KEY CONSIDERATIONS WHEN EMBARKING ON A HEAVY FUEL PROJECT

摘要

Today, within an increasingly uncertain fuel market Heavy Fuel Oil (HFO) keeps strongrnassets in the power generation business either as an interim or a long term primary energy.rnHowever, utilities or power developers planning to burn HFO in gas turbines within a grassrootsrnor a conversion project, need to anticipate a number of technical aspects that are specificrnto HFO applications and underlie the success and their project. Here, the capitalization of thernexperience accumulated worldwide and lessons learned are of prime interest.rnIndeed, the option of burning HFO impacts on the design and the O&M of the GT unit, itsrnclose auxiliaries, the fuel preparation facility (Fuel Oil Treatment Plant or “FOTP”) andrnfinally the entire balance of plant equipment (BOP).rnMost potential problems related to the daily operation of the GT itself:rn1. degradation of GT performances due to ash accumulation on buckets,rn2. removal of ash deposits after some operation cycles,rn3. fuel circuit troubles such as HP filter clogged; transfer failed; HP pump or flow-dividerrndamaged,rn4. dark plumes.rnExperience shows that hot corrosion by vanadium or sodium is rarely faced.rnHowever other issues are commonly experienced on the BOP side:rn1. sludge accumulation throughout the FOTP,rn2. insufficient desalting efficiency,rn3. stable fuel-in-water emulsions that are difficult to break,rn4. sludge accumulation or bacterial growth in storage tanks,rn5. problematic handling and disposal of sludge.rnThose issues are generally correlated to a poor quality of the incoming HFO (too high amountrnof impurities) or to inappropriate O&M practices.rnAlthough specific technical measures enable to clear these issues to a large extent, thernselection of a proper HFO supply (purchasing specification; logistics; storage & handling) isrnparamount for the success of the project, including the selection of suitable sulphuritrogenrncontents to control emissions.rnThis paper is intended to assist power generators in providing a set of selected keyrnconsiderations and technical aspects to review when embarking on a HFO application. Itrnoffers a series of simple and concrete considerations that are based on decades of experiencernacquired by both a GT manufacturer and a fuel additive company in the operation of Heavy-rnFuelled GT’s.