【Ten Years of Rapid Development in Chemical Engineering Equipment】From 1280 to 2023, Hangzhou Steam Turbine carried out the first hydrogen blending test on the HGT51F gas turbine combustor

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Recently, Hangzhou Steam Turbine Group successfully carried out full-temperature medium-pressure hydrogen injection tests on its own HGT51F gas turbine combustor at the **major scientific and technological infrastructure – CTF#1 combustion chamber test platform of Jiangsu Zhongke Energy and Power Research Center**, achieving the desired objectives. Compared to natural gas, hydrogen features low ignition energy and high flame speed; the inclusion of hydrogen increases the risk of flashback and oscillation in the combustion chamber, posing a significant challenge to its stability. This experiment is an exploratory and trial-based one, with the hydrogen mixing ratio in the natural gas fuel reaching 25% on a volume basis; it is also the first time in China that experimental studies have been conducted in a full-scale combustion chamber of a domestically developed heavy-duty gas turbine with a hydrogen mixing ratio exceeding 20%. Taking into account the characteristics of hydrogen-blended combustion in the combustion chamber, the researchers at the Group’s Advanced Power Research Institute optimized the combustion chamber. Together with the personnel in charge of the experiments, they developed detailed test procedures and load-increasing strategies, thereby optimizing the experimental process and ensuring safety throughout the tests as well as the accuracy of the data collected. The test results show that at a 25% hydrogen blending ratio, after targeted optimization of the HGT51F combustion chamber for compatibility with hydrogen-fueled operation, the NOx emissions, oscillations, wall temperature, and backfire temperature at the medium-pressure design point all met the design requirements, demonstrating the advanced design of this combustion chamber for gas turbines as well as its multi-fuel compatibility. “Under the backdrop of the \"dual carbon\" goals, hydrogen energy, as a zero-carbon energy source, has attracted widespread attention and received **support. This experiment laid the foundation for future full-temperature and full-pressure tests of the combustion chamber under different hydrogen mixing ratios. It also provided technical support and data accumulation for the company’s development of hydrogen-enriched/pure hydrogen gas turbines as well as the utilization of hydrogen energy. Hangzhou Steam Turbine has taken another solid step toward realizing its zero-carbon vision.