Development and demonstration of a wood-fired gas turbine system

Power Generating Inc. (PGI) has developed and patented a unique direct-fired gas turbine power system (PGI Power System) that operates on solid wood-based fuels. The PGI Power System is designed to generate from 500 kilowatts to 3.5 megawatts of electrical power and up to 30 million Btu per hour of thermal energy for various industrial and utility applications. The system is expected to operate at thermal efficiency levels greater than 70% through full utilization of both the electrical and thermal energy it generates at a specific host facility. PGI and WRI built a 450-kW prototype system at the Western Research Institute (WRI) facilities in Laramie, Wyoming, to demonstrate the technical and economic viability of the PGI Power System. The plant has undergone a brief shakedown, and is presently being operated on white wood. In previous attempts to develop similar systems, the major technical hindrance to long-term operation of a gas turbine power system has been degradation of the hot section in the gas turbine. This problem is overcome in the PGI Power System through its unique design, by closely controlling fuel specifications, and by developing specialized operating procedures. In wood-fired testing conducted to date, no degradation in the engine performance is obvious