Thermodynamic Analysis of a Regenerative Brayton Cycle Using H 2, CH 4 and H 2 /CH 4 Blends as Fuel

Gontzal Lopez-Ruiz, Joseba Castresana-Larrauri and Jesús María Blanco-Ilzarbe
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Gontzal Lopez-Ruiz: Ikerlan Technology Research Centre, Basque Research and Technology Alliance (BRTA), P.º J.M. Arizmendiarrieta, 2, 20500 Arrasate, Spain
Joseba Castresana-Larrauri: AZTI, Marine Research, Basque Research and Technology Alliance (BRTA), Txatxarramendi Ugartea, 48395 Sukarrieta, Spain
Jesús María Blanco-Ilzarbe: Energy Engineering Department, School of Engineering, Building I, University of the Basque Country, UPV/EHU, Plaza Ingeniero Torres Quevedo s/n, 48013 Bilbao, Spain

Energies, 2022, vol. 15, issue 4, 1-11

Abstract: Considering a simple regenerative Brayton cycle, the impact of using different fuel blends containing a variable volumetric percentage of hydrogen in methane was analysed. Due to the potential of hydrogen combustion in gas turbines to reduce the overall CO 2 emissions and the dependency on natural gas, further research is needed to understand the impact on the overall thermodynamic cycle. For that purpose, a qualitative thermodynamic analysis was carried out to assess the exergetic and energetic efficiencies of the cycle as well as the irreversibilities associated to a subsystem. A single step reaction was considered in the hypothesis of complete combustion of a generic H 2 /CH 4 mixture, where the volumetric H 2 percentage was represented by f H 2 , which was varied from 0 to 1, defining the amount of hydrogen in the fuel mixture. Energy and entropy balances were solved through the Engineering Equation Solver (EES) code. Results showed that global exergetic and energetic efficiencies increased by 5% and 2%, respectively, varying f H 2 from 0 to 1. Higher hydrogen percentages resulted in lower exergy destruction in the chamber despite the higher air-excess levels. It was also observed that higher values of f H 2 led to lower fuel mass flow rates in the chamber, showing that hydrogen can still be competitive even though its cost per unit mass is twice that of natural gas.

Keywords: hydrogen combustion; Brayton cycle; gas turbines; exergy analysis; renewable energies (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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