Impact of CHP System Component Efficiencies on the Economic Benefit of CHP Systems Using Spark Spread Analysis

Author(s):  
Amanda D. Smith ◽  
Pedro J. Mago ◽  
Nelson Fumo

A combined heating and power system (CHP) can take the place of a conventional system with separate heating and power (SHP) where electricity is purchased from the grid. The CHP system provides electrical energy through a prime mover located near the building it serves, and waste heat from this generation is captured and delivered to the building to provide thermal energy. For a CHP system to show an economic advantage over a conventional system, its operating costs must be lower when providing the same amount of thermal energy and electricity that would have come from the SHP system. The spark spread (SS), or price difference between purchased electricity and fuel, is used as a simple indicator as to whether the CHP system is economically viable. Rather than using a single value of SS as a cutoff for viability of the CHP system, a more detailed spark spread expressed in terms of the efficiencies of the CHP system and SHP system components can be used to determine if a CHP system is economically viable. In an initial feasibility study, the calculation of the SS is based on estimates of a number of variables. It is important to assess the likely impact of changes in certain of some of these variables, as such changes can affect the SS calculations. This paper presents a sensitivity analysis to determine the effects of different parameters on the cost ratio which is used to calculate SS, including: reference heating system efficiency, power generation unit (PGU) efficiency and CHP overall system efficiency. Because CHP system efficiency itself is a function of the PGU efficiency as well as the thermal efficiency, these two parts of the total system efficiency are also investigated separately. Since the cost of purchased electricity and fuel varies by geographic region, the required spark spread for a given system may indicate favorable economics for a CHP system in one location while the CHP system shows no potential for savings in another location. Therefore, the sensitivity analysis is considered for three different U.S. locations.

Author(s):  
Sandeep Nayak ◽  
Sumit Ray ◽  
Reinhard Radermacher

The Combined Heat and Power (CHP) concept is aptly suited to improve or eliminate some of the global and local issues concerning electric commercial buildings. CHP involves on-site or near-site generation of electricity by using gas-fired equipment along with utilization of thermal energy available from the power generation process. CHP has the potential of providing a 30% improvement over conventional power plant efficiency and a CO2 emissions reduction of 45% or more. In addition, an overall total system efficiency of 80% can be achieved because of the utilization of thermal energy, that would otherwise be wasted, and the reduction of transmission, distribution and energy conversion losses. CHP technology also makes cost savings possible by reducing high summertime electrical demand charges while at the same time providing necessary space heating and cooling. Savings are further increased in applications where waste heat can replace electric heating. Moreover, CHP has the ability to address indoor air quality issues when utilizing a desiccant dehumidifier by providing direct humidity control and consequently reducing the potential for mold and bacteria development. Because power generation is done on-site, CHP provides control in meeting a building’s electrical needs and also provides an increased level of reliability to ensure high employee productivity. The current research is being carried out in a four–story commercial office building that has been established as the CHP research and demonstration facility on the campus of the University of Maryland in College Park, MD, USA. The 52,700 square feet administrative building includes two heating, ventilating and air-conditioning (HVAC) zones of equal area where zone 1 includes the first and second floors and zone 2 includes the second and third floors. This has facilitated the installation of two different CHP systems for the two zones. The research in this paper discusses about the CHP system catering to zone 1. This paper describes a second generation CHP system involving the integration of a new 75 kW commercial engine generator with the existing liquid desiccant system. The engine generator is connected parallel to the grid for supplying 75 kW of electrical power to the building while the combined waste heat recovered from the exhaust gases as well as the jacket water from the engine is used to heat a 50:50 ethyl glycol–water loop through a packaged heat recovery system. This recovered heat is then used for the regeneration of the lithium chloride solution in a liquid desiccant system and the ethyl glycol–water solution is returned back to the engine. The liquid desiccant system reduces the latent load of the ventilation air entering the roof top unit. Technical challenges concerning electrical and control aspects that were related to modifications of the original CHP system are described and improvements to the original system design and performance are evaluated. The paper then discusses the experimental results obtained with first generation CHP system and its overall performance.


Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (14) ◽  
pp. 4239
Author(s):  
Salam J. Yaqoob ◽  
Adel Obed ◽  
Rana Zubo ◽  
Yasir I. A. Al-Yasir ◽  
Hussein Fadhel ◽  
...  

The single-stage flyback Photovoltaic (PV) micro-inverter is considered as a simple and small in size topology but requires expensive digital microcontrollers such as Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) or Digital Signal Processor (DSP) to increase the system efficiency, this would increase the cost of the overall system. To solve this problem, based on a single-stage flyback structure, this paper proposed a low cost and simple analog-digital control scheme. This control scheme is implemented using a low cost ATMega microcontroller built in the Arduino Uno board and some analog operational amplifiers. First, the single-stage flyback topology is analyzed theoretically and then the design consideration is obtained. Second, a 120 W prototype was developed in the laboratory to validate the proposed control. To prove the effectiveness of this control, we compared the cost price, overall system efficiency, and THD values of the proposed results with the results obtained by the literature. So, a low system component, single power stage, cheap control scheme, and decent efficiency are achieved by the proposed system. Finally, the experimental results present that the proposed system has a maximum efficiency of 91%, with good values of the total harmonic distortion (THD) compared to the results of other authors.


2017 ◽  
Vol 41 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcos Antonio da Silva Miranda ◽  
Gabriel Browne de Deus Ribeiro ◽  
Sebastião Renato Valverde ◽  
Crismeire Isbaex

ABSTRACT The main objective of this work was to identify and analyze the potential of forest biomass of Eucalyptus sp. such as thermal energy source for industrial use in place of fossil fuels. Two cases were analyzed: the first one estimated the total demand for forest biomass to replace the main fossil fuels in Brazilian industrial sector, with scenarios of 100, 75 and 50% replacement; in the second, it was calculated the cost of each fuel for producing ton of industrial steam (thermal energy) for a dairy industry, in order to verify the competitiveness of forest biomass compared to fossil fuels. The results showed that the areas demanded to replace 100, 75 and 50% of the analyzed fossil fuels were, respectively, 2.9, 2.2 and 1.5 million planted forests hectares, and the steam ton cost ratio using the woodchips was at least 34% lower than with other fuels, which corroborates the substitution potential in this sector.


Author(s):  
Russell Muren ◽  
Diego A. Arias ◽  
Brian Luptowski

Sizing and cost models were developed for thermal energy storage (TES) systems utilizing cascaded phase change materials (PCM) as the storage media in a variety of configurations. The sizing model is based on an energy balance around a characteristic fundamental element of the system, consisting of a steel pipe embedded in a matrix of phase change material. Due to the transient behavior PCM system, the sizing model requires time and space integrations. The model accounts for decreases in thermal performance caused by precipitate formation on the surface of the pipe and predicts the resulting transient power output. The model calculates the required tank and pipe sizes, the amounts of heat transfer fluid and PCM, as well as the land area for the configuration. Using a cost metric approach, the cost of each system component is estimated. Furthermore, the effect of several technological pitfalls, including: pinch point heat transfer, precipitate buildup, and transient energy output have been investigated. Prices are shown to depend heavily on system configuration. Specifically, prices are shown to be most dependent on precipitate formation during discharge and consequently the size of the necessary heat transfer area of heat exchangers. The cost of different configurations vary from $40/kWh to $100/kWh.


Author(s):  
M. Indra Darmawan ◽  
Jaka Darma Jaya ◽  
Adzani Ghani Ilmannafian ◽  
Rika Safitri

Green polybag is one result of the utilization of palm oil waste. Green polybag which is eco-friendly will be needed, so it has opportunity to be marketable comodity. This study aimed to determine the business feasibility of establishing green polybag business. Data were collected by observation, interview and documentation. The method used were analysis of technical aspects, analysis of economic aspects based on the calculation of business feasibility namely Break Event Point (BEP) production, BEP rupiah, Return On Investment (ROI), Payback Period (PBP) and Benefit Cost Ratio (B / C), analysis of market aspects and sensitivity analysis. Analysis of technical aspects show that the availability of raw materials were sufficient, the equipment used was feasible and the processing method was easy. Based on economic aspects the results of BEP production was 4.216.58, BEP rupiah was Rp.5.059.897.66, ROI was 12.17%, PBP was 7.86 months and B / C was 1.13. Analysis of market aspects showed that the prospect of a green polybag business has a great opportunity based on none competitors. Sensitivity analysis based on the assumption of an increase in wages of labor with a percentage of 8.34% per year of business was feasible, assuming an increase in the cost of tapioca flour with a percentage of 3.5%, 3% and 3% were also said feasible based on B / C value ratio> 1.


2013 ◽  
Vol 2013 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ram Kumar Agrawal ◽  
Kamal Kishore Khatri

Distributed generation (DG) of electricity is expected to become more important in the future electricity generation system. This paper reviews the different technological options available for DG. DG offers a number of potential benefits. The ability to use the waste heat from fuel-operated DG, known as combined heat and power (CHP), offers both reduced costs and significant reductions of CO2emissions. The overall efficiency of DG-CHP system can approach 90 percent, a significant improvement over the 30 to 35 percent electric grid efficiency and 50 to 90 percent industrial boiler efficiency when separate production is used. The costs of generation of electricity from six key DG-CHP technologies; gas engines, diesel engines, biodiesel CI engines, microturbines, gas turbines, and fuel cells, are calculated. The cost of generation is dependent on the load factor and the discount rate. It is found that annualized life cycle cost (ALCC) of the DG-CHP technologies is approximately half that of the DG technologies without CHP. Considering the ALCC of different DG-CHP technologies, the gas I.C. engine CHP is the most effective for most of the cases but biodiesel CI engine CHP seems to be a promising DG-CHP technology in near future for Rajasthan state due to renewable nature of the fuel.


2018 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
Abubakar Abdulkarim ◽  
S.M. Abdelkader ◽  
D. J. Morrow ◽  
S. A. Y. Amuda ◽  
I.S. Madugu ◽  
...  

This paper presents analyses of the model for the optimum design of standalone hybrid microgrid. The model is developed with the aim of optimizing system component sizing that can reliably satisfy isolated loads. The objective function is to minimize the annual cost of the plant while taking all constraints into consideration. Mixed integer linear programming technique is used to solve the optimization problem. By applying some approximations, the output power of the wind energy conversion system is expressed as a linear function of wind speed. Effects of different PV technologies and the rated power of each unit have been investigated. The results have shown the ability of the proposed model by reducing the cost of energy by 89.35%, 90.26%, 88.3530%, and 89.99% for AP120, ASE 300, KC120 and SAPC165 respectively. In the same way the carbon dioxide emission is reduced by 83%, 82.82%, 82.51% and 73.48 in the same order of the PV modules. Also, the optimal design is sensitive to the rated power of the WECS and SECS, while the benefit-to-cost ratio and payback period are sensitive to the storage technology.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (14) ◽  
pp. 7571
Author(s):  
Hadi Rostamzadeh ◽  
Saeed Rostami ◽  
Majid Amidpour ◽  
Weifeng He ◽  
Dong Han

Over recent years, the concept of waste heat recovery from the generators of wind turbines for driving a thermal-driven desalination system was introduced, and its advantages were highlighted. However, any selection of a bottoming thermal-driven desalination system among different existing technologies should be taken under consideration before making an ultimate recommendation. Unfortunately, no comprehensive comparison is available in the literature to compare the performance as well as the cost aspects of using the waste thermal energy of the generator of a wind turbine for desalinating seawater, comparing them with those of a layout where the power of the wind turbine is directly supplied to a mechanically driven desalination system for the same amount of drinkable water production. This study aims at analyzing the economic aspects of waste heat recovery from the generators of wind turbines for seawater desalination via the humidification-dehumidification (HDH) approach, versus the reverse osmosis (RO) unit. For this purpose, a closed-air water-heater HDH unit, directly coupled with a RO unit (called a hybrid HDH-RO unit) is employed, in which thermal energy is provided by the heat dissipating from the generator of the wind turbine while its power is supplied directly by the wind turbine. The energetic and exergetic performance, along with the cost aspects of a hybrid HDH-RO unit driven by the wind turbine, are compared with those of a solo RO unit. The results of the study were extended for six different types of wind turbines, and we concluded that the unit cost associated with the freshwater produced by the waste heat recovery approach is astronomically higher than that of the solo RO system for all wind turbine models, and hence is not practically feasible. It was found that more power can be recovered from the discarded brine from the solo RO unit than the hybrid HDH-RO unit. In addition, the solo RO desalination system, working directly with the power of the wind turbine, has a less complex configuration, and hence its investment cost rate is significantly lower than that needed for setting up an HDH-RO unit. At high wind speeds, however, the cost penalty associated with the freshwater produced by the HDH-RO unit decreases, but it is still huge. Among all screened wind turbines, the GW-136/4.8 is most appealing in terms of greater power generation, but its investment cost rate is the highest among all models due to its high rated power value. However, the freshwater unit cost of the GW-136/4.8 is significantly lower than the values obtained for other models. Finally, the two locations of Manjil and Zabol are selected as a benchmark and the results of the simulation are extended for these locations.


Animals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 1297
Author(s):  
Juntae Kim ◽  
Hyo-Dong Han ◽  
Wang Yeol Lee ◽  
Collins Wakholi ◽  
Jayoung Lee ◽  
...  

Currently, the pork industry is incorporating in-line automation with the aim of increasing the slaughtered pork carcass throughput while monitoring quality and safety. In Korea, 21 parameters (such as back-fat thickness and carcass weight) are used for quality grading of pork carcasses. Recently, the VCS2000 system—an automatic meat yield grading machine system—was introduced to enhance grading efficiency and therefore increase pork carcass production. The VCS2000 system is able to predict pork carcass yield based on image analysis. This study also conducted an economic analysis of the system using a cost—benefit analysis. The subsection items of the cost-benefit analysis considered were net present value (NPV), internal rate of return (IRR), and benefit/cost ratio (BC ratio), and each method was verified through sensitivity analysis. For our analysis, the benefits were grouped into three categories: the benefits of reducing labor costs, the benefits of improving meat yield production, and the benefits of reducing pig feed consumption through optimization. The cost-benefit analysis of the system resulted in an NPV of approximately 615.6 million Korean won, an IRR of 13.52%, and a B/C ratio of 1.65.


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