as far as the fuel-N conversion is achieved. Nevertheless, if an additional NOx treatment is required, there is still a benefit if this treatment can be designed to have a limited performance (50 % for instance). Moreover, the catalytic combustion keeps an interest in stabilising the combustion of low-BTU fuels.
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