Performance, Emissions, and Decarbonization of an Industrial Gas Turbine Operated with Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil

Abstract As part of Uniper's strategy for carbon neutrality in its European power generation by 2035, a Kraftwerk Union/Siemens V93.0 gas turbine (GT) in Malmö, Sweden was operated with hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) as a low-carbon replacement for gas oil in July 2021. Prior to HVO operation, a feasibility study was conducted including fuel comparison, flame temperature modelling, and a hazard identification study. During the two-day demonstration, GT performance was monitored using either gas oil or HVO at start-up, full load, part load, and shut-down. Accredited emissions of NOx, CO, SO2, and dust were measured to allow comparison between fuels. When firing HVO, no adverse GT operations were encountered, and direct flame imaging was used to observe the successful HVO ignition process at start-up. NOx emissions were nominally similar to gas oil during HVO operation. Therefore, the water injection rate for NOx control was unchanged between fuels, confirming the predictions of the flame temperature modelling. Dust, CO, and SO2 emissions reduced during HVO operation. HVO also enables significant lifecycle CO2 emissions reductions compared with fossil gas oil with ~163 tCO2 emissions avoided in this trial. This trial provides evidence for future site fuel conversion. Further testing and monitoring is required to develop evidence regarding the long-term impact of HVO operation on fuel storage, fuel delivery, and hot gas path components. To the authors' knowledge, this trial is the first successful demonstration of HVO use in an industrial gas turbine in the world.