Partially Cracked Ammonia for Micro-Gas Turbine Application

During the last decades, CO2 emissions have increased by 42% with respect to the pre-industrial era. The anthropogenic CO2 is the main source of GreenHouse Gas (GHGs) emissions, contributing, alone, to nearly 30% of global warming effects. The reduction in GHGs emissions to contain the increase in global temperature below 2°C, represents one of the greatest challenges of the XXI century, to ensure the survival of the planet and future generations. In this energy context, Power to X to Power (P2X2P) solutions are gaining more and more importance in the market considering that, in recent years, the market scenario is increasingly driven by Renewable Energy Sources (RESs). The possibility of storing the exceeding electrical energy production, mainly due to RESs, into hydrogen (H2) or ammonia (NH3) and then turning it back into electricity when RESs power production falls below demand, can improve grid resilience and stability, ensuring, in the meanwhile, a lower environmental impact. Even more, P2X2P represents an innovative solution to increase the flexibility of Gas Turbine (GT) plants, extending their operative range by using alternative carbon-free fuel. Attaining this goal would make GT plants more suitable to trade on the ancillary services market guaranteeing a more secure and clean power system. This study focuses on the use of partially cracked NH3 in micro-Gas Turbine (mGT) applications. To carry out the analysis, a MATLAB/Simulink model has been developed, including also the NH3 storage and the ammonia cracking reactor to simulate an Ammonia To Power (A2P) system. The main thermodynamic parameters, system features, and critical aspects have been evaluated (e.g. the global efficiency, the turbine inlet and outlet temperatures, the power output, etc.) and a comparison between the same system fueled by natural gas and hydrogen has been carried out from the technical and environmental point of view. Copyright © 2023 by ASME.