Gas turbine power stations. Mobile gas turbine power station

For the operation of industrial and economic facilities located at a significant distance from centralized power transmission lines, small-scale power generating plants are used. They can function on different types of fuel. The most widespread gas turbine power plants due to high efficiency, the ability to generate thermal energy and a number of other features.

Operating principle

The basis of the gas turbine power plant (GTES) is a gas turbine engine - a power plant that operates on the energy of combustion of gaseous fuels mechanically linked to electric generators and combined with them in a single system. The gas turbine plant is the most powerful internal combustion engine. Its specific power can be 6 kW / kg. Unlike other types of power plants, in GTE all processes occur in the flow of constantly moving gas. Compressed by compressors, atmospheric air, together with fuel, enters the combustion chamber. The mixture ignites with the release of a large number of combustion products under high pressure, which presses on the blades, rotates them, and with them the electric generators.

The capacity of the gas turbine power plant varies from 20 kilowatts to several hundred megawatts. Any combustible material can be used as a fuel, which can be dispersed (finely divided) and presented in gaseous form.

Advantages of GTES

An important advantage of gas turbine power plants is the possibility of simultaneous use of two types of energy - electrical and thermal. And the amount of heat given to the consumer is two to three times more than the amount of electricity produced. Cogeneration (the process of generating two types of energy) becomes possible when installing a special heat recovery boiler on the exhaust of the turbine. Using gas turbine power plants, it is possible to create autonomous energy complexes that can solve several problems simultaneously:

1. Provide electricity to private and industrial facilities.
2. Dispose of the by-product gas in oil production.
3. Heat the technical rooms and residential buildings with side heat.

All this allows to significantly reduce the costs of providing the enterprise, create optimal conditions for the work of personnel and concentrate material means and capital on expanding production and solving other, more important tasks.

Features of gas turbine power plants

One of the main features of GTES is the ability to function virtually on any type of fuel. As mentioned earlier, gas turbine power plants can use fuel that can be dispersed to operate. As such, gasoline, fuel oil, oil, natural gas, alcohol and even ground coal can be used. There are practically no moving elements in the GTES design. The only movable part, which combines the generator rotor, turbine wheels and compress, can be suspended using a gas-dynamic bearing. As a result, wear of the working units will be minimized, which will have a significant impact on the longevity of the installation.

At the same time, the period of inter-service maintenance is increased to 60,000 hours of continuous operation or up to 7 years of operation. Gas-turbine power plants can not be used as stand-by energy sources, because at the time of start-up, details are worn out most intensively. The number of plant launches is limited to 300 per year.

Mobile GTES

A special place in the industrial sphere is occupied by mobile gas-turbine plants. Unlike conventional GTES, they have smaller dimensions and weight, are equipped on a mobile platform and equipped with electronic control systems. As a rule, such complexes are used to restore the supply of electricity to the facility. The mobile gas turbine power station is deployed on solid pavement sites providing a stable position. A fuel pipeline is supplied to it, and a transformer substation is installed in the immediate vicinity . The deployment time depends on the type of installation, but usually does not exceed 8-12 hours.

The capacity of mobile plants varies from 5 to 25 MW. At the same time, the efficiency of mobile GTES starts to grow from 35%. Like stationary power plants, mobile complexes also produce heat energy. But at the same time they create less expenses associated with operation and commissioning.

Combined-cycle power plants

The steam and gas installation can be called the GTES modification. Like gas turbine power plants, similar generators use the energy of combustion of dispersed fuel. But passing through the turbine, the gaseous products give up only a part of their energy and are released into the atmosphere in the heated state. Steam-gas plants use this heat. In the design of combined-cycle power generators there is a steam power plant that is located in the end part of the turbine. It contains water, which boils from heated combustion products. There is a huge amount of steam that rotates the turbine and drives the additional generator into action.

Gas turbine and combined-cycle power plants can be used in all industries, but the second kind of generators is preferable, because their efficiency is more than 60%.

Spheres of application of GTES

The use of gas turbine units is expedient for remote consumers from centralized power supply lines, as well as for seasonally functioning facilities. In this case, the costs of providing the company with electricity will be lower than for connection to power lines.

Large-size GTES is expedient to use instead of thermal power stations in the event that there is a cheap source of fuel. This situation is typical for the oil and gas bearing regions of the North. In this case, you can save and heating space. Recently, the mobile gas-turbine power plant has become widely used in urban conditions due to the low level of produced noise, vibration and toxicity of exhaust gases. It is advisable to use it in cases when the connection to the city grid is difficult or the cost of the latter is too high.