Challenges for Gas Turbines in High Dust Environments

Understanding the air quality challenges in high dust environments that can lower gas turbine and compressor performance and how to remedy these challenges to maximize efficiency and profitability.

Overview - High Dust-min

In desert, arid, and dry environments high concentrations of dust particles are the greatest challenge to gas turbines and compressors.

This is especially true in areas susceptible to sandstorms, where dust particles can stay suspended in the air for many hours. Extreme heat can also be a challenge and the intake air may need to be cooled to optimize gas turbine power output.

Moisture can also be a surprising challenge in some of these environments, caused by morning and evening fogs and/or locations near to the coast.

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In this type of environment self-cleaning systems are widely used to regularly remove the high volume of dust particles.

Compressed air is pulsed through the filter element, removing these larger particles and ensuring differential pressure remains low – this ensures downtime is kept to a minimum and filter life is extended.

Filter element selection is hugely significant if you operate in an area also exposed to high humidity. The dust particles on the outer surface of the filter can swell to up to ten times their original size when they come into contact with moisture, this swelling can result in differential pressure spikes.

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