A thermal power plant uses a high-efficiency combined- cycle system in which a second turbine is driven by steam. Residual heat from the exhaust of the gas turbine boils water. Efficiency is lost, however, when summer conditions cause the temperature of the intake air to rise too high.
The solution was to install a system to feed deionized water to several hundred spray nozzles and create a cooling mist of fine droplets at the air intake of a gas turbine. This enabled the output of electricity to be sustained without using
more fuel, which reduced carbon dioxide emissions by an estimated 800 tons per turbine.
Although plunger piston pumps are the conventional choice for this application, the company chose 10 Hydra-Cell D10/ G10 pumps in two batteries of five pumps each to serve inlet filter nozzles on both sides of the air intake. Hydra-Cell was preferred because of lower life-cycle costs and its smooth, low-pulse flow, which provides consistent atomization of the liquid into the fine droplets necessary for efficient cooling. Its seal-less design also enables Hydra-Cell to pump corrosive, non-lubricating deionized water reliably.
Pump Model: D10XKSTSNECB x 10
Flow Rate: 5 gpm (20 l/min)
Discharge Pressure: 1000 psi (69 bar) Application: Spraying deionized water to cool the air intake of a gas turbine
