Trigeneration

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Trigeneration Cycle. Trigeneration, also called CCHP (combined cooling, heat and power), refers to the simultaneous generation of electricity, useful heating and useful cooling from the same original heat source such as fuel or solar energy. Waste heat insufficient in energy to produce electricity through mechanical means, such as through a steam turbine, contains usable energy that is harnessed for thermal regulation purposes as described in cogeneration. Trigeneration differs from cogeneration in that some of the waste heat is used for cooling. CCHP systems can attain higher efficiencies per unit fuel than cogeneration or traditional power plants. A modern American acronym is BCHP, Building Cooling, Heating and Power, for trigeneration applications in buildings.

Contents
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1 Details 2 Thermal efficiency 3 Distributed generation 4 Applications in non-renewable power generation systems 5 Applications in renewable power generation systems 6 References 7 External links 8 See also

[edit] Details
Trigeneration (CCHP) is defined as the extraction of electrical power and heat from fuel where a percentage of the heat byproduct is used for cooling. Heating and cooling output may operate concurrently or be interchanged based need and system construction. A power plant operating on the basis of the Carnot cycle will convert energy from heat to mechanical energy based on a temperature differential as described by the Rankine cycle.[1] Mechanical energy is converted into electrical power by an electric generator. Waste heat which is insufficient in energy as input to the electric generator is then recycled for other purposes such as heating or cooling of living space or industrial facility or as input to other industrial processes. Cooling is achieved through an absorption chiller or an adsorption chiller as the original byproduct is heat.

[edit] Thermal efficiency

Thermal efficiency in a trigeneration system is defined as:

Where:

th = Thermal efficiency Wout = Total work output by all systems Qin = Total heat input into the system
Typical trigeneration models have losses as in any system. The energy distribution below is represented as a percent of total input energy [2]: Electricity = 45% Heat + Cooling = 40% Heat Losses = 13% Line Losses = 2% Conventional thermoelectric stations convert only about 33% of the fuel energy into electricity. The rest is lost in the form of heat. The adverse effect to the environment from this waste suggests a need to increase the efficiency of electricity production. One method for more efficient production of electricity is the cogeneration or trigeneration of heat cooling and power, where more than 80% of the fuel's energy is converted into usable energy, resulting in both financial and environmental benefits.

[edit] Distributed generation

Trigeneration has its greatest benefits when scaled to fit buildings or complexes of buildings where electricity, heating and cooling are perpetually needed. Such installations include but are not limited to: data centers, manufacturing facilities, universities, hospitals, military complexes and colleges. Localized trigeneration has addition benefits as described by distributed generation. Redundancy of power in mission critical applications, lower power usage costs and the ability to sell electrical power back to the local utility are a few of the major benefits. Most industrial countries generate the majority of their electrical power needs in large centralized facilities with capacity for large electrical power output. These plants have excellent economies of scale, but usually transmit electricity long distances resulting in sizable losses, negatively affect the environment. Large power plants can use cogeneration or trigeneration systems only when sufficient need exists in immediate geographic vicinity for an industrial complex, additional power plant or a city. An example of cogeneration with trigeneration applications in a major city is the New York City steam system.

[edit] Applications in non-renewable power generation systems

Any of the following conventional power plants may be converted to a CCHP system[3] :

Coal Natural Gas Oil Nuclear Microturbines Small gas turbines

[edit] Applications in renewable power generation systems

Fuel Cells Solar

[edit] References
1. ^ Hodge, B.K. (2009). Alternative Energy Systems & Applications. New York: Wiley-IEEE Press. 2. ^ "Trigeneration Systems with Fuel Cells". Research Paper. http://www.icrepq.com/icrepq-08/245-san-martin.pdf. Retrieved 18 April 2011. 3. ^ Masters, Gilbert (2004). Renewable and efficient electric power systems. New York: Wiley-IEEE Press.

[edit] External links

[1] 3D model of installed commercial trigeneration system [2] Absorption chiller animation [3] European site on trigeneration [4] Commercial absorption chiller for trigeneration [5] Commercial trigeneration system [6] Commercial trigeneration system

[edit] See also

Cogeneration Distributed generation Carnot cycle Rankine cycle Micro combined heat and power New York City steam system Renewable energy in Australia

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