New Technologies
In addition to conventional gas turbine testing, the lab was used for a range of innovative pursuits such as development of new, higher-temperature materials for combustor baskets to improve efficiency, and modification of fuel systems to use pulverized coal, coal gas, or other “synthetic” liquid fuels as substitutes for natural gas and fuel oil.
While manufacture and sales of conventional combustion turbines to utility companies was CTSD’s primary business, the Division also conducted a series of research projects sponsored by organizations such as the U.S. Department of Energy (DoE) and the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI). In addition to exploration of alternative, coal-based fuels for gas turbines, projects included ancillary technologies such as pressurized fluidized bed (PFB) combustors and compressed air energy storage (CAES) systems.
PFB has shown promise over the years as an efficient, economical, and environmentally acceptable means of utilizing coal reserves to displace oil and gas usage. CAES, which has been considered by power companies around the world, involves storing compressed air in geologic cavities such as aquifers, mines, and caverns during periods of low electrical demand, for later use in generating power during periods of higher demand.
Read more about this topic: Westinghouse Combustion Turbine Systems Division