Greetings All,

Cleaning the Air Inlet Filters of the GE Frame 5 Gas Turbine with Pressured Air and Running water is time-consuming, which is done independently until the 288 Filters are cleaned. We are presently in need of other means of cleaning the Filters in a better way and less time-consuming before total replacement.

Could you please suggest to me the easiest way for the Filter cleaning, either with a particular machine/device or any other means?

Thank you all in advance.

 

How "young" is this machine and its inlet filter system?

Personally, I have never seen gas turbine inlet filters that can be cleaned with water--but I freely admit I haven't seen every version of gas turbine inlet filters ever produced. I have seen "filters on a roll" that could be cleaned with water under pressure, but those were 40 years old at the time I saw them and that was 20+ years ago. (These units were installed in a desert location with fine dust in the area surrounding the power station that would swirl and be ingested by the gas turbines. The inlet filters were also located at ground lever--which is the worst possible location for such an environment (but the Customer had demanded they not be located above ground level so as not to look bad to the neighbors when driving by).

There are always advancements in filtration technology so it's possible that some new material is being used or is better for certain types of airborne contaminants. It would help to know the manufacturer's name and filter designation to be of more help.

Replacing filters can be expensive. There are filter "socks" which can be placed over cylindrical filter elements which can be removed/replaced relatively easily without removing the filters themselves--that was the newest technology when I was still in the field. But as was said, things change. And sometimes the "improvements" aren't all they are cracked up to be.

The best type of filtration system depends on the type and size of airborne contaminants in the location where the turbines are installed and running. (Someone in Management/Procurement decided, based on some recommendation, to buy these washable filters at some point--either when the turbines were new or as replacement filters some time during the life of the units.) There are many types of filtration systems, some which use corrugated metal elements to force several quick changes of air direction to try to knock airborne contaminants out of the air flow being drawn into the filters. There are so-called "self-cleaning" inlet air filters that use compressed air to loosen dirt in filter pleats in the hopes it falls to the ground or can be captured in troughs with augers to remove the contaminants to a location where they are collected and can be disposed of. Evaporative cooling is also an effective auxiliary air filtration method--but it requires lots of water flowing down the evaporative cooler media to flush the contaminants off the media, and large amounts of water have to be "blown down" (replaced) lest the water turn to mud.

If you don't like your air filtration system there are many manufacturers you can invite to the site to view your system and site conditions to provide recommendations for substitute or replacement filters which might be more suitable for the environment and take less time to remove, clean and replace (I'm presuming the filters are removed, blown off with compressed air, and then washed and dried before replacing them). You could also buy a small set of filters (say 20% or 25% of the total number of filters) and then replaced the filters on a rotating basis, cleaning the ones which are removed before installing in place of the next group of filters. But, depending on the source of the airborne contaminants that might just lead to employing more personnel to be continuously cleaning the filters between changes.

Personally, I would still like to know the filter manufacturer and designation (name, style) of the filters which can be washed with water. But, this is all I can add; hopefully it will be of some help.

 

Thank you, WTF for your quick response. Our Gas Turbine is over 17 years. The manufacturer of the Filters is Donansen. Kindly note that there is no recommendation from the manufacturer for cleaning of Filters but rather replacement. Due to the cost minimization of running the GTs, Filter cleaning has been helpful for the past 17 years of the Gas Turbines.

The cleaning of the Filters is based on the mist/humidity of the environment which is ascertained by the Differential Pressure Transmitters. In most cases, the Filters are cleaned 2 or 3 times a year until it is due for replacement, which is determined by sustained high differential pressure even after cleaning.

In reference to your comment, we have an automatic pulsejet system that extracts dust., but due to its inefficiency, manual cleaning of the system is done as stated above.

Thank you once again for your suggestions.

 

It's WTF? The name is WTF?

As I thought.

You have a Donaldson self-cleaning inlet filter system which is probably barely adequate for the conditions at your site. And, yes--those filters are not recommended to be cleaned, but replaced when necessary.

You mentioned mist/humidity of the environment. The filters are probably made of some type of paper possibly with plastic fibers which is making them withstand cleaning with water. But, water is going to swell the paper and make it hold dust particles over time. Even if you thoroughly clean the filter elements with compressed air and then wash them the water is probably enlarging the filter pores and letting more and larger particles get trapped. And if they're not fully dry when re-installed, well, they're going to hang on to some of the dust contaminants deeper in the filter passages.

Your ambition is admirable--using time and water to clean what are probably primarily paper filters.

My original recommendation stands: Work with filter manufacturers to find a more suitable filter material or system. You may be able to get the filter "socks" mentioned before to slide over the outside of the filters. They are basically plastic "sponges" which have proven to be reasonable effective at extending the life of the filters they are installed on. Depending on the arrangement of the filter house and filters they can be changed on-line or with short outages. I believe they can even be washed and reused if they are handled with reasonable care. And they're a fraction of the cost of filters.

It seems you have found a way to extend the life of the filters beyond what they would probably have lasted. But, as you have discovered--there is a cost (downtime), and a finite limit to the lifetime of the filters.

There are filter manufacturers all over the world. Eastern Europe, Mexico, Central Europe, Asia. They ALL want to sell you filters--you just need to be upfront with the sales representative(s) about the site conditions with as much information as possible about airborne contaminants which are drawn into and captured by the filters as well as humidity and/or moisture in the inlet air stream.

MANY sites have found that using a suitable air compressor and storage tank/receiver can be very helpful in the self-cleaning inlet air filter system. They have even been proven to be effective when the unit is NOT running (the pulse still draws air into the filter elements--if they are reasonably dry, of course).

I know that there are cultural biases against salespeople which have persisted for centuries in many parts of the world. And, there are some less than honest salespeople still employed. But, in today's world, companies want to sell things/services. And developing relationships with buyers (Customers) is the best way to do that. Competition helps to keep prices down--and there is a lot of competition in the air filtration business.

But, asking for quotes and providing information to get recommendations for equipment and parts and supplies is free. And you just might find you will get some good recommendations--and choosing the best option may be very difficult!

Of course, this also presumes there are no sanctions or trade restrictions.

Just a hunch.

 

Well noted, and good insight.

Thank