Soot and the Combined Cycle Boiler

Liquid-fueled gas turbines can produce serious steam generator fouling in combined cycle applications and other waste heat recovery systems as a result of combustion system generated soot particles. In addition, standard soot blowing practices are not always compatible with the advanced, compact matrix designs sometimes required for minimum package size applications. This paper describes an experimental program conducted on both test rigs and engine hardware designed to evaluate the effects on gas side soot fouling rates of various operational parameters such as soot loading, temperature and velocity. Particular attention is given to the effectiveness of the self-cleaning concept where elevated steam generator metal temperatures are utilized to remove soot deposits.