Gas turbine performance is affected by the environmental challenges of a specific power plant installation. In a recent project located in the Middle East, a filtration solution to protect the turbine needed to be designed to address each of the conditions faced, including varying amounts of dust, salt, moisture and other contaminants. The spectrum of potential hazards that could be faced at a turbine installation means one filter cannot meet all needs. Even the different forms of dust or moisture present need to be considered within the design of the filter house. Learn how analysis, process change, and technology upgrade improved performance at this facility.

1. January 22, 2019
Improving Power Plant Gas Turbine
Performance
David Tristante
Sales Director
Parker Hannifin, Filtration Group

2. Improving Power Plant Gas Turbine
Performance: Agenda
1.Discussion of challenging environments
2.Installation before scenario
3.Filtration assessment and changes
implemented
4.The results

3. Enhancing inlet pulse systems for performance
improvement in harsh environments
• The Persian Gulf coast experiences
some of the most challenging
conditions anywhere in the world for
gas turbine operation.
• Dust, sand and hot temperatures are
just the start.
• Winds from Iraq blow across the gulf.
The wind heats up as it goes across
the water until it hits Abu Dhabi and
Dubai, resulting in heavy fog.
3

4. Site conditions are challenging
• Inlet DP can rise quickly
• Difficult maintenance
• Short filter life
• Gas Turbine shutdowns
common
Thick fog combined with high dust concentration
complicates the filtration process
• Middle East is brutal
• Sandstorms
• Heat
• Mist, moisture from
random fog events

5. Before
This is a process customer, where the process was more valuable
than the gas turbine. Availability was of utmost importance, as well as
keeping the process equipment online.
• Changing out pre-filters every 2-3 days
• Labor intensive
• Replacing final filters every 6-7 months,
• Not meeting customer expectations of 2+ years
MOST IMPORTANTLY
• Opportunity cost of production downtime
• Gas Turbine availability supremely important

6. Implementation
1. Optimize pulse system settings
2. Change coalescing technology

7. How a Pulse System Operates
Operates 2 different ways:
1. Operate 24/7, cycling on
pressure drop (time-based) “non-stop”
2. Operate only when differential pressure
reaches certain level – “on demand”
DIRTY CLEAN
Coalescers
Pulse
filters

8. 1. Major Change: Optimize pulse
settings
Previous condition
• Set to run continuously
• Dust would get re-entrained on
filter, ineffective cleaning
• Process was repeated over
and over, every single day
Corrected condition
• Set to a DP basis
• System turns on a 1.5”
wg and stops at 1.0” wg*
*This was a learning. Typical set points for pulse cleanings start at
3.0” wg. The lower setting was reflective of regional environment.

9. 2. Major Change: Coalescing
technology change
Traditional coalescers clog
quickly with dust and are forced
out of place.
After 12 months of operation, the
new coalescing technology
remains in place.

10. 2. Major Change: Coalescing media
change
• Unlike the traditional mat equivalents, the new
synthetic media coalescers had been specifically
designed to allow the sand and dust to pass
through.
• The new units work by using a two-stage
coalescence configuration. The first stage is a
moisture separator with coalescing efficiency
down to 50 microns.
• The second stage, a clearcurrent TS1000
coalescer, has 99 percent coalescing efficiency
for droplets down to 10 microns but which has
limited dust removal capability.
• It is this deliberate limitation of dust removal
capability which avoids blockages and
significantly reduces the maintenance overheads
where high levels of both dust and moisture are
present. The dry dust is then easily handled by
the filtration system, to prevent it from damaging
the turbine.100% synthetic, washable in place
media

11. The Results
1. After
2. Checklist to follow

12. After
• No shutdowns due to filters and DP spikes
• Self-cleaning filter life exceeding customer
request of 2 years
• Extended maintenance intervals,
important for budget and labor required
World-class filter performance and life for this difficult region

13. Checklist to follow
A. Start difficult season with new, clean filters – less reactive to
moist/dust combination
B. Evaluate all filtration options – new technologies can be major
upgrade
C. Plan your outage to be in best position to survive a tough
environment. Recommended to check and fix any issue around:
✓ Compressed air quality
✓ Pulse valves and diaphragms
✓ Tripods integrity and alignment
✓ Sealing gaskets
✓ Among other checkpoints of your intake

14. Thank you
• David Trisante is sales director at Parker Hannifin Gas Turbine Filtration division.
Trisante earned his engineering degree in the prestigious Universitat Politecnica de
Catalunya (Spain) and the Aalborg Univeritet i Esbjerg (Denmark). He holds more
than 20 years’ experience in purification and air pollution control markets as well as
in a variety of Filtration equipment’s ranging from dust collectors, electrostatic
precipitators or Gas Turbines air intake systems.
• Dan Burch is pricing manager, Gas Turbine Filtration (GTF) Division, Parker
Hannifin. He’s covered all aspects of the company’s filtration offerings, with a
particular focus on developing marketing and pricing strategies for gas turbine inlet
filtration products. He has 15 years of experience in marketing and journalism roles.
Dan has a B.A. in journalism from Indiana University and an MBA in marketing from
the University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC).
• Presentation given at 2018 Middle East RoTIC Conference –(Parker Hannifin Gold
Sponsor - http:roticmiddleeast.com
David Tristante – david.tristante@parker.com