Gas turbine filter media can prevent fouling from reducing turbine efficiency.
Compressor fouling reduces heat rate (fuel efficiency) and causes power output losses of the turbine over time. There are two methods to stop fouling. The first is to prevent the fine (less than one micron) particulates that cause this phenomenon from reaching the machine internals. This can be achieved through the use of high efficiency EPA or HEPA filters (typically E10 or above). The use of these filters alone, however, only addresses dry contaminants and, by the very nature of the finer media used, they are likely to be more sensitive to any moisture present in the airflow. This, in turn, requires significant investment to upgrade the filter house to handle the moisture without creating a high differential pressure.
In an ideal world, all gas turbine inlet systems would be fitted with filter houses designed to be large enough to accommodate HEPA filters that stop virtually all particulate contaminants from entering and fouling the machine. In reality, however, most existing gas turbine filter houses are too small for HEPA filters to operate at their optimum flow rates and as such, their use can create operational issues.
The second method to prevent fouling is to stop the small contaminants that reach the machine from sticking to the compressor blades. The use of hydrophobic and advanced fiber coated filters can stop the sticky contaminants from reaching the compressor and therefore prevent compressor fouling.
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