| cogeneration and trigeneration
units at-a-glance available units operation of the units efficiency ideal uses major advantages |
COGENERATION and TRIGENERATION
Conventional Power Plants for Electricity Generation, Cogeneration and Trigeneration at-a-glance
Conventional Power Plants for Electricity Generation are industrial facilities in which electricity is produced by burning coal, petroleum, or natural gas.
All Conventional Power Plants for Electricity Generation emit a certain amount of heat during electricity generation.
The excess heat, in conventional power plants, is wasted in the natural environment through cooling towers, flue gas, or by other means.
Cogeneration and Trigeneration systems captures some or all of the wasted heat for heating purposes.
By capturing the excess heat, Cogeneration and Trigeneration systems uses heat that would be wasted in conventional power plants.
Cogeneration and Trigeneration are thermodynamically efficient use of fuel. In a separate production of electricity some energy must be rejected as waste heat, but in Cogeneration and Trigeneration this thermal energy is put in good use.
This means that less fuel needs to be consumed to produce the same amount of useful energy.
In numbers this issue could be summarized as follows:
- in most heat engines, in conventional power plants, more than half of produced energy is
lost and dissipated as excess heat during the production and distribution processes;
- in Cogeneration and Trigeneration systems almost all the heat generated by combustion is
not wasted, but rather utilized;
- averagely the efficiency of Cogeneration and Trigeneration systems is reaching an efficiency
of up to 90% compared with 50 – 55% for the best conventional power plants;
- given the same electric and thermal energy consumption the energy released from the fuel
is maximized to an overall efficiency of 90% while reducing energy bills and greenhouses
gas emissions.
Cogeneration, is the simultaneous provision of electricity and useful heat, for multiple purposes. The acronym of Cogeneration is CHP (combined heat and power production)
Trigeneration is the simultaneous provision of electricity and useful heat and cooling, for multiple purposes. The acronym of Trigeneration is CCHP (combined cooling, heating, and power generation)
Said that Cogeneration and Trigeneration Plants are ranging from large power stations to small local direct use of electricity and conditioning, the present, is focusing Mini-Cogeneration and Mini-Trigeneration Units which are installations usually more than 5 kWe and less than 500 kWe for buildings or medium sized business.
Please do not hesitate to contact for larger and customized Cogeneration and Trigeneration Plants
MINI-COGENERATION and MINI-TRIGENERATION UNITS
Mini-Cogeneration and Mini-Trigeneration Units at-a-glance
Mini-Cogeneration and Mini-Trigeneration Units are the small-scale generation of heat and power by individuals, small businesses and communities to meet their own needs, as alternatives to traditional centralized grid-connected power (if available), or in remote areas not provided with conventional power grids, or as stand-by and emergency needs.
Mini-Cogeneration Units are the combined production of electricity and heat in small-sized independent plants installed closed to and directly used by the final user, for multiple purposes, and for emergencies or stand-by services.
Mini-Trigeneration Units are the combined production of electricity, heat and cooling in small-sized independent plants installed closed to and directly used by the final user, for multiple purposes, and for emergencies or stand-by services.
To facilitate the introduction to Mini-Cogeneration Units and Mini-Trigeneration Units their presentation have been unified since the equipment are basically the same.
Available Mini-Cogeneration and Mini-Trigeneration Units
Four standard models available with nominal electric capacity of 25, 50, 95, 120 KW and approximate nominal thermal capacity of 60, 120, 170, 240 KW.
Model 30
30-35 NG with inverter network side 44 kVA
30-50 NG with inverter network side 62 kVA
Nominal Electric Power 25 kW
Continuous Electrical Power 22 kW
Pick Electric Power 35 / 50 kW
Nominal Thermal Power 60 kW
Programmable frequency 50, 60, 400 Hz
Output 400 three-phase + neutral
UPS functionality included
Telemetering and telecontrol included
Skid L 3150 x W 1050 x H 1850 mm - 2800 Kg
Control board L 1000 x W 800 x H 2050 mm - 650 Kg
Battery bank L 600 x W 600 x H 2172 mm - 350 Kg
Model 60
60- 80 NG with inverter network side 100 kVA
60-100 NG with inverter network side 125 kVA
60-130 NG with inverter network side 160 kVA
Nominal Electric Power 50 kW
Continuous Electrical Power 50 kW
Pick Electric Power 80 / 100 / 130 kW
Nominal Thermal Power 120 kW
Programmable frequency 50, 60, 400 Hz
Output 400 three-phase + neutral
UPS functionality included
Telemetering and telecontrol included
Skid L 3000 x W 1450 x H 1900 mm - 3000 Kg
Control board L 1200 x W 800 x H 2050 mm - 850 Kg
Battery bank L 800 x W 800 x H 2172 mm - 500 Kg
Model 100
100-130 NG with inverter network side 160 kVA
100-170 NG with inverter network side 210 kVA
100-250 NG with inverter network side 250 kVA
Nominal Electric Power 95 kW
Continuous Electrical Power 85 kW
Pick Electric Power 130 / 170 / 250 kW
Nominal Thermal Power 170 kW
Programmable frequency 50, 60, 400 Hz
Output 400 three-phase + neutral
UPS functionality included
Telemetering and telecontrol included
Skid L 3100 x W 1650 x H 1810 mm - 3200 Kg
Control board L 2000 x W 800 x H 2250 mm - 1600 Kg
Battery bank L 800 x W 800 x H 2172 mm - 750 Kg
Model 120
120-170 NG with inverter network side 210 kVA
120-250 NG with inverter network side 250 kVA
Nominal Electric Power 120 kW
Continuous Electrical Power 110 kW
Pick Electric Power 170 / 250 kW
Nominal Thermal Power 220 kW
Programmable frequency 50, 60, 400 Hz
Output 400 three-phase + neutral
UPS functionality included
Telemetering and telecontrol included
Skid L 2750 x W 2200 x H 2200 mm - 4000 Kg
Control board L 2000 x W 800 x H 2250 mm - 1700 Kg
Battery bank L 800 x W 800 x H 2172 mm - 750 Kg
Model PLUS 30
30-35 NG with inverter network side 44 kVA
30-50 NG with inverter network side 62 kVA
Nominal Electric Power 30 kW
Continuous Electrical Power 30 kW
Pick Electric Power 35 / 50 kW
Programmable frequency 50, 60, 400 Hz
Output 400 three-phase + neutral
UPS functionality included
Telemetering and telecontrol included
Container L 5800 x W 2440 x H 3050 mm - 11500 Kg
Model PLUS 60
60- 80 NG with inverter network side 100 kVA
60-100 NG with inverter network side 125 kVA
60-130 NG with inverter network side 160 kVA
Nominal Electric Power 60 kW
Continuous Electrical Power 60 kW
Pick Electric Power 80 / 100 / 130 kW
Programmable frequency 50, 60, 400 Hz
Output 400 three-phase + neutral
UPS functionality included
Telemetering and telecontrol included
Container L 5800 x W 2440 x H 3050 mm - 12000 Kg
Model PLUS 100
100-130 NG with inverter network side 160 kVA
100-170 NG with inverter network side 210 kVA
100-250 NG with inverter network side 250 kVA
Nominal Electric Power 100 kW
Continuous Electrical Power 100 kW
Pick Electric Power 130 / 170 / 250 kW
Programmable frequency 50, 60, 400 Hz
Output 400 three-phase + neutral
UPS functionality included
Telemetering and telecontrol included
Container L 6000 x W 2440 x H 3050 mm - 12500 Kg
Model PLUS 120
120-170 NG with inverter network side 210 kVA
120-250 NG with inverter network side 250 kVA
Nominal Electric Power 120 kW
Continuous Electrical Power 120 kW
Pick Electric Power 170 / 250 kW
Programmable frequency 50, 60, 400 Hz
Output 400 three-phase + neutral
UPS functionality included
Telemetering and telecontrol included
Container L 6500 x W 2440 x H 3050 mm - 13500 Kg
Operation of Mini-Cogeneration Units at-a-glance
Mini-Cogeneration Units provided with a patented multi-inverter system integrated with a variable-speed Combined Heat and Power (CHP) module, fuelled with a wide range of possible fuels (gas, diesel, petrol, bio-gas, Liquefied Natural Gas or LNG, Liquefied Petroleum Gas or hydrogen) are capable to manage any kind of renewable power source (sun, wind, running water, geothermal) to produce power/electricity as well as hot water and/or steam by driving an electric generator and a battery of heat exchangers to recover all the useful energy.
Thanks to the control and management electronic section, the efficiency of thermo-electric generation is always optimal even at deeply regulated regimes.
Operation of Mini-Trigeneration Units at-a-glance
In summer, the heat demand is much lower but the heat of the electric generation process can be transformed into cooling energy by an absorption chiller.
Mini-Trigeneration Units produces simultaneously power/electricity, hot water and/or steam, and chilled water and cooled air from one fuel.
Basically, a Mini-Trigeneration Unit is a Mini-Cogeneration Unit that has added absorption chillers for producing chilled water from the heat that would have been wasted from a cogeneration process.
The exhaust gas from the electric generation equipment is ducted to a heat exchanger to recover the thermal energy in the gas.
These heat exchangers are air-to-water heat exchangers, where the exhaust gas flows over some form of tube and fin heat exchange surface and the heat from the exhaust gas is transferred to make hot water or steam.
The hot water or steam is then used to provide hot water or steam heating and/or to operate thermally activated equipment, such as an absorption chiller for cooling or a desiccant dehumidifer for dehumidification.
The variable-speed thermo-electric generation section drives an electric generator and a battery of heat and cool exchangers to recover all the useful energy.
Thanks to the control and management electronic section, the efficiency of electric generation is always optimal even at deeply regulated regimes.
Efficiency of Mini-Cogeneration Units
In a conventional power plant for electricity production, more than half of produced energy is dissipated as heat during the production and distribution processes.
With distributed Mini-Cogeneration, the heat generated by combustion is not wasted, but rather used locally.
The total efficiency of Mini-Cogeneration Units is always close to 90% (30% electric and 60% heat) which is more than double the efficiency (40%) of traditional power generation affected by 50% wasted energy at the power station and 10% wasted energy during the transmission.
Efficiency of Mini-Trigeneration Units
In a conventional power plant for electricity production, more than half of produced energy is dissipated as heat during the production and distribution processes.
With distributed Mini-Trigeneration, the heat generated by combustion is not wasted, but rather used locally.
The total efficiency of Mini-Trigeneration Units is always close to 90% (30% electric and 60% heat and cool) which is more than double the efficiency (40%) of traditional power generation affected by 50% wasted energy at the power station and 10% wasted energy during the transmission.
Ideal uses of Mini-Cogeneration and Mini-Trigeneration Units
Mini-Cogeneration and Mini-Trigeneration Units are particularly suitable for:
- electricity and air conditioning supply to islands, tourist resorts, rural, mountainous and remote areas which are disadvantaged by their typical isolated location in terms of energy distribution and can be hardly reached by conventional power grids, both for development costs and times, and for strictly technical reasons;
- electricity and air conditioning to public or private structures such as hotels, hospitals, schools, sport centres, swimming pools, residences;
- electricity and air conditioning of military and navy facilities;
- desiccation and removal of humidity for industry;
- provision of hot and cold water for industry;
- provision of hot and therapeutic waters, if available, for SPA;
- antifreeze protection of streets and pavements;
- aquacultures in which warm water from underground enable fish to grow though the winter
and mature more quickly;
- production of mushrooms, desiccation of fruits, tomatoes and cotton;
- greenhouses for hot water in-ground piping or utilizing a fan/blower system;
- laundry facilities and carwashes with high hot water use and electrical demand;
- industrial facilities such as oil refineries, paper mills, galvanization plants, wastewater treatment plants, thermal and industrial plants with large heating needs;
- installation in structures of any size, anywhere, whether it is single or multiple properties,
in almost any size lot: under lawns, landscaped areas, driveways, or in the building itself;
- existing buildings the can be retrofitted with Cogeneration and Trigeneration systems using
the existing ductwork, if in good status;
- water and sewerage treatment plants;
- upgrading, extensions or new-built power stations.
Cogeneration Units, Trigeneration Units are ideal for structures in need of:
- conditioning;
- additional energy;
- emergencies or stand-by for compactness and readily available complete systems, which
save the essential factor of time;
- water desalination and potabilization;
- additional and stable efficiency of power generated from renewable sources;
- modular machines for Water Treatment and Energy independence.
Mini-Cogeneration Units and Mini-Trigeneration Units are most efficient when the conditioning can be used on site or very close to it. Overall efficiency is reduced when the heat must be transported over longer distances. This requires heavily insulated pipes, which are expensive and inefficient; whereas electricity can be transmitted along a comparatively simple wire, and over much longer distances for the same energy loss.
Major advantages of Mini-Cogeneration and Mini-Trigeneration Units
The major advantages of the Mini-Cogeneration and Mini-Trigeneration Units are:
- eco-compatible considering an estimated 30% reduction of polluting emissions;
- direct save on money in the energy bill and an indirect save of the environment by reducing
the use of classically generated polluting-energy;
- operate in standby mode connected to the grid, with immediate activation in case of need
to increase power capacity or to replace the grid of long blackout;
- operate in stand alone mode, in parallel with photovoltaic and/or wind energy sources, with
instant compensation of load diagram and service levels equivalent to conventional grids,
with the same energy quality;
- quick, independent and top quality power availability increase with no modification of
available connection to the grid;
- water desalination and potabilization using recycled heat;
- hybrid electrification with the same service level obtained from traditional grid, even in
completely off grid applications;
- advanced modulating variable-speed Combined Heat and Power (CHP) with constant high
efficiency at any regime;
- uninterruptible power supply (Class 3 UPS) with high efficiency and battery-independent
operations;
- automatic heavy-duty power generating set;
- automatic power factor correction system;
- automatic management system for renewable sources, eliminating their natural intermittent
availability which make them not programmable;
- no service interruption with sudden picks when turning on and off connected loads;
- basically constant and reliable cost per kWh at all electric load levels and for all load
variations;
- save money in operating and in maintenance costs;
- shelf-mounted facility. No platforms require extensive pilings to maintain a stable base for
normal operation;
- special financing and/or incentives are offered in many locations;
- compact. Easy to transport and install. Low operating and in maintenance costs.
In addition to the economic benefits and advantages, Mini-Cogeneration and Mini-Trigeneration Units reduce the dependence on foreign energy supplies and help the environment by dramatically reducing greenhouse gas emissions such as carbon dioxide - when compared to typical power plants.
Mini Co-generation and Mini-Trigeneration Units are very energy efficient, conserve natural resources and reduce fuel consumption as the system operates at such high efficiencies.