Purification of CE-CEBU Geothermal Power Company Steam Supply Using Vertical Recycling Separators

Abstract

Of the three geothermal power plants operated by CalEnergy in Leyte, only CE-Cebu did not include in its configuration any steam purrfiing system upstream of each turbine, As a consequence, the plant experienced major steam related disruptions and equipment failures during the reliability test operation. This eventually led to the premature repair of its four back-pressure turbines. To address this problem, vertical two-stage recycling separators were installed, and these have been in service since December 1997.

Actual performance of the separator in the removal of moisture and other impurities in steam, and the method used in the determination of its eficiency will be presented in this paper. Also, results of the recently conducted inspections of the turbines will be compared to that of last yearÆs when the plant was operating without the separators.