Carbon capture from gas turbines

Supervisors: Professor M Pourkashanian, Professor L Ma, Professor K Hughes

Natural gas is seen as cleaner than other fossil fuels and will continue to have an essential role in the energy mix of the future, particularly in the UK. There are however stringent CO2 emission reduction targets in place and therefore the carbon intensity of energy generation from all sources needs to be considerably reduced, predominantly from fossil fuel sources. Gas turbines already generate relatively low levels of CO2, but coupled with post-combustion carbon capture and storage (CCS), they will be an integral technology for the UK to meet such environmental legislation.

Design improvements on both the power generation side and capture plant side however will be required to optimise this process and their integration, as well as to enhance the overall system efficiency. After a review of pertinent literature, this project will initially consist of modelling the gas turbine at the UKCCSRC National Research Facilities - PACT. To improve plant performance, selective exhaust gas recycling will also be modelled - this involves selectively recirculating the CO2 separated from the flue gases back into the compressor inlet.

The flue gases are passed through a membrane to separate out the CO2 from the other exhaust components. Comparative studies with conventional flue gas recycling (no CO2 separation) can be conducted. Aspen Plus will be used to facilitate this work and accomplish the project aims, which can be validated using the baseline experimental data already acquired for the gas turbine in question.

For further information contact Professor Derek B Ingham (d.ingham@sheffield.ac.uk).