Turbomachinery simulation in design point and part-load operation for advanced CO2 capture power plant cycles

In this paper two different power plant processes with their current optimized layouts of the AZEP project and the recently started OXYCOAL-AC project are presented. Both processes are designed for CO2-capture combined with oxygen membrane technology. As a consequence of the implementation of a membrane module there will be essential changes in the plant layout involving modifications to the turbomachinery designs due to the different working medium and interactions of different cycle components. Furthermore, there are different loops included for recirculation of the combustion gas constituents CO2 and H2O. Although, the processes presented have different boundary conditions regarding the selection of fuel and gross power output, they have in common the need for new turbomachinery designs. These two processes are thermodynamically analyzed and compared both at design point and at off-design (part-load operation) mode. Main focus are the different operation modes of AZEP and different turbomachinery layouts for OXYCOAL-AC. Special attention is paid to the modeling of the crucial components common for both power plant processes e.g. the oxygen membrane, the turbine and the compressors. The thermodynamic studies aim at analyzing a) the requirements on turbomachinery at the design point, b) how to reduce the level of requirements for the compressor and the turbine and c) the operation and potential of mismatch for the turbomachinery during part-load operation. Simplified turbomachinery maps and a simplified black box 1-D model of the membrane module and the heat exchangers are used within a commercial heat-and mass-balance program for simulation of part-load operation of both processes. The objective of this conceptual study is the investigation of parameter changes caused by the interaction of process components.