Effects of Hydrogen Fueling on NOx Emissions: A Reactor Model Approach for an Industrial Gas Turbine Combustor

Addition of hydrogen (H₂) to gas turbine fuel has recently become a topic of interest facing the global challenges of CO₂ free combustion. As a drawback, Nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions are likely to increase in hydrogen-rich fuel combustion which in return limits the use of the technology. In the course of this development, a model-based quantification of NOx emission increase by fuel flexibility may identify possible operation ranges of this technology. This paper evaluates the effect of an increased hydrogen fraction in the fuel on the NOx emissions of a non-premixed 10 MW_th gas turbine combustor. A simple reactor network model has been set up using a perfectly stirred reactor (PSR) to simulate the flame zone and a plug flow reactor (PFR) to simulate the post flame zone. The change of residence time in the flame zone is accounted for by an empirical expression. The model is validated against data from high-pressure test rig experiments of an industrial non-premixed gas turbine combustor. The model results are in good agreement with the experimental data. Based on the model results, a fundamental correlation of the effect of hydrogen on the NOx emissions is formulated.