Modification of Gas Turbines and Operation with Solar Produced Syngas

Abstract

Solar energy can be utilized to drive chemical processes to produce syngas, a hydrogen rich fuel that can be used for power generation. ORMAT took part in the Solasys project in which syngas was produced by a reforming process driven by solar energy. The solar energy was concentrated in a volumetric receiver. ORMAT presented two modes of operation for introducing syngas to a gas turbine. One mode of “syngas only” and the second for utilization of mixtures of LPG and syngas. Modification of a gas turbine to be fueled only with syngas, incorporated modifications in the combustion chamber, fuel system and control system. The gas turbine which operated on mixtures of LPG and syngas was not modified but an external fuel mixing system was added ahead of its gas line. It operated smoothly with the mixed fuel, with minimum drop in performance up to about 40% syngas in the mixture, contributing approximately 20% of solar energy to the electric power production with up to 80% syngas mass fraction in the fuel.