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Retrofitability of DLN/DLE
systems
BY GIANNI CECCHERINI, DANTE MALQUORI,
GIUSEPPE PETILLO, MATTEO FALSINI /
GLOBAL SERVICES, GE OIL & GAS

Abstract

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In recent years, local regulations on the acceptable limits of

exhaust gas pollutant emissions from installed gas turbine plants
have become increasingly stringent. In this scenario,
GE Oil & Gas is continuing to develop combustion systems to
reduce NOx emissions, introducing new solutions to improve the
operability and the reliability of DLN systems. The experience
built on a huge fleet of gas turbines originally equipped with
diffusion combustors and the continuous improvement of Dry
Low NOx combustor systems allows GE to offer conversion kits to
meet new emission limit targets.

The scope of this article is to describe the available GE Oil & Gas
DLN systems for its gas turbines and their retrofitability on existing standard combustion systems, and to explain the main modifications
required to accommodate the new kits.

Introduction
All major international environmental authorities (US EPA, European Commission, local
environmental ministries) are introducing increasingly stringent limits to the amount of
pollutants emitted by industry. Gas turbines are an important contributor to pollutants
such as NOx, SOx, CO, UHC, and as such, they are subject to regulatory restrictions
applicable to new installations and, in many cases, also to units already installed and
running for a long time.

Nomenclature
DLN

dry low NOx

DLE tot dry low emission

CO

carbon monoxide

NOx

oxides of nitrogen (NO, NO 2 )

CAV

combustion air valve

The basic principle, which tends to be adopted for new unit applications, is compliance
with the Best Available Technology (BAT), while for older, previously installed units, the
regulations tend to be more tolerant. The increasing demand for power and the
consequent introduction of new equipment, even complying with BAT, implies an
increase of emissions which counts against the overall tons of pollutant reduction
targets set by localities and countries in compliance with international directives. For
this reason, gas turbine manufacturers are receiving an increasing number of requests
for emission abatement retrofits to their installed fleet.
NOx is the main pollutant species produced by gas turbines, and its reduction is the
primary objective of the emission reduction technologies developed. All gas turbines
currently produced by GE have NOx abatement systems available, which in general can
be divided in "DRY" and "WET" technologies, depending on whether NOx abatement is
achieved through the use of water (wet technologies) or without water (dry
technologies). In addition to the technologies developed to reduce emissions at the
engine level, in particular within the engine combustion system,there are technologies
which implement pollutant abatement at the engine exhaust system (Selective Catalyst
Reduction Systems).

Figure 1

NOx production rate

This paper provides a description of the engine dry abatement systems developed for the GE Oil & Gas gas turbine fleet and their
ability to be retrofit to installed units.

Gas Turbine Combustion systems

The gas turbine combustor is the device that provides thermal energy to the engine thermodynamic cycle by a combustion reaction.
The combustion in a gas turbine is a continuous process and needs to be maintained stable over a wide range of operating
conditions, e.g., air fuel ratio, pressure, reactant temperature and reactant composition. The fuel is burned with a large amount of
excess air to keep the turbine inlet temperature at an appropriate level.

Gas turbine combustion systems can be of two types:

Diffusion
Premixed

Figure 2

Diffusion combustor

Figure 3

Premixed combustor

In diffusion combustors (Figure 2) fuel and air are injected separately into the reaction zone, the reactants combine by a diffusion
process and as a result, the flame speed is limited by the rate of diffusion. These combustors were the standard until about 30 years
ago. The geometry is relatively simple and can be regulated very easily, thanks to the capability of diffusion flames to sustain stable
combustion over a wide range of fuel/air ratios.
The main drawback of diffusion combustors is the difficulty in controlling NOx emissions. As shown in Figure 3, the primary
parameter affecting NOx formation is the reaction temperaure, which is strongly dependent on the fuel/air ratio. In these
combustors, due to the diffusion process, the reaction stabilizes in stoichiometric regions where the temperature and consequently,
NOx formation, are high.
In this system, NOx reduction is possible by injecting steam or water. The injected diluent provides a heat sink that reduces the
combustion zone temperature. As the combustion zone temperature decreases, NOx production decreases exponentially. The main
drawback of these traditional systems is that they require large quantities of water that often are not available, especially in oil and
gas applications.
To overcome this limitation of diffusion combustion systems, DLN sytems with premixed combustion were introduced for gas
turbines (Figure 3).
In DLN systems, the fuel and the air necessary for combustion are mixed together prior to being injected into the reaction zone
(Figure 3). Thus, the fuel/air ratio at which combustion occurs can be controlled and the flame temperature reduced by lean
combustion to achieve a very low level of NOx production.
To obtain low NOx without blowout and high CO, the fuel/air ratio must be maintained within a relatively narrow range. Since from
ignition to full load, the overall fuel/air ratio of a gas turbine varies much beyond the optimal range of a premixed flame, the
implementation of special control and operating mode strategies is necessary. In the following, the possible strategies and
associated combustor configurations are described.

Hybrid chamber
This chamber is able to operate in both diffusion and premix modes. Transient states accompanying ignition and startup occur in
the diffusion mode. Starting from a sufficiently high load value, when the fuel/air ratio is able to sustain a stable premixed flame, the
combustor switches to the premix mode.

Variable geometry
This chamber is equipped with a device, which varies the distribution of air within the chamber in relation to the load to control the
fuel/air ratio in the combustion zone. This method handles partial load operation without any problems and has, in principle, no
contra-indications. Its application is quite simple for turbines equipped with a single can combustion chamber but is mechanically
more complicated for multi-can and annular combustion systems.

Multiple burners
The load is divided among a number of burners, each of which can operate independently of the others. At partial load, some of the
burners are extinguished. One advantage of this system, which operates only on the fuel, is the absence of moving parts.
All these concepts are used in GE gas turbine combustion systems.

DLN-1 Combustion system

The DLN-1 combustor is used on all GE frames for firing
temperatures below 2,100F and is a typical two-stage
premixed hybrid combustor. This is the typical DLN system
used on the FR51 and FR52 C/D.
As shown in Figure 4, the main components of the combustion
system are the primary and secondary fuel nozzles, liner,
venturi and centerbody.
The GE DLN-1 combustion system operates in four distinct
modes, illustrated in Figure 5:
1. Primary mode Fuel is sent to the primary nozzles only.
The flame is only in the primary zone and is a diffusion
Figure 4
DLN-1 combustor
flame. This mode of operation is used to ignite,
accelerate and operate the machine over low- to
mid-loads.
2. Lean-Lean Fuel is sent to both the primary and secondary nozzles. The flame is in both the primary and

secondary zones; the flame in the secondary zone is premixed. This mode of operation is used for
intermediate loads.
3. Secondary Fuel is sent to the secondary nozzle only and the flame is in the secondary zone only. This
mode is a transition state between lean-lean and premixed and is used to extinguish the flame in the
primary zone. After that, the fuel is re-introduced into the area that will become the primary premixing
zone.
4. Premix Fuel is sent to both the primary and secondary nozzles. The flame is only in the secondary zone.
This mode of operation is achieved at and near the combustion reference temperature design point.
Optimum emissions are generated in the premix mode.
The venturi plays a key role in the combustion process. In the primary and lean-lean modes, it provides a confined space for the
diffusion flame, while in the premix mode, it separates the premixing zone from the combustion zone. In the premix mode the
acceleration in the venturi throat prevents flashback and the downstream strong recirculation zone is essential for combustion
stability.
The load range associated with these modes varies with the degree of inlet guide vane (IGV) modulation. With IGV modulation down
to 42, the premix operating range is 50% to 100% of the load. The 42 IGV minimum requires an inlet bleed heat system.
The spark plug and flame detector arrangements in a DLN-1 combustor are different from those used in a conventional combustor.
Since the primary zone must be re-ignited at high load in order to transfer from the premixed mode back to lean-lean operation, the
spark plugs do not retract. The system uses flame detectors to view the primary zone of selected chambers (similar to conventional
systems) and secondary flame detectors that look through the centerbody into the secondary zone.

Figure 5a

Figure 5b

Figure 5c

Figure 5d

Primary operation (diffusion flame) ignition to 20% load

Second-stage burning transient during transfer to

premixed; promary zone extinguished

Lean-lean operation 20% to 50% load

Premixed operation 50% to 100% load; primary zone

converted to premixer

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DLN-2 Combustion system

The DLN-2 combustor is typically used on turbines with a higher firing
temperature, for example, the MS5002E. For turbines with a high firing
temperature, the use of air in the combustor other than for mixing with fuel
(e.g., for cooling) would have to be strictly limited in order to have an optimal
air fuel ratio in the combustion zone. In the DLN-2 system, the venturi and
centerbody assemblies, which require cooling air, are eliminated in order to
maintain an optimal air fuel ratio in the combustion zone.
A DLN-2 Combustion system is shown in Figure 6. The combustor system has a
single burning zone formed by the combustor liner and the face of the cap.
Several nozzle/premixer tube assemblies are located on the head end of the
combustor and are part of the cap assembly. If the combustion system in each
can has several premixers/burners, it does not take advantage of the fuel
staging concept and can be considered to be a hybrid single-stage combustor.
In fact, the combustor is able to operate in both diffusion and premix modes.
Figure 7 shows a typical section of a DLN-2 burner with diffusion and premixed
fuel lines.

Figure 6

DLN2 combustion system

The diffusion mode is used to ignite, accelerate and operate the machine up to medium load; at higher loads, the system switches to
premixed mode.
The fuel and air feeding the premix line are thoroughly mixed and flow out of the mixing tubes at high velocity to enter the burning
zone where lean, low-NOx combustion occurs. Flame stabilization is provided by the recirculation zone at the premixer exit due to
swirling flow and sudden expansion in the liner.
In the premix mode, an optimal fuel/air ratio in the combustion zone is maintained by regulating the IGV in a single-shaft engine or
by overboard bleed in a double-shaft engine.
Figure 8 shows the endcover and burner assembly layout of the MS5002E. The MS5002E combustion system consists of 6 cans, each
combustion can being equipped with five burners.

Figure 7

DLN2 premixer

Figure 8

MS5002E endcover & burner

The five burners in each MS5002E combustion can are connected to four fuel gas adductionlines, called D5, PM1A, PM1B and PM3.
There is a single diffusion fuel circuit (D5) feeding all five nozzles. Each swozzle (or swirler nozzle) has a single premixed fuel circuit.
The center fuel nozzle premixed circuit (PM1A) and a single outer fuel nozzle (PM1B) are individually fed and the remaining three
outer fuel nozzles (PM3) are fed from a third premixed fuel circuit.
In the diffusion mode, all five burners operate together through each burner center nozzle and generate a diffusive flame. This mode
of operation is active from engine startup to 50% load. When the gas turbine reaches 50% load, an automatic transfer to the premix
mode is performed, allowing a substantial reduction in NOx and CO emissions. In the premix mode, fuel gas goes through each
burner swozzle to be premixed with air, and the percentage of gas through each line is optimized to reduce the overall dynamics
and emissions.

Kone Combustion system

The Kone combustor is a variable geometry type, which is ideal for small gas turbines with a single can combustor. It is used in the

GE10 and PGT5 engines.

The Kone Combustion system is shown in Figure 9.

Figure 10

Combustion air valve

The compressor discharge air is introduced into the

premixing channel via a variable geometry intake
called a combustion air valve (CAV). This device
(Figure 10) consists of two cylindrical coaxial parts,
one fixed and the other movable. Both cylinders have
12 rectangular slots. By rotating around the main
combustor axis, the movable cylinder makes the
slots overlap by a variable amount, thereby
modulating the passage area. Acting on the CAV, the
control system changes the split between dilution
and combustion air, optimizing the combustion
fuel/air ratio at partial load.

This particular feature provides the turbine with excellent operability and
turndown capability. The main fuel premixes with air and the resulting mixture
is introduced into the combustion chamber, generating a flame that is
stabilized by a precise amount of pilot fuel; the pilot fuel is injected at the
throat and surrounds the main flame.

Figure 9

K-1 combustion system

To meet lower NOx emissions, an updated version of the Kone, the Kone+, was developed.
In the Kone the main flame is stabilized by the pilot fuel that burns as a diffusion flame.
Due to the high temperature generated by the diffusion flame, about 90% of the total
NOx is produced by the pilot fuel. To reduce this NOx source in the Kone+ combustor,
the stabilization of the main flame is achieved through premixed pilot flames.
Figure 11 shows a cross section of the new layout. The new configuration consists of
four premixed burners located on the cap, at intervals of 90. In this geometry, the four
premixed flames converging on the main flame provide the desired stabilizing effect.

Figure 11

Kone+ combustion system

The four new premixed burners are not fully premixed, as they in turn need
stabilization; a very small amount of fuel is injected for this purpose. However, in this
new configuration, the overall result is a reduction of diffusive burning fuel mass flow
and consequently, a reduction of NOx emission from 25 ppm to 15 ppm.

DLE Combustion systems

DLE 1
The premixed combustion system for aeroderivative engines such as the PGT25
is typically referred to as DLE (Dry Low Emission) while the standard diffusion
combustor is referred to as a Single Annular Combustor (SAC).
A section of a DLE combustor is shown in Figure 12. This is an annular type
combustor with a typical multi-burner configuration. It uses the fuel staging
concept to optimize the combustion air/fuel ratio at partial load.
The combustor dome (Figure 13) consists of three annular rings of premixers.
The outer two annular zones each have 30 premixers while the inner annular
zone has 15. This arrangement of 75 premixers facilitates fuel staging during
part load power of gas turbine operation.

Figure 12

DLE combustor

During full load power operation, fuel flows

to all premixers, and the flame
temperature is at its design point. As the power is reduced, air bleed is used to maintain a
nearly constant flame temperature. When the bleed limit is reached, the fuel to the inner ring of
premixers is shut off. The fuel that was flowing to these premixers is then routed to the outer
two rings of premixers. Simultaneously, the compressor bleed is shut off and the flame
Figure 13
temperature downstream of the fueled premixer is restored to near its design point value to
Combustor dome
keep emissions low. As power is reduced further, this sequence is repeated until only the middle
ring of premixers is fueled. Using this control strategy, it is possible to operate from start to full
power in a premixed mode with the flame temperature varying little from its design point value.
Figure 14 shows the fuel stage mode of the combustor at several loads.
Figure 15 gives a cross section of a single premixer. Air enters and passes through a set of axial flow swirlers that induce highly
sheared counter-rotating flow. The resulting turbulent flow mixes the fuel and air. The fuel enters the premixers through the hollow
axial swirl vanes and then passes through trailing edge orifices before mixing with the air. Residual swirl remaining at the exit of the
premixer helps stabilize the downstream premixed flame.

Figure 14

DLE fuel stage mode

Figure 15

DLE premixer

In addition to conventional system elements, the DLE system includes solenoid actuated fuel staging valves to feed or shutoff the
burner rings, a compressor bleed valve to control the average flame temperature of the active burners and metering valves to
control the fuel split between the burner rings.
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DLE 1.5
As a consequence of constantly ongoing research, a new
combustor technology, the DLE 1.5, has been introduced. This
combustion system, which is capable of reaching 15 ppm of NOx,
has already been introduced in the LM2500 base model.

Figure 17
DLE flame

Referring to Figure 16, it may be seen that the combustor

architecture has been modified in four main areas, derived from
the configuration of the LM2500+ G4.

At the locations indicated by numeral 1, the A and C heat shields have been reduced
in length and the B cup shield (#2) has been removed. These changes have led to
improved uniformity of the flame temperature profile.
In addition, the premixer resize (#3) and the nugget resize (#4) contribute to
modifying the cooling air flow in order to decrease the flame temperature to keep
NOx values down.

Figure 16
DLE 1.5

These modifications to the combustion chamber are combined with the introduction
of a five-metering-valve system to allow the control of additional fuel gas manifold sectors.
This translates into very high retrofitability for existing packages:
The baseplate is generally compatible with the installation of the 5-valve single skid
The ability to provide the combustion chamber conversion kit only
No impact on the power transmitted along the line axis

Retrofit
All the gas turbines produced by GE Oil & Gas
are retrofitable with an emission reduction
system. For the engine models still in
production, the emission targets are the
same as the new units, but older machines
can. in most cases, also be retrofitted with a
Dry Low Emission combustor.
As for new unit applications, it is necessary to
analyze the fuel gas composition to verify
that the DLN combustion parameters are
satisfied.

Turbine Model

Combustion System

NOx (ppmvd)

PGT5/PGT10

Kone

25

GE10

Kone+

15
35

MS3002J RC

DLN-1

MS5001PA

DLN-1

25

MS5002 C/D

DLN-1

35

MS5002E

DLN-2

15

PGT25

DLE 1.5

15

PGT25+

DLE 1.0

25

PGT25+G4

DLE 1.5

25

Emissions given at Base Load, ISO conditions, @ 15% O2, Simple Cycle (except
MS3002 RC), Natural Gas Fueled

The items involved in the gas turbine

package modification depend on a number of factors, the main ones being the following:
1. Engine model / vintage
2. Fuel system configuration
3. Enclosure / ventilation configuration
4. Control panel model / vintage
5. Inlet system configuration (for inlet bleed system in case extended turndown is requested)

The core item of the conversion is the combustion hardware of the engine and in particular, the following components:
Combustion chamber
Fuel nozzles
Combustionliners
Transition piece (where applicable)
In general it is possible to carry out the engine modification with a site activity equivalent to a combustion inspection.
The modification to the fuel gas system is done to bring the configuration to the latest standard necessary for the correct operation
of the engine. On a gas fuelled engine, the items involved are the following:
Fuel gas control valves and instrumentation
Fuel gas lines and manifolds (package)

Hydraulic oil lines and controls (for HD)

Electrical Instrumentation and drivers (for jet engines)
On heavy duty gas turbines the modification to the gas control valves can be done either inside the package, adding the necessary
hardware, or outside adding a dedicated fuel gas module and minimizing the impact on the existing equipment. On jet derivatives,
the fuel gas system modifications are kept inside the package to respect the limits of fuel gas volumes from valves to engine.
DLN conversion generally also requires a more advanced control system, especially for speed in signal analysis and to assure the
fastest response to the combustion dynamics. Therefore, another typical area of investigation, possibly requiring upgrading, is the
control system:
Control panel upgrade
New instrumentation
New flame detectors and igniters
Another area requiring assessment is the Balance-of-plant, especially along the inlet system and focusing on the following key
items:
Inlet system (where applicable)
Anti-ice modification (if axial compressor bleed is used)
Inlet bleed heating system (FR51/FR52 and larger frames)
Ventilation for cooling purposes
Ventilation for area classification
purposes (because of the additional fuel gas connections introduced)
It is clear that, depending on the extent of the necessary modifications, the downtime will vary. In particular, in the case of a new
control system (Mark VIe for a heavy duty or an aeroderivative or a Woodward Micornet for an aeroderivative), the shutdown
schedule will increase accordingly.
To summarize, we can say that the base scope for the installation of a DLN/DLE system involves activities which are more invasive
than a combustion inspection and less invasive than a major inspection, so it can usually be implemented within the span of a major
inspection.
The following section presents a description of recent Dry Low NOx emission system retrofit projects.

PGT25
GE Oil & Gas has carried out a significant number of retrofits
(about 35 projects) on the LM2500 family. Some of these
projects have also involved a revision of the package to
upgrade the safety systems to the latest standards. The typical
application for these retrofits is in the pipeline industry.
It is important to mention that the current trend for this
technology is to extend the turndown capability to 50% load
while maintaining 25 ppmvd NOx. At the same time, the
technology available for the LM2500 is evolving toward lower
targets of 15 ppmvd with the DLN 1+ design, which is a direct
flowdown of the LM6000 DLE system.

Figure 18

Three metering valves on existing baseplate

Though it is possible to retrofit the combustion section from Single Annular Combustor (SAC) to Dry Low Emission (DLE), in most
cases, the approach taken is to replace the entire engine allowing a rejuvenation and the leveraging of economic incentives
normally available with this option. This has no impact on the engine footprint, simplifying this portion of the scope. The number of
manifolds around the machine increases and the main impact is on the arrangement of the new fuel gas skid that needs to be
placed on the baseplate, generally below the engine. The skid moves from a one-valve configuration to three metering valves (for
DLE 1.0) or to five metering valves (DLE 1.5).
The modification has an impact on the engine air bleeding system operation to achieve the correct combustion behavior. The
control system needs to be upgraded to the latest Mark VIe. In most cases, neither the inlet system nor the exhaust system are
affected, with the exception of cases where inlet bleed heating is requested for the extension of the operability range, which
requires the installation of an inlet diffusor on the inlet system.
Typical NOx decreases achieved on the PGT25 fleet and exhaust temperatures are indicated below:
NOx

Fuel gas

Exh Temp

SAC

220

Nat Gas

522C

DLE 1.0

25

Nat Gas

529C

Emissions given at Base Load, ISO conditions, ppmvd@15%O2, Simple Cycle

PGT5, PGT10 and GE10

Small rating gas turbines represent a large portion of the GE Oil & Gas fleet. As of today about 16 conversions have been carried out
on the fleet involving the PGT5, PGT10 and GE10.
The two primary approaches that have been used are:
Engine/Package retrofit
Entire engine/package replacement
The GE10 in particular was installed in seven applications as a replacement for the existing gas turbine (MS3002). This approach

gave a total plant rejuvenation along with the NOx emission reduction. The
scope of work was quite extensive due to the removal of an existing gas turbine
and compressor baseplate in lieu of a new package installation. The installed
GE10-2s are equipped with the latest technology available and are capable of
meeting 15ppm of NOx with a turndown capability of up to 50% of the load.
In the other projects where an engine retrofit was done, the main flangeto-flange component that was changed with respect to the previous
configuration is the combustion chamber as highlighted in Figure 20.

Figure 19

SOW FR3 to GE10 conversion

With this modification, the emissions were improved as indicated in the table below.
STD

DLN

Fuel gas

PGT52/1

130/140

25

Nat gas

PGT10

270

25

Nat gas

Emissions given at Base Load, ISO conditions, ppmvd@15% O 2, Simple Cycle

All these projects involved the replacement or upgrade of the control panel. The scope
depended on the model and vintage of the existing control system installed.
The actuation system of the adjustable geometries of the combustor (K-ONE) and, in
general, the actuation systems involved with the modification, is preferentially
electrical.
The enclosure ventilation system was verified to ensure proper cooling of the
actuation system to maintain high reliability. Because of the additional fuel gas control
valves and manifolds, verification of the area classification is normally requested
through a CFD study. Depending on the results of the study, an increase in the number
of air volumes exchanged and hence, upgrading of the ventilation system, may be
required.

Figure 20

PGT5 section

MS3002J regenerative cycle

The MS3002 is a reliable heavy duty gas turbine widely used on pipeline applications.
Recently GE Oil & Gas revisited the existing DLN system of this engine to make it
compliant with the recent European regulations. This development was done in
conjunction to a large rejuvenation project involving the turbo-compressors of a
European pipeline owner.
The goals of the project were to extend the life of the existing fleet so that it could
operate for another 20 years and to upgrade from the diffusion combustion system to
DLN in order to meet 35 ppmvd of NOx from 70% to 100% of the full load.

Figure 21

MS3002J RC

The MS3002 model for which the Dry Low NOx system is
currently available is the regenerative cycle. The existing fleet
was composed of a mix of standard diffusion systems in
regenerative cycle application and others in a simple standard
combustion cycle. The full scope of work included brings all the
FR3s to the DLN regenerative cycle configuration. Since the
gas turbines were built from the 1970s to the 1990s, part of the
scope of supply was the rejuvenation of the entire gas turbine
train with particular attention to the following components:
Entire new baseplate with its auxiliaries
Inlet air system
Recuperator and interconnecting piping
Oil coolers
Control system modification
New flange-to-flanges or engine rejuvenation

Figure 22

MS3002J RC component

With reference to the engine modifications to the DLN system, the components involved were all the combustion items shown in
Figure 22.
All the packages were extensively renewed with the replacement of all the auxiliaries. The fuel gas system was fit inside the new
packages as part of the overall scope of supply.
The final results of the modification brought the NOx level into compliance with the regulations, as shown in the table below.

NOx

Before

After

>200 ppmvd

35 ppmvd

Emissions given at Base Load, ISO conditions, @15% O 2, Simple Cycle

These limits were successfully demonstrated during the complete string test performed on
the first unit at the GE Oil & Gas Massa plant at the end of 2011.

Figure 23

RC cycle on MS3002J

MS5001, MS5002, MS6001, MS7001 and MS9001

GE has been upgrading a significant number of MS5001, MS5002, MS6001, MS7001 and MS9001 gas turbines to DLN-1 systems. In
general, a similar approach and the same critical factors discussed for the other models are applicable.
It should be noted that this large installed fleet of GE gas turbines is composed of several different models with a large variation in
combustor operating temperatures. Over the years, combustor operating temperatures have been increased, allowing higher firing
temperatures, through the introduction of improved materials in the new generation of machines. The conversion to DLN is usually
facilitated by higher firing temperatures because this allows larger operating ranges; hence, there is always the opportunity, when
converting an older GE Frame to DLN, to bring the engine hardware to the latest standards available. This has the additional benefit
of allowing an increase in the output power of the engine. The increased turbo-compressor or genset output might be an added
value for the site.

Conclusions
Research on new technologies to protect the environment is always underway. This continuous development has led to a NOx
abatement system capable of limiting NOx emission levels to 25 ppm and in many cases even lower. This offers customers a path to
reduce the impact on the environment and to be in compliance with government regulations by upgrading existing gas turbines
with the latest DLN/DLE technology.