Fuel Gas System
Fuel Gas System
Fuel Gas System
It is a flow control and safety device used in piping. It is a steel plate cut into two discs of a certain thickness. The two discs are
attached to each other by section of steel similar to the nose piece of a pair of glasses.
One of the discs is left solid and the other is cut out in the center so it looks similar to one half of a pair of spectacles.
The purpose of the spectacle blind is to find between a pair of pipe flanges. When placed in one position, with the blank
portion sticking out, flow through the pipe is possible. If the position is changed so the portion that has the center cut out is
exposed, the pipe is blanked off and no flow is possible.
The plate thickness is chosen to withstand the full pressure that the system can exert.
Provision of SIL Rated ESD Systems using pneumatic/spring return or double acting pneumatic actuated ball valves for safe shutdown
of the plant in cases of emergency.
Gas conditioning skid shall be provided with Scrubber (Multi cyclone type) and filter separator to remove free / entrained liquid and
particulate matters in the influent natural gas before admitting to pressure reducing station. Gas scrubber shall remove 100 per cent
of solid and liquid particles 8 microns over the range of gas supply temperature and pressures when handling all specified types of
fuel gases supply system. Standby equipment shall be provided to facilitate maintenance. Gas conditioning scrubber skid station
shall be provided with isolating valves, vents and drains and shall be designed to allow changeover to the standby unit whilst on load
under GT operation.
The filter can be inertial type, cyclone type, filter /separator type or a combination of these types. The heavy particles including
liquid particles shall be removed and re-carrying of liquid droplets shall be avoided. The filter elements shall be replaceable, suitable
for the specified gases and meet the necessary requirements for protection of the gas turbine units. The minimum efficiency of the
gas filter under normal operation shall be 100 per cent of all solid particles 3 microns and larger and 99 %
Particles from 0.5 to 3 microns, when handling all specified types of gases. The bottom of the filter sump shall be equipped with
valves and pipe work leading to a condensate tank such that accumulated fluids & contaminants may be drained off on a regular
basis. The equipment shall have quick opening covers for easy replacement of elements. Gas conditioning filter & separator on skid
at GCS station shall be provided with isolating valves, vents and drains and shall be designed to allow changeover to the standby unit
whilst on load under GT smooth operation.
The equipment shall be fitted with drain valves, a lockable vent valve connection leading to the vent system, a pressure safety valve
and a vessel purge connection. Equipment inlet and outlet, changeover valves shall be pneumatically operated.
All safety vents shall be connected to separate stack and all other vents shall be connected to separate stack with flame arrestors.
Gas condensate shall be drained from the scrubbers / filters / separators to the gas condensate tank through drain pipes with slope
via. automatic valves initiated by level equipment. High and low level instruments shall also be provided to visible & audible alarm
with display in Central Control Room (CCR).
SCOPE OF SUPPLY
Any free moisture present in the gas is removed in the Knock-out Drum.
The subscripts L and G stand for liquid phase and vapour phase respectively.
And the gas bubble diameter Dp is described in microns.
Thus, using Dp = 10 micron,
Vt = 0.0078 m/s
(It should be noted that the use of Stokes law is valid only for Reynolds number lower than 2. EnggCyclopedia’s vertical
degasser sizing calculatoruses an iterative procedure for calculation of Reynolds number and terminal velocity to make sure
that the correct correlation is used. For higher Reynolds number, other equations govern the phase separation)
Here Reynolds number is calculated below,
Step 3
A tentative H/D ratio needs to be fixed for the vessel. Since the diameter of vessel (D) and TL-TL height of the vessel (H) are
unknown, it makes it necessary to put a handle between then in the form of H/D ratio. Normally this ratio varies from 3 to
5. Here we select 3.5.
Step 4
Next the vessel diameter can be calculated based on the allowable gas phase design velocity value obtained using Stokes
law equation.
The terminal velocity for gas phase can be expressed as,
Vt = 4×Vg/(3600×πd2)… where Vg is gas volumetric flow (m3/hr) and ‘d’ is vessel diameter
Hence,
d = √Vg/(900×π×Vt)
d = √100/(900×π×0.0078) = 2.13 m
Considering the L/D ratio requirement,
L = 3.5 × 2.13 = 7.45 m
This length has to be checked to be compliant with project specification of liquid residence time between HLL and LLL.
Scrubber Skids:
Multi-cyclone scrubbers are used for removing moisture up to 10 micron level. The dust particles are also removed to some
extent.
Filter Separators:
The gas is further passed through cloth filters or cartridges. Very fine cloth made of polyethylene or other special materials like
fiber glass is used to filter out particles less than 3 microns.
A well design fuel treatment system for combustion turbine should remove the offending contamination and provide the necessary
superheating of the fuel gas. Contamination in fuel can be categorized into gas, solids, liquid form. A few common contaminations
that are removed by fuel treatment for gas turbines may include
Solid Rust, Mill Scale, Sand Erosion and deposit in the hot section
A basic fuel gas conditioning system will remove solid and liquid contamination utilizing ultra efficient coalescing filter element. After
solid and liquid removal, the gas is superheated utilizing electric heater or other means of heating. Following is a typical block
diagram of a basic fuel gas conditioning system.
Untreated fuel gas enters pre-heater H-100. This heater may be required to prevent the formation of hydrate due to pressure and
temperature drop across pressure regulator PCV-110. The formation of hydrate depends on the presence of free water, gas
composition and amount of pressure drop across PCV-110. When required, H-110 will raise the temperature of the gas above its
hydrate formation temperature as the gas is regulated through PCV-110.
Pressure regulator PCV-110 is employed to regulate the pressure of the gas when the supply pressure exceeds the requirement of
the gas turbine fuel system.
Once the gas is at the correct pressure, it goes though one of the two high efficiency filter coalescer F-200A/B. These are 2 x 100%
rated filter coalescer that would enable the changing of the filter without disrupting the fuel supply to the gas turbine.
A high efficiency coalescing element with an 99.99% efficiency of 0.3 micron may be required whenever there are reciprocating
compressor located upstream of the gas supply chain . We have seen many instance where the lube oil from these compressor
making it way to the fuel system of gas turbine and causing problem. Thus, it is imperative that the fuel gas conditioning system is
design with them in mind.
At this point the gas is saturated since all free liquid have been removed by the filter coalescer (worst case scenario). By providing
the necessary differential temperature rise across super heater H-300, we are assured that the gas has met the minimum superheat
requirement of the gas turbine specification.
Super heater H-300 is employed to provide the required superheating. Our approach is to provide all the super heating across this
heater. For instance, if the gas turbine required 50 degrees superheat, the heater will be sized to provide 50 degrees temperature
rise across it. We also recommend EML Manufacturing electric heaters due to their instant on capability, no emission , and reliability
compared other types heating method.
EML Manufacturing has extensive knowledge and experience in the design of fuel gas conditioning system for major gas turbine
manufacturer's.
Fig 2
We also consult with customers that have issues with their fuel system. Feel free to contact us with your fuel gas issues.