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Home , Cogeneration

Gensets and cogeneration

Combined and power applications from Alfa Laval

The full benefits of efficiency With an extensive focus on R&D, air on our long experience, resources, and Cogeneration or combined heat and heat exchangers (AHEs), gasketed engineering proficiency. power application is a very effective and plate heat exchangers (GPHEs) and efficient form of power generation, brazed plate heat exchangers (BPHEs) Having delivered optimal heat transfer allowing total energy utilization to reach have been developed to ensure lower solutions for more than a century, 90%. This efficiency doesn’t just happen emissions and substantial cost savings Alfa Laval meets a wide range of needs by itself – it’s the know-how behind it year after year due to their cost- and offers unparalleled expertise – that produces such great results. effective, highly engineered designs. ensuring future-proof solutions that can be relied on time and time again. Alfa Laval offers a complete range of Alfa Laval offers more than just cooling solutions for both gensets and products, we offer a partnership based combined heat and power systems.

SUPERMARKET Gensets

A generating set or genset is a system heating systems, shopping centres and temperature (HT) and one low that generates . The purpose banks. temperature (LT) circuit, which need to of a genset is to provide back-up or be cooled to ensure the continued redundancy electricity when the The genset system consists of an performance of the engine and, in turn, primary systems go offline. Thus, if the engine, fueled often by diesel or natural the genset. Alfa Laval’s wide portfolio standard supply of electricity fails, then gas, which drives a generator. The of air heat exchangers, AHE, can offer the genset will still fulfill the need and a generator then creates the electricity to both combined and single circuit blackout is avoided. Gensets are often be used by the site. When the engine configurations in one compact unit, used for critical social functions, such is running it becomes heated and making the installation more compact. as industries, agriculture, water needs to be cooled. A typical engine treatment plants, heating plants/district will have two circuits, one high

Working Principle Genset

Gas

Electricity Combined heat and power – /diesel

Combined heat and power systems, installation is self-sufficient and full • heat is a positive byproduct. CHP, utilize the heat created when an control of uptime and downtime is • Possible to sell surplus electricity engine is running. The heat can be possible. When used as a secondary and heat back to the grid. recovered and used via Alfa Laval plate source of energy the benefits are the • Low emissions and environmentally heat exchangers, PHE’s. This type of redundancy of the central energy grid friendly (especially with natural gas). system is used either as a primary and the security it provides against • Efficiencies in production source of energy or as a secondary power shortages. help cogeneration development from source for critical social functions, such an agricultural perspective. as hospitals, schools, hotels and CHP’s offer many benefits: • Possibility of government subsidies. retirement homes. The benefit of using • More efficient utilization of input • Payback time 3-5 years, depending it as a primary source is that the energy. on system set-up

Regular power generation

62% waste

100%

Cogeneration plant 12% waste

100% fuel Working principle

The concept of CHP is built on the jacket water, high temperature typically tap water or an indoor heating “simultaneous generation of two useful circuit. If these circuits are connected system. When the engine is producing forms of energy, electricity and heat, to Alfa Laval plate heat exchangers, more heat than is needed, the heat from the same plant using one single PHE’s, the heat can be recovered and stored in the secondary circuits needs source”. used. This is done by having the to be dissipated. This is preferably secondary sides connected to separate handled by an Alfa Laval air heat An engine generates heat from the lube water circuits from which you can exchanger, AHE, also called a dry , low temperature circuit and from extract the heat for any purpose, cooler.

Working principle combined heat and power system

Gas

Electricity Combined heat and power – biogas

For areas or sites that produce their and create their own independent, system fueled by natural gas or diesel, own biowaste, there is a profitable cycle, where all as described in an earlier section. opportunity to convert this into biogas energy consumed is also created via that can be used to fuel a combined their own waste. Alfa Laval’s extensive portfolio includes heat and power system. Thus, sites PHE’s suitable for heat recovery in the such as farms, wastewater treatment Since it is only the engine fuel that is LT and HT circuits, and AHE’s for plants (wwtp), landfill waste and mines, different, the working principle of the dissipating excessive heat. can be self-sufficient in terms of energy biogas CHP is the same as the CHP Organic (ORC)

The (ORC) is The working principle of the organic Typical usage areas for an ORC system named for its use of an organic, high Rankine cycle is that the working fluid are different types of power sources, molecular mass fluid with a liquid-vapor is pumped to a where it is such as power, geothermal phase change, or boiling point, evaporated, passes through a plants, solar thermal power and waste occurring at a lower temperature than and is finally re-condensed. The system heat to power systems. All these types the water- phase change. The is fuelled by adding energy into the of system are considered renewable fluid allows Rankine cycle heat recovery evaporator at high temperatures and and environmentally sound. from lower temperature sources such useful energy is extracted from the as biomass combustion, industrial turbine/expander, as electricity, and , geothermal heat, solar from the condenser, as hot water/heat. ponds, etc. The low-temperature heat To improve the efficiency of the system is converted into useful , that can a regenerator can be added into the itself be converted into electricity. cycle.

Evaporator Turbine

Regenerator

Pump

Condenser