Effect of the CO2 enhancement on the performance of a micro gas turbine with a pilot-scale CO2 capture plant

Gas turbines are a viable and secure option both economically and environmentally for combined heat and power generation. Process modelling of a micro gas turbine for CO2 injection and exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) is performed. Further, this study is extended to assess the effect of the CO2 injection on the pilot-scale CO2 capture plant integrated with a micro gas turbine. In addition, the impact of the EGR on the thermodynamic properties of the fluid at different locations of the micro gas turbine is also evaluated. The micro gas turbine and CO2 injection models are validated against the set of experimental data and the performance analysis of the EGR cycle results in CO2 enhancement to 5.04 mol% and 3.5 mol%, respectively. The increased CO2 concentration in the flue gas, results in the specific reboiler duty decrease by 20.5% for pilot-scale CO2 capture plant at 90% CO2 capture rate for 30 wt.% MEA aqueous solution. The process system analysis for the validated models results in a much better comprehension of the impact of the CO2 enhancement on the process behaviour. (C) 2016 Institution of Chemical Engineers. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.