EXTERNALLY FIRED COMBINED CYCLE (EFCC)

The Externally Fired Combined Cycle (EFCC) is an extension of the well established combined cycle, currently popular for power generation applications throughout the world, with natural gas as the fuel of choice.

The successful implementation of the EFCC was dependent principally on the development of two new hardware sub-assemblies, by Hague International, for gas turbines. These were;

• the turbine air heater, and
• the turbine control valve (TCV)

The remainder of the EFCC cycle is constructed from readily available industrial equipment. Prototypes of the CerHx^® air heater and the turbine control valve have been built and extensively tested by Hague International.

The following figure depicts the arrangement of the principal elements in the cycle when coal is used as a fuel.

EXTERNALLY FIRED COMBINED CYCLE SCHEMATIC

The advantages offered by EFCC over other emerging technologies are;

• highest thermal efficiency for conversion of ash bearing fuels to electric power,
• the combustion system operates at atmospheric pressure,
• the cycle is competitive down to a comparatively low unit rating (140 MW),
• per kW generated, the thermal and chemical emissions would be approximately 30% lower than a conventional steam plant,
• the gas turbine operates on indirectly heated air and is thus totally protected from the impurities in the fuel,
• the concept can be readily adapted to an existing steam plant operating at virtually any conventional steam conditions and provide dramatic improvements in thermal performance without increasing individual unit ratings by more than 30%,
• when the application is a "stand alone" facility such as an industrial cogeneration plant, redundancy can be built into the cycle to provide very high levels of plant availability,
• can be adapted to a wide variety of fuels, a partial list follows;

• lignite
• petroleum coke
• brown and bituminous coal
• Orimulsion
• residual oil
• bagasse
• forest waste
• sawdust and wood residue
• contaminated low Btu process gas
• high temperature (1150° C) waste gas streams
• combustible organic waste products

Any of the above fuels may be supplemented with a conventional gas turbine fuel such as natural gas or fuel oil.

Hague International's Pilot Plant Located in Kennebunk, Maine

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