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

 

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.

Hey Kenkeny,

We’re operating a GE Frame 9E gas turbine and have the same Donaldson air filters installed as you mentioned. At the moment, we go for partial replacement of filters due to high cost and face high DP issues regularly. I noticed you’ve referenced a cleaning method that goes against OEM recommendations, and I’m very interested in learning more about your approach. Could you share the details on how you clean these filters, including the process you follow and the time it typically takes. How long do the filters typically last under this regime until replacement, and does this cleaning method affect the overall DP of the filters?

 

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.

Kenny y’all need to replace your filters, what’s your D.P. and do you have yoke assembly’s that hold your filters to a tube sheet wall. If so you also need to check the condition of them. Over time they will sag and the gaskets on the filters will not properly seal, creating bleed by and channeling through your filter media. Are y’all torquing the filters to a specific foot pound? I have many questions.

 

Hey Kenkeny,

We’re operating a GE Frame 9E gas turbine and have the same Donaldson air filters installed as you mentioned. At the moment, we go for partial replacement of filters due to high cost and face high DP issues regularly. I noticed you’ve referenced a cleaning method that goes against OEM recommendations, and I’m very interested in learning more about your approach. Could you share the details on how you clean these filters, including the process you follow and the time it typically takes. How long do the filters typically last under this regime until replacement, and does this cleaning method affect the overall DP of the filters?

More than likely Kenny’s plant dosent have crazy high DP due to the age of the filters and the sagging of his yoke assembly’s if he has them. Meaning… bleed by. Do ether of y’all have Evap coolers or chiller coils in your inlets and if so how old is the media and or coils? I’d be more than willing to help resolve or at least attempt to assist yalls problems with gas turbine filtration.

 

Well noted, and good insight.

Thank

Once again, give me a shout. My email is [email protected] I’d be more than willing to help out.

 

Olemiss141,

This is an "old" thread and we haven't seen or heard much from @Kenkeny since his original posts back in early 2023.

Gas turbine axial compressor inlet filtration problems usually are either high DP (differential pressure) reached in a shorter period of time than expected or "bleed by" (as you call it) which leads to compressor fouling. @Kenkeny mentioned that the problem is high differential pressure, as indicated by differential pressure transmitters. If there is "bleed by" the DP wouldn't necessarily be high--depending on the amount of leakage (size of developing gaps) and the number of gaps. He doesn't mention axial compressor fouling; only high filter DP.

There are some sites around the world (we don't know exactly where this site is) that aren't really well-suited for modern-day inlet air filtration systems/filters. I've been to some BEAUTIFUL oceanside locations that have CONTINUAL problems with inlet filter fouling because of dust from nearby farming operations and fog and humidity almost every night/morning. The paper of the filter elements swell because of the fog/humidity and cause a high DP, and when the fog burns off later in the day the DP would drop. Almost every day. BUT, when there were farming operations nearby and there was dust in the atmosphere also, that, combined with wet filters would really cause high DPs and loss of efficiency. The site tried many different types of filters and pre-filters (sometimes called "socks") but couldn't add anything like hoods (because the filter house was only about 10 feet off the ground and horizontal (which made changing filters easy!)). To make matters worse, the site was located at an industrial plant and there was constant forklift traffic under the filter house.... Really, a very poor design and location choice--but in a very beautiful location! The owners had no money to build a new filter house. Donaldson visited them many times, but just couldn't offer anything more than the pre-filters ("socks"), which were replaceable and washable--but which required manual labor and time (both of which cost money, repeatedly) though they did start changing pre-filters when the unit was running (which didn't work well if the pre-filters were dusty and that just release dust which was sucked into the filters and pre-filters nearby!).

There are also owners/operators which think gas turbine inlet air filters are like automobile air filters--they only have to be changed once every three or four years. The car runs "fine" (though inefficiently--but then automobile efficiency isn't usually monitored, while gas turbine operation usually is). And, again, there are just some sites that are extremely poor choices for gas turbine-operated equipment. Size of dust particles; type of dust particles; amount of dust particles; amount of humidity/fog/rain; nearby industrial plants (cement plants, or refineries with their own unique types of emissions....)--the list goes on. BUT, some bean-counters see big dollar signs for siting a gas turbine power plant (one or more gas turbines) nearby and selling electricity and/or steam to the host facility and don't want to listen to reason ("The will have filters! SELF-CLEANING filters, no less!!!" Naming those filters self-cleaning was a marketing stroke of genius....)--they only look at the "simple" spreadsheet--possible revenue generated and typical operating expenses, never taking into account the actual site conditions where they want to build this money-printing power plant.

Them's the facts. Unless there have been great advances in filter element materials/technologies in the last 10 years, that's how it is and how it shall be until new filters/filtration systems are designed and built.

We have tried to get @Kenkeny to explain how they "wash" their filters with Running water, but, no luck on that. And, no real description of actual site conditions--except to say," The cleaning of the Filters is based on the mist/humidity of the environment which is ascertained by the Differential Pressure Transmitters...." I can't help but think that running water over the filter elements several times per year causes the filter elements to degrade, possible even faster than "normal" (again--paper filter material usually swells when exposed to water/moisture/humidity, increasing the DP because the pores of the filter material close when they get wet. And, we don't know what kind of airborne dust/contaminants are at the site.

This thread is looking for some kind of new-fangled machine for easily cleaning filters to extend their life, other than cleaning with compressed air and Running water (which still confuses many of us...).