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An Overview of Combined Cycle Power Plant (on photo Magnolia Energy, 900MW CCPT)
An Overview of Combined Cycle Power Plant
Abstract
The Combined Cycle Power Plant or combined cycle gas turbine, a gas t urbine generat or
generat es elect ricit y and wast e heat is used t o make st eam t o generat e addit ional elect ricit y via a
st eam t urbine. The gas t urbine is one of t he most ef f icient one f or t he conversion of gas f uels t o
mechanical power or elect ricit y. The use of dist illat e liquid f uels, usually diesel, is also common as
alt ernat e f uels.
More recent ly, as simple cycle ef f iciencies have improved and as nat ural gas prices have f allen, gas
t urbines have been more widely adopt ed f or base load power generat ion, especially in combined
cycle mode, where wast e heat is recovered in wast e heat boilers, and t he st eam used t o produce
Figure - Combined cycle power plant scheme
addit ional elect ricit y.
This syst em is known as a Combined Cycle. The basic principle of t he Combined Cycle is simple:
burning gas in a gas t urbine (GT) produces not only power which can be convert ed t o elect ric
power by a coupled generat or but also f airly hot exhaust gases.
Rout ing t hese gases t hrough a wat er-cooled heat exchanger produces st eam, which can be
t urned int o elect ric power wit h a coupled st eam t urbine and generat or.
This t ype of power plant is being inst alled in
increasing numbers round t he world where
t here is access t o subst ant ial quant it ies of
nat ural gas.
A Combined Cycle Power Plant produces
high power out put s at high ef f iciencies (up
t o 55%) and wit h low emissions. In a
Convent ional power plant we are get t ing
33% electricity only and remaining 67% as
waste.
By using combined cycle power plant we are
get t ing 68% electricity.
It is also possible t o use t he steam from the
boiler for heating purposes so such power plant s can operat e t o deliver elect ricit y alone or in
combined heat and power (CHP) mode.
Mechanism
Combined cycle power plant as in name suggest s, it combines exist ing gas and st eam
t echnologies int o one unit , yielding signif icant improvement s in t hermal ef f iciency over
convent ional st eam plant . In a CCGT plant t he t hermal ef f iciency is ext ended t o approximat ely 50-
60 per cent , by piping t he exhaust gas f rom t he gas t urbine int o a heat recovery st eam generat or.
However t he heat recovered in t his process is suf f icient t o drive a st eam t urbine wit h an elect rical
out put of approximat ely 50 per cent of t he gas t urbine generat or.
The gas t urbine and st eam t urbine are coupled t o a single generat or. For st art up, or open
cycle operat ion of t he gas t urbine alone, t he st eam t urbine can be disconnect ed using a hydraulic
Figure - Working principle of combined cycle gas turbine (CCTG) plant
clut ch. In t erms of overall invest ment a single-shaf t syst em is t ypically about 5 per cent lower in
cost , wit h it s operat ing simplicit y t ypically leading t o higher reliabilit y.
3-d modeling of a combined cycle power plant
Working principle of CCTG plant
First st ep is t he same as t he simple cycle gas t urbine plant . An open circuit gas t urbine has a
compressor, a combust or and a t urbine. For t his t ype of cycle t he input t emperat ure t o t urbine is
very high. The out put t emperat ure of f lue gases is also very high.
This is t heref ore high enough t o provide heat f or a second cycle which uses st eam as t he working
medium i.e. t hermal power st at ion.
Air Inlet
This air is drawn t hough
t he large air inlet sect ion
where it is cleaned cooled
and cont rolled. Heavy-dut y
gas t urbines are able t o
operat e successf ully in a
wide variet y of climat es
and environment s due t o
inlet air f ilt rat ion syst ems
t hat are specif ically
designed t o suit t he plant
locat ion.
Under normal condit ions
t he inlet syst em has t he
capabilit y t o process t he
air by removing
cont aminant s t o levels below t hose t hat are harmf ul t o t he compressor and t urbine.
In general t he incoming air has various cont aminant s. They are:
In Gaseous state contaminants are:
Ammonia
Chlorine
Hydrocarbon gases
Sulf ur in t he f orm of H2S, SO2
Discharge f rom oil cooler vent s
In Liquid state contaminants are:
Chloride salt s dissolved in wat er (sodium, pot assium)
Nit rat es
Sulf at es
Hydrocarbons
In Solid State contaminants are:
Sand, alumina and silica
Rust
Road dust , alumina and silica
Calcium sulf at e
Ammonia compounds f rom f ert ilizer and animal f eed operat ions
Veget at ion, airborne seeds
Corrosive Agents:
Chlorides, nit rat es and sulf at es can deposit on compressor blades And may result in st ress
corrosion at t ack and/or cause corrosion Pit t ing. Sodium and pot assium are alkali met als t hat can
combine wit h Sulf ur t o f orm a highly corrosive agent and t hat will at t ack port ions of t he hot gas
pat h. The cont aminant s are removed by passing t hrough various t ypes of f ilt ers which are present
on t he way.
Gas phase cont aminant s such as ammonia or sulf ur cannot be removed by f ilt rat ion. Special
met hods are involved f or t his purpose.
Turbine Cycle
The air which is purif ied t hen compressed and mixed wit h nat ural gas and ignit ed, which causes it
t o expand. The pressure creat ed f rom t he expansion spins t he t urbine blades, which are at t ached
t o a shaf t and a generat or, creat ing elect ricit y.
In second st ep t he heat of t he gas t urbines exhaust is used t o generat e st eam by passing it
t hrough a heat recovery st eam generat or (HRSG) wit h a live st eam t emperat ure between 420 and
580 C.
Heat Recovery Steam Generator
In Heat Recovery St eam Generat or highly purif ied wat er f lows in t ubes and t he hot gases passes a
around t hat and t hus producing st eam .The st eam t hen rot at es t he st eam t urbine and coupled
generat or t o produce Elect ricit y. The hot gases leave t he HRSG at around 140 degrees cent igrade
and are discharged int o t he at mosphere.
The st eam condensing and wat er syst em is t he same as in t he st eam power plant .
Typical Size and Configuration of CCGT Plants
The combined-cycle syst em includes single-shaft and multi-shaft configurations. The single-
shaf t syst em consist s of one gas t urbine, one st eam t urbine, one generat or and one Heat
Recovery St eam Generat or (HRSG), wit h t he gas t urbine and st eam t urbine coupled t o t he single
generat or on a single shaf t .
Mult i-shaf t syst ems have one or more gas t urbine-generat ors and HRSGs t hat supply st eam
t hrough a common header t o a separat e single st eam t urbine-generat or. In t erms of overall
invest ment a mult i-shaf t syst em is about 5% higher in cost s.
The primary disadvantage of mult iple st age combined cycle power plant is t hat t he number of
st eam t urbines, condensers and condensat e syst ems-and perhaps t he cooling t owers and
circulat ing wat er syst ems increases t o mat ch t he number of gas t urbines.
Efficency of CCGT Plant
Roughly t he st eam t urbine cycle produces one third of the power and gas t urbine cycle produces
two thirds of the power output of t he CCPP. By combining bot h gas and st eam cycles, high input
t emperat ures and low out put t emperat ures can be achieved. The ef f iciency of t he cycles adds,
because t hey are powered by t he same f uel source.
To increase t he power syst em ef f iciency, it is necessary t o opt imize t he HRSG, which serves as
t he crit ical link bet ween t he gas t urbine cycle and t he st eam t urbine cycle wit h t he object ive of
increasing t he st eam t urbine out put . HRSG perf ormance has a large impact on t he overall
perf ormance of t he combined cycle power plant .
The elect ric ef f iciency of a combined cycle power st at ion may be as high as 58 percent when
operat ing new and at cont inuous out put which are ideal condit ions. As wit h single cycle t hermal
unit s, combined cycle unit s may also deliver low t emperat ure heat energy f or indust rial processes,
dist rict heat ing and ot her uses. This is called cogenerat ion and such power plant s are of t en
ref erred t o as a Combined Heat and Power (CHP) plant .
The ef f iciency of CCPT is increased by Supplement ary Firing and Blade Cooling. Supplement ary
f iring is arranged at HRSG and in gas t urbine a part of t he compressed air f low bypasses and is
used t o cool t he t urbine blades. It is necessary t o use part of t he exhaust energy t hrough gas t o
gas recuperat ion. Recuperat ion can f urt her increase t he plant ef f iciency, especially when gas
t urbine is operat ed under part ial load.
Fuels for CCPT Plants
The t urbines used in Combined Cycle Plant s are commonly f uelled wit h nat ural gas and it is more
versat ile t han coal or oil and can be used in 90% of energy applicat ions. Combined cycle plant s are
usually powered by nat ural gas, alt hough f uel oil, synt hesis gas or ot her f uels can be used.
Emissions Control
Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR):
To cont rol t he emissions in t he exhaust gas so t hat it remains wit hin permit t ed levels as it
ent ers t he at mosphere, t he exhaust gas passes t hough t wo cat alyst s locat ed in t he HRSG.
One cat alyst cont rols Carbon Monoxide (CO) emissions and t he ot her cat alyst cont rols
Oxides of Nit rogen, (NOx) emissions. Aqueous Ammonia In addit ion t o t he SCR, Aqueous
Ammonia (a mixt ure of 22% ammonia and 78% wat er) is inject ed int o syst em t o even f urt her
reduce levels of NOx.
Merits
Fuel efficiency
In convent ional power plant s t urbines have a f uel conversion ef f iciency of 33% which means two
thirds of t he f uel burned t o drive t he t urbine of f . The t urbines in combined cycle power plant have
a f uel conversion ef f iciency of 50% or more, which means t hey burn about half amount of f uel as
a convent ional plant t o generat e same amount of elect ricit y.
Low capital costs
The capit al cost f or building a combined cycle unit is t wo t hirds t he capit al cost of a comparable
coal plant .
Commercial availability
Combined cycle unit s are commercially available f rom suppliers anywhere in t he world. They are
easily manuf act ured, shipped and t ransport ed.
Abundant fuel sources
The t urbines used in combined cycle plant s are f uelled wit h nat ural gas, which is more versat ile
t han a coal or oil and can be used in 90% of energy publicat ions. To meet t he energy demand now
a days plant s are not only using nat ural gas but also using ot her alt ernat ives like bio gas derived
f rom agricult ure.
Reduced emission and fuel consumption
Combined cycle plant s use less f uel per kWh and produce f ewer emissions t han convent ional
t hermal power plant s, t hereby reducing t he environment al damage caused by elect ricit y
product ion. Comparable wit h coal f ired power plant burning of nat ural gas in CCPT is much cleaner.
Potential applications in developing countries
The pot ent ial f or combined cycle plant is wit h indust ries t hat requires elect ricit y and heat or st em.
For example providing elect ricit y and st eam t o a Sugar ref ining mill.
Demerits
1. The gas t urbine can only use Nat ural gas or high grade oils like diesel f uel.
2. Because of t his t he combined cycle can be operat ed only in locat ions where t hese f uels are
available and cost ef f ect ive.
Conclusions
Combined cycle power plants meet the growing energy demand, and hence special attention
must be paid to the optimization of the whole system. Development s f or gasif icat ion of coal and
use in t he gas t urbine are in advanced st ages.
Once t his is proven, Coal as t he main f uel can also combined cycle power plant s meet t he growing
energy demand, be used in t he combined cycle power plant .
The advances in cogenerat ion-t he process of simult aneously producing usef ul heat and elect ricit y
f rom t he same f uel source-which increases t he ef f iciency of f uel burning f rom 30% t o 90%,
t hereby reducing damage t o t he environment while increasing economic out put t hrough more
ef f icient use of resources.