2018 3rd International Conference on Automation, Mechanical and Electrical Engineering (AMEE 2018)

ISBN: 978-1-60595-570-4

Power Load Dispatch Philosophy among Multiple Generator Units in

Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle Power Plant

Hong-tao LIU*, Xiao-hua XU, Hao-jun MA, Zhan-shan SU,

Ying-wei CHI, Li XUE and Deng-feng XU
SEPCO Electric Power Construction Corporation, Jinan, Shandong Province, China
*Corresponding author

Keywords: Load dispatch, IGCC, Combined cycle.

Abstract. Power load dispatch philosophy among multiple generator units in Integrated Gasification
Combined Cycle power plant is proposed in this paper. The proposed power load dispatch philosophy
is to dispatch power load on a combined cycle block rather than a single unit basis. It is better to
designate one or two combined cycle blocks for local facility load and dispatch the remaining blocks
for grid dispatch.

Introduction
IGCC power generation technology has characteristics as high power generation efficiency and low
pollution emission. It is considered as validated, industrialized, clean, efficient, and one of the most
prospective clean power generation technology [1-4]. A large world-scale power plant is currently
being developed in the southwestern region of Saudi Arabia. The power plant adjusts to a large
refinery which can refine 400 000 barrels of crude oil per day, and will be based on Integrated
Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) technology. It not only serves the refinery and plant auxiliary
power needs, but also exports a large amount of power to national electrical grid to meet the growing
national demand for electrical power.
The primary feedstock to IGCC power plant is vacuum residue produced by the refinery, plus high
sulphur fuel oil. Vacuum residue or high sulphur fuel oil is gasified in gasification unit and translated
to syngas. Clean syngas is then sent to gas turbine and combusted to generate power. The overall
process flow diagram is shown in Figure 1.
Nitrogen

To Grid

Steam
Air Nitrogen Power
Separation Generation Power
Refinery

Steam
Oxygen Tail Gas
Steam

Vacuum Gasifier Raw Acid Gas Clean Hydrogen Hydrogen

Residue Unit Syngas Removal Syngas Recovery
Sour
Gas

Sulphur
Recovery
IGCC Power Plant
Ash Sulphur

Figure 1. Overall process flow diagram of IGCC power plant.

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 The IGCC complex includes five combined cycle power generation blocks (CCBs). Each block
consists of two combustion gas turbine generators (CGTs) and one steam turbine generator (STG).
Five blocks connect to two 380 kV substations containing SF6 gas-insulated switchgear for
interconnection to the national grid. In normal operation, the IGCC power plant exports almost 90%
of its net power generation to grid. The target for power export to the grid is nominally 2 400 MW
when the refinery is in full operation. Depending on real time operating conditions including gasifier
feed rate, utility demands, ambient conditions, equipment outages, etc., power export varies from 2
100 MW to 3 000 MW.
It is generally believed that there are two core technologies for IGCC power generation [5]. The
first aspect is design and manufacture of key equipment, such as gas turbine, gasifier and large scale
air separation equipment. The second aspect is integration and optimization of entire plant, so as to
coordination control. As an important sub-system of IGCC power plant, the power generation blocks
not only supply power for local facility load, but also supply power for electrical grid load. It is
necessary to regulate power load dispatch philosophy to ensure safe and reliable operation of the
whole plant. Power load dispatch philosophy among multiple generator units is proposed in this paper,
and it is expected to provide reference for related work.

Requirements to Power Generation Block

Each of the five CCBs contains two combustion gas turbine-generators (CGTs) and a steam turbine
generator (STG) configured for combined cycle (CC) operation. In addition, the first (designated as
CC Block #1) is designated to supply Emergency Power and is fitted with bypass exhaust stacks to
permit the CGTs to operate in simple cycle mode. Schematic of one “2×1” CCB block is shown in
Figure 2.

Heat Recovery
Steam Generator

Generator
Generator Gas Turbine

Steam Turbine

Heat Recovery Condenser

Steam Generator

Condensate Pump

Figure 2. Schematic of one “2×1” combined cycle block.

Loading of the CGTs and the STGs in each of the CCBs needs to be set to meet the varied
requirements of local facility load and electrical grid demand. These requirements include the
following:
a. Supply the electrical demand of the whole plant
The PGB must be producing sufficient energy to cover the demand of the entire complex. This
means that the minimum load on the PGB, assuming 0 MW dispatches to grid, must equal the local
power demand.
b. Supply steam to meet the process demand of the facility
Process steam is extracted from the steam produced by the Heat Recovery Steam Generators from
operation of the CGTs. Therefore, the electrical output of the STGs is a function of the loading on the
CGTs, less the steam extracted for use by the process.
c. Supply the power requirements of electrical grid
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 In addition to local facility load, the PGB is required to export power to grid to meet grid demand.
The design dispatched power output is approximately 2 400 MW.
d. Operate in a stable islanding mode in the event of sudden separation from grid
Should there be a sudden disconnection from grid, the PGB is required to attempt to continue in a
stable, load-following mode to supply local facility load demand.
e. Black start
A black start is defined as a condition whereby the grid is failed and no machines in the PGB are in
operation. In such case, two CGTs in CCB #1 have been designed for simple cycle operation and
should be started to begin energization of the facility busses.

Description of Power Generation Control System

A Distributed Control System (DCS) is provided for process control and monitoring of the entire
Power Generation Block (PGB). A Power System Automation (PSA) system is used throughout the
plant to provide power management, power quality, and power monitoring functionality for the
control and safe operation of the power generation, transmission and distribution network. The power
management functionality is provided by the Power Management System (PMS), which is a
segregated but fully integrated sub-system of the PSA. The Automatic Generation Control (AGC)
function used for system dispatch is implemented in the PMS. The PMS interfaces via secure,
redundant gateways with the grid Load Dispatch Center (LDC). The PMS also interfaces with the
DCS for control of the PGBs. These interfaces are utilized by the PMS in system dispatch under
normal operating condition. Schematic of AGC function is shown in Figure 3.
Load Dispatch Center
Electrical Grid

Manual Set Total Load Target

Load Limitation

Rate Limitation
PMS

Load Dispatch Optimizing Strategy

Load Dispatch Limitation Strategy

#1 Load #n Load
Manual Set …… Manual Set
Dispatch Dispatch

CCS #1DCS …… CCS DCS

#nDCS

Figure 3. Schematic of AGC function.

In addition, the PMS also has direct interface with the individual CGTs and STGs for control of the
individual generating units during abnormal system operation. These additional, direct interfaces are
required to achieve a fast response time that is required during a black start condition, an islanded
condition or resynchronization of the islanded system with electrical grid system.

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Power Load Dispatch Philosophy
In order to meet the power generation requirements, the proposed power load dispatch philosophy
is as follows:
a. Dispatch power load on a CCB basis rather than a unit basis
In the case of a combined cycle plant whereby steam is used both to power a STG and to provide
process steam, the individual unit loadings necessary to satisfy both the electrical and process steam
demands is best carried out within algorithms developed in DCS. That is, for a given value of MW out
of the CCB, the values of loading on the CTGs and STG depend on how much of the steam is being
used for the process. The smaller the process steam demand, the more that can be used to drive the
STG. Consequently, the CTG load can be reduced until equilibrium is achieved whereby the amount
of generation meets the CCB dispatch requirements and the steam produced matches the demand of
the process and the STG.
b. Designate one or two CCBs for local facility load
Each CCB has an approximate power output of 770 MW. In island operation, this is adequate to
supply local facility load. In the event that the demand exceeds this amount, a second CCB is needed
to make up the difference.
The PSA system continuously monitors the demand of the facility and transmits set point loading to
DCS to adjust the CCB output to match the facility demand. In this fashion, the output of the
designated CCB(s) is matched to local facility demand at any point in time should there be a
disconnection from electrical grid.
This demand matching is important in order to be able to operate in an islanding mode in the event of
a sudden load rejection by grid. Because of the disparity in the time that a machine can respond to a
large load change versus the permissible time a machine can operate at over-frequency, the only
practical way to try and match load and generation is to immediately shutdown the excess generation
when an islanding condition is detected. Protective relays are designed to detect islanding by
monitoring power system conditions of power flows, frequency swings and voltage conditions. When
an islanding condition is detected, then the protective relaying should trip the excess generation
leaving only the CCBs on-line that are matched to local facility load. In this manner, the load and
generation remains matched at the moment of disconnection to keep the facility operating.
It is recognized that the trip of 3 or 4 CCBs will result in a consequential reduction in facility demand.
However, the load changes are expected to be of a magnitude and in a sequence to be compatible with
the machine response time.
c. Dispatch the remaining CCBs for grid dispatch
The remaining CCBs are scheduled for system dispatch. Power output of one CCB is approximately
770MW, three CCBs can produce 2,310 MW. The capacity of four CCBs is above 3,000 MW.

Conclusion
Power generation block is an important sub-system of IGCC power plant. It not only undertakes the
task to supply power to the plant and grid, but also supply steam to meet the process demand of the
facility. The actual operation cases are very complicated and it is necessary to regulate power load
dispatch philosophy to ensure safe and reliable operation. A Power System Automation system is
used for the control and safe operation of the power generation, transmission and distribution network.
The proposed power load dispatch philosophy is to designate one or two CCBs for local facility load
and dispatch the remaining CCBs for grid dispatch. Besides, electrical load is dispatched on a CCB
basis rather than a unit basis.

Acknowledgement
This research was financially supported by Power China 2016 Science & Technology Key Promotion
& Application Project (No. DJ-ZDXM-2016-32).

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