Power plant with steam generation and fuel heating capabilities

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10415432-B2
Application number	US-201514969200-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 15, 2015
Priority date	Dec 15, 2015
Publication date	Sep 17, 2019
Grant date	Sep 17, 2019

Abstract

A power plant includes a gas turbine including a turbine extraction port that is in fluid communication with a hot gas path of the turbine and an exhaust duct that receives exhaust gas from the turbine outlet. The power plant further includes a first gas cooler having a primary inlet fluidly coupled to the turbine extraction port, a secondary inlet fluidly coupled to a coolant supply system and an outlet in fluid communication with the exhaust duct. The first gas cooler provides a cooled combustion gas to the exhaust duct which mixes with the exhaust gas to provide an exhaust gas mixture to a heat exchanger downstream from the exhaust duct. The power plant further includes a fuel heater in fluid communication with the outlet of the first gas cooler.

First claim

What is claimed:

1. A power plant, comprising:
a gas turbine including a compressor, a combustor downstream from the compressor, a turbine disposed downstream from the combustor and an exhaust duct downstream from an outlet of the turbine, the turbine including a turbine extraction port in fluid communication with a hot gas path of the turbine, wherein the exhaust duct receives exhaust gas from the turbine outlet and wherein the turbine extraction port defines a flow path for a stream of combustion gas to flow out of the hot gas path;
a first gas cooler having a primary inlet fluidly coupled to the turbine extraction port, a secondary inlet fluidly coupled to a coolant supply system and an outlet in fluid communication with the exhaust duct, wherein the first gas cooler provides a cooled combustion gas to the exhaust duct, wherein the cooled combustion gas mixes with the exhaust gas to provide an exhaust gas mixture to a heat exchanger disposed downstream from the exhaust duct; and
a fuel heater disposed downstream from the outlet of the first gas cooler, wherein the fuel heater receives a portion of the combustion gas or a portion of the cooled combustion gas and heats a fuel upstream from the combustor.

2. The power plant as in claim 1 , wherein the heat exchanger extracts thermal energy from the exhaust gas mixture to produce steam.

3. The power plant as in claim 1 , further comprising a steam turbine disposed downstream from first heat exchanger.

4. The power plant as in claim 1 , wherein the first gas cooler comprises an ejector.

5. The power plant as in claim 1 , wherein the first gas cooler comprises an inline static mixer.

6. The power plant as in claim 1 , wherein the coolant supply system comprises an ambient air intake system fluidly coupled to the secondary inlet of the first gas cooler.

7. The power plant as in claim 1 , wherein the coolant supply system comprises the compressor of the gas turbine, wherein the compressor is fluidly coupled to the secondary inlet of the first gas cooler via a compressor extraction port.

8. The power plant as in claim 1 , wherein the coolant supply system comprises a second gas cooler having a primary inlet fluidly coupled to the compressor, a secondary inlet fluidly coupled to an ambient air intake system and an outlet in fluid communication with the secondary inlet of the first gas cooler.

9. The power plant as in claim 8 , wherein the second gas cooler comprises an ejector.

10. The power plant as in claim 8 , wherein the second gas cooler comprises an inline static mixer.

11. The power plant as in claim 1 , wherein the turbine comprises an inner casing, an outer casing and an extraction pipe in fluid communication with at least one turbine stage of the turbine, wherein the extraction pipe is in fluid communication with the turbine extraction port.

12. The power plant as in claim 1 , further comprising a coolant injection system disposed downstream from the first gas cooler outlet and upstream from the exhaust duct, wherein the coolant injection system injects a coolant into the stream of cooled combustion gas flowing from the first gas cooler outlet.

13. The power plant as in claim 12 , wherein the coolant is water.

14. The power plant as in claim 12 , wherein the coolant is steam.

15. The power plant as in claim 1 , further comprising a controller electronically coupled to a control valve that is fluidly connected between the outlet of the first gas cooler and the fuel heater and electronically coupled to a temperature monitor disposed downstream from the fuel heater, wherein the controller generates a signal which causes the control valve to actuate based at least in part on a temperature data signal provided by the temperature monitor to the controller.

16. The power plant as in claim 1 , further comprising a controller electronically coupled to a first control valve fluidly connected between the turbine extraction port and the first gas cooler primary inlet and a second control valve disposed upstream from the secondary inlet of the first gas cooler.

17. The power plant as in claim 16 , further comprising a temperature monitor electronically coupled to the controller and in thermal communication with the turbine extraction port upstream from the exhaust duct, wherein the controller actuates at least one of the first control valve to increase or decrease the stream of combustion gas from the turbine and the second control valve to increase or decrease mass flow through the secondary inlet of the first gas cooler in response to a temperature data signal provided by the temperature monitor.

18. The power plant as in claim 16 , further comprising a steam flow monitor disposed downstream from the first heat exchanger and electronically coupled to the controller, wherein the controller actuates at least one of the first control valve and the second control valve in response to a flow output signal provided to the controller by the steam flow monitor.

Assignees

• Gen Electric

Inventors

• Scipio Alston Ilford
• Ekanayake Sanji
• Klosinski Joseph Philip
• Fernandez Paul Robert
• Poole David Clayton

Classifications

• F23K2300/204

  Preheating · CPC title

• F02C6/18

  using the waste heat of gas-turbine plants outside the plants themselves, e.g. gas-turbine power heat plants (using waste heat as source of energy for refrigeration plants F25B27/02; using the waste heat of a gasturbine for steam generation or in a steam cycle see F01K23/10) · CPC title

• F01K7/16

  the engines being only of turbine type (the engines using steam of critical or overcritical pressure F01K7/32; the engines being of extraction or non-condensing type F01K7/34) · CPC title

• Y02E20/14

  Combined heat and power generation [CHP] · CPC title

• F02C9/18

  by bleeding, bypassing or acting on variable working fluid interconnections between turbines or compressors or their stages {(F02C3/113 takes precedence)} · CPC title