international journal of hydrogen energy xxx (xxxx) xxx

Available online at www.sciencedirect.com

ScienceDirect

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/he

Analysing the performance, fuel cost and emission

parameters of the 50 MW simple and recuperative
gas turbine cycles using natural gas and hydrogen
as fuel

lı a, Adnan Go
Yıldız Koç a, Hüseyin Yag €rgülü b, Ali Koç a,*
a
Iskenderun Technical University, Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences Department of Mechanical
Engineering, 31200, Iskenderun, Hatay, Turkey
b
Siemens Energy, Gas and Power, Hydrogen Sales, Duisburg, Germany

highlights graphical abstract

Analysing the using pure hydrogen

and natural gas as fuel for gas
turbines

Assessing the effect of fuels on
performance for simple and recu-
perative gas turbine systems

Applying the performance, cost
and environmental analyses
together for simple and recupera-
tive gas turbines

Evaluating the best-performing
cycle parameters for different
working conditions

article info abstract

Article history: In the present study, firstly, the power production, thermal and exergy efficiencies were
Received 7 April 2020 calculated for the simple and recuperative gas turbine cycles at constant power production
Received in revised form (50 MW) and turbine outlet temperature (450  C). The system was analysed for the cases of
17 May 2020 using both natural gas and pure hydrogen as a fuel for simple and recuperative gas turbine
Accepted 29 May 2020 systems. After analyses, the efficiencies of the recuperative gas turbine cycle were higher
Available online xxx than the simple gas turbine cycle up to 18 bar pressure for both natural gas and H2. At the
pressure of 18 bar and above, the efficiency of the simple gas turbine cycle found higher
Keywords: than the recuperative gas turbine cycle since the compressor outlet temperature is higher
Gas turbine than the turbine outlet temperature. Despite the higher cost of H2 for unit power pro-
Recuperator duction, the H2 used gas turbine cycles has more advantageous than natural gas in terms of
Hydrogen performance, environment and CO2 emission. For the cases of using H2 and natural gas as
Natural gas fuel, the minimum fuel cost was calculated as 0.345 $/kWh and 0.075 $/kWh at 20 bar for
simple gas turbine cycle, while they were found as 0.322 $/kWh and 0.071 $/kWh at 4 bar

* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: [email protected] (A. Koç).
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2020.05.267
0360-3199/© 2020 Hydrogen Energy Publications LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Please cite this article as: Koç Y et al., Analysing the performance, fuel cost and emission parameters of the 50 MW simple and recu-
perative gas turbine cycles using natural gas and hydrogen as fuel, International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, https://doi.org/10.1016/
j.ijhydene.2020.05.267
2 international journal of hydrogen energy xxx (xxxx) xxx

Carbon dioxide emission for recuperative gas turbine cycle, respectively. The CO2 emission of the 50 MW gas turbine
Cost analysis was found between 46.27 tones-CO2/h and 71.15 tones-CO2/h for natural gas using simple
and recuperative gas turbine systems, besides zero CO2 emission of using H2.
© 2020 Hydrogen Energy Publications LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

a varying hydrogen proportion from 10% to 90%. After the

Introduction analyses, they concluded that the use of hydrogen minimises
the specific fuel consumption due to complete combustion.
Minimising of the use of fossil fuels in energy-consuming Baltacıog
lu [24], applied the width modulation method on the
systems is essential, due to depletion of fossil sources, wors- hydroxy gas production system.
ening global warming and deteriorated environmental pollu- Nam et al. [25], numerically analysed the effect of
tion [1e3]. Therefore, there is a rapid tendency toward hydrogen-enriched fuel on the gas turbine combustor. They
renewable energy sources, systems and production control analysed the flame structure in the combustor for the case of
applications [4e9]. Although renewable energy sources are using hydrogen and methane mixture in the gas turbine as
environment-friendly and unlimited, using clean energy fuel. Valera-Medina et al. [26], studied on the minimisation of
sources are also has great importance in stationary high ca- NOx emission which released as a result of the burning of low
pacity power systems like steam turbines, gas turbines [10]. carbon-containing fuel blends (hydrogen and ammonia). Bicer
Even though these systems are using renewable energy and Khalid [27], compared the heat, power and environmental
sources like sun and wind, it is not possible to run these sys- impacts of the solid oxide fuel cell for the cases of using
tems for the whole day because of lack of sunrays at night and hydrogen, natural gas and ammonia as fuel. Sayyaadi [28],
noncontinuous of the wind [11e13]. However, the facilities calculated the amount of hydrogen production from waste
that use high capacity power systems are needing energy heat of a gas turbine by using CuCl hydrogen production
during the day. At this point, there are two choices to system. As a result of the study, they defended that the con-
continuously use clean energy sources for power systems. The version efficiency of the CuCl hydrogen production system
first choice is the use of an energy storage system like batte- higher than the water electrolysis systems. Balli et al. [29],
ries. But the batteries are very expensive and have significant investigated the exergy-based performance of a turbojet en-
adverse effects on the environment due to the use of highly- gine using hydrogen as fuel. The exergy efficiency of the
polluting mines inside [14]. Another alternative is the use of turbojet engine decreased from 15.40% to 14.33% with usage of
hydrogen produced via renewable energy sources as an en- hydrogen. Besides, by using hydrogen as fuel, the exhaust gas
ergy source [15]. emission of the engine decreased from 0.509 kg/s to 0.0045 kg/
The first formal steps to redirect focuses on hydrogen en- s. Funke et al. [30], studied on developing a combustor for a gas
ergy was initiated by Prof. Dr. Nejat Vezirog
lu in 1974 at a
turbine. After detailed analyses, they calculated the optimum
conference held in Miami [16]. Due to many advantageous and nozzle diameter as 0.84 mm. At this nozzle diameter, more
almost no disadvantageous, this landmark step forwarded all than 99% combustion efficiency and NOx formation less than
focuses of the governments, companies and scientist toward 2.5 ppm is calculated. Gobbato et al. [31], numerically analysed
hydrogen energy. Because, the hydrogen is clean, carries high- burning model of a combustor of a gas turbine using hydrogen
quality energy and has the highest heating value per mass as fuel. During the analyses, the temperature distribution in-
among the chemical-based fuels [17]. In addition to advan- side combustor together with the inlet temperature profile of
tages in term of energy capacity, hydrogen is the most abun- the turbine is assessed. Ebaid et al. [32], performed thermoe-
dant and promising energy source for sustainable and cleaner conomic based analyses of a PV and hydrogen-fuelled gas
future [18,19]. There are many studies that prove the superi- turbine based combined system. In the study, the designed
ority of hydrogen when used as fuel in the power systems. system produces hydrogen at the hours when the solar radi-
Cappelletti and Martelli [20], analysed a gas turbine burner for ation is high, and then the system uses hydrogen in a gas
the case of using pure hydrogen as fuel. The detailed experi- turbine as fuel at the hours when the solar radiation is not
ments and analyses confirmed the operability using pure enough to produce electricity from the PV system. After
hydrogen as fuel. Kahraman et al. [21], numerically analysed comprehensive analyses, the payback period of the designed
and compared a gas turbine burner using pure hydrogen and system is found between 13 years and 15 years. In the study
jet-A fuel. The detailed analyses results showed that, by using prepared by Park and Lee [33], the instability of the H2/CO/CH4
hydrogen as fuel, the combustion efficiency is increased while and synthetic natural gases in the combustor is investigated.
the CO2 emission decreased. Di Gaeta et al. [22], generated the After analyses, the combustion properties of the fuels like
dynamic model for a 100-kW micro gas turbine for the case of burning speed, adiabatic flame temperature and ignition delay
using natural gas and hydrogen blends as fuel. As a result of duration are calculated. Shih and Liu [34], investigated the
the study, fossil fuel saving between 37.5% and 41.5% is ob- burning of hydrogen/methane mixture for the case of using as
tained. Meziane and Bentebbiche [23], numerically studied the fuel in a gas turbine. In addition to observing the performance
performance of a micro gas turbine using the natural gas- of the gas turbine, the NOx and CO emission variation
hydrogen blend. During the study, the system is analysed for

Please cite this article as: Koç Y et al., Analysing the performance, fuel cost and emission parameters of the 50 MW simple and recu-
perative gas turbine cycles using natural gas and hydrogen as fuel, International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, https://doi.org/10.1016/
j.ijhydene.2020.05.267
 international journal of hydrogen energy xxx (xxxx) xxx 3

depending on the volumetric fraction of the hydrogen/ to be able to compare the fuels for simple and recuperative
methane is also examined. Khani et al. [35], applied the mul- designs, in terms of performance, cost and environment. The
tiobjective optimisation method on a cogeneration system schematic view of the designed simple gas turbine (sGT) and
composed of a steam generator, gas turbine and solid oxide recuperative gas turbine (rGT) systems are given in Fig. 1.
fuel cell. After calculations, the exegetic efficiency of the Throughout the study, some parameters are accepted as
designed cogeneration system is calculated as 55.11%. Aydin constant to have an exact vision about the effect of the GT
and Kenanog
lu [36], analysed the performance of an internal design on the performance. The parameters assumed con-
combustion engine for the case of using hydroxy and com- stant throughout the analyses are given in Table 1. Here, the
pressed natural gas mixture as fuel. After analyses, the per- most important parameter that accepted constant during
formance of the engine and emission values are improved analysis is constant net power production (50 MW) assump-
with the usage of the mixture as fuel. tion at 450  C exhaust gas outlet temperature. The main
Today, due to global warming, the usage of clean fuels in reason for this acceptance is to see fuel consumptions at
power systems get more importance. As a clean fuel, constant power. By this way, it is aimed to compare emission
hydrogen comes in mind first [37]. But, the cost of hydrogen is and cost parameters as well as fuel consumption. During the
still higher [38,39]. Therefore, the main part of the researches analyses, the exhaust gas outlet temperature is assumed
still works on the minimising of the hydrogen cost [40,41]. constant at 450  C to fix the wasted heat by unit exhaust gas
Many companies started to convert present gas turbines from mass flow. By this way, it is aimed to see the change in the air
natural gas to hydrogen as fuel. The positive effect of using mass flow rate and turbine inlet temperature.
hydrogen as a fuel for power systems brings many advantages
together, such as higher efficiency, lower pollution. When the Mathematical model
studies in the literature analysed, it is seen that the operability
using pure hydrogen is possible. Moreover, the use of The analysis of the recuperative and non-recuperative GT
hydrogen increases the performance of the systems as well as cycles are applied by using EBSILON®Professional (EBSILON)
minimising the greenhouse gas emission. However, there are software. The thermodynamic properties like enthalpy, pres-
only limited studies that analyse the performance of power sure, mass flow rate and temperature etc. are taken from the
systems for the case of using pure hydrogen as fuel and only software. After evaluation of the thermodynamic parameters,
few of them uses gas turbine as a power system. The studies the performance parameters of the GT cycles are calculated by
that analyse gas turbine for hydrogen generally analyse the use of general equations of the thermodynamics (mass, en-
system only for simple or recuperative systems separately. ergy and exergy balance). These equations can be written as
Moreover, a considerable part of the studies analyses the [44e46]:
system for varying turbine outlet power, which enables the X X
reader to compare the feasibility of hydrogen usage. There- m_ i ¼ m_ e (1)
withal, only limited studies on hydrogen evaluate the perfor-
X X
mance, cost and environmental together for the gas turbine Q_ þ W_ ¼ m_ e he  m_ i hi (2)
systems. The main goal of the present study is analysing the
performance of 50 MW gas turbine cycle at constant power E_i ¼ E_e þ E_dest (3)
output for the recuperative and non-recuperative designs by
considering performance, emission and cost parameters Here, Q_ represents heat flow, W_ represents work flow and E_

together for both the cases of using natural gas and hydrogen represents exergy flow. The exergy flow ðEÞ _ calculated by:
as fuel.
In the present study, recuperative and non-recuperative E_ ¼ mj
_ (4)
50 MW gas turbine cycles are analysed for the case of using Here, the j is the specific exergy and calculated by;
both natural gas and pure hydrogen. The analyses are applied
for constant net power output to compare performance, j ¼ ðh  h0 Þ  T0 ðs  s0 Þ (5)
emission and cost parameters of the pure hydrogen with Since the burning process of the fuels is a chemical reac-
natural gas. The parametric analysis of the cycles is made by tion, the exergy analysis must be made by the use of chemical
using EBSILON®Professional (EBSILON) software. exergy balance equation. The reactions during the burning of
the fuels could be written as:

Materials and methods

System description and acceptances

In the present study, performance, cost and emission pa-

rameters of two designs of gas turbine (GT) cycles, recupera-
tive and non-recuperative, are analysed. In the analyses, the
system is optimised and evaluated for using both natural gas
and hydrogen as fuel. Throughout the analyses, the power
production of all GT designs are accepted as constant (50 MW). Fig. 1 e Schematic view of the simple gas turbine (a) and
The main aim of the constant power production assumption is recuperative gas turbine (b).

Please cite this article as: Koç Y et al., Analysing the performance, fuel cost and emission parameters of the 50 MW simple and recu-
perative gas turbine cycles using natural gas and hydrogen as fuel, International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, https://doi.org/10.1016/
j.ijhydene.2020.05.267
4 international journal of hydrogen energy xxx (xxxx) xxx

Table 1 e The specifications assumed constant X X

throughout the analyses for both sGT and rGT systems. mix ¼
exch xk *exch
k;P þ RT0 xk *ln xk (11)
k k
Parameter Value Unit
In addition to the exergy based flow analysis of the
Turbine stage numbers 4 e
Rotor speed 3000 RPM
designed GT cycles, the overall performances of the cycles are
GT net power production 50 MW also analysed by calculating the thermal and exergy effi-
Compressor inlet pressure of air 1 bar ciencies. The thermal ðhGT Þ and exergy ðεGT Þ efficiencies of the

Compressor inlet temperature of air 20 C designed GT cycles are calculated by:
Compressor isentropic efficiency 90 %
Turbine isentropic efficiency 85 % W_ net
hGT ¼ (12)
Mechanical efficiency compressor and turbine 95 % Q_ in
Recuperator effectiveness 95 %
Burner effectiveness 95 %
W_ net
Air relative humidity 50 % εGT ¼ (13)
Turbine outlet temperature 450 
C E_in
Calorific value of hydrogen 119,986 kJ/kg
where W _ net , Q_ in and E_in refer to net power, heat inlet from the
Calorific value of natural gas 47,130 kJ/kg
Unit price of hydrogen [42] 2.69 $/kg burning of fuel and exergy inlet from the burning of fuel,
Unit price of natural gas [43] 0.213 $/kg respectively. Q_ in and E_in is found by:

Q_ in ¼ m
_ fuel NCVfuel *eta; comb (14)

E_in ¼ n_ fuel *Mfuel *exch

F (15)
ð0:93CH4 þ 0:033C2 H6 þ 0:01C3 H8 þ 0:01C4 H10 þ 0:017CO2 Þ
(6) While calculating the E_in , the physical exergy of fuel is
þ 2:0905O2 / 1:083CO2 þ 2:049H2 O
neglected. In Eqs. (14) and (15), m _ fuel , NCVfuel , eta; comb and
for burning of natural gas and Mfuel are mass flow rate, net calorific value, mol flow rate and
molar mass of the fuel, respectively. The eta; comb symbolizes
H2 þ 0:5O2 /H2 O (7) the burning efficiency of the burner and accepted as 95%. All
for burning of hydrogen. The general chemical molar calculations are applied by considering the neglected kinetic
exergy of fuel can be defined as: and potential energies. The flow inside the GT cycles is
" accepted as a steady state. For calculations, T0 and P0 are
accepted as 18  C and 1 bar. The carbon dioxide emission
F ¼
exch
values are also considered during the study. Since the
! # hydrogen is not including the carbon, there is no CO2 emis-
X X X X
 nk;P * Dgk;P  nk;R * Dgk;R þ nk;P * exch
k;P  nk;R * exch
k;R sion after burning of the H2. However, the burning of natural
P R P R
gas releases a considerable amount of CO2. As seen from the
(8) chemical equilibrium given in Eq. (6), burning of 1 kmol nat-
ural gas produces 1.083 kmol of CO2. Therefore, the amount of
F (kJ/kmol) is the standard chemical exergy of fuel, D
where, exch
gk;P and Dgk;R are the formation Gibbs value (kJ/kmol) of CO2 emission after burning of the natural gas could be
calculated by:
product and reactants, exch ch
k;P and exk;R are standard molar

chemical exergy of product and reactants. The exch

k values
m_ CO2 ¼ MCO2 n_NG 1:083 (16)
could be calculated by:
where m_ CO2 and MCO2 refers to the mass of the CO2 emission
P0 and molecular weight of the CO2. n_NG is the mole flow of the
k ¼ RT0 ln
exch (9)
burning natural gas and could be calculated by:
P∞
Here, R, T0 , P0 and P∞ refers to molar universal gas constant m_ NG
n_NG ¼ (17)
(8.3144 kJ/kmol-K), environment temperature (K), reference MNG
environment pressure (bar) and partial pressure of ideal gas
where m_ NG and MNG represents the burning natural gas mass
(bar), respectively. The exergy flow rate of the exhaust gas is
flow rate and molecular weight of the natural gas. In addition
calculated by considering the exhaust gas as a gas mixture. To
to the thermodynamic properties of each pipe and compo-
define the chemical exergy of a mixture, the reversible and
nents, the software used in the present study also calculates
isothermal work needed for compressing a mixture from P∞ to
the reaction enthalpy of the system. The reactions occur
P0 should be calculated. This value could be found by:
during the combustion could be written as:
X  X
wxk rev ¼ RT0 xk * ln xk (10)
ð0:93CH4 þ 0:033C2 H6 þ 0:01C3 H8 þ 0:01C4 H10 þ 0:017CO2 Þ
k k
þ l * 2:0905ðO2 þ 3:762N2 Þ / 1:083CO2 þ 2:049H2 O þ ðl  1ÞO2
where xk corresponds the mole fraction of the constituent k in
þ ðl * 7:8644ÞN2
the mixture. After calculation of the reversible and isothermal
(18)
work done for compression, chemical exergy a mixture of
gases could be calculated by: for the burning of natural gas and

Please cite this article as: Koç Y et al., Analysing the performance, fuel cost and emission parameters of the 50 MW simple and recu-
perative gas turbine cycles using natural gas and hydrogen as fuel, International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, https://doi.org/10.1016/
j.ijhydene.2020.05.267
 international journal of hydrogen energy xxx (xxxx) xxx 5

must increase with increasing the turbine inlet pressure to

H2 þ l * 0:5ðO2 þ 3:762N2 Þ / H2 O þ ðl  1ÞO2 þ ðl * 7:8644ÞN2 maintain the turbine outlet temperature at 450  C. In line with
(19) increasing turbine inlet temperature, the air mass flow rate
must increase with increasing turbine inlet pressure due to
for burning of hydrogen. Where, l is excess air coefficient. constant net power production assumption. During
The reaction enthalpy occurs in the burner of the system increasing turbine inlet pressure and temperature period, for
could be calculated by: both fuel types, the fuel consumptions for the sGT cycles
Hi ¼ He (20) decrease, while the consumptions for the rGT cycles increase
slowly. The decrease in fuel consumptions in sGT is due to a
X  0  X  0  decrease in air mass flow rate. The increase in rGT fuel con-
ne hf þ Dh ¼ ni hf þ Dh (21) sumption occurs due to convergence of compressor outlet
e i
e i
temperature to the turbine outlet temperature. At the pres-
0
where hf is the formation enthalpy. The Dh is the sensible sure 18 bar and above, since the compressor outlet tempera-
enthalpy difference according to a standard reference, and ture is higher than the turbine outlet temperature, the fuel
could be calculated by: consumption of the rGT is higher than the sGT. For a turbine
  inlet pressure from 4 bar to 20 bar at constant net power
0
Dh ¼ h  h (22) production (50 MW), the consumed hydrogen amount de-
creases from 2.64 kg/s to 1.78 kg/s for sGT, while it increases
0
where h and h represent the sensible enthalpy at the given from 1.66 kg/s to 1.83 kg/s for GT. At this pressure increase
temperature and sensible enthalpy at 25  C and 1 bar. levels, the natural gas consumption decreases from 7.19 kg/s
to 5.12 kg/s for sGT, while it increases from 4.68 kg/s to 5.27 kg/
s for rGT. The compressor power consumptions and gross
Results and discussion power productions calculated for the sGT and rGT systems for
the cases of using natural gas and pure hydrogen as the fuel
In the present study, firstly, the power production, thermal are given in Fig. 3.
and exergy efficiencies are calculated for a simple and recu- The slope of the gross power and compressor power lines
perative gas turbine at constant power production (50 MW) are bigger for non-recuperative GT design than the recupera-
and exhaust gas turbine outlet temperature (450  C). The tive design. Although the net power production of the GT cy-
system is analysed for the cases of using both natural gas and cles is constant during the study, the gross power and
pure hydrogen as fuel. Depending on the turbine inlet pres- compressor power values increase with increasing turbine
sure, the comparison of turbine inlet temperature and air inlet pressure. At 4 bar turbine inlet pressure and for both
mass flow rate (a) and the fuel consumption (b), recorded from fuels, the compressor power consumption and the gross
the sGT and rGT systems for the cases of using natural gas and power production of the rGT are higher than the sGT. How-
pure hydrogen as the fuel is shown in Fig. 2. ever, above 18 bar, the compressor power consumption and
At constant power production, the turbine inlet tempera- the gross power production amounts are almost the same for
ture increases with increasing turbine inlet pressure, while both sGT and rGT. Because the compressor power consump-
the air mass flow rate decreases with increasing turbine inlet tion and the gross power production values are changes in
pressure. This trend is observed the same for all fuel types (NG parallel with air mass flow rate. For the case of using H2 as
and H2) and all designs (sGT and rGT). The main reason for this fuel, the compressor power consumption of the sGT is varied
is the constant power production and turbine outlet temper- from 4 bar to 20 bar as from 118,154 kW to 148,771 kW, while it
ature assumptions. Because the turbine inlet temperature is increased from 125,290 kW to 148,417 kW for rGT,

Fig. 2 e Depending on the turbine inlet pressure, the comparison of turbine inlet temperature and air mass flow rate (a) and
the fuel consumption (b), recorded from the sGT and rGT systems for the cases of using natural gas and pure hydrogen as
the fuel.

Please cite this article as: Koç Y et al., Analysing the performance, fuel cost and emission parameters of the 50 MW simple and recu-
perative gas turbine cycles using natural gas and hydrogen as fuel, International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, https://doi.org/10.1016/
j.ijhydene.2020.05.267
6 international journal of hydrogen energy xxx (xxxx) xxx

increasing turbine inlet pressure from 4 bar to 20 bar, the

thermal efficiency increased from 16.62% to 24.60% for the
sGT, while it decreased from 24.36% to 23.95% for the rGT. For
the case of using NG as fuel and the increasing turbine inlet
pressure from 4 bar to 20 bar, the thermal efficiency increased
from 14.94% to 20.97% for the sGT, while it decreased from
22.93% to 20.38% for the rGT. As seen from the change in
thermal efficiencies for both fuels depending on the pressure,
the thermal efficiencies of the sGT are higher at 20 bar than
the thermal efficiencies of the rGT. This occurs above 18 bar
because of the higher compressor outlet temperature than the
turbine outlet temperature, which resulted in cooling in the
recuperator rather than heating. Parallelly, for the case of
using H2 as fuel and the increasing turbine inlet pressure from
4 bar to 20 bar, the exergy efficiency increased from 16.05% to
Fig. 3 e The compressor power consumptions and gross 23.76% for the sGT, while it decreased from 25.43% to 23.13%
power productions calculated for the sGT and rGT systems for the rGT. For the case of using NG as fuel and the increasing
for the cases of using natural gas and pure hydrogen as the turbine inlet pressure from 4 bar to 20 bar, the exergy effi-
fuel. ciency increased from 14.06% to 19.73% for the sGT, while it
decreased from 21.57% to 19.17% for the rGT. Sue and Chuang
respectively. For the case of using NG as fuel, the compressor (2004), analysed the performance of a gas turbine alone for the
power consumption of the sGT is varied from 4 bar to 20 bar as cases of the simple cycle and cogeneration cycle. After the
from 123,074 kW to 158,274 kW, while it is increased from
127,138 kW to 158,172 kW for rGT, respectively. The thermal
and exergy efficiencies calculated for the sGT and rGT systems
for the cases of using natural gas and pure hydrogen as the
fuel are represented in Fig. 4.
As seen in Fig. 4, the effect of the recuperator decreases
with increasing turbine inlet pressure. Therewith, at a turbine
inlet pressure of 18 bar and above, the effect of the recuperator
shows has the opposite effect since the higher temperature of
the compressor outlet than the turbine outlet. While the
thermal and exergy efficiencies of the rGTs are decreased with
an increased compression ratio, the efficiencies of the sGT
increased rapidly with an increased compression ratio. At
18 bar and above, the efficiencies of the sGT are higher than
the efficiencies of the rGT. Moreover, when the sGT and rGT
systems compared in term of fuel used, it is seen that the
performance of the H2 burned GT is higher than the natural
gas burned GT. For the case of using H2 as fuel and the Fig. 5 e The cost of the consumed fuel of the sGT and rGT
systems for the cases of using natural gas and pure
hydrogen as the fuel.

Fig. 4 e The thermal and exergy efficiencies calculated for

the sGT and rGT systems for the cases of using natural gas Fig. 6 e The CO2 emissions of the sGT and rGT systems for
and pure hydrogen as the fuel. the cases of using natural gas and hydrogen as the fuel.

Please cite this article as: Koç Y et al., Analysing the performance, fuel cost and emission parameters of the 50 MW simple and recu-
perative gas turbine cycles using natural gas and hydrogen as fuel, International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, https://doi.org/10.1016/
j.ijhydene.2020.05.267
j.ijhydene.2020.05.267
perative gas turbine cycles using natural gas and hydrogen as fuel, International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, https://doi.org/10.1016/
Please cite this article as: Koç Y et al., Analysing the performance, fuel cost and emission parameters of the 50 MW simple and recu-

Table 2 e An overview on the performance and environmental parameters obtained from simple and recuperative gas turbine cycles for the cases of using hydrogen and
natural gas as fuel.
Pressure Fuel Consumption Gross Power Compressor Power Net Power Thermal Efficiency Exergy Efficiency Fuel Cost CO2 Emission
bar kg/s kW kW kW % % $/kWh tones-CO2/h
Simple Gas Turbine Fuel: Hydrogen 4 2.64 168,155 118,155 50,000 16.62 16.05 0.5112 0.00
6 2.45 171,737 121,737 50,000 17.93 17.31 0.4739 0.00
8 2.25 175,320 125,320 50,000 19.46 18.79 0.4366 0.00

international journal of hydrogen energy xxx (xxxx) xxx

10 2.08 179,016 129,016 50,000 21.05 20.33 0.4035 0.00
12 1.98 182,974 132,974 50,000 22.19 21.43 0.3828 0.00
14 1.90 186,981 136,981 50,000 23.04 22.25 0.3687 0.00
16 1.85 190,964 140,964 50,000 23.70 22.88 0.3585 0.00
18 1.81 194,896 144,896 50,000 24.20 23.37 0.3510 0.00
20 1.78 198,771 148,771 50,000 24.61 23.76 0.3453 0.00
Fuel: Natural Gas 4 7.19 173,075 123,075 50,000 14.95 14.06 0.1102 71.15
6 6.77 177,232 127,232 50,000 15.86 14.92 0.1039 67.04
8 6.36 181,389 131,389 50,000 16.89 15.90 0.0975 62.94
10 5.94 185,662 135,662 50,000 18.07 17.00 0.0911 58.83
12 5.65 190,200 140,200 50,000 19.02 17.90 0.0866 55.90
14 5.45 194,782 144,782 50,000 19.72 18.56 0.0835 53.91
16 5.30 199,336 149,336 50,000 20.25 19.05 0.0813 52.50
18 5.20 203,835 153,835 50,000 20.66 19.44 0.0797 51.47
20 5.12 208,274 158,274 50,000 20.98 19.73 0.0785 50.69
Recuperative Gas Turbine Fuel: Hydrogen 4 1.67 175,290 125,290 50,000 26.34 25.43 0.3226 0.00
6 1.68 177,394 127,394 50,000 26.09 25.20 0.3256 0.00
8 1.70 179,498 129,498 50,000 25.86 24.97 0.3286 0.00
10 1.71 182,281 132,281 50,000 25.62 24.74 0.3316 0.00
12 1.73 185,413 135,413 50,000 25.32 24.45 0.3355 0.00
14 1.76 188,636 138,636 50,000 24.99 24.13 0.3400 0.00
16 1.78 191,854 141,854 50,000 24.65 23.80 0.3447 0.00
18 1.80 195,031 145,031 50,000 24.31 23.47 0.3495 0.00
20 1.83 198,417 148,417 50,000 23.95 23.13 0.3547 0.00
Fuel: Natural Gas 4 4.68 177,139 127,139 50,000 22.93 21.57 0.0718 46.37
6 4.73 180,657 130,657 50,000 22.69 21.35 0.0726 46.86
8 4.78 184,176 134,176 50,000 22.46 21.13 0.0734 47.35
10 4.84 187,835 137,835 50,000 22.19 20.88 0.0742 47.91
12 4.92 191,824 141,824 50,000 21.85 20.56 0.0754 48.66
14 5.00 195,888 145,888 50,000 21.48 20.21 0.0767 49.50
16 5.09 199,938 149,938 50,000 21.11 19.87 0.0780 50.36
18 5.18 203,938 153,938 50,000 20.75 19.53 0.0794 51.24
20 5.27 208,172 158,172 50,000 20.38 19.18 0.0808 52.17

7
8 international journal of hydrogen energy xxx (xxxx) xxx

experimental and theoretical analyses, they concluded that turbine inlet pressure from 4 bar to 20 bar, the fuel cost for per
the actual thermal efficiency of a gas turbine is 5.39% lower power production decreased from 0.511 $/kWh to 0.345 $/kWh
than the theoretical value. Also, the thermal efficiency of the for the sGT, while it increased from 0.322 $/kWh to 0.354
gas turbine is calculated as 28.52% for 50% load [47]. Badran $/kWh for the rGT. For the case of using NG as fuel and the
(1999), analysed a natural gas-fuelled gas turbine cycle for increasing turbine inlet pressure from 4 bar to 20 bar, the fuel
varying pressure ratios from 6.5 to 20. After the comprehen- cost for per power production decreased from 0.110 $/kWh to
sive analyses, the thermal efficiency of the simple gas turbine 0.075 $/kWh for the sGT, while it increased from 0.071 $/kWh
is found between 26% and 31% for increasing pressure ratio to 0.080 $/kWh for the rGT. The present study also aimed to
from 6.5 to 20 [48]. Ko€ se et al. (2020), evaluated a triple cycle analyse the systems in term of environment for all cases. The
composed of a gas turbine, organic Rankine cycle and steam CO2 emissions of the sGT and rGT systems for the cases of
Rankine cycle. During the analyses, each sub-system analysed using natural gas and hydrogen as the fuel are shown in Fig. 6.
as single and combined. As a result of the study, the thermal The CO2 emission of the H2 burned GT cycles are zero,
and exergy efficiency of the gas turbine is found as 33% and while a significant amount of CO2 is released to the environ-
30%, respectively [49]. Zornek et al. (2015), investigated per- ment by NG burned GT cycles. While an increasing turbine
formance analyses of Turbec T100 turbine for a varying inlet pressure from 4 bar to 20 bar at constant net power
pressure ratio from 3 to 7. After detailed experiments, the production (50 MW), the CO2 emission decrease from 71.15
thermal efficiency of the gas turbine is found between 10% tones-CO2/h to 50.69 tones-CO2/h for sGT, and increase from
and 25% [50]. Together with pressure ratio, the turbine inlet 46.27 tones-CO2/h to 52.17 tones-CO2/h for rGT. Although the
and outlet temperatures are two of the most effective pa- cost of the H2 is currently very high, the use of H2 will provide
rameters on the gas turbine system performance. The aim of the advantage of higher performance in addition to zero CO2
the present study is examining the performance of the sGT emission. Together with the progress in H2 production and
and rGT systems for a constant airflow rate (450 kg/s) and minimisation of H2 production cost, the advantages of the H2
varying pressure ratios from 4 to 20. In addition, the turbine will compete with fossil-based non-green fuels. To have an
outlet temperature and power production capacity of the GT exact vision on the analyses results, an overview on the per-
systems are also accepted as constant (450  C and 50 MW). The formance and environmental parameters obtained from
main aim of the present study is comparing the effect of the simple and recuperative gas turbine cycles for the cases of
two selected fuels (hydrogen and natural gas) on the perfor- using hydrogen and natural gas as fuel is given in Table 2.
mance of the GT systems. The main aim of accepting the
turbine outlet temperature as 450  C is the making equal the
releasing heat by the exhaust for all cases. Therefore, it not
Conclusions
easy to find an exact matching study in the literature giving
the same results. Because, the net power production, emis-
In the concept of the present study, the performance of simple
sions and partly the efficiencies will be different for each
and recuperative GT cycles are compared for both NG and H2
specific research. Despite all these, comparing the thermal
used as fuel at constant power output (50 MW) and turbine
and exergy efficiency rates obtained from the analyses in the
outlet temperature (450  C). The systems were analysed in
literature could be a way to validate the results of the present
term of performance, cost and emission for all cases. After
study. When the result of the studies in the literature a part of
detailed analyses, the main conclusion deduced from the re-
which given above is analyses, it is seen that the literature
sults are:
studies validate the results obtained in the present study. In
addition to analysing the effect of the fuel and design on the

The thermal and exergy efficiency of the H2 fuelled GT
performance, the present study also aimed to analyse the
designs found higher than the NG fuelled GT designs.
systems in term of cost and environment for all case. The cost

The efficiencies of the rGT cycle were higher than the sGT
of the consumed fuel of the sGT and rGT systems for the cases
cycle up to 18 bar pressure for both NG and H2. At the
of using natural gas and pure hydrogen as the fuel is shown in
pressure of 18 bar and above, the efficiency of the sGT cycle
Fig. 5.
found higher than the rGT cycle since the compressor
The amount of consumed fuel mass is considerably higher
outlet temperature is higher than the turbine outlet
for NG when compared with H2. However, when the unit mass
temperature.
price of the fuels considered, the unit price of the H2 is

When the system was considered for cost of fuel price for
considerably higher than the NG. Therefore, as seen in Fig. 5,
unit power production ($/kWh), despite the advantages of
the fuel cost for per power production ($/kWh) is higher for H2
the use of H2 in term of performance and emission, the fuel
than NG. In parallel with fuel consumption, the cost of the H2
cost for per unit power production was found higher for H2
burned GT cycles are higher than the cost of the NG burned GT
than the NG.
cycles. In addition to that, for all selected fuels and together

The CO2 emission results revealed that the use of NG as
with an increase in the pressure, while the fuel cost for per
fuel had significant adverse effects on the environment
unit power decrease for simple GT designs, the fuel cost for
due to high CO2 emission rate, which is one of the most
per unit power increase slowly for recuperative GT designs.
serious greenhouse gasses. From the analyses for a 50 MW
But, at the pressure 18 bar and above, since the compressor
net power production, it was concluded that between 46.37
outlet temperature is higher than the turbine outlet temper-
tones-CO2/h and 71.15 tones-CO2/h of CO2 releases to the
ature, the fuel cost for per unit power for rGT is higher than
atmosphere. On the other hand, there is no CO2 emission
the sGT. For the case of using H2 as fuel and the increasing

Please cite this article as: Koç Y et al., Analysing the performance, fuel cost and emission parameters of the 50 MW simple and recu-
perative gas turbine cycles using natural gas and hydrogen as fuel, International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, https://doi.org/10.1016/
j.ijhydene.2020.05.267
 international journal of hydrogen energy xxx (xxxx) xxx 9

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Please cite this article as: Koç Y et al., Analysing the performance, fuel cost and emission parameters of the 50 MW simple and recu-
perative gas turbine cycles using natural gas and hydrogen as fuel, International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, https://doi.org/10.1016/
j.ijhydene.2020.05.267