Abstract
In light of current market conditions (e.g., low natural gas prices, utility deregulation), biomass cofiring projects are the best opportunity for near-term growth in biomass use for power generation. Despite biomass being a very different fuel in many respects, it is a logical choice for cofiring in a natural gas combined cycle system for several reasons. The combined cycle process configurationoptimizes heat recovery from each stream for maximum power generation making it a very efficient cycle. Also, electricity generation from natural gas is expected to increase significantly between 1995 and 2010. This growth in natural gas is expected to result in increased construction of combined cycle systems due to continued interest by industry in gas turbine combined cycle technology. Inaddition to its potential environmental benefits, biomass may, in select cases, offer fuel flexibility or a supplemental low-cost fuel for use in a gas turbine combined cycle system. When integrating biomass into a natural gas system, it is important to design the system to produce the most economical processing scheme. This is true for all power generating applications including repowering orretrofitting of an existing plant, or construction of a new plant. It is also important to design a system that will be cost competitive for both natural gas and biomass. The effects of system modifications and changes in operating parameters on the overall system performance should be examined on a case by case basis. This includes a comparison of design and off design performance for part loadoperation. A discussion and an evaluation of systems employing three biomass technology categories: biomass combustors, biomass boilers, and biomass gasifiers is presented. Several conceptual power plant configurations were developed that integrate these technologies with natural gas-fired gas turbines. Advantages, disadvantages, and applications for each biomass/natural gas combined cyclesystem are also presented. Contact (e-mail): [email protected]
| Original language | American English |
|---|---|
| Number of pages | 16 |
| State | Published - 1996 |
| Event | Biomass Usage for Utility and Industrial Power: Engineering Foundation Conference - Snowbird, Utah Duration: 28 Apr 1996 → 3 May 1996 |
Conference
| Conference | Biomass Usage for Utility and Industrial Power: Engineering Foundation Conference |
|---|---|
| City | Snowbird, Utah |
| Period | 28/04/96 → 3/05/96 |
Bibliographical note
Distributed to conference attendees only.NREL Publication Number
- NREL/CP-430-20975