Cleaning gas turbine fuel nozzles

• US 4,995,915 A
• Filed: 07/15/1988
• Issued: 02/26/1991
• Est. Priority Date: 07/15/1988
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: The Dow Chemical Company (Dow, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: The Dow Chemical Company (Dow, Inc.)
• Inventors: Toles, Robert D., Sewell, Charles A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Pal, Asok
• Application Number:
  US07/220,047
• Time in Patent Office: 956 Days
• Field of Search: 134/22.1, 134/22.11, 134/22.12, 134/22.14, 134/24, 134/34, 134/133, 134/166 R, 134/166 C, 134/167 R, 134/168 R, 134/184, 134/191, 239/589, 239/550, 239/600, 239/590, 239/553, 239/558, 166/304
• US Class Current: 134/22.14
• CPC Class Codes: F01D 25/002 Cleaning of turbomachines
• CPC Class Codes: F02C 3/22 the fuel or oxidant being gaseous at standard temperature and pressure F02C3/28 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: F02C 3/30 Adding water, steam or other fluids for influencing combustion, e.g. to obtain cleaner exhaust gases F02C7/141, F02C7/30, F01D21/00, F01K21/04, F23D11/10 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: F23D 14/50 Cleaning devices therefor

Abstract

An on-line system for cleaning dirty gas firing nozzles of an operating industrial gas turbine including injecting a suitable cleaning chemical at a specified rate into the gas fuel line just ahead of where the line enters the header supplying the nozzles through an injector quill equipped with a metering pump and check valves and tied into a chemical cleaner supply.

Claims

1. A process for on-line cleaning of gas turbine fuel nozzles comprising injecting a sufficient amount of a fluid cleaning medium into a fuel system of an operating gas turbine at a rate sufficient to reduce deposits on the gas turbine fuel nozzles.

2. The process of claim 1 wherein the rate is up to about 20 gallons per 1000 KSCF per hour of fuel.

3. The process of claim 1 wherein the fluid cleaning medium is a liquid.

4. The process of claim 3 wherein the liquid is a combustible liquid.

5. The process of claim 1 wherein the injection is intermittently carried out.

6. The process of claim 1 wherein the amount of fluid cleaning medium is increased incrementally.

7. In the operation of a gas turbine including feeding a gaseous fuel to at least one gas nozzle the improvement comprising injecting a sufficient amount of a fluid cleaning medium into the gaseous fuel of the operating gas turbine at a rate sufficient to reduce deposits on the gas turbine fuel nozzles.