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An Overview
of Gas Turbines
The gas turbine is a power plant, which produces a great amount of energy for
its size and weight. The gas turbine has found increasing service in the past
40 years in the power industry both among utilities and merchant plants as well
as the petrochemical industry, and utilities throughout the world. Its compact-
ness, low weight, and multiple fuel application make it a natural power plant
for offshore platforms. Today there are gas turbines, which run on natural gas,
diesel fuel, naphtha, methane, crude, low-Btu gases, vaporized fuel oils, and
biomass gases.
The last 20 years has seen a large growth in Gas Turbine Technology. The
growth is spearheaded by the growth of materials technology, new coatings,
and new cooling schemes. This, with the conjunction of increase in compressor
pressure ratio, has increased the gas turbine thermal efficiency from about 15%
to over 45%.
Table 1-1 gives an economic comparison of various generation technologies
from the initial cost of such systems to the operating costs of these systems.
Because distributed generation is very site specific the cost will vary and the
justification of installation of these types of systems will also vary. Sites for
distributed generation vary from large metropolitan areas to the slopes of the
Himalayan mountain range. The economics of power generation depend on the
fuel cost, running efficiencies, maintenance cost, and first cost, in that order. Site
selection depends on environmental concerns such as emissions, and noise, fuel
availability, and size and weight.
Gas Turbine Cycle in the Combined Cycle or Cogeneration Mode
The utilization of gas turbine exhaust gases, for steam generation or the heating
of other heat transfer mediums, or in the use of cooling or heating buildings or
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