Thermoeconomic Analysis of Micro Gas Turbine Design in the Range 25–500 kW_e Available to Purchase

The main aim of this paper is the thermoeconomic analysis of micro gas turbines in the range 25–500 kWe. This thermoeconomic analysis is based on the Thermoeconomic Functional Analysis (TFA) approach developed by the Authors over the last twenty years and is strongly related to the need for minimizing of the specific capital cost which is still considered high, and for optimizing MGT size to match customers’ needs. The investigation has been carried out using WTEMP code (Web-based ThermoEconomic Modular Program), developed by the Thermochemical Power Group of the University of Genoa [1][2][3]. The thermoeconomic analysis was performed on the basis of the thermodynamic, geometric and capital cost parameters of the main MGT devices (i.e. recuperator effectiveness, turbine inlet temperature, compressor pressure ratio, etc.) and on the economic scenario (fuel costs, cost of electricity, etc.). The subjects of the analysis were the existing Regenerative MGT (R-MGT) cycles [4][5] and new Inter-cooled Regenerative (ICR-MGT) cycles; for the sake of simplicity in this study, the economic value of heat in the case with CHP configuration was not considered.