What are gas turbine power plants

Gas turbine power plant (abbreviated as GTPP) is a plant generating electricity and heat energy. Gas turbine power plants are based on one or several gas turbine units - power units mechanically connected with the electric generator and united by a control system into a single power complex.

A gas turbine power plant can be used as the main or backup power source in parallel with the power system. The gas turbine power plant can be located both indoors and outdoors on a pre-prepared foundation.

In the world practice gas turbine power plants were widely spread in the 50s-60s of the last century, nowadays they are used less frequently because they have low efficiency (33-39%) and relatively high cost per kW of power compared, for example, with gas-piston power plants.

External view of the gas turbine unit

Principle of operation of GTPP

A gas turbine power plant works as follows: fuel (gas or diesel fuel) is fed into the combustion chamber, and compressed air is injected into it by a compressor. The gas mixed with air forms a fuel mixture, which is pressurized into the compressor and ignited.

A high-pressure jet of red-hot gas bursts out of the nozzle, hits the turbine blades mounted in several rows and begins to rotate it. The turbine shaft transmits the torque to the rotor of the generator responsible for generating electricity, which, passing through a transformer, is transmitted to the energy consumer.

The exhaust gases are discharged through the exhaust pipe into the atmosphere or, if utilization is foreseen, into a heat exchanger or utilization boiler and used for space heating.

A simplified schematic diagram of a power unit of a gas turbine power plant is shown in the figure:

Principal process diagram of a power plant with gas turbines:
CS - combustion chamber; CP - compressor; GT - gas turbine; C - generator;

T - transformer; M - starter motor.

Areas of use of gas turbine power plants

Gas turbine power plants can be used in various spheres, from providing electricity to civil and agricultural buildings to industrial facilities and oil and gas fields.

The use of gas turbine power plants is expedient for remote consumers, especially when heating is required.

Types of gas turbine power plants

• Stationary - mounted on a capital foundation. The most powerful turbines and electric generators are installed on them.
• Mobile (mobile) - is a mobile equipment. As a rule, they are used to provide heat and electricity to remote objects, for example, mining and oil-producing settlements. They operate not only on gas, but also on liquid fuel.
• Mini units - are characterized by compact dimensions, which allows such a station to be located in close proximity to the consumer
• .

Comparison of gas turbine and gas piston power plants

Gas turbine equipment should be chosen when there is limited space available for its location. Gas turbine power plant is suitable for small enterprises and commercial facilities that do not require large power consumption capacity and every square meter counts. If it is possible to allocate the area for equipment installation, it is more reasonable to choose a gas piston power plant (GPPP), as it has a lower cost, and the resource of GPU is considered to be slightly longer than that of GTU.

A gas turbine plant is more expensive than a gas piston plant. The high cost of equipment and limited choice is explained by a smaller number of GTU manufacturers, separate parts and spare parts are not cheap by themselves, due to which the cost of the plant as a whole increases.

Appearance of MWM GPU and GTU

Gas piston units require more frequent maintenance. It is necessary to change oil and filters. However, this can be compensated for by installing additional systems on the equipment, which will perform oil refilling and cleaning. In this case, the period of time between service works increases. On average, it can be about 3000 hours, i.e. service is performed once a quarter. In general, the resource of GPU is considered to be slightly longer than that of GTU.

In general, gas-piston plants are attractive because they pay for themselves faster, no matter what the capacity of the power plant.

MKS Group is a leading engineering company in Russia, the main activity of which is the construction of small-scale power generation facilities - turnkey gas piston power plants. For 15 years it has commissioned 53 mini-HPPs in different regions of Russia and abroad. The total capacity of all commissioned facilities of MKS Group amounted to 244 MW. MKS Group is the official Russian dealer and service partner of MWM Austria GmbH.

© MKC Group of Companies LLC, 2020