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Podcasts

In this episode of the TurboTime podcast, Myth Buster Klaus Brun and Rainer Kurz discuss ammonia. 

TurboTime Podcast: Ammonia with the Myth Busters

This episode of the TurboTime podcast features an onsite interview from our Turbo Tour of EthosEnergy’s Light Gas Turbine and Performance Center Facility in Houston. Assistant Editor James Cook talks with Daniel Tegtmeier, Director of EthosEnergy's Performance Center, about remote monitoring and operations, the changing energy landscape, and the benefits of remote start/stop and virtual capabilities.

Q: How does remote monitoring keep simple-cycle assets viable in a market focused on renewable energy?

 If you think about a machine built 20+ years ago and its efficiency, it still has a place in the market when competing with renewables. It’s not like it used to be though—these units used to run wide-open, 24/7. They’re now intermittent assets competing with renewables and zero-cost fuels, but once the wind stops blowing and the sun stops shining, that load is gone.

These are simple-cycle configurations, so they can come online quickly and be at 100 - 120 MW in less than an hour. So, you’re going to staff a facility 8,000 hours per year in case they call you up? That’s part of what we do and the justification for remote operations—you need the intermittent load from simple-cycle assets in rapid fashion, but you can’t afford to staff these places full-time.

Q: In addition to that justification, are there any safety improvements delivered through remote start/stop and control capabilities?

 Economics seems to drive most decision processes behind whether you’re remotely operating a facility or not; however, there’s a huge safety aspect. You don’t need people there 24 hours a day around equipment with a lot of pent-up energy, so exposure levels drop dramatically. For the most part, these machines are designed so well and over-engineered from day one that they’re conducive to [remote monitoring].

In this episode of the TurboTime podcast, Daniel Tegtmeier, Director of EthosEnergy’s Performance Center, talks about remote operations and monitoring. 

TurboTime Podcast: Remote Monitoring with EthosEnergy

In this episode of the TurboTime podcast, Klaus Brun and Rainer Kurz talk about turbine degradation. They define terms such as fouling, corrosion, erosion, and rubbing and dig a little bit into what causes degradation, how it can be measured and minimized, and the difference between recoverable and non-recoverable degradation.

Burn explained: “A gas turbine system consists of a compressor, combustor, and one or several turbines, so degradation at its highest level is simply measured by what power output and efficiency to expect under certain operating conditions from a new machine and how much less power and less efficiency do you get after that machine has been running for thousands or tens of thousands of hours. The primary measurement is really on a macro level.”

During this episode, the Myth Busters break down the many terms associated with degradation, what components degrade, how it can be measured and minimized, and more. 

TurboTime Podcast: Turbomachine Degradation with the Myth Busters

In this episode of the TurboTime Podcast, we talk with Giuseppe Tilocca, Scientific Officer at ETN Global, a non-profit member association in the gas turbine technology space. ETN Global’s recent global report, 

Decentralized Energy Systems: Toward Carbon-Neutral Energy Solutions for Gas Turbines

, compares decentralized systems to centralized heat and power units and highlights its advantages—including modularity, the possibility to exploit waste heat avoiding energy transmission losses, and reducing energy distribution costs. Tilocca reviews these advantages in detail, as well as trends and emerging market opportunities, and he dives into gas turbines and how they fit into decentralized energy systems.

“Considering this specific report, we all know that the energy sector is transforming very quickly, and it's mainly driven by the increasingly high share of renewable energy sources,” Ticolla said. “In this scenario, which is dominated by variable sources whose daily, weekly, and seasonal flexibility are set to go dramatically, to meet the system requirements while accomplishing the ambitious decarbonization goals, we need to support traditional centralized generation with a mix of the centralized components.”

So, how does ETN Global define decentralized energy systems, and what are their advantages?

“Historically, we established centralized energy systems, meaning large plants located far from consumers,” Tilocca explained. “The reason behind it is merely economy of scale and efficiency, so it is cheaper to have one big plant than many small ones; however, with the increasing integration of variable renewable energy sources, which are inherently decentralized, we now need to adapt our infrastructure and incorporate technologies that are traditionally used for centralized energy. By definition, a decentralized energy system is located close to the consumption nodes—so on the end user side of the network—and therefore it's connected to the distribution grid rather than the transmission grid. The advantages of a decentralized energy system are mainly modularity, the possibility of exploiting waste heat, and a positive contribution to stability. In particular, one of the main advantages of being close to consumption nodes is avoiding transmission and distribution losses and also costs compared to centralized generation. Centralized energy systems are pivotal in meeting the pillars of the energy trilemma, which stress the principles of affordability, security, and climate neutrality and hence it aligns with the requirements for the transition toward 2030 but also 2040 and 2050.”

ETN Global’s Scientific Officer, Giuseppe Tilocca, talks about the association’s recent report on decentralized energy systems—their advantages and challenges, trends, and where and how gas turbines fit in.  

TurboTime Podcast: Decentralized Energy Systems with ETN Global 

In this episode of the TurboTime Podcast, the Myth Busters discusses the role of turbomachinery in energy transport and storage, including how gas turbines maximize energy density. They dive into various forms of energy storage—including batteries, hydrogen, and mechanical and thermal energy—for various energy sources such as wind, solar, fossil fuels, etc., and more.

During the energy transport and conversion processes, for example in the case of hydrogen, there are significant energy losses. The lowest losses are with coal, then oil and fossil fuels. As a result of these losses, “Hydrogen is a viable solution for storage, but it’s not a great solution to power a large-scale electric power plant by itself,” Kurz said.

Really, energy comes down to sustainability, affordability, and sustainability of supply – and in this equation, renewables are typically intermittent and not a reliable full-time source of energy.

So where does turbomachinery fit into all of this?

“From a turbomachinery perspective, if you exclude electric—because as Rainer said, it's not always applicable, as you can’t transport energy from Venezuela to Florida along an electric line—then you have to convert your energy stored material, be it natural gas, oil, coal, or from an alternative source then you have to convert it into hydrogen or ammonia or something else, and then transport it,” Brun explained. “All these convergent processes utilize turbomachinery. We have maybe 100 years of experience transporting oil in pipelines and ships and trucks and that involves a lot of pumping—we're very good at pumping – it’s very efficient. We also have about a similar amount of time compressing natural gas, which over the last 40 - 50 years we've used a lot more centrifugal compressors for transporting natural gas. Now we're running into the challenge of sustainable alternative energies where basically you're saying, ‘OK, I'm going to take my wind and solar electric and convert them to let's say hydrogen or ammonia or dimethyl ether or methanol—there are a lot of fluids that you can make from electricity that are energy carriers—but then they have to be transported. Hydrogen is the lightest gas (We had a previous podcast where we talked about the challenges of 

). Similarly, ammonia is a liquid that has to be transported at slightly refrigerated temperatures, and it brings its own challenges because it's highly poisonous and very corrosive to a lot of materials. Dimethyl ether is not that hard to transport—it’s similar to diesel—but it's very expensive to make. Methanol is also highly poisonous. So there are a lot of other challenges that you now face with these energy carriers that you worry about when transporting your original form of energy to the end user.”

Klaus Brun and Rainer Kurz dial into energy storage and transport—why they are necessary, how turbomachinery fits into these processes, and more. 

TurboTime Podcast: Energy Transport and Storage with the Myth Busters 

Myth Busters Klaus Brun and Rainer Kurz join the TurboTime podcast to chat about additive manufacturing. They dive into its history in the industry, its advantages as a viable technology, its limitations, and new advancements that could drive the technology further.

Brun explained: “About 40 years ago, additive manufacturing technology started coming out based on using materials such as polymers and resins that were heated up and layered on top of each other using some kind of robotic arm or plotter that in the 3D space. It wasn’t all that relative from a turbomachinery perspective at the time because yes, you could use that to make a mold for a cast, but other than that, it wasn’t realistic. About 20 years ago, we started seeing additive manufacturing using metals. There are a number of techniques, but the most popular ones are direct metal sintering or selective metal-laser sintering—these techniques are when you have a layer of metal and a heat source, and you put the heat source on the powder-metal layer to create a 3D geometry in 3D space. That technique has developed over the last 20 years—it came out with lots and lots of promises, some of which held up while other promises didn't hold up."

“From a turbomachinery perspective, there are many parts in a compressor, for example, or a gas or steam turbine, that are relatively standard pieces; you would probably not use additive manufacturing for those pieces because they're always the same, so you would cast them or quickly machine them. But then there are certain pieces that are either very intricate in geometry, so they require many smaller pieces to be put together or that are customized like impellers for centrifugal compressors. So here, theoretically, additive manufacturing should have an advantage because additive manufacturing provides you with the potential to build customer parts.” 

What’s the history of additive manufacturing, how is it used to manufacture turbomachines, and does it really have a future in the turbo industry? Find out more from the Myth Busters in this episode of the TurboTime Podcast. 

TurboTime Podcast: Additive Manufacturing with the Myth Busters 

Myth Busters Klaus Brun and Rainer Kurz join the TurboTime podcast to talk about turbomachinery factory and field testing—why are turbomachines tested, what’s standard, what’s extra, are the costs really worth it, uncertainty versus accuracy testing, different types of compressor-performance tests, how to test a gas and a steam turbine, and when is a full-string test necessary?

Brun explained: “When you make a machine of any kind, before delivering it to a customer, you want to make sure it actually functions, so standard tests are performed and then there are additional tests that some customers may require. Complex turbomachines—compressors, gas turbines, steam turbines, and even pumps—require some kind of factory testing to make sure the machine meets the basic functionality, it doesn't fly apart, and it performs at a certain level. From there, it gets a little more complicated, as each machine is different. For example, a gas turbine performance test can be performed in the factory or the field. In the factory, a prescribed test by API 616 could be used.

“A field test is a fundamentally different test where the machine is already installed, commissioned, started up, and sent to some engineers or technicians in the field to test under the conditions that may not necessarily be identical to the conditions that the machine was originally designed for or contractually agreed to or under factory testing conditions, so it's a more challenging test.”

In this episode of the TurboTime podcast, Klaus Brun and Rainer Kurz discuss turbomachinery factory and field testing—what they are good for, cost, and more. 

TurboTime Podcast: Factory and Field Testing with the Myth Busters

During this episode of the TurboTime podcast, we discuss digital ecosystems with Jim Nyenhuis, the Performance Consultant at Emerson’s Power and Water Solutions Business. We focus on software, including AI-based software, detection and monitoring technologies, software’s influence on a turbomachine’s life, as well as cybersecurity and potential risks that power plants are exposed to.

Q: How does a digital ecosystem improve operational efficiency, plant safety, etc.?

 Digital technologies allow us to address all those issues. We work with customers to understand what operational efficiency means to them based on their objectives. Plant safety is without question built into everything we do. We want to understand and leverage what the underlying technology can tell us and let that information feed up through the digital ecosystem—how do we understand what's working well at the plant level, how do we identify if there are control problems or if individual pieces of equipment are having issues? A lot of that information is lying within the automation infrastructure, and I don't think we've leveraged that to the degree we want to. We find many customers do not understand the performance characteristics of their closed-loop controls or areas to drive additional improvement, efficiencies, etc.

Performance and control management is another big area that we look at. Our information, such as the automation system, will oftentimes track what operators are doing within the system. In the past, that information was stored in text-based logs, but there's a lot of valuable information stored in those log files that if we expose that information, we can understand how operators are interfacing with the system during different periods of operation, be it startup, shut down, various operating modes, etc., and based on that we can determine where operators are spending a lot of their time.

In this episode of the TurboTime podcast, we talk about digital ecosystems, including AI-based software, cybersecurity, and more with Jim Nyenhuis from Emerson. 

TurboTime Podcast: Software & Cybersecurity with Emerson 

In this episode of the TurboTime podcast, the Myth Busters, Klaus Brun, the Director of R&D at Elliott Group, and Rainer Kurz, a recent retiree from Manager of Gas Compressor Engineering at Solar Turbines, discuss turbomachinery codes and standards. The two differentiate codes versus standards, which are important for turbomachinery, and what to do if an operator or manufacturer disagrees with a standard.

Brun broke down the four components: standards, codes, specifications, and guidelines. “A standard is somewhat of a generic requirement; you can almost call it the minimum requirement that industry associations agree on for a piece of equipment,” he said. “There's a lot of gray area between here. Next are specifications—they are often related to a specific customer—one of the major oil companies may have its own specifications, and they often tie in standards. For example, let's say Shell or Chevron has their own machinery specification, and they may refer to standards, such as American Petroleum Institute (API) 616 or the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) standards, material standards, etc. And then you get into things like codes, where the gray area becomes even bigger. But codes traditionally refer to something a little stricter. These can be test codes, where there is a process that you have to follow, and you don't deviate from this process. There are codes related to OSHA requirements or legal requirements. Codes tend to be a little more rigid, more relevant, and more richly followed. Finally, there are industry guidelines from the API and other professional societies. They give advice and guidance on how to handle testing processes, design, etc.”

Kurz stressed that standards are not legally enforceable unless included in a purchasing agreement: “What makes a standard enforceable is if a customer in the purchase specifications says ‘Thou shalt follow such and such API requirement or these ASME standards.’ And then it becomes part of the contract and enforceable” he said.

Kurz also pointed out that one purpose of codes and standards is for system integration. “If you build a refinery, there's one manufacturer who builds the compressor, then there are people who build the pressure vessels, others who build the piping, and maybe the steam turbines. So, there are a lot of different parties involved that have to come together. And one thing that these codes and standards do is create a reasonable definition of the interfaces. At the end of the day, somebody needs to integrate all that equipment.”

The Myth Busters, Klaus Brun and Rainer Kurz, discuss turbomachinery codes and standards on the TurboTime podcast. 

TurboTime Podcast: Turbomachinery Codes and Standards with Myth Busters

In this episode of the TurboTime podcast, we are featuring part of an interview with Dr. Jeffrey Goldmeer, the Global Hydrogen Value Chain Leader at GE Vernova, recorded at POWERGEN 2024 with our assistant editor, James Cook. Dr. Goldmeer discusses the many pathways to decarbonization, including next-generation combustors that support hydrogen and ammonia.

Below is a quick snippet of the interview with GE Vernova's global hydrogen leader:

 In the United States, in the South and Southwest, there are only approximately 1,600 miles of hydrogen-ready pipeline. Why is there a lack of hydrogen infrastructure in the United States, and are there roadblocks for hydrogen development in other areas of the country?

 When you say lack of infrastructure, if you're here in the Gulf Coast, where most hydrogen in the United States is consumed and produced, I don't think they would tell you they have an infrastructure issue. What we're talking about is a future where we might see the production and use of hydrogen more decentralized, across the United States. So that might imply maybe there's a lack of infrastructure in those places, but those places today don't have large-scale hydrogen production and consumption, So, I don't think it's a lack of infrastructure; I think that we haven't developed the hydrogen ecosystem in those locations. Now that's not to say that hydrogen isn't produced locally and used locally around the world, even in the United States—I think about companies that are producing hydrogen to use in fuel cells and forklifts. but they're producing it and transporting it by truck because they don’t have the volume of needing a pipeline.”

 featuring more content from our interview with Dr. Goldmeer.

This episode of the TurboTime podcast features an interview with Dr. Jeffrey Goldmeer, the Global Hydrogen Value Chain Leader at GE Vernova. 

TurboTime Podcast: Hydrogen, Ammonia, Decarbonization with GE Vernova

Carlos Mousadi, Regional Commercial Leader at GE Vernova, shares how the company is supporting the Dominican Republic’s energy transition to renewables and natural gas.

GE Vernova’s Power Generation Equipment Supports the Caribbean's Growing Economy

Under its updated designation, MILES will design and develop new commercial liquefied CO2 carriers and provide functional design for alternatively fueled ships.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Imabari Shipbuilding Rename MI LNG to MILES

Following damage from Hurricane Ida, Ebara Elliott Energy reconstructed the collapsed east wall, installed a high bay roof, built a new exterior, and more.

Ebara Elliott Energy Renovates, Repairs New Orleans Service Center

Klaus Brun and Rainer Kurz discuss root-cause analysis—what it is, its methodologies, and why it’s so important to managing turbomachines.

TurboTime Podcast: Root Cause Analysis with the Myth Busters 

Node 6 will produce hydrogen via electrolysis and peak-power generation with 100% hydrogen-capable turbines.

MHI Hydrogen Infrastructure Assists Pacific Northwest Hydrogen Hub with Funding, Technology

Turbo Tour of EthosEnergy’s facility in Houston, Performance Center Director Daniel Tegtmeier offered his insights into the growth and evolution of remote monitoring, its advantages and challenges, and how the company seeks to establish partnerships in all things turbine- and plant-related.

Daniel Tegtmeier of EthosEnergy shares how remote monitoring has grown over the past several years and the advantages and challenges of virtual capabilities. 

Remote Monitoring: Growth, Advantages, and Challenges

Q: How has remote monitoring grown and evolved over the past several years? What’s next?

What started as very manual processes has now evolved to mostly automatic and automatically generated monitoring activities. What used to take operators and engineers days to troubleshoot problems is now an automated process via advancements in technology.

Q: EthosEnergy now has full start/stop capability on natural gas-fired power plants. What advantage does this offer your customers?

It’s more than just start and stop in thermal plants; we can start and stop renewable assets as well. Some of the advantages of remote operation are efficiencies. You could streamline the staffing model for intermittent thermal assets. Secondly, our package includes remote monitoring and advanced analytics that’s applied to the remote operation of customer assets, ensuring that they stay competitive in today’s market.

Q: What’s the biggest challenge facing the power industry as it relates to remote operations?

The biggest challenge is the reluctance to shift operating modes from mostly on-site human presence—operating the plant as designed—to remote facilities that apply humans to asset monitoring.

Q: What are EthosEnergy’s five- to 10-year goals?

The five-year goal is growth. EthosEnergy aspires to be a partner in all things turbine- and plant-related, and it’s not just the power industry. Turbines are used in a host of operations like LNG and oil and gas—we seek to be the largest partner for all those industries in the realm of rotating equipment. We want to increase partnerships and our OEM presence.

Remote Monitoring: Growth, Advantages, and Challenges 

’s visit to EthosEnergy’s Houston-based light gas turbine workshop, Philip Booth, the Engineering Manager, shared his favorite part of day-to-day operations and offered insight into the available tools used in reverse engineering.

EthosEnergy’s Engineering Manager Philip Booth discusses available technology in reverse engineering for rotating equipment.

Reverse Engineering Adapts with Advanced Technologies

Q: What progress has been made over the last 10 - 20 years in available technology relating to engineering/reverse-engineering capability for rotating equipment?

The technology from OEMs has become increasingly complex, so reverse engineering must follow that complexity. Some of the available tools used to be computerized maintenance management systems (CMMs) where you get low-density data; we’re now using the most advanced blue-light scanning technology to capture the fit, form, and derive the function of parts.

We have a lot of technology available that is way beyond replicating a part. But we need to engineer solutions into that part so that we can make advancements to avoid early-life failure and bring that to bear so that our products are equal to anything from OEMs in the marketplace.

Q: What is your favorite part of day-to-day operations at your facility?

 It’s the range of subjects we cover. From an engineering point-of-view, the team can be looking at performance data in the morning; they can be working on a repair development program at lunch; we’re supporting the workshop in the afternoon; and we might be supporting a field-service technician across the world in the evening. I love being part of those conversations and being part of the problem-solving process.

Check out our video interview with EthosEnergy on 

Aftermarket, Repairs, and Overhaul Market.

Reverse Engineering Adapts with Advanced Technologies 

Turbomachinery International visited one of EthosEnergy’s Houston-based facilities: the light gas turbine workshop and performance center. During our tour, we spoke with Philip Booth, the Engineering Manager at EthosEnergy’s light turbine facility. He shares the changes he’s seen in the past several years in the repair and overhaul market and the impacts decarbonization has had on aftermarket repairs.

On our Turbo Tour of EthosEnergy, Engineering Manager Philip Booth spoke about the repair, overhaul, and aftermarket markets.

Aftermarket, Repairs, and Overhaul Market with EthosEnergy

Q: What changes have you seen over the past 5 – 10 years in aftermarket repair/overhaul? What trends are you seeing?

From an engineering point of view, we are increasingly seeing customers looking to aftermarket for our technical and engineering expertise. We answer questions about the turbines, yes, but increasingly [it’s about] balancing their plant—trying to support the customers, optimize the efficiency and effectiveness of their plant, extend the time between overhauls to bring down lifecycle costs.

Q: How has decarbonization impacted, if at all, aftermarket repairs?

 We've seen this two ways: The obvious one is as emission limits have dropped, OEMs have responded accordingly, developing new technologies. In the aftermarket, we've had to respond to that, so we're quite comfortable overhauling and testing all the technologies—conventionally fired units or wet NOx abatement engines—but increasingly we can test and overhaul right up to the sub 10 PPM NOx engines. So, we're comfortable supporting the most advanced technologies in the workshop.

Second, it's more about the life of the equipment—people are much more inclined to try to extend that as long as possible, so we have a repair-centric methodology for the overhaul process. We work with our other businesses in the Ethos network to develop advanced repair technologies, such as a part that would’ve been thrown away years ago, we're repairing and making sure it still has its effectiveness so that it's good for another four to five years of operation.

On our Turbo Tour of EthosEnergy, Engineering Manager Philip Booth spoke about the repair, overhaul, and aftermarket markets. 

 spoke with Dag Calafell, the Advisory Committee Chair of Turbomachinery & Pump Symposia (TPS) and Asia TPS, about the new research consortium and laboratory at Texas A&M. He also talked about the differences between TPS and Asia TPS.

TURBO: Are you excited about any upcoming or underway projects at the Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station?

You may have heard from Dr. Eric Peterson, the Director of the Turbomachinery Laboratory at Texas A&M, that a whole new laboratory space is being created that will deal more with systems instead of traditional machinery components. The turbomachinery laboratory research has been traditionally on component work, but now we will be looking at systems overall. That facility is scheduled to open at the end of this year. There will be a new research consortium with topics such as carbon capture and greenhouse gas emissions.

TURBO: Do you have plans for the next Asia Turbomachinery & Pump Symposia?

The Asia event is every two years, and we have found there is a difference in focus between TPS and Asia TPS. TPS is a little more practical, more 

—what do we have, what do we do with it, and how do we optimize our facilities? Whereas Asia TPS a broader event where we talk about research, upcoming products, product development, etc. We are seeing Asia TPS develop in that direction, going from case studies on optimizing machinery to what solutions should we be developing for the future and for some of the problems that we have today.

Dag Calafell of TPS talks about the new wing of the Turbomachinery Lab at Texas A&M and its shift in focus to systems versus components and plans for Asia TPS. 

Research Consortium at Texas A&M, Asia TPS

Dag Calafell of TPS talks plans for Asia TPS and the new wing of the Turbomachinery Lab at Texas A&M and its shift in focus from components to systems.

Conference Coverage

Research Consortium at Texas A&M, Updates on Asia TPS

At Turbomachinery & Pump Symposia 2024, Dr. Eric Petersen, Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Director of the Turbomachinery Laboratory at Texas A&M, shared what he’s most excited about regarding gas turbine combustion advancements.

Dr. Petersen explained: “In particular to advancements related to what we're doing at Texas A&M University’s Turbomachinery Laboratory is propulsion and combustion—these are two areas of major research that we've been involved with for several years. The Turbomachinery Laboratory is building a new facility on campus called 

The Propulsion and Energetics Research Laboratory

. It will allow us to expand and perform experiments at much higher pressures, much higher flow rates—the kinds of experiments you see for combustion for gas turbines and all types of propulsion systems. We will be able to conduct chemically reacting, high-pressure, high-temperature flow experiments safely in this new building.”

At TPS 2024, Dr. Eric Petersen of Texas A&M, shared what he’s most excited about regarding gas turbine combustion advancements.

Propulsion, Combustion at Texas A&M Turbo Lab

At TPS 2024, Dr. Eric Petersen shared what's new at the Turbomachinery Laboratory at Texas A&M, including combustion and propulsion. 

Propulsion, Combustion Advancements at Texas A&M Turbo Lab

spoke with Dag Calafell, Advisory Committee Chair of Turbomachinery & Pump Symposia (TPS) and Asia TPS, about the latest trends in turbomachinery and efforts that he sees across the industry to decarbonize.

TURBO: What trends you’re seeing in turbomachinery?

What we're seeing now is that the traditional turbomachinery topics are still important, but we're looking more at how to integrate the turbomachinery optimization/reliability topics using AI, using machine learning, and how can we be part of a larger system where we're optimizing revenues, profitability, and supply chain logistics.

TURBO: What efforts are you seeing for decarbonization?

 A couple of presentations earlier today addressed decarbonization. One was on integrating gas turbines into bottoming cycles, and another one was a tutorial on using all the various technologies for carbon capture. It talked about how today we're using amines but what are we going to be doing in the future, such as exhaust gas recirculation? So, a lot of our program is indeed how do we minimize our emissions. One of our end users is working on using AI and machine learning algorithms to optimize their turbomachinery trains to run them at peak efficiency and therefore reduce emissions across the entire company.

At TPS 2024, Dag Calafell of TPS, shared turbomachinery trends and industry efforts toward decarbonization. 

Turbo, Decarbonization Trends at TPS 

Turbomachinery, Decarbonization Trends from TPS Chairman

Dr. Eric Petersen, Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Turbomachinery Laboratory Director at Texas A&M, talks about the hottest sessions and topics at the 2024 Turbomachinery & Pump Symposia.

“The hottest technical sessions are the ones that have to do with emerging technologies, for example, those related to supercritical CO

 in terms of sequestration—basically preventing CO

 from going into the atmosphere," Dr. Petersen said. "That’s a big national and international concern, so a lot of engineering companies are working toward compressing, transporting, and handling large quantities of CO

“Other hot topics are our more classic topics. There's a new generation of engineers that want to get up to speed as quickly as possible on the basics of turbomachinery. We do this through our tutorials, short courses, and discussion groups, so there's a lot to learn from the generation of experienced engineers who form our advisory committee. A lot of our presenters are key engineers in the industry who have been working in turbomachinery for over 20 years.”

Dr. Eric Petersen from Texas A&M shares what's hot at this year's show. 

What's Hot at TPS 2024 

Dr. Eric Petersen of Texas A&M shares what the hot sessions and topics are at TPS 2024. 

What's Hot at TPS 2024

Turbomachinery International interviewed Tim Allison, Ph.D., the Director of the Machinery Department at Southwest Research Institute (SWRI), at Turbomachinery & Pump Symposia (TPS) 2024 Houston. The director shared what new research projects SWRI is working on and what turbomachinery advancements the institute is most excited about regarding decarbonization.

TURBO: What new research projects is SWRI working on?

 “We have several pretty exciting research projects,” Allison said. “Standing next to this turbine highlights one of our projects in supercritical CO

 turbine that was developed with GE Vernova. We are running the Gen. 2 turbine at the STEP sCO

 Demo Pilot Plant. We've run it this year a couple of times with the completion scheduled for this fall.”

TURBO: In terms of decarbonization, what turbomachinery advancements is SWRI excited about?

 “I’m excited about a couple of other projects that we have. One is using turbomachinery to decarbonize ethylene cracking—we have a project for the DOE with Siemens Energy to prove out a rotating olefin cracker, or a turbo cracker, product they're commercializing. We’ll do a full-scale test of that product. We also have some projects on thermal energy storage for long-duration energy storage for the grid. But I am really excited about the trends that couple thermal storage to turbomachinery systems—think a gas turbine that's fed with thermal storage or integrates the thermal storage for another process.”

At TPS 2024, Tim Allison, Ph. D. from the Southwest Research Institute (SWRI), shares what’s happening at SWRI. 

SWRI Shares Research Projects, Turbo Trends

At TPS 2024, Tim Allison, Ph.D., from the Southwest Research Institute (SWRI) shares what’s happening at SWRI. 

SWRI Shares Research Projects, Gas Turbine Decarbonization Advancements 

At Turbomachinery & Pump Symposia (TPS) 2024, Tim Allison, Ph.D., the Director of the Machinery Department at Southwest Research Institute (SWRI), shares what he's most excited about at this year's show and provides insights into the turbomachinery trends is seeing.

Allison said: “We see a lot of trends focusing on the decarbonization of turbomachinery that includes gas turbine—actually gas turbines are growing in the power-generation mix. They are a very good bridge technology, but with the growth of gas turbines, there's a lot of talk about how to decarbonize them through hydrogen or carbon capture, and that includes discussions of retrofit or load-following behaviors. We see a lot on the compressor side about the transport of hydrogen or CO

Tim Allison, Ph.D., Director of the Machinery Department at Southwest Research Institute, shares what he's most excited about at TPS 2024 and provides insights into turbomachinery trends. 

Gas Turbines

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