PR-592-16208-R01 Effect of Variability in Fuel on Operation and Reliability of Gas Turbine

Pipeline natural gas, while dominantly composed of methane, also contains various amounts of diluents, hydrogen, and hydrocarbons. The objective of this report is to describe how variations in fuel composition influence gas turbine emissions, operability, and operational range (turndown). A key point of this report is that these fuel composition sensitivities are not described by a single parameter, such as Wobbe index, but by different parameters depending upon the specific issue. For example, the autoignition time is an important parameter influencing autoignition risk, while flame speed has important influences on combustion instability and blowoff risk. This report explains these sensitivities, as well as approaches for identifying and mitigating operational risk.

This report has a related webinar.