VeLoNOx™ Combustion System Operating Experience on Heavy Duty Gas Turbine

In order to improve operability and flexibility, Ansaldo Energia has upgraded its top of the line AE94.3A gas turbine with a new combustion system called VeLoNOx ™ (Very Low NOx ) based on its own experience. This new combustion system meets the most stringent pollutant limitations (as of today) required by the governments all over EU, i.e. less than 15 ppm NOx emissions. The system has been first tested intensively on a single AE94.3A built by Ansaldo Energia. Due to the long term service agreement with the customer the whole operation has been constantly monitored and all most relevant operational conditions have been tested. Then has been installed on other engines. Up to now VeLoNOx ™ combustion systems have been cumulating more than 25000 EOH on many sites, showing very good performances in line with expectations. Orders for many retrofit applications have been already awarded. This paper describes the performance of the system on the units of Ansaldo Energia fleet such as AE94.3A2 and AE94.3A4, focusing on the improvements carried out during commercial operation.Copyright © 2010 by ASME