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Combined Heat and Power Systems: Reference Manual For
Combined Heat and Power Systems: Reference Manual For
The material was prepared by LJ Energy Pte Ltd. We wish to thank the following organisations
for providing various diagrams, photographs and reference data for this manual:
Capstone Microturbine
Energy Market Authority of Singapore
Fuji Oil Singapore
GSK Biologicals Singapore
MSD Singapore
MWM Engines
© Copyright is jointly owned by the National Environment Agency and LJ Energy Pte Ltd. No
part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means without
the prior written permission of the copyright owners.
July 2019
For
By
LJ Energy Pte Ltd
Singapore
SCEM Reference Manual for Combined Heat and Power (CHP) Systems
Table of Contents
Acknowledgements ................................................................................................... 2
PREFACE ................................................................................................................... 1
1.0 INTRODUCTION TO COMBINED HEAT AND POWER (CHP) SYSTEMS ......... 2
1.1. Introduction .................................................................................................................... 2
1.2. Benefits of CHP Systems ................................................................................................. 3
1.3. Main Candidates for CHP................................................................................................ 4
1.4. Available Technologies for CHP ...................................................................................... 4
2.0 FUNDAMENTAL THERMODYNAMIC CONCEPTS .......................................... 12
2.1 Basic Thermodynamics .................................................................................................. 12
2.2 SI Units and Conversions ............................................................................................... 16
2.3 First and Second Laws of Thermodynamics .................................................................. 23
2.4 The First Law Applied to Control Volumes .................................................................... 29
2.6 Entropy .......................................................................................................................... 37
2.7 Illustrative Examples...................................................................................................... 41
3.0 STEAM PROPERTIES ...................................................................................... 47
3.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................... 47
3.2 Saturation Temperature ................................................................................................ 48
3.3 Sensible and Latent Heat ............................................................................................... 51
3.4 Dryness Fraction ............................................................................................................ 53
3.5 Superheated Steam ....................................................................................................... 53
3.6 Steam Pressure vs Volume ............................................................................................ 54
3.7 Enthalpy ......................................................................................................................... 56
3.8 Steam Pressure vs Enthalpy of Evaporation .................................................................. 58
3.9 Condensate and Flash Steam ........................................................................................ 59
3.10 Use of Steam Tables .................................................................................................... 59
4.0 GAS POWER CYCLES ..................................................................................... 62
4.1 Gas Power Cycles ........................................................................................................... 62
4.2 Gas Compressors ........................................................................................................... 63
4.3 The Carnot Cycle ............................................................................................................ 66
4.4 The Brayton Cycle .......................................................................................................... 66
4.5 Illustrative Examples...................................................................................................... 80
5.0 VAPOUR POWER CYCLES ............................................................................. 92
5.1 Vapour Power Cycles ..................................................................................................... 92
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SCEM Reference Manual for Combined Heat and Power (CHP) Systems
PREFACE
The Singapore Certified Energy Manager (SCEM) programme offers a formal training
and certification system for energy managers in Singapore and is co-administered by
the National Environment Agency (NEA) and The Institution of Engineers, Singapore
(IES) since 2008. The programme equips facility managers, engineers, technicians
and others who intend to build their careers as energy professionals with the technical
skills and competencies needed to manage energy services within their organisations.
The Combined Heat and Power (CHP) Systems module is one of the elective modules
in the SCEM programme. This reference manual aims to help SCEM candidates with
their course work and serve as reference material for practising energy managers.
The reference manual contains eleven chapters on different aspects of how to design,
implement, operate and evaluate typical CHP systems to be energy efficient subject
to Singapore regulations. Each chapter includes a brief introduction to assist readers
who may not be familiar with some of the basic concepts associated with each topic,
and the expected learning objectives.
Chapters 6 to 8 provide a fairly good account of the prime movers used in CHP,
co-generation and tri-generation systems as well as the various considerations to be
followed in the thermal design of CHP systems. This is followed by Chapter 9 which
gives a very good account of a technical and economic feasibility study that one
should undertake prior to decision making with regard to the CHP system.
Chapter 11 contains a number of CHP success stories in the form of case studies.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank all those who have assisted in the
preparation of this reference manual by providing technical information, images and
case studies.
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SCEM Reference Manual for Combined Heat and Power (CHP) Systems
Learning Outcomes:
The main learning outcomes from this chapter are to understand:
1. The benefits of CHP systems
1.1. Introduction
In a conventional power plant, only a portion of the energy transferred from the fuel to
the working fluid is converted to work. The remaining portion of the energy is rejected
as waste heat to larger heat sinks like rivers, oceans or the atmosphere. The Sankey
diagram for a conventional power plant is shown in Figure 1.1. As can be seen from
the figure, the rejected heat is about 67% of the total energy input and is wasted
unless it can be recovered and used for other heating applications.
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Such a system is commonly known as a CHP system. The schematic diagram and
Sankey diagram for such a system are shown in Figures 1.2 and 1.3, respectively.
The overall efficiency can be improved from 33% (Figure 1.1) to 75% or higher (Figure
1.3).
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The main advantage of such a system is the high overall efficiency because process
heating applications are used as a heat sink to eliminate the need for a condenser
which would otherwise reject heat to the environment.
One of the main disadvantages is that the steam flow rate and therefore the system
output is governed by the thermal load, which is the heat sink. Hence, this system
provides little flexibility for matching the electrical output to the actual electrical load.
Another disadvantage of the back-pressure steam turbine is that it tends to be larger
in size (for the same electrical output) compared to the turbines such as total
condensing turbine as the reduction in enthalpy of steam is lower. It is to be noted
that the power produced by the turbine is the product of the steam mass flow rate
and difference in enthalpy. Hence, for the same power output, the steam mass flow
rate becomes higher resulting in a larger turbine.
Back pressure steam turbines are generally used for applications that have a heat to
power ratio of 4.0 to 14.3 kWt/kWe and an electrical output of more than a few MW.
Since the steam available at the exit of the turbine would not be suitable for industrial
applications, steam required for heating applications (including absorption chillers) is
taken from an intermediate stage of the turbine. The low-pressure steam at the exit
of the turbine is exhausted to a condenser, which acts as the main heat sink.
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Condensing steam turbines are generally used for applications where the heat to
power ratio is in the range of 2.0 to 10.0 kWt/kWe and the electrical output is more
than a few MW.
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The overall efficiency of the above system can be improved considerably if the waste
heat available at the exit of the turbine is used for heating applications. This is usually
achieved by directing the hot gases after the expansion process to a waste heat
boiler. The steam produced by the waste heat boiler can be used directly for heating
applications or in high capacity systems. The high-pressure steam can be expanded
through a steam turbine coupled to a generator prior to using the low pressure steam
for heating applications. A typical arrangement of a CHP system using a combustion
gas turbine is shown in Figure 1.7.
Combustion turbine systems are generally used for applications where the heat to
power ratio is in the range of 1.3 to 2.0 kWt/kWe and the electrical output is more than
a few MW.
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mixture is ignited and expanded moving a piston which does mechanical work
followed by the final stage where the exhaust is released to the atmosphere.
The internal combustion engines operating on the Otto cycle can be fuelled by a wide
variety of fuels. These include liquids such as gasoline and heavy oil as well as gases
such as propane, biogas or natural gas.
In an internal combustion engine operating on the Diesel cycle, diesel based fuels
are used instead of petroleum based fuels. The main difference in the cycle is that
the fuel-air mixture is ignited by the heat generated by the compression.
Figure 1.9 shows the arrangement of a typical CHP system using an internal
combustion engine where hot water from jacket cooling is used for operating an
absorption chiller and the exhaust gases are used to generate steam for process
heating applications.
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Exhaust
Steam
Waste heat boiler
Feed water
Exhaust
Reciprocating
Fuel Generator
engine
The general sizes of internal combustion engines that can be used for such
applications range from about 50 kW to around 5 MW. The heat to power ratio for
such systems ranges from 1.1 to 2.5 kWt/kWe.
Due to the high heat content of the exhaust gases, the overall efficiency of power
generation using micro turbines can be improved by using the waste heat from the
exhaust for heating and cooling applications.
A typical arrangement of a CHP system using micro turbines is shown in Figure 1.10.
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Single micro turbines can produce electrical power output up to about 250 kW. The
typical heat to power ratio for such systems range from 1.4 to 2.5 kWt/kWe as
summarised in Table 1.1 below.
Electric 25 - 40 25 - 40 (simple) 30 - 50 20 - 30
Efficiency (%)
40 - 60 (combined
cycle)
Overall system 60 - 80 75 - 80 75 - 85 65 - 80
efficiency (%)
Typical uses of Hot water, LP Hot water, LP-HP Hot water, LP Hot water, LP
heat recovery steam, cooling steam, cooling steam, cooling steam, cooling
Fuels Solid, liquid and Natural gas, biogas, Diesel and fuel Natural gas,
gaseous fuels propane, oil biogas,
propane
distillate oil
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expertise
required
Heat to power 2.0 – 10.0 1.3 – 2.0 1.1 - 2.5 1.4 - 2.5
ratio
Summary
A CHP system is the simultaneous production of two or more useful outputs, namely
electricity, heat and cooling. Different types of prime movers are associated with CHP
systems. These prime movers include gas turbines, steam turbines, and reciprocating
engines as well as micro turbines. Further details of CHP systems will be presented
in the subsequent chapters of this reference manual.
References
1. Younus Cengel, Thermodynamics: An Engineering Approach ed.6, McGraw-Hill,
2006.
2. Ryszard Bartnik, Zbigniew Buryn, Conversion of Coal-Fired Power Plants to Co-
generation and Combined-Cycle Thermal and Economic Effectiveness, Springer-
Verlag London Limited 2011.
3. Neil Petchers, Combined heating, cooling and power handbook: Technologies and
Applications”, Fairmont Press, second edition, 2012
4. Horlock, J.H, “Combined power plants: including combined cycle gas turbine
(CCGT) plants”, Oxford Pergamon Press, 1992
5. Milton Meckler, Sustainable On-Site CHP Systems; Design, Construction and
Operations, McGraw-Hill, New York, 2010.
6. Web page, Department of Energy, USA. URL: www.energy.gov (Accessed on 16
May 2019)
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Learning Outcomes:
The main learning outcomes from this chapter are to understand:
1. Basic thermodynamics
2. Relevant SI units and their conversions
3. First and Second Laws of thermodynamics as well as work and heat
4. Concept of entropy
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2.1.2 Surroundings
In thermodynamics, all matter and space external to a system is collectively called its
surroundings. Thermodynamics is mainly concerned with the interactions of a system
and its surroundings, or interaction between two or more systems. Normally, a system
interacts with its surroundings by transferring energy across its boundary.
2.1.3 Boundary
The real or imaginary surface that separates the system from its surroundings. The
boundary of a system can either be fixed or movable.
Thermodynamic systems are classified as closed or open systems.
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2.1.7 Property
Property is any characteristic of a system. A property is any quality that helps to
describe a system. The properties determine the state of a system, which is a
condition as described by the properties at a particular instant during a process or at
idling. In thermodynamics, the common properties are pressure, temperature,
volume, velocity, and position. In addition to the above properties, other properties
must also be considered occasionally. Shape is important in thermodynamic analysis
when surface effects are significant; whereas colour is important when radiation heat
transfer is involved. Properties can be further classified as intensive or extensive.
2.11 Enthalpy
Enthalpy is the total heat content in a stream of fluid. The specific enthalpy is the
enthalpy expressed per unit mass.
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2.12 Entropy
Entropy is a thermodynamic property which is helpful in assessing the energy quality
during a thermodynamic process. Entropy is explained in detail in section 2.6.
2.14 Process
A thermodynamic process is a series of successive state points - the path through
which the system passes. If during the process the deviation from equilibrium is
infinitesimal, a quasi-equilibrium process occurs and each state in the process may
be idealised as an equilibrium state.
2.15 Cycle
When a system in a given initial state experiences a series of quasi-equilibrium
processes and returns to the initial state, the system undergoes a cycle. At the end of
the cycle, the properties of the system have the same values they had at the
beginning.
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Dimension Unit
Length metre (m)
Mass kilogramme (kg)
Time second (s)
Temperature kelvin (K)
Electric current ampere (A)
Amount of light candela (cd)
Amount of matter mole (mol)
Table 2.1 Fundamental dimensions and their units
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Multiple Prefix
1012 tera, T
109 giga, G
106 mega, M
3
10 Kilo, k
102 hecto, h
101 deca, da
10-1 deci, d
10-2 centi, c
10-3 milli, m
10-6 micro, µ
10-9 nano, n
10-12 pico, p
Table 2.2 Prefixes in SI units
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𝜌𝑑 = 𝑚𝑔/𝑚/ρ = ρg (2.4)
where, g is the acceleration due to gravity, m/s2
For water, nominal values of density (ρ) and specific weight (ρd) are 1000 kg/m3 and
9810 N/m3, respectively.
For air at sea level, the respective values are 1.21 kg/m3 and 11.86 N/m3.
2.2.5 Pressure
Pressure is defined as the force per unit area. The SI unit for pressure is Pa (N/m2) or
kPa (kN/m2) and the working units of pressure are bar (SI) and PSI (British).
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𝑑𝑃 = −𝜌𝑔𝑑ℎ (2.5)
A negative gauge pressure is often called a vacuum, and gauges capable of reading
negative pressures are called vacuum gauges. A gauge pressure of –50 kPa would
be referred to as a vacuum of 50 kPa, with the sign omitted. The relationships between
absolute and gauge pressures are shown in Figure 2.3. The word ‘‘gauge’’ is generally
used in statements of gauge pressure; e.g. P =200 kPa gauge. If ‘‘gauge’’ is not
present, the pressure will, in general, be an absolute pressure. Atmospheric pressure
is an absolute pressure and will be taken as 100 kPa (at sea level), unless otherwise
stated. It should be noted that atmospheric pressure is highly dependent on elevation.
It is only about 53 kPa in a mountain city with an elevation of 4000 m.
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2.2.6 Temperature
Temperature is a measure of molecular activity. In thermodynamics, to understand
the temperature, typically equality of temperature is discussed rather than defining the
temperature at a macroscopic level.
Equality of Temperatures: Let two objects be isolated from the surroundings but
placed in contact with each other. If one object is hotter than the other, the hotter
object will become cooler and the cooler object will become hotter; both objects will
undergo change until all properties (e.g. electrical resistance) of the bodies cease to
change. Such a state of the two objects is known as thermal equilibrium. Hence, we
state that two systems have equal temperatures if no change occurs in any of their
properties when the systems are brought into contact with each other. In other words,
if two systems are in thermal equilibrium, their temperatures are postulated to be
equal. In thermodynamics, the above observation is referred to as the zeroth Law of
Thermodynamics. The zeroth Law of Thermodynamics states that if two systems are
equal in temperature to a third system, they are equal in temperature to each other.
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scale, there are 100 degrees. On the Fahrenheit scale, the ice point is assigned the
value of 32 and on the Celsius scale it is assigned the value of 0.
Based on the above concepts, the conversion between degree Fahrenheit and degree
Celsius is expressed as follows:
°𝐹 = 1.8°𝐶 + 32 (2.7)
𝑇𝑘 = 𝑡𝑐 + 273.15 (2.10)
where the subscript ‘‘F’’ refers to the Fahrenheit scale and the subscript ‘‘C’’ refers to
the Celsius scale. (The values 460 and 273 are used where precise accuracy is not
required.) The absolute temperature on the Fahrenheit scale is given in degrees
Rankine (R), and on the Celsius scale, it is given in kelvins (K). Note: 300 K is read
‘‘300 kelvins,’’ not ‘‘300 degrees Kelvin.’’
2.2.7 Energy
Energy is the capacity to do work. As a result, it takes the same unit as work. A system
may possess several different forms of energy. Assuming uniform properties
throughout the system, the kinetic energy, which is by virtue of motion, is given by:
𝐾𝐸 = 1/2𝑚𝑉 2 (2.11)
where V is the velocity of each lump of substance, assumed constant over the entire
system. If the velocity is not constant for each lump, then the kinetic energy is found
by integrating over the system.
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The energy that a system possesses by virtue of its elevation h above some arbitrarily
selected datum is its potential energy; it is determined from the equation:
𝑃𝐸 = 𝑚𝑔ℎ (2.12)
Where, m = Mass, kg
g = Acceleration due to gravity, 9.81 m/s2
Other forms of energy include the energy stored in a battery, energy stored in an
electrical condenser, electrostatic potential energy, and surface energy. In addition,
there is the energy associated with the translation, rotation, and vibration of the
molecules, electrons, protons, and neutrons, and the chemical energy due to bonding
between atoms and between sub-atomic particles. These molecular and atomic forms
of energy will be referred to as internal energy and designated by the letter U. In
combustion, energy is released when the chemical bonds between atoms are
rearranged.
In thermodynamics, one needs to focus first on the internal energy associated with
the motion of molecules that is influenced by various macroscopic properties such as
pressure, temperature, and specific volume. Internal energy, like pressure and
temperature, is a property of fundamental thermodynamic importance. A substance
always has internal energy, if there is molecular activity associated with it. In
thermodynamics, one does not need to know the absolute value of internal energy,
since the interest is only in its increase or decrease. In thermodynamics, an important
law that is often used when considering isolated systems, is the Law of Conservation
of Energy.
The Law of Conservation of Energy states that the energy of an isolated system
remains constant. Energy can neither be created nor be destroyed in an isolated
system. Energy can only be transformed from one form to another. Let us consider
the system comprising two automobiles that hit head on and come to rest. As the
energy of the system is the same before and after the collision, the initial KE must
simply have been transformed into another kind of energy. In this case, internal
energy is primarily stored in the deformed metal after the collision.
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ΣW = ΣQ (2.13)
or, using the symbol to represent integration around a complete cycle as:
δW = δQ (2.14)
The First Law can be illustrated by considering the following experiment. Let a weight
be attached to a pulley-paddle-wheel setup, such as that shown in Figure 2.4. Let the
weight fall a certain distance thereby doing work on the system contained in the tank
shown. The work done is equal to the weight multiplied by the distance dropped. The
temperature of the system (the substance in the tank) will immediately rise by an
amount ΔT. Now, the system is returned to its initial state (the completion of the cycle)
by transferring heat to the surroundings, as implied by the Q in the Figure. This
reduces the temperature of the system to its initial temperature. Applying the First
Law, this heat transfer will be exactly equal to the work that was done by the falling
weight.
Applying the First Law to this cycle involving these processes and after some
mathematical manipulations, Eq. (2.14) can be expressed as:
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δQ – δW = 𝑑𝐸 (2.15)
For the two state points, the Eq. (2.15) can be written as:
Where Q1-2 is the heat transferred into the system during the process from state 1 to
2, W1-2 is the work done by the system on the surroundings during the state change
(process) and E2 and E1 are the quantity of energy at the state points 1 and 2,
respectively.
The energy E consists of different forms of energy: kinetic energy, KE, potential
energy, PE and internal energy, U. The internal energy includes chemical energy and
energy associated with the atom. The internal energy for superheated steam depends
only on pressure and temperature. The internal energy for saturated steam depends
on temperature or pressure and quality of steam. The expression for internal energy
connecting quality of steam is as follows:
𝑢 = 𝑢𝑓 +𝑥(𝑢𝑔 − 𝑢𝑓 ) (2.17)
where, u is internal energy per unit mass with suffices f and g indicating liquid and
vapour, respectively.
2.3.1 Enthalpy
In the solution of problems involving systems, certain products or sums of properties
occur with regularity. One such combination of properties is enthalpy H:
𝐻 = 𝑈 + 𝑃𝑉 (2.18)
where,
U = Total internal energy, kJ
P = Pressure, kPa
V = Volume, m3
The specific enthalpy, h, is found by dividing H by the mass: h = H/m. From Eq. (2.18):
ℎ = 𝑢 + 𝑃𝑣 (2.19)
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where,
u = Internal energy, kJ/kg.K
h = Specific enthalpy, kJ/kg
P = Pressure, kPa
v = Specific volume, m3/kg
Enthalpy is a property of a system and is also found in the steam tables. As in the
case of internal energy, in thermodynamics it is only the change in enthalpy or internal
energy that is important. Therefore, we can arbitrarily choose the datum from which
to measure h and u. We choose saturated liquid at 0°C to be the datum point for
water; there h = 0 and u = 0. From a practical point of view, the enthalpy can be treated
as the total heat content in a stream of fluid or stream of air, water or steam, which
are the common working fluids in most industries. This is illustrated in Figure 2.5
below.
Figure 2.5 shows a thermodynamic process in which a fluid stream enters with an
enthalpy of h1 and emerges from the process with an enthalpy of h2. If h1 is greater
than h2, based on the understanding of the enthalpy as total heat content, we can call
the process cooling and the other way around, the process can be called heating.
where hg is the enthalpy of saturated steam and hf is the enthalpy of saturated liquid
(obtained from the steam table for the corresponding pressure or temperature).
Corresponding phase change and the associated heat rejected or absorbed for a solid
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is called latent heat of fusion or melting. When a solid changes phase directly to a
gas, sublimation occurs. The latent heat of fusion and the latent heat of sublimation
are relatively insensitive to pressure or temperature changes. For ice, the latent heat
of fusion is approximately 330 kJ/kg and the latent heat of sublimation is about 2040
kJ/kg. The heat of vapourisation of water is very sensitive to pressure and
temperature. Figures 2.6, 2.7 and 2.8 show the Pressure-volume (P-v) and
Temperature-volume (T-v) diagrams for a pure liquid substance and the various
regions while they undergo a phase change process by absorbing or rejecting the
latent heat. The quality of the two-phase mixture in the two-phase region is defined
by a parameter called quality or dryness fraction, x, defined as:
𝑥 = 𝑚𝑔 /𝑚 (2.21)
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Note that vcr is the specific volume at the critical point of water
The various regions as shown in the P-v and T-v diagrams in Figures 2.6 and 2.7 are
defined as follows:
Compressed liquid (subcooled liquid): A substance that is not about to vapourise
Saturated liquid: A liquid that is about to vapourise
Saturated vapour: A vapour that is about to condense.
Saturated liquid–vapour mixture: The state at which the liquid and vapour phases co-
exist in equilibrium.
Superheated vapour: A vapour that is not about to condense (i.e., not a saturated
vapour).
𝑑𝑢 = 𝐶𝑣 𝑑𝑇 (2.22)
𝑑ℎ = 𝐶𝑝 𝑑𝑇 (2.23)
𝐶𝑝 − 𝐶𝑣 = 𝑅 (2.24)
𝐶𝑝 /𝐶𝑣 = γ (2.25)
The gas constant R is related to the universal molar gas constant, R (kJ/K.mol) as
follows:
R = R/M, where M is the molecular weight of the gas concerned. The universal gas
constant R is 8.314 kJ/kg.K.
Since R is a constant for an ideal gas, the specific heat ratio γ will depend only on the
temperature.
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For gases, the specific heats slowly increase with increasing temperature. Since they
do not vary significantly over large temperature differences, it is often acceptable to
treat Cv and Cp as constants.
For air, we will use Cv = 0.717 kJ/kg.K and Cp = 1.00 kJ/kg⋅K, unless otherwise stated.
For more accurate calculations with air, or other gases, one should consult ideal-gas
tables, which tabulate h(T) and u(T). For liquids and solids, the specific heat capacity
Cp is available from temperature-specific capacity tables from any standard
thermodynamic text book and can be used for the relevant computations. Since it is
quite difficult to maintain constant volume while the temperature is changing, Cv
values are usually not tabulated for liquids and solids; the difference Cp − Cv is quite
small. For most liquids the specific heat is relatively insensitive to temperature
change. For water we will use the nominal value of 4.19 kJ/kg⋅K.
𝑄 = ṁ 𝐶𝑣 𝛥𝑇 (2.28)
𝑄 = ṁ 𝐶𝑝 𝛥𝑇 (2.29)
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𝑃𝑉 γ = const. (2.32)
where n is the polytropic index which is greater than 1 but less than 1.4.
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The amount of mass that enters the device can be expressed as:
𝑚1 = ρ1 A1 V1 Δt (2.35)
𝑚2 = ρ2 A2 V2 Δt (2.36)
The quantity of mass entering or leaving a control volume per unit time is called mass
flux or mass flow rate, which for steady state remains constant.
Therefore, for steady state processes, the mass flow rate, ṁ, can be expressed as:
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control surface should be chosen sufficiently far downstream from an abrupt area
change (an entrance or a sudden contraction), that the velocity and pressure can be
assumed to be uniform.
It is also necessary to specify the process by which the flow variables change, such
as incompressible, isothermal, constant-pressure, adiabatic processes. If the working
substance behaves as an ideal gas, then the appropriate equations may be used; if
not, tabulated values must be used, e.g. the steam property table. For real gases that
do not behave as ideal gases, properties can be found from the appropriate tables.
Often heat transfer from a device or the internal energy change across a device, such
as a pump, is not desired. For such situations, the heat transfer and internal energy
change may be taken together as losses. In a pipeline, losses occur because of
friction; in a pump, losses occur because of separated fluid flow around the rotating
blades. For many devices the losses are included as an efficiency of the device. Some
of the commonly used industrial equipment with steady state flows are described
below:
Throttling devices
A throttling device involves a steady-flow adiabatic process that provides a pressure
drop with no significant potential energy changes, kinetic energy changes, heat
transfer, or work. As there is no heat transfer (being a rapid process) or work transfer
during a throttling process, the energy equation for throttling can be simplified to h1 =
h2.
Most of the valves used in industry are throttling devices, for which the above energy
equation applies. Throttling valves used in refrigeration applications cause flashing
resulting from the phase change due to a sudden pressure drop.
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For such devices operating in a steady-state mode, the energy equation can be
modified and written as:
−𝑤𝑠 = ℎ2 – ℎ1 (2.38)
ws is negative for work consuming devices like compressors and positive for work
producing devices like gas or steam turbines.
For liquids, such as water, by neglecting kinetic and potential energy changes, the
energy equation can be written as follows:
As shown in Figure above, a nozzle has a decreasing area and a diffuser has an
increasing area.
Heat exchangers
Heat exchangers are used to transfer energy from a hotter body to a colder body or
to the surroundings by means of heat transfer. Practical industrial examples of such
heat exchanges are: heat transfer from the combustion gas in a power plant to the
water in the pipes of the boiler, and the heat transfer from the hot water that leaves
an automobile engine to the atmosphere by use of a radiator. Many heat exchangers
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utilise a flow passage into which a fluid enters and from which the fluid exits at a
different temperature. The velocity does not normally change in the heat exchanger
and the pressure drop through the passage is usually neglected, and the potential
energy change is assumed to be zero. The selection of control volume for
thermodynamic system analysis purposes is depicted in Figure 2.9. The resulting
simplified energy equation for a heat exchanger is:
𝑄 = ṁ (ℎ2 – ℎ1 ) (2.41)
(a) (b)
Figure 2.9 A heat exchanger. (a) Combined unit. (b) Separated control volumes.
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(a) (b)
Figure 2.10 Violation of Second Law of Thermodynamics
where,
TH = Source temperature, K
TL = Sink temperature, K
QH = Heat absorbed, kJ
QL = Heat rejected, kJ
W = Work produced, kJ
This rule out any heat engine that is 100 percent efficient. It may be worth noting that
the two statements of the Second Law are negative statements. They are expressions
of experimental observations. However, no experimental evidence has ever been
obtained that violates either statement of the Second Law. The example below
demonstrates that the two statements are equivalent.
The heat engine that operates most efficiently between a high-temperature reservoir
and a low-temperature reservoir is the Carnot engine. It is an ideal engine that uses
reversible processes to form its cycle of operation. Therefore, it is also called a
reversible engine. The Carnot engine is very useful, since its efficiency establishes
the maximum possible efficiency of any real engine working between two temperature
limits. From an optimisation point of view, if the efficiency of a real engine is
significantly lower than the efficiency of a Carnot engine operating between the same
limits, then additional improvements may be possible.
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𝑄𝐻 – 𝑄𝐿 = 𝑊𝑛𝑒𝑡 (2.42)
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where QL is assumed to be a positive value for the heat transfer to the low-
temperature reservoir. This allows us to write the thermal efficiency for the Carnot
cycle as:
𝑄𝐿
Ƞ𝐶𝑎𝑟𝑛𝑜𝑡 = 1 − (2.43)
𝑄𝐻
𝑇𝐿
Ƞ𝐶𝑎𝑟𝑛𝑜𝑡 = 1 − (2.44)
𝑇𝐻
where,
QH = Heat transferred from the source, kJ
QL = Heat rejected to the sink, kJ
Wnet = Net work produced, kJ
𝑇𝐿
η = 1− 𝑇𝐻
(2.45)
This expression is obtained by replacing the ratio of the associated heat transfers,
QL/QH with the corresponding temperatures, TL/TH. We can make this replacement for
all reversible engines or refrigerators. We see that the thermal efficiency of a Carnot
engine is dependent only on the high and low absolute temperatures of the reservoirs.
The fact that we used an ideal gas to perform the calculations is not important since
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The Carnot engine, when operated in reverse, becomes a Carnot heat pump or a
refrigerator depending on the desired heat transfer. The coefficient of performance
(COP) for a Carnot heat pump can be expressed as:
𝑄𝐻
𝐶𝑂𝑃𝐻𝑃,𝐶𝑎𝑟𝑛𝑜𝑡 = 𝑊𝑖𝑛
(2.46)
The performance indicator, Carnot COP, just sets a limit that real devices can only
approach. The reversible cycles assumed are obviously unrealistic, but the fact that
we have limits that we know cannot be exceeded is often very helpful.
2.6 Entropy
To allow us to apply the Second Law of Thermodynamics to a process, we will identify
a property called entropy. This will parallel our discussion on the First Law; first we
stated the First Law for a cycle and then derived a relationship for a process.
𝛿𝑄 𝑄𝐻 𝑄
∮ = − 𝑇𝐿 (2.47)
𝑇 𝑇𝐻 𝐿
where the heat QL leaving the Carnot engine is considered to be positive. Using Eqs.
(2.43) and (2.44), we see that for the Carnot cycle,
𝑄𝐿 𝑇 𝑄𝐻 𝑄𝐿
𝑄𝐻
= 𝑇𝐿 or 𝑇𝐻
= 𝑇𝐿
(2.48)
𝐻
𝛿𝑄
∮ 𝑇
= 0 (2.49)
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Thus, the quantity δQ/T is a perfect differential, since its cyclic integral is zero. We let
this differential be denoted by ds, where s depends only on the state of the system.
Based on the preceding discussion, this is the definition of a property of a system.
This extensive property is widely known as entropy; its differential is given by:
𝛿𝑄
𝑑𝑆 = 𝑇
(𝑟𝑒𝑣) (2.50)
where “rev” emphasises the reversibility of the process. This can be integrated for a
process to give:
2 𝛿𝑄
𝛥𝑆 = ∫1 (𝑟𝑒𝑣) (2.51)
𝑇
From the above equation, it is evident that the entropy change for a reversible process
can be either positive or negative depending on whether energy is added to or
extracted from the system during the heat transfer process. For a reversible adiabatic
process (Q = 0) the entropy change is zero. If the process is adiabatic but irreversible,
it is not generally true that Δs = 0.
2 𝛿𝑄 𝑄
𝑠2 − 𝑠1 = ∫1 𝑇
= 𝑇𝐻 (2.52)
𝐻
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The entropy change for the reversible adiabatic process from state 2 to state 3 is zero.
For the isothermal process from state 3 to state 4, the entropy change is the negative
of the first process from state 1 to state 2; the process from state 4 to state 1 is also
a reversible adiabatic process and is accompanied with a zero-entropy change. The
heat transfer during a reversible process can be expressed in differential form as:
Hence, the area under the curve in the T-s diagram represents the heat transfer during
any reversible process. The rectangular area in Figure 2.12 represents the net heat
transfer during the Carnot cycle. Since the heat transfer is equal to the work
done for a cycle, the area also represents the net work accomplished by the system
during the cycle.
To relate the entropy change to the enthalpy change, we differentiate the definition of
enthalpy and obtain:
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where,
𝑑𝑢 = 𝐶𝑣 𝑑𝑇 (2.61)
𝑃𝑣 = 𝑅𝑇 (2.62)
Integrating and rearranging Eq (2.59), and assuming constant specific heat, yields:
𝑇 𝑃
𝑠2 − 𝑠1 = 𝐶𝑝 𝑙𝑛 (𝑇2 ) − 𝑅 𝑙𝑛 (𝑃2 ) (2.63)
1 1
If the entropy change is zero, as in a reversible adiabatic process, Eqs. (2.60) and
(2.61) can be used to obtain:
𝑇2 𝑣 (γ−1)
𝑇1
= (𝑣1 ) (2.64)
2
𝑇2 𝑃 (γ−1)/γ
𝑇1
= (𝑃2 ) (2.65)
1
𝑃2 𝑣 γ
𝑃1
= (𝑣1 ) (2.66)
2
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∅
𝑃2 ∅2 −∅1 𝑒𝑥𝑝( 2) 𝑓(𝑇2 )
𝑅
= 𝑒𝑥𝑝 ( ) = ∅ = (2.67)
𝑃1 𝑅 𝑒𝑥𝑝( 1) 𝑓(𝑇1 )
𝑅
Thus, we define a relative pressure Pr, which depends only on the temperature, as:
∅
𝑃𝑟 = 𝑒𝑥𝑝 ( ) (2.68)
𝑅
𝑃2 𝑃𝑟2
= (2.69)
𝑃1 𝑃𝑟1
Example 2.7.1
Express a pressure gauge reading of 20 mm Hg in absolute pressure at an elevation
of 3,000 m. Specific gravity of mercury = 13.6 g/cm3
Solution
Converting the gauge pressure reading into pascals,
P = ρgh = 13.6 x 1,000 (kg/m3) x 9.81(m/s2) x (20/1,000)(m) = 2,668 Pa = 2.67 kPa
(1 kg/m.s2) = 1 Pa)
The reduction in atmospheric pressure with an elevation of 3,000 m is:
dPatm@3000m = ρgh = 1.2 x 9.81 x 3,000/1000 = 35.32 kPa
Example 2.7.2
A 3,000 kg automobile travelling at 75 km/h hits the rear of a stationary 900 kg
automobile. After the collision the larger automobile slows to 60 km/h, and the smaller
vehicle has a speed of 67 km/h. Determine the increase in internal energy, taking both
vehicles as the system.
Solution
The kinetic energy before the collision can be determined as: K.Einitial = ½ ma Va2
= ½ x 3,000 (kg) × (75,000/3,600)2 (m/s)2 = 651,041 J
After the collision the kinetic energy is: K.Efinal = ½ ma Va2 + ½ mb Vb2
= ½ x 3,000 × (60,000/3,600)2 + ½ x 900 × (67,000/3,600)2 = 572,534 J
(1 kg m2/s2) = 1 J)
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where the subscript a and b refers to the first and second automobiles, respectively.
The conservation of energy requires that: K.Einitial = K.Efinal = ΔU (Change in internal
energy)
Therefore, ΔU = 651,041 – 572,534 = 78,507 J = 78.5 kJ
Example 2.7.3
A gas is contained in a vertical, frictionless piston–cylinder device. The piston has a
mass of 5 kg and a cross-sectional area of 40 cm2. A compressed spring above the
piston exerts a force of 70 N on the piston. If the atmospheric pressure is 90 kPa,
what is the pressure inside the cylinder?
Solution:
Referring to the free body diagram of the piston and balancing the vertical forces will
yield:
P x A = Patm x A + W + Fspring
Example 2.7.4
A 0.4m3 rigid vessel initially contains saturated liquid–vapour mixture of water at
150°C. The water is now heated until it reaches the critical state. Determine the mass
of the liquid water and the volume occupied by the liquid at the initial state.
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Solution
Using the steam property table (at critical point)(221.2-bar), v1 = v2 = vcr = 0.00317
m3/kg
The total mass, m = volume/specific volume = V/v = 0.4/0.00317 = 126.18 kg
From the steam table (Reference 3), for 150oC, vf = 0.001091 m3/kg and vg = 0.39248
m3/kg
The mass of the liquid and its volume at the initial state are determined as:
mf = (1-x1) x total mass (m) = (1 – 0.00531) x (126.18) = 125.5 kg
Example 2.7.5
Air enters an adiabatic nozzle steadily at 400 kPa, 250°C, and 25 m/s and leaves at
150 kPa and 170 m/s. The inlet area of the nozzle is 70 cm2. Determine (a) the mass
flow rate through the nozzle, (b) the exit temperature of the air
Assume the gas constant R = 0.287 kJ/kg.K
Solution
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b) Taking the nozzle as the system, which is also a control volume since the mass
crosses the boundary, an energy balance is written as follows:
Energy in = Energy out; Ein = Eout
Example 2.7.6
Steam flows steadily through an adiabatic turbine. The inlet conditions of the steam
are 8 MPa, 500°C, and 70 m/s, and the exit conditions are 20 kPa, 94 percent quality,
and 40 m/s. The mass flow rate of the steam is 15 kg/s. Determine (a) the power
output, and (b) the turbine inlet area
Solution
P1 = 8 MPa
T1 = 500oC
V1 = 70 m/s
Steam
ḿ = 15 kg/s
P2 = 20 kPa
x2 = 0.94
V2 = 40 m/s
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The properties from the steam property tables are read as follows:
P1 = 8 MPa = 80-bar and T1 = 500°C,
v1 = 0.0417 m3/kg, h1 = 3,398 kJ/kg; and
(a) Considering a steady state flow and negligible heat transfer (adiabatic flow), the
energy balance is expressed as follows:
ṁ (h1 + V12/2) = Wout +ṁ(h2 + V22/2)
Example 2.7.7
An inventor claims to have devised a cyclical engine for use in space vehicles that
operates with a nuclear-fuel-generated energy source whose temperature is 550 K
and a sink at 300 K that radiates waste heat to deep space. He also claims that this
engine produces 5 kW while rejecting heat at a rate of 15,000 kJ/h. Is this claim valid?
Solution
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Summary
The fundamental thermodynamic concepts are summarised in this chapter beginning
with thermodynamic systems and concepts. Following the basic concept discussion,
a review of the important units and their conversions has been presented enabling
practising engineers to perform with confidence. The other thermodynamic aspects
discussed in this chapter included: The Laws of thermodynamics, various
thermodynamic devices like pumps, compressors, nozzles and diffusers as well as
heat exchangers. Finally, this chapter also discussed the concepts surrounding
entropy with a number of illustrative examples.
References
1. Cengel Yunus, Thermodynamics: an engineering approach, McGraw-Hill, New
York, 2008.
2. Nag P. K, Engineering Thermodynamics: Tata-McGraw-Hill, New York, 1999.
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This chapter provides an introduction to some of the basic properties of steam, which
are useful in understanding how boilers and steam systems operate.
Learning Outcomes:
The main learning outcomes from this chapter are to understand:
1. The relationship between saturation temperature and pressure
2. Various properties of steam
3. How to use steam tables
3.1 Introduction
Water (H2O) is abundant on earth. Like many substances, it can exist in three physical
states, which are solid, liquid and gas. For H2O, the three states are called ice, water
and steam.
The molecular arrangement and the degree of excitation of the molecules determine
the physical state of H2O. When in the solid state, the molecules are locked together
and can only vibrate about a mean bonded position. If heat is added, the vibration
increases and when the heat added reaches a certain point, some of the molecules
break away from their bonds. At this stage, the solid starts to melt to a liquid state. At
atmospheric pressure, melting of ice occurs at 0°C.
In the liquid phase, the molecules are free to move, but are still close to each other
due to mutual attraction. When heat is added, molecular agitation and collisions
increase. The temperature of the liquid also rises until it reaches the boiling
temperature when some molecules attain sufficient kinetic energy to allow them to
escape from the liquid. However, this is momentary and they fall back into the liquid.
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Further addition of heat causes the excitation to increase so that some molecules will
have sufficient energy to leave the liquid. When this happens, bubbles of steam will
rise and break through the surface. When the number of molecules leaving the liquid
surface is more than those re-entering, the water freely vapourises into steam.
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The values of saturation temperature at different pressures are shown in Table 3.1.
Saturation
Absolute pressure (bar)
Temperature (oC)
1 99.6
1.01 (atmospheric
100
pressure)
2 120.2
3 133.5
4 143.6
5 151.8
6 158.8
7 165.0
8 170.4
9 175.4
10 179.9
11 184.1
12 188.0
13 191.6
14 195.0
15 198.3
Example 3.1
What is the saturation temperature when the pressure is 2.5-bar?
Solution
From Figure 3.2, the saturation temperature at 2.5-bar pressure is approximately
125oC.
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125oC
`
Figure 3.2 Steam temperature for Example 3.1
Example 3.2
A heating process requires steam at 200oC. What is the minimum required steam
pressure for this application?
Solution
From Figure 3.3, a steam pressure of about 15-bar is required to achieve a saturation
temperature of 200oC.
200oC
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Specific heat capacity is the amount of heat energy required to raise the temperature
per unit of mass of a substance by 1oC. In SI units, specific heat capacity is the amount
of heat in joules required to raise 1 gram of a substance by 1 Kelvin. For water, the
specific heat capacity at atmospheric pressure is 4.19 kJ/kg.K.
For water, the amount of sensible heat required to increase the temperature of 1 kg
of water from 0oC to the boiling temperature is 419 kJ/kg (4.19 kJ/kg.K x 100 K). It is
also called the “liquid enthalpy” or enthalpy of water (explained later in this chapter).
When water is heated to its boiling point, further adding of heat does not increase the
temperature of water but only results in boiling of the water to form steam. Such
heating which does not result in an increase in the temperature of the substance that
is heated but only results in a change in phase is called latent heating. The heat added
during such a process is called latent heat.
Latent heat is energy absorbed during evaporation of a liquid (or released during
condensing of a vapour) that occurs without changing its temperature. The latent heat
in SI units is expressed in joules per unit mass in grams of the substance undergoing
a change of state. For water, the amount of heat required to evaporate 1 kg of water
at its boiling point is termed the “enthalpy of evaporation”. At atmospheric pressure,
the enthalpy of evaporation of water is 2257 kJ/kg.
3 561 2164
4 605 2134
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5 640 2109
6 670 2087
7 697 2067
8 721 2048
9 743 2031
10 763 2015
11 781 2000
12 798 1986
13 815 1972
14 830 1960
15 845 1947
Example 3.3
At atmospheric pressure, how much sensible heat is required to raise 1000 kg of water
from 30oC to 70oC?
Solution
Specific heat capacity of water atmospheric pressure is 4.19 kJ/kg.K
Therefore, the sensible heat required to raise the temperature of 1,000 kg is,
Example 3.4
At a pressure of 5-bar, how much latent heat is required to boil 1,000 kg of water at
its saturation temperature?
Solution
Latent heat capacity required at 5-bar pressure (from Table 3.2) is 2,109 kJ/kg
Therefore, the total heat required to boil 1,000 kg of water at 5-bar is,
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If the water content of the steam is say 4% by mass, then the steam is said to be 96%
dry and has a dryness fraction of 0.96.
Dryness fraction of steam is defined as the ratio of the mass of actual dry steam to
the total mass of wet steam and can be expressed as:
𝑥 = 𝑚𝑔 /(𝑚𝑔 + 𝑚𝑓 ) (3.1)
𝑥 = 𝑚𝑔 /𝑚
The concept of dryness fraction will be further explained in section 3.7 of this chapter.
Example 3.5
1000 kg of steam contains 50 kg of water. What is the dryness fraction of the steam?
Solution
Dryness fraction, x = mg / mg + mf
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For instance, steam at 6-bar is at a saturation temperature of 159oC. Now if this steam
is heated to 179oC, the steam will have a superheat of 20oC at 6-bar.
Superheating steam ensures that the steam is completely dry. Superheating is used
in steam driven equipment such as turbines to avoid drop in performance due to the
presence of condensate and to prevent erosion and corrosion. However, superheated
steam is normally not used for heating applications as a higher heat transfer area will
be required when using superheated steam compared to saturated (dry) steam for the
same application. This is because the superheated steam’s density is lower in
comparison to that of saturated (dry) steam.
Example 3.6
Steam at 10-bar is at a temperature of 210oC. What is the degree of superheat of the
steam?
Solution
Saturation temperature of steam at 10-bar (from Table 3.1) is approximately 180oC.
As steam pressure increases, the density of steam also increases. Since the specific
volume is inversely related to the density, the specific volume decreases with
increased pressure.
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Figure 3.4 shows the relationship between specific volume and pressure. As can be
seen from the figure, the greatest change in specific volume occurs at lower
pressures. At higher pressures, the change in specific volume is much less.
As the specific volume of water is several orders of magnitude lower than that of
steam, the droplets of water in wet steam will occupy negligible space. Therefore, the
specific volume of wet steam is less than that of dry steam.
where,
vg = specific volume of dry steam
x = dryness fraction of the steam
Table 3.3 shows values of specific volumes of dry steam at different pressures.
Therefore, if the specific volume of wet steam is known, the dryness fraction can be
computed as shown in Example 3.7.
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2 0.89
3 0.61
4 0.46
5 0.37
6 0.32
7 0.27
8 0.24
9 0.21
10 0.19
11 0.18
12 0.16
13 0.15
14 0.14
15 0.13
Example 3.7
Steam is at 8-bar (absolute) pressure. The specific volume of the steam is 0.17 m3/kg.
Compute the dryness fraction of the steam.
Solution
From Table 3.3, the specific volume of dry steam at 8-bar is 0.24 m3/kg.
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Figure 3.5 shows the relationship between temperature and enthalpy for water when
it is heated at a constant pressure to form steam.
Temperature
(oC)
Steam
hfg
Mixture
100ºC
Water
xhfg
(1-x) hfg
hf hg Specific
enthalpy
h (kJ/kg)
Figure 3.5 Relationship between temperature and enthalpy
As indicated in Figure 3.5, when water is heated, its temperature rises steadily until it
reaches the saturation point where water cannot exist in the liquid form. At this point,
addition of heat results in the boiling of water, producing steam. Further heating
results in more steam being generated at the same temperature (saturation
temperature). When all the water has been converted into steam, further addition of
heat leads to an increase in steam temperature above the saturation temperature and
the steam is then superheated.
Enthalpy value hf refers to the enthalpy of water when it has reached the saturation
temperature while hg refers to the enthalpy of steam. The difference between hg and
hf is the latent heat of vapourisation, which is denoted by the symbol hfg. The value x
refers to the dryness fraction.
Therefore,
Some values of hf, hg and hfg at different pressures are shown in Table 3.4.
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where,
tsup = superheated temperature of steam (K)
tsat = saturation temperature of steam (K)
(tsup – tsat) = degree of superheat (K)
Cp = Specific heat capacity of steam (kJ/kg.K)
Example 3.8
A boiler is supplied with feedwater at a temperature of 70ºC. The boiler produces
steam at a pressure of 8-bar (abs.) and a temperature of 190ºC.
Determine the quantity of heat supplied per kg of steam generation (excluding losses).
Take the specific heat capacity (Cp) of superheated steam to be 2.76 kJ/kg.K.
Solution
From Table 3.4, the following enthalpy values at 8-bar pressure can be obtained
hf = 721 kJ/kg
hfg = 2,048 kJ/kg
tsat = 170.4ºC (from Table 3.1)
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higher operating pressures, more steam is required to produce the same amount of
heating as the latent heat available becomes less.
For example, condensate at 8-bar pressure (absolute) will have an enthalpy of 721
kJ/kg (from Table 3.4). However, when this condensate pressure is reduced to
atmospheric pressure, the enthalpy can be 419 kJ/kg. The difference of 302 kJ/kg
between the two enthalpy values (721 – 419) is released by evaporating part of the
condensate. The steam formed during such a pressure reduction is called flash
steam.
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Example 3.9
Determine the quantity of heat required to produce 1 kg of steam at pressure of 7-bar
(absolute) using water at a temperature of 90ºC, under the following conditions:
Solution
From Table 3.5, at 7-bar
hf = 697 kJ/kg
hfg = 2,067 kJ/kg
tsat = 165ºC
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Summary
This chapter provides an introduction to some of the basic properties of steam, which
are useful in understanding how boilers and steam systems operate. The relationship
between saturation temperature and pressure, various properties of steam and the
use of steam tables were illustrated using worked examples.
References
1. Jayamaha, Lal, Energy-Efficient Industrial Systems, Evaluation and
Implementation, McGraw-Hill, New York, 2016.
2. Rogers, G.F.C. and Mayhew, Y.R., Thermodynamic and Transport Properties of
Fluids, Oxford, 2014.
3. The Steam and Condensate Loop, Spirax Sarco Limited, England 2008.
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This chapter presents the gas power cycles with the main focus on the gas turbine
cycle or Brayton cycle.
Learning Outcomes:
The main learning outcomes from this chapter are to understand:
1. The basics of gas power cycles
2. The Brayton gas power cycle used for CHP systems
3. Thermal efficiency of the Brayton cycle
4. Various thermal efficiency enhancement techniques for the Brayton cycle
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performance. The techniques include the use of devices such as regenerators, multi-
stage compressors and expanders and intercoolers, and various combinations of
these techniques.
The gas power cycle can work on an open or closed cycle. The four main components
of a gas power cycle are compressor, combustor, turbine and heat exchanger (Figure
4.6). The gas undergoing these processes is assumed to have the characteristics of
an ideal gas. To simplify the gas power cycle analysis, the following assumptions,
known as air standard assumptions, are made:
• The air circulates continuously in a closed loop and always behaves as an
ideal gas
• All the processes that constitute the cycle are internally reversible
• The combustion process is replaced by a heat addition process from an
external source
• A heat rejection process that restores the state of the working fluid to initial
state replaces the exhaust process
In a gas compressor using the control volume energy equation, the power input to the
compressor can be expressed as follows:
where he and hi are the exit and inlet enthalpies, respectively. Here, the compressor
is considered as a fixed volume into which a gas flows and after undergoing the
compression process, the gas emerges from the compressor. Negligible heat transfer
is assumed to occur from the compressor along with negligible inlet and outlet kinetic
and potential energy changes.
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compressor unit. For high flow rates with relatively low pressure rise, a centrifugal or
axial-flow compressor is more appropriate. In such compressors, a pressure rise of
several MPa for an inlet flow rate of over 10,000 m3/min is achievable. A brief account
of the three types of compressors is given below.
Figure 4.2 P-v diagrams for an ideal and actual cycle of a reciprocating compressor
(a) Ideal cycle (b) Actual cycle
The exhaust valve then closes as shown in (d), and the piston begins its outward
motion with an isentropic expansion process until state point 4 is reached. At this
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point, the intake valve opens and the piston moves outward during the intake process
as shown in (e) until the cycle is completed.
Figure 4.2 (b) shows the actual operation of the P-v diagram. As the intake and
exhaust valves do not open and close instantaneously, the airflow around the valves
results in pressure gradients during the intake and exhaust strokes. In addition, losses
occur due to the valves, and some heat transfer may also take place. However, the
ideal cycle as shown in Figure 4.2a is simple to analyse and allows us to predict the
influence of proposed design changes on input work, maximum pressure, flow rate,
and other quantities of practical interest. The effectiveness of a compressor is partially
measured by the volumetric efficiency. The volumetric efficiency of a compressor is
defined as the ratio of the volume of gas drawn into the cylinder to the displacement
volume.
The higher the volumetric efficiency the greater the volume of air drawn in as a
percentage of the displacement volume. This can be increased if the clearance
volume V3 is decreased. To improve the performance of the reciprocating
compressor, one can remove heat from the compressor during the compression
process 1-2.
Using the control volume inlet-outlet concept, the required work of compression for an
adiabatic compressor can be expressed as:
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utilising an internal-combustion process and the simple closed cycle gas turbine,
which utilises heat-transfer processes are shown in Figures 4.4 and 4.5, respectively.
The P–v and T–s diagrams for the Brayton cycle are shown in Figures 4.6 and 4.7,
respectively.
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The analysis of the Brayton cycle can be done with the control volume concept
discussed in Chapter 2 around each of the four devices shown in Figure 4.5.
The energy and entropy equations for the components are expressed as follows:
Compressor:
The energy equation can be expressed as:
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ℎ1 + 𝑤𝑐 − ℎ2 = 0 (4.5)
𝑞=0 (4.7)
Combustion chamber:
The energy equation can be expressed as:
ℎ2 + ℎ3 − 𝑞𝐻 = 0 (4.8)
𝑑𝑞
𝑠2 − 𝑠3 + ∫ 𝑇
=0 (4.9)
𝑃3 = 𝑃2 (4.10)
Turbine:
The energy equation can be expressed as:
ℎ3 − ℎ4 − 𝑤𝑇 = 0 (4.11)
𝑠3 − 𝑠4 = 0 (isentropic) (4.12)
It is assumed that no heat is transferred from the turbine to the environment,
𝑞=0 (4.13)
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Heat exchanger:
The energy equation can be expressed as:
ℎ4 − ℎ1 − 𝑞𝐿 = 0 (4.14)
𝑑𝑞
𝑠4 − 𝑠1 − ∫ 𝑇
=0 (4.15)
𝑃4 = 𝑃1 (4.16)
The overall conversion efficiency for the cycle can be expressed as:
For an ideal cycle we know that the pressure increase in the compressor equals the
pressure decrease in the turbine, i.e.
For the two isentropic processes we get the power relations as:
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The above expression for cycle thermal efficiency was obtained assuming constant
specific heats, i.e. the specific heat capacity is independent of temperature. For more
accurate calculations, the gas tables should be used, which incorporate the effect of
temperature on specific heat. Such a gas table is known as the ideal gas property
table and is presented in the following section of this Chapter. In an actual gas turbine
cycle, the compressor and the turbine are not isentropic because of the various losses
occurring in them. These losses, which are about 15 to 20 percent, significantly
reduce the efficiency of the gas turbine cycle. That means if the compressor requires
about 60 percent of the turbine’s output (a back-work ratio of 0.6), it leaves only 40
percent useful work output. This relatively low limit of turbine work output is
experienced when the efficiencies of the compressor and turbine are too low.
The actual gas turbine engine differs from the ideal cycle primarily because of
irreversibilities in the compressor and turbine, and because of pressure drop in the
flow passages and combustion chamber (or in the heat exchanger of a closed-cycle
turbine). Thus, the state points in a simple open-cycle gas turbine might be as shown
in Figure 4.8.
The efficiencies of the compressor and turbine are defined in relation to isentropic
processes.
Referring to the state points in Figure 4.8, the isentropic efficiencies of compressor
and turbine are defined as follows:
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T 3
Qin
5'
4a
5
4s
2a
2s 6
1 Heat out
Figure 4.8 T-s diagram for an actual Brayton cycle
Another important feature of the Brayton cycle is the large amount of compressor work
(also called back-work ratio) compared to turbine work. The back-work ratio is the
ratio of compressor work, wcomp to turbine work, wturb. It is quite normal for the
compressor to consume 40 to 80% of the output of the turbine. This is particularly
important in the actual cycle as the effect of losses is considered. The losses result in
a larger amount of compression work from the amount of turbine work produced.
Thus, the overall efficiency drops very rapidly with a decrease in the efficiencies of
the compressor and turbine. In fact, if these efficiencies drop below about 60%, all the
work of the turbine will be required to drive the compressor, and the overall efficiency
will be zero. This is in sharp contrast to the Rankine cycle (covered in Chapter 5),
where only 1 or 2% of the turbine work is required to drive the pump. This
demonstrates the inherent advantage of the cycle utilising a condensing working fluid,
such that a much larger difference in specific volume between the expansion and
compression processes is utilised effectively. The expansion of steam with a greater
specific volume is taking place in a work producing device, namely, steam turbine
(where a greater specific volume will result in production of more turbine work).
Whereas, the compression process, which is by a work consuming device (pump) is
for the boiler feedwater (water with a smaller specific volume will result in lower work
of consumption of the pump). These two inherent advantages of the Rankine cycle
results in greater net work produced and hence, achieving improved thermal efficiency
for the cycle.
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and the corresponding ideal air-standard cycle with a regenerator is shown on the P–
v and T–s diagrams. In cycle 1–2–x-3–4–y-1, the temperature of the exhaust gas
leaving the turbine in state 4 is very much greater than the temperature of the gas
leaving the compressor. Therefore, heat can be recovered from the exhaust gases to
heat the high-pressure gases leaving the compressor. If this is done in a counterflow
heat exchanger (a regenerator), the temperature of the high-pressure gas leaving the
regenerator ideally will have a temperature equal to T4, the temperature of the gas
leaving the turbine. Heat transfer from the external source is necessary only to
increase the temperature from Tx to T3.
The influence of pressure ratio on the simple gas turbine cycle with a regenerator is
shown by considering cycle 1-2’-3’-4-1. In this cycle the temperature of the exhaust
gas leaving the turbine is just equal to the temperature of the gas leaving the
compressor; therefore, utilising a regenerator is not possible. This can be shown more
exactly by determining the efficiency of the ideal gas turbine cycle with a regenerator.
Referring to the state points of Figure 4.10, the thermal efficiency of this cycle with
regeneration can be derived as follows:
𝑞𝐻 = 𝐶𝑝 (𝑇3 − 𝑇𝑥 ) (4.26)
𝑤𝑡 = 𝐶𝑝 (𝑇3 − 𝑇4 ) (4.27)
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But for an ideal regenerator, T4 = Tx, and therefore qH = wt.the resulting thermal
efficiency is:
It is evident from the equation (4.28), for the ideal cycle with regeneration, the thermal
efficiency depends not only on the pressure ratio but also on the ratio of the minimum
to the maximum temperature. We note that, in contrast to the Brayton cycle, the
efficiency decreases with an increase in pressure ratio. The effectiveness or efficiency
of a regenerator is given by the regenerator efficiency, which is defined with reference
to Figure 4.10. State x represents the high-pressure gas leaving the regenerator. In
the ideal regenerator there would be only an infinitesimal temperature difference
between the two streams, and the high-pressure gas would leave the regenerator at
temperature T’x, and T’x = T4. In an actual regenerator, which must operate with a
finite temperature difference Tx, the actual temperature leaving the regenerator is
therefore less than T’x.
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If the specific heat is assumed to be constant, the regenerator efficiency can also be
written as:
Note that this expression for thermal efficiency given in eq.(4.28) is quite different from
that for the Brayton cycle. For a given pressure ratio, the efficiency increases as the
ratio of minimum to maximum temperature decreases. But, surprisingly, as the
pressure ratio increases the efficiency decreases, an effect opposite to that of the
Brayton cycle. Hence it is to be anticipated that for a given regenerative cycle
temperature ratio, there is a particular pressure ratio for which the efficiency of the
Brayton cycle will equal the efficiency of the regenerative cycle. This is shown for a
temperature ratio of 0.25 in Figure 4.13.
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Pressure Ratio
In actual practice, the temperature of the air leaving the regenerator at state 3 (Figure
4.11) must be less than the temperature of the air entering at state 5. Also, T6 > T2.
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Figure 4.13 Brayton cycle with multistage compression, intercooling, reheating and
regenerative cycle
Figure 4.14 The effect of multi-stage compression and intercooling on the work input
Figure 4.15 Brayton cycle with multistage compression, intercooling, reheating and
regenerative cycle
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The second technique for increasing thermal efficiency is through the use of a
reheater. The intermediate pressure is determined as in the compressor; we again
require that the ratios be equal; that is, P6/P7 = P8/P9. Since P9 = P1 and P6 = P4, we
see that the intermediate turbine pressure is equal to the intermediate compressor
pressure for our ideal-gas turbine. Finally, we should note that intercooling and
reheating are never used without regeneration. In fact, if regeneration is not
employed, intercooling and reheating reduce the efficiency of a gas turbine cycle.
In any actual gas turbine cycle, the temperature effect on specific heat capacity needs
to be allowed for. Figure 4.16 shows the ideal gas property table taking into account
the temperature effect of specific heat capacity.
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o o
T h u s T h u s
pr vr pr vr
(K) (kJ/kg) (kJ/kg) (kJ/kg*K) (K) (kJ/kg) (kJ/kg) (kJ/kg*K)
200 199.97 0.3363 142.56 1707.0 1.29559 450 451.80 5.775 322.62 223.6 2.11161
210 209.97 0.3987 149.69 1512.0 1.34444 460 462.02 6.245 329.97 211.4 2.13407
220 219.97 0.4690 156.82 1346.0 1.39105 470 472.24 6.742 337.32 200.1 2.15604
230 230.02 0.5477 164.00 1205.0 1.43557 480 482.49 7.268 344.70 189.5 2.17760
240 240.02 0.6355 171.13 1084.0 1.47824 490 492.74 7.824 352.08 179.7 2.19876
250 250.05 0.7329 178.28 979.0 1.51917 500 503.02 8.411 359.49 170.6 2.21952
260 260.09 0.8405 185.45 887.8 1.55848 510 513.32 9.031 366.92 162.1 2.23993
270 270.11 0.9590 192.60 808.0 1.59634 520 523.63 9.684 374.36 154.1 2.25997
280 280.13 1.0889 199.75 738.0 1.63279 530 533.98 10.37 381.84 146.7 2.27967
285 285.14 1.1584 203.33 706.1 1.65055 540 544.35 11.10 389.34 139.7 2.29906
290 290.16 1.2311 206.91 676.1 1.66802 550 555.74 11.86 396.86 133.1 2.31809
295 295.17 1.3068 210.49 647.9 1.68515 560 565.17 12.66 404.42 127.0 2.33685
300 300.19 1.3860 214.07 621.2 1.70203 570 575.59 13.50 411.97 121.2 2.35531
305 305.22 1.4686 217.67 596.0 1.71865 580 586.04 14.38 419.55 115.7 2.37348
310 310.24 1.5546 221.25 572.3 1.73498 590 596.52 15.31 427.15 110.6 2.39140
315 315.27 1.6442 224.85 549.8 1.75106 600 607.02 16.28 434.78 105.8 2.40902
320 320.29 1.7375 228.42 528.6 1.76690 610 617.53 17.30 442.42 101.2 2.42644
325 325.31 1.8345 232.02 508.4 1.78249 620 628.07 18.36 450.09 96.92 2.44356
330 330.34 1.9352 235.61 489.4 1.79783 630 638.63 19.84 457.78 92.84 2.46048
340 340.42 2.149 242.82 454.1 1.82790 640 649.22 20.64 465.50 88.99 2.47716
350 350.49 2.379 250.02 422.2 1.85708 650 659.84 21.86 473.25 85.34 2.49364
360 360.58 2.626 257.24 393.4 1.88543 660 670.47 23.13 481.01 81.9 2.50985
370 370.67 2.892 264.46 367.2 1.91313 670 681.14 24.46 488.81 78.61 2.52589
380 380.77 3.176 271.69 343.4 1.94001 680 691.82 25.85 496.62 75.50 2.54175
390 390.88 3.481 278.93 321.5 1.96633 690 702.52 27.29 504.45 72.56 2.55731
400 400.98 3.806 286.16 301.6 1.99194 700 713.27 28.80 512.33 69.76 2.57277
410 411.12 4.153 293.43 283.3 2.01699 710 724.04 30.38 520.23 67.07 2.58810
420 421.26 4.522 300.69 266.6 2.04142 720 734.82 32.02 528.14 64.53 2.60319
430 431.43 4.915 307.99 251.1 2.06533 730 745.62 33.72 536.07 62.13 2.61803
440 441.61 5.332 315.30 236.8 2.08870 740 756.44 35.50 544.02 59.82 2.63280
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Figure 4.16 Ideal gas property table with the temperature effect on specific heat
capacity
Example 4.5.1
Air enters the compressor of a gas turbine at 100 kPa and 25°C (T1). For a pressure
ratio of 5 and a maximum temperature (T3) of 850°C, determine the back-work ratio
(BWR) and the thermal efficiency for this Brayton cycle. Assume constant specific
heat.
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Solution
Back-work ratio, BWR = wcomp/wturb
Assuming constant specific heat, BWR = Cp(T2 - T1) / Cp(T3 - T4) = (T2 - T1) /(T3 – T4)
T1 = 298 K, T3 = 1,123 K, T2 = T1(P2/P1)(k-1)/k = 298 (5)0.2857 = 472 K (refer to equation
4.19, k = 1.4 for an isentropic process)
Similarly,
T4 = T3(P4/P5)(k-1)/k = 1,123 (1/5)0.2857 = 709.1 K
Therefore, the BWR = (472 – 298)/(1123 – 709) = 0.42 = 42%
The thermal efficiency is calculated as follows:
ƞthermal = 1 – (P2/P1)(1-k)/k = 1 – (5)-(0.2857) = 0.369 = 36.9%
Example 4.5.2
Assume the compressor and the gas turbine in the previous example each have an
efficiency of 75 percent. Determine the back-work ratio (BWR) and the thermal
efficiency for the Brayton cycle, assuming constant specific heats
Solution
The isentropic efficiency of the compressor is given as:
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Example 4.5.3
Add a regenerator of effectiveness 0.8 to the gas-turbine cycle in the previous
example and calculate the thermal efficiency and the back-work ratio, assuming
constant specific heats.
Solution:
Referring to the T-s diagram below:
T 3
Qin
5'
4a
5 4
2a
6
1 Heat out
S
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Example 4.5.4
In an ideal Brayton cycle, the air enters the compressor at 1-bar and 30°C. The
pressure of the air leaving the compressor is 12-bar and the maximum temperature
in the power cycle is 1,100°C. Taking the temperature effect of specific heat capacity,
determine:
a. The pressure and temperature at each point in the cycle
b. The compressor work
c. The turbine work
d. Back-work ratio
e. The thermal efficiency of the cycle.
Solution
Using the steam property table, v1 = v2 = vcr = 0.003106 m3/kg
The total mass, m = volume/specific volume = V/v = 0.4/0.003106 = 128.78 kg
(a) For the given information, T1 = 30 + 273 = 303 K, using the ideal gas property
table of Figure 4.16,
h1 = 303.2 kJ/kg, Pr1 = 1.435
Pr1/ Pr2 = P1/ P2, therefore, Pr2 = Pr1 x P2/ P1 = 1.435 x 12 = 17.22
For Pr2 = 17.22, using the ideal gas property table,
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Example 4.5.5
In an actual Brayton cycle, the air enters the compressor at 1-bar and 30°C. The
pressure of the air leaving the compressor is 12-bar and the maximum temperature
in the power cycle is 1,100°C. Determine:
a. The temperature at each point in the cycle
b. The compressor work
c. The turbine work
d. Back-work ratio
e. The thermal efficiency of the cycle
Assume the isentropic efficiencies of compressor and turbine as 80% and 85%,
respectively.
Solution
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(a) For the given information, T1 = 30 + 273 = 303 K, using the ideal gas property
table of Figure 4.16,
h1 = 303.2 kJ/kg, Pr1 = 1.435
Pr1/ Pr2 = P1/ P2, therefore, Pr2 = Pr1 x P2/ P1 = 1.435 x 12 = 17.22
For Pr2 = 17.22, using the ideal gas property table,
h2 = 616.7 kJ/kg, T2 = 609.2 K
Ƞs,comp = ws,comp / wa,comp = (h2 – h1) / (h2a – h1)
Therefore, h2a = [(616.7 – 303.2)/0.8] + 303.2 = 695.08 kJ/kg
For h2a = 695.08 kJ/kg, using the ideal gas property table,
T2a = 683 K
For the given information, T3 = 1100 + 273 = 1,373 K, using the ideal gas property
table of Figure 4.17,
h3 = 1,483.05 kJ/kg, Pr3 = 415.41
Pr3/ Pr4 = P3/ P4, therefore, Pr4 = Pr3 x P4/ P3 = 415.41/12 = 34.61
For Pr4 = 34.61, using the ideal gas property table,
h4 = 751.03 kJ/kg, T4 = 735 K
Ƞs,turb = wa,turb / ws,turb = (h3 – h4a) / (h3 – h4)
Therefore, h4a = 1,483.05 - [(1,483.05 – 751.03) x 0.85] = 860.83 kJ/kg
For h4a = 860.83 kJ/kg, using the ideal gas property table,
T4a = 835.2 K
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Example 4.5.6
Consider an ideal gas turbine cycle with two stages of compression and two stages
of expansion. The pressure ratio across each stage for the compression and
expansion is 8:1. Air enters the compressor at 1-bar and 30°C. The combustion gas
enters each turbine with a temperature of 1,100°C. In addition, the cycle is
incorporated with a regenerator with an effectiveness of 70%. Taking the effect of
temperature on the specific heat capacity, determine:
b. The compressor work
c. The turbine work
d. Back-work ratio
e. The thermal efficiency of the cycle
Solution
(a) For the given information, T1 = 30 + 273 = 303 K, using the ideal gas property
table of Figure 4.16,
h1 = 303.2 kJ/kg, Pr1 = 1.435
Pr1/ Pr2 = P1/ P2, therefore, Pr2 = Pr1 x P2/ P1 = 1.435 x 8 = 11.48
For Pr2 = 11.48, using the ideal gas property table,
h2 = 550.05 kJ/kg, T2 = 560 K
For the given information, T3 = 1,100 + 273 = 1,373 K, using the ideal gas property
table of Figure 4.16,
h3 = 1,483.05 kJ/kg, Pr3 = 415.41
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Pr3/ Pr4 = P3/ P4, therefore, Pr4 = Pr3 x P4/ P3 = 415.41/12 = 34.61
(b) Referring to the ideal Brayton cycle T-s diagram and assuming the intercooling
after the first stage of the compression cools down the compressed gas to the initial
temperature of 30oC,
The compressor work input, wcomp = 2 x (h2 – h1) = 2 x (550.05 – 303.2) = 493.7 kJ/kg
(c) Referring to the ideal Brayton cycle T-s diagram and assuming the reheating after
the first stage of the expansion reheats the compressed gas to the initial turbine inlet
temperature of 1100oC,
The turbine work, wturb = 2 x (h3 – h4) = 2 x (1,483.05 – 751.03) = 1,464 kJ/kg
Example 4.5.7
A two-stage air compressor has an intercooler between the two stages. Air enters the
compressor at 1-bar and 30°C and the air leaving the compressor has a pressure of
16-bar. The constant pressure intercooler cools the air to the inlet temperature.
Determine the specific compressor work and the intercooler heat transfer rate.
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Solution
(a) For the given information, T1 = 30 + 273 = 303 K, using the ideal gas property table
of Figure 4.16,
h1 = h3 = 303.2 kJ/kg, Pr1 = 1.435
For a two-stage compression process, the pressure ratio is 4.
Pr1/ Pr2 = P1/ P2, therefore, Pr2 = Pr1 x P2/ P1 = 1.435 x 4 = 5.74
For Pr2 = 5.74, using the ideal gas property table,
h2 = 451 kJ/kg, T2 = 450 K
Referring to the two-stage ideal Brayton cycle T-s diagram and assuming the
intercooling after the first stage of the compression cools down the compressed gas
to the initial temperature of 30oC,
The compressor work input, wcomp = 2 x (h2 – h1) = 2x(451 – 303.2) = 295.6 kJ/kg
The intercooler heat transfer rate, Qintercooler = (h2 – h3) = (451 – 303.2) =147.8 kJ/kg
Example 4.5.8
The gas turbine cycle shown in the Figure is part of a CHP system. In the first turbine,
the gas expands to a pressure of P5. The gas is then expanded in the second turbine
connected to the drive wheels. Considering the working fluid to be air throughout the
entire cycle and assuming the cycle to be an ideal one, taking the temperature effect
of specific heat, determine:
a. The intermediate pressure P5
b. The specific work output from the gas turbines
c. The mass flow rate through the turbine
d. The air temperature entering the combustor T3
e. The thermal efficiency of the gas turbine cycle
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Solution
(a) For the given pressure ratio of 8, the optimum intermediate pressure is:
Pintermediate = √𝑃1 𝑃2 = √8 = 2.83-bar
For the given information, T4 = 1,500 K, using the ideal gas property table of Figure
4.16,
h4 = h6 = 1,635.97 kJ/kg, Pr4 = 601.9
Pr4/ Pr5 = P4/ P5, therefore, Pr5 = Pr1 x P5/ P4 = 601.9/2.83 = 212.6
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(b) Referring to the ideal Brayton cycle T-s diagram and assuming the reheating after
the first stage of the expansion reheats the compressed gas to the initial turbine inlet
temperature of 1500 K,
The turbine work, wturb = 2 x (h4 – h5) = 2 x (1,635.97 – 1,239.35) = 793.24 kJ/kg
(c) For the given information, T1 = 300 K, using the ideal gas property table of Figure
4.16,
h1 = 300.19 kJ/kg, Pr1 = 1.386
Pr2/ Pr1 = P2/ P1, therefore, Pr2 = Pr1 x P2/ P1 = 1.386 x 8 = 11.08
For Pr2 = 11.08, using the ideal gas property table,
h2 = 544.06 kJ/kg, T2 = 539.7 K
The compressor work, wcomp = h2 – h1 = 544.06 – 300.19 = 243.87 kJ/kg
Net power from the gas turbine cycle, wnet = wturb - wcomp
= 793.24 – 243.87 = 549.37 kJ/kg
Pnet = ṁg x wnet; therefore, the gas mass flowrate through the turbine is:
ṁg = Pnet / wnet = 175/549.37 = 0.319 kg/s
Summary
The gas power cycle or Brayton cycle, which is widely used in combined heat and
power cycles, has been presented. The Brayton cycle analyses is done for both the
ideal and actual cycles. Various thermal efficiency improvement techniques have also
been discussed with their analysis. A number of illustrative examples are included at
the end of the Chapter to give practising industrial professionals a good feel of the
analysis of the ideal and actual Brayton cycles.
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References
1. Cengel Yunus, Thermodynamics: an engineering approach, McGraw-Hill, New
York, 2008.
2.Nag P. K, Engineering Thermodynamics: Tata-McGraw-Hill, New York, 1999.
3. Milton Meckler, Sustainable On-Site CHP Systems; Design, Construction and
Operations, McGraw-Hill, New York, 2010.
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This chapter presents the vapour power cycles with the main focus on the gas turbine
cycle or Brayton cycle.
Learning Outcomes:
The main learning outcomes from this chapter are to understand:
1. Basics of vapour power cycles
2. The Rankine vapour power cycle used for CHP systems
3. Thermal efficiency of the Rankine cycle
4. Various thermal efficiency enhancement techniques for the Rankine cycle
In this Chapter, idealised vapour power cycles are discussed and analysed.
Subsequently, an real-life cycle is considered and how the actual apparatus deviates
from the ideal is analysed. In addition, various techniques are incorporated to modify
the basic cycles that are intended to improve performance.
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Boiler
2
1 Q12 (+ve) W 23 (+ve)
W 41 (-ve) Turbine
3
Compressor
Q34 (-ve)
4 Condenser
T
1 2
4 3
s
Figure 5.2 T-s diagram of an ideal Carnot cycle
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3. The isentropic compression process 4-1 of the Carnot cycle as shown in Figure 5.2
is the compression of a two-phase (liquid–vapour) mixture to a saturated liquid. There
are two difficulties associated with the process. Firstly, it is not easy to control the
condensation process so precisely as to end up with the desired quality at state 4.
Secondly, it is not practical to design a compressor that handles two phases. Some
of these problems could be eliminated by modifying the Carnot cycle. However, such
a modified Carnot cycle could introduce other problems such as isentropic
compression to extremely high pressures and isothermal heat transfer at variable
pressures. Therefore, it is evident that the Carnot cycle is not a practical cycle and is
not a realistic model for vapour power cycles.
Referring to the T-s diagram for the Carnot cycle shown in Figure 5.2, the following
equations for various processes can be written:
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For fixed upper and lower temperature limits, the thermal efficiency of the Carnot cycle
is the highest and can be expressed as:
ƞ𝑐 = 1 − 𝑇3 /𝑇1 (5.7)
As can be seen from eq (5.7), the thermal efficiency increases with the increase of
average temperature at which heat is added to the system, or with the decrease of
average temperature at which heat is rejected from the system.
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Boiler
2
6 Q62 (+ve) W 23 (+ve)
W 56 (-ve) Turbine
3
Pump Q35 (-ve)
5 Condenser
Figure 5.3 The modified Carnot cycle (ideal Rankine cycle)
T
1 2
6
5 4 3
s
Figure 5.4 T-s diagram of an ideal Rankine cycle
As seen from Figure 5.3, the water enters the pump at state 5 as saturated liquid and
is compressed isentropically to the operating pressure and fed to the boiler as
feedwater. The water temperature increases due to a slight decrease in the specific
volume of water during this isentropic compression process. The vertical distance
between states 5 and 6 on the T-s diagram is greatly exaggerated for clarity and
simplification. It will be interesting to note that if water were truly incompressible, there
would not be a temperature change at all during this process. The feedwater enters
the boiler as a compressed liquid at state 6 and leaves as a saturated vapour at state
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2. The boiler is essentially a large heat exchanger where the heat generated from
combustion gases is transferred to the water at near constant pressure. The boiler,
together with the section where the steam is superheated, if any, is often called the
steam generator. The section of the boiler where the steam is superheated is called
the superheater.
The saturated steam vapour at state 2 enters the turbine, where it is expanded
isentropically and produces work by generating a torque on the shaft connected to an
electric generator. Both the pressure and the temperature of the steam decrease
during this process to values at state 3. At state point 3, the steam enters the
condenser. At this point, the steam is usually a saturated liquid–vapour mixture with
a relatively high quality. The steam undergoes a phase-change in the condenser and
is condensed at near constant pressure. As in the case of the boiler, a condenser is
basically a large heat exchanger exchanging heat (heat rejection) to a cooling medium
such as a lake, a river, or the atmosphere. The steam leaves the condenser at a
saturated liquid state and enters the pump, thus completing the cycle. In areas where
water is scarce and precious, the power plants are cooled by air instead of water. This
method of cooling is considered in those places where it is highly important to
conserve water.
Referring to the T-s diagram of Figure 5.4, the area under process curve 6-2
represents the heat transferred to the water in the boiler and the area under the
process curve 3-5 represents the heat rejected in the condenser. The area enclosed
by the cycle curve is the net work produced during in the cycle. As seen from the T-s
diagram, the area enclosed is the difference between the heat added in the boiler and
heat rejected in the condenser. An energy analysis of the ideal Rankine cycle includes
the four components in the cycle: the pump, boiler, turbine, and condenser, which are
steady-flow devices as described in Chapter 2 of this manual. Therefore, the four
processes that make up the Rankine cycle can be analysed as steady-flow processes.
It is to be noted that the kinetic and potential energy changes of the steam are usually
small relative to the work and heat transfer terms and are therefore usually neglected.
Referring to the T-s diagram for the Rankine cycle and using the steady flow energy
analysis described in Chapter 2, the thermal efficiency of the Rankine cycle can be
established as follows:
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As the enthalpy at point 6 is difficult to establish from the steam property table, it is
indirectly determined using the pump work equation:
Net work from the cycle, 𝑊𝑛𝑒𝑡 = 𝑊23 − 𝑊56 = 𝑄62 − 𝑄34 (5.13)
The Carnot cycle efficiency is maximum because the heat added and rejected are at
constant upper and lower temperature, respectively. In sharp contrast, for Rankine
Cycle, the heat added and rejected in the Rankine cycle are not at constant upper
and lower temperature, respectively. Therefore, the Rankine thermal efficiency is less
than that of the Carnot cycle.
As previously stated, with reference to the efficiency of the Carnot cycle, the Rankine
cycle thermal efficiency can be optimised through elevating the temperature at which
the heat is added to the cycle or decreasing the temperature at which the heat is
rejected. This can be achieved by carrying out one of the three techniques alone or
through the combination of the techniques:
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3
T 100 bar
2a
2s
0.2 bar
1 4s 4a
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Among the above stated irreversibilities, of particular importance are those associated
with the pump and the turbine. Thermodynamically, pumps and compressors are
classified as work-consuming devices whereas the turbines are work-producing
devices. The deviation of actual pumps and turbines from the isentropic ones can be
accounted for by defining isentropic efficiencies. With reference to Figure 5.5, the
isentropic efficiencies of pump and turbine are defined as:
As seen from the T-s diagram of Figure 5.5, the state points 2a and 4a are the actual
exit state points of the pump and the turbine, respectively, and 2s and 4s are the
corresponding states for the isentropic cases. The analysis of actual vapour power
cycles should also take other factors into consideration. In actual condensers, for
example, the liquid is usually sub-cooled to prevent cavitation. The rapid vapourisation
and condensation of the fluid at the low-pressure side of the pump impeller may
damage it. In addition, losses occur at the bearings between the moving parts as a
result of friction. Also, steam and air leaks during the cycle operation are other two
sources of loss, which affects the cycle thermal efficiency. Finally, the power
consumed by auxiliary equipment such as fans that supply air to the furnace should
also be considered in evaluating the overall performance of power plants. The power
plant auxiliary equipment such as feedwater pump and fan, could if possible be
optimised based on the load, which will help to improve the cycle efficiency.
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As described in the preceding section, the basic idea behind all the modifications to
increase the thermal efficiency of a power cycle remains the same: that is to increase
the average temperature at which heat is added to the steam in the boiler or decrease
the average temperature at which heat is rejected from the working fluid in the
condenser.
The three techniques that can be used for realising this for the simple ideal Rankine
cycle are described below:
T
1 2
Initial condenser
pressure, P4 5
5' 4 3
As seen from the Rankine cycle T-s diagram in the preceding section, the heat
rejection process line can be lowered by reducing the condenser pressure in the cycle.
This in turn reduces the heat rejection temperature and improving the cycle thermal
efficiency. Steam from the turbine enters as a saturated mixture in the condenser at
the saturation temperature corresponding to the pressure inside the condenser. As a
result, lowering the operating pressure of the condenser will translate into a lower
temperature of the steam, which means the temperature at which heat is rejected is
reduced as well. Figure 5.6 shows the effect of lowering the condenser pressure on
the Rankine cycle efficiency. It is to be noted that for performance comparison, the
turbine inlet state is maintained the same. The shaded area on this diagram
represents the increase in net work output as a result of lowering the condenser
pressure from P4 to P4’.
As seen from the Figure, the heat input requirements also increase, represented by
the area under curve 5’-1-2, but this increment is very small. Therefore, the net effect
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When the condenser pressure is lowered, it may cause leakage into the condenser of
lower condenser pressure, which is less than atmospheric pressure. A very low
condenser pressure also increases the moisture content of the steam at the final
stages of the turbine, as can be seen from Figure 5.6. The presence of large quantities
of moisture is not desirable as it decreases the turbine efficiency and subjects turbine
blades to erosion and damage.
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3 Superheater
Boiler Q34 (+ve)
4
1 Q (+ve) W 45 (+ve)
13
Turbine
W 61 (-ve)
5
Pump Q56 (-ve)
6 Condenser
Figure 5.7 Superheating of steam in a Rankine cycle
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T 4
2 3
6 5' 5
Increase in W net
s
Figure 5.8 T-s diagram showing superheating of steam in a Rankine cycle
The effects of superheating the steam in the boiler are summarised below:
3 Superheater
Boiler Q34 (+ve)
4
1 Q (+ve) W 45 (+ve)
13
Turbine
W 61 (-ve)
5
Pump Q56 (-ve)
6 Condenser
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Increase in W net
T 4'
2' 4
3'
2 3
1'
1
6 5' 5
Decrease in W net
s
Figure 5.9 T-s diagram showing increasing of pressure in a Rankine cycle
Another way of increasing the average temperature during the heat-addition process
is to increase the operating pressure of the boiler. This, in turn, raises the average
temperature at which heat is transferred to the steam and thus raises the thermal
efficiency of the cycle. From the first principle, it is clear that increasing boiler pressure
will cause the temperature of heat addition to rise. This will result in a thermal
efficiency increase of the Rankine cycle. The effect of increasing the boiler pressure
is shown in Figure 5.9. As can be seen from the figure, the dryness fraction of steam
decreases, which is not desirable. However, this low dryness fraction or steam quality
issue can be corrected through reheating the steam.
Operating pressures of boilers have gradually increased over the years from about
28-bar in 1922 to over 300-bar today, generating enough steam to produce a net
power output of 1 GW or more in a large power plant. There are many modern
supercritical steam power plants.
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Superheater Reheater
Q34 (+ve) Q56 (+ve)
Boiler
3 6
4 5 W 67 (+ve)
1 Q (+ve)
13
Turbine
W 81 (-ve)
W 45 (+ve) 7
Pump Turbine Q56 (-ve)
8 Condenser
4
6
T 3
2
5
1
8 7
s
Figure 5.11 T-s diagram showing reheating of steam in a Rankine cycle
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1. Superheat the steam to very high temperatures before it enters the turbine. This
will bring in the desirable effect of increasing the average temperature thus increasing
the cycle thermal efficiency. However, this is not a viable option because of the
metallurgical limitation in withstanding very high temperatures.
Referring to the T-s diagram for the reheat cycle shown in Figure 5.11, the total heat
input and the total turbine work output for a reheat cycle are expressed as follows:
The incorporation of the single reheat generally improves the cycle thermal efficiency
by about 4 to 5 percent resulting from the increase in the average temperature at
which heat is added in the boiler. It is to be noted that the average temperature during
the reheat process can be increased by increasing the number of expansion and
reheat stages. As the number of stages is increased, the expansion and reheat
processes approach to the most efficient process in thermodynamics, namely an
isothermal process at the maximum temperature.
In general, the use of more than two reheat stages is not technically and economically
feasible. The theoretical improvement in efficiency from the second reheat is about
half of that which results from a single reheat. If the turbine inlet pressure is not high
enough, double reheat would result in superheated exhaust. This is undesirable as it
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would cause the average temperature for heat rejection to increase and thus the cycle
efficiency to decrease. The reheat temperatures are very close or equal to the turbine
inlet temperature. The optimum reheat pressure is about one-fourth of the maximum
cycle pressure. For example, the optimum reheat pressure for a cycle with a boiler
pressure of 160-bar is about 40-bar. The reheat cycle, which is essentially deployed
to reduce the moisture content at the latter stage of the expansion, could be avoided
if there are suitable materials available to withstand very high temperature resulting
from superheating.
The effects of two-stage expansion of the steam with reheating is summarised below:
5.4 Regeneration
The average temperature at which the heat is added to the steam in the boiler is
affected by the temperature at which the feedwater enters the boiler. If this
temperature can also be increased by deploying certain practical techniques, the
thermal efficiency of the Rankine cycle could be further improved. One such technique
is called regeneration. The regeneration process is realised by extracting or “bleeding”
steam from turbine at various points. Extracted steam is used to heat the feedwater
using a heat exchanger called feedwater heater or regenerator. Feedwater heaters
can be of two types - open feedwater heater and closed feedwater heater. In both
types, heat exchange takes place between the bled steam and the feedwater in either
a direct or indirect manner.
In an open feedwater heater, the heat is transferred from the steam to the feedwater
by direct mixing of two fluid streams. Whereas in a closed feedwater heater, the heat
is transferred from the steam to the feedwater without mixing the two fluid streams.
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W 23 (+ve)
2 W 34 (+ve)
Boiler Turbine
4 (1-y) kg
Q12 (+ve) 3
Q45 (-ve)
1
y kg
Condenser
W 71 (-ve) 5
Feed Pump W 56 (-ve)
6
Feed Pump
7
Open Feed Heater (mixed)
T 1 1 kg
6'
3
6 7 y kg
5
(1-y) kg 4
s
Figure 5.13 T-s diagram for an open feedwater heater in a Rankine cycle
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As shown in Figure 5.12, in an ideal regenerative Rankine cycle, steam enters the
turbine at the boiler pressure at state point 2 and expands isentropically to an
intermediate pressure of state point 3. After this intermediate expansion, some steam
is extracted at this state point 3 and routed to the feedwater heater. The remaining
steam continues to expand isentropically to the condenser pressure at state point 7.
This steam leaves the condenser as a saturated liquid at the condenser pressure at
state point 1. The condensed water (the feedwater) enters an isentropic pump, where
it is pumped to the feedwater heater pressure of state point 2. The pressurised
feedwater is routed to the feedwater heater, where it mixes with the steam extracted
from the turbine. The fraction of the steam is extracted in such a manner that the
mixture leaves the heater as a saturated liquid at the heater pressure of state point 3.
A second pump increases the pressure of the feedwater to the boiler pressure of state
point 4. The feedwater is then heated to the turbine inlet temperature at state point 2,
hence, completing the cycle.
Referring to the T-s diagram of Figure 5.13, the open feedwater heater cycle is
illustrated as follows:
For each 1 kg of steam leaving the boiler, y kg expands partially in the turbine and is
extracted at state point 3. The remaining (1-y) kg expands completely to the
condenser pressure. Therefore, the mass flow rates are different in different
components. For instance, if the mass flow rate through the boiler is m· , for example,
it is (1-y)m· through the condenser. This aspect of the regenerative Rankine cycle
should be considered in the analysis of the cycle as well as in the interpretation of the
areas on the T-s diagram.
Referring to the T-s diagram of the open feedwater heater, the expression for the heat
and work expressions in the cycle are expressed as follows:
𝑞𝑖𝑛 = ℎ2 − ℎ1 (5.21)
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Referring to the Figure 5.13, for an isentropic process (entropy, S = constant), the
entropies can be related as follows:
As seen from the preceding discussion, the thermal efficiency of the Rankine cycle
increases through the increase in the average temperature at which the heat is added
through the use of OFWH. It is to be noted that the thermal efficiency can be further
improved by increasing the number of OFWHs in the cycle. It is common in many
large plants in operation today to use as many as eight open feedwater heaters.
However, the optimum number of feedwater heaters needs to be determined by
carrying out a cost benefit analysis in terms of economic considerations.
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W 23 (+ve)
2 W 34 (+ve)
Boiler Turbine
y kg
3 4 (1-y) kg
Q12 (+ve)
Q45 (-ve)
1 9
Mixing 5
8 7 W 56 (-ve)
chamber 6
Feed Pump
W 78 (-ve) Closed Feed Heater
Feed Pump
Figure 5.14 Closed feedwater heater in a Rankine cycle
T
8 1 kg
1
9 3
6
7 y kg
5
(1-y) kg 4
s
Figure 5.15 T-s diagram showing closed feedwater heater in a Rankine cycle
The function of a trap is to trap the vapour while allowing liquid to be throttled to a
lower pressure region. The process across the trap is an isenthalpic process, i.e. the
inlet and outlet enthalpies remain the same.
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The comparison between open and closed feedwater heaters can be summarised as
follows:
• Open feedwater heaters (OFWH) are simple in construction and inexpensive
and have good direct heat transfer characteristics
• OFWHs can bring the feedwater to the saturation state
• For each OFWH, a pump is required to handle the feedwater
• CFWHs are more complex because of the internal tubing network. As a result
they are more expensive
• Heat transfer in a CFWH is less effective because it is indirect
• However, a CFWH does not require a separate pump for each heater since
the extracted steam and the feedwater can be at different pressures
• Most steam power plants use a combination of open and closed feedwater
heaters
Example 5.5.1
A steady-flow Carnot cycle uses water as the working fluid. Water changes from
saturated liquid to saturated vapour as heat is transferred to it from a source at 300oC.
Heat rejection takes place at a pressure of 30 kPa. Show the cycle on a T-s diagram
relative to the saturation lines, and determine
(a) the thermal efficiency, (b) the amount of heat rejected, and (c) the net work output.
Solution
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Example 5.5.2
Consider a steady-flow Carnot cycle with water as the working fluid. The maximum
and minimum temperatures in the cycle are 370.6oC and 70.6oC. The quality of water
is 0.881 at the beginning of the heat-rejection process and 0.1 at the end. Show the
cycle on a T-s diagram relative to the saturation lines, and determine (a) the thermal
efficiency, (b) the pressure at the turbine inlet, and (c) the net work output.
Solution
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Example 5.5.3
A steam power plant operates on a simple ideal Rankine cycle between the pressure
limits of 40-bar and 0.06-bar. The temperature of the steam at the turbine inlet is
350oC, and the mass flow rate of steam through the cycle is 40 kg/s. Show the cycle
on a T-s diagram with respect to saturation lines and determine (a) the thermal
efficiency of the cycle and (b) the net power output of the power plant.
Solution:
Referring to the T-s diagram and using the given pressures and temperature, from
the steam table:
h4 = 3094 kJ/kg, s4 = 6.584 kJ/kg K
Also, s4 = s5 = [email protected] + x5 [email protected], 6.584 = 0.521 + (x5 x 7.808)
Therefore, x5 = 0.777
h5 = [email protected] + x5 [email protected], h5 = 152 + (0.777 x 2,415) = 2,028.5 kJ/k
Ƞthermal, Rankine = wnet/ Qin = (wturb – wpump) / Qin
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Example 5.5.4
A simple ideal Rankine cycle which uses water as the working fluid operates its
condenser at 45oC and its boiler at 350oC. Calculate the work produced by the turbine,
the heat supplied in the boiler, and the thermal efficiency of this cycle when the steam
enters the turbine without any superheating.
Solution
Referring to the T-s diagram and using the given pressures and temperature, from
the steam table:
h2 = 2,565 kJ/kg, s2 = 5.214 kJ/kg K
Also, s2 = s3 = sf@45C + x3 sfg@45C, 5.214 = 0.521 + (x5 x 7.808)
Therefore, x5 = 0.777 = 77.7%
h5 = [email protected] + x5 [email protected], h5 = 152 + (0.777 x 2415) = 2,028.5 kJ/k
Ƞthermal, Rankine = wnet/ Qin = (wturb – wpump) / Qin
wturb=h4 – h5 = 3,094 – 2,028.5 = 1,065.5 kJ/kg
wpump = [email protected] x (P2 – P5) x 100 = 0.001 x (40 – 0.06) x 100 =3.99 kJ/kg
Also, wpump = h1 – h6 , therefore, h1 = wpump + h6 = 3.99 + 152 = 156 kJ/kg
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Example 5.5.5
Consider a 250 MW steam power plant that operates on a simple ideal Rankine cycle.
Steam enters the turbine at 10 MPa and 500oC and is cooled in the condenser at a
pressure of 10 kPa. Show the cycle on a T-s diagram with respect to saturation lines,
and determine (a) the quality of the steam at the turbine exit, (b) the thermal efficiency
of the cycle, and (c) the mass flow rate of the steam.
Solution
4
T 2 100 bar 3
1
0.1 bar
6 5
s
Referring to the T-s diagram and using the given pressures and temperature, from
the steam table:
(a) For 10 MPa = 100-bar and 500oC
h4 = 3,373 kJ/kg, s4 = 6.596 kJ/kg K
Also, s4 = s5 = [email protected] + x5 [email protected], 6.596 = 0.649 + (x5 x 7.5)
Therefore, x5 = 0.793 = 79.3%
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Example 5.5.6
A steam Rankine cycle operates between the pressure limits of 100-bar in the boiler
and 20 kPa in the condenser. The turbine inlet temperature is 450oC. The turbine
isentropic efficiency is 90 percent, the pump losses are negligible, and the cycle is
sized to produce 3 MW of power. Calculate the mass flow rate through the boiler, the
power produced by the turbine, the rate of heat supply in the boiler, and the thermal
efficiency
Solution
4
T 2 100 bar
3
1
0.2 bar
5 4s 4a
Referring to the T-s diagram and using the given pressures and temperature, from
the steam table:
(a) For 100-bar and 450oC
h4 = 3,241 kJ/kg, s4 = 6.484 kJ/kg K
Also, s4 = s4s = [email protected] + x4s [email protected], 6.484 = 0.832 + (x4s x 7.5)
Therefore, x5 = 0.754 = 75.4%
h4s = [email protected] + x4s [email protected], h4s = 251 + (0.754 x 2,358) = 2,028.9 kJ/k
Ƞs,turb = (wa,turb / ws,turb) = (h4 – h4a) / (h4 – h4s)
That is, 0.9 = (3,241 - h4a) / (3,241 – 2,028.9)
Therefore, h4a = 2,150.1 kJ/kg
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wpump = [email protected] x (P5 – P1) x 100 = 0.001 x (100 – 0.2) x 100 =9.98 kJ/kg
wnet = wturb – wpump = (3,241 – 2150.1) – 9.98 = 1,080.92 kJ/kg
Pnet = ṁsteam x wnet; that is: 3 x 1,000 = ṁsteam x 1,080.92
Therefore, ṁsteam = 2.78 kg/s
Power from the turbine, Pturb = ṁsteam x (h4 - h4a) = 2.78 x (3,241 – 2,150.1) = 3,032
kW
Heat supplied in the boiler, Qin = (h4 – h1)
wpump = h1 – h6 , therefore, h1 = wpump + h6 = 9.98 + 251 = 261 kJ/kg
Therefore, Pin = ṁsteam x (h4 – h1) = 2.78 x (3241 – 261) = 8,284.4 kW
Ƞthermal, Rankine = Pnet/ Pin = 3,000/8,284.4 = 0.362 = 36.2%
Example 5.5.7
An ideal reheat Rankine cycle with water as the working fluid operates the boiler at
17,000 kPa, the reheater at 3,000 kPa, and the condenser at 90 kPa. The temperature
is 500oC at the entrance of the high-pressure and low-pressure turbines. The mass
flow rate through the cycle is 1.89 kg/s. Determine the power used by pumps, the
power produced by the cycle, the rate of heat transfer in the reheater, and the thermal
efficiency of this system
Solution
4
T 2 170 bar 6
3
1 30 bar
5
0.9 bar
8 7
Referring to the T-s diagram and using the given pressures and temperature, from
the steam table:
(a) For 170-bar and 500oC
h4 = 3,281 kJ/kg, s4 = 6.26 kJ/kg K
sg@30bar = 6.186 kJ/kg K
Also, s4 = s5 = 6.26 kJ/kg K
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Since s4 = 6.26 > sg@30bar, the steam is still superheated after the first stage of
expansion.
For 30-bar and 6.26 kJ/kg K, from the superheated steam property table,
h5 = 2,842.5 kJ/kg
For 30-bar and 500oC
h6 = 3,456 kJ/kg, s6 = 7.233 kJ/kg K
Also, s6 = s7 = [email protected] + x7 [email protected], 7.233 = 1.27 + (x4s x 6.124)
Therefore, x7 = 0.973 = 97.3%
h7 = [email protected] + x7 [email protected] = 405 + (0.973 x 2,266) = 2,609.8 kJ/k
Ppump = ṁfw x wpump (Assumed ṁfw = ṁsteam)
wpump = [email protected] x (P1 – P8) x 100 = 0.001 x (170 – 0.9) x 100 =16.91 kJ/kg
Therefore, Ppump = 1.89 x 16.91 = 31.96 kW
The total heat input rate in the cycle, Pin = ṁsteam x [(h4 – h1) + (h6 – h5)]
wpump = h1 – h8 , therefore, h1 = wpump + h8 = 16.91 + 405 = 421.91 kJ/kg
Pin = 1.89 x [(3,281 – 421.91) + (3,456 – 2,842.5)] = 6,563.2 kW
Ƞthermal, Rankine = Pnet/ Pin = 2,396/6,563.2 = 0.365 = 36.5%
Example 5.5.8
A steam power plant operates on an ideal regenerative Rankine cycle. Steam enters
the turbine at 6 MPa and 450oC and is condensed in the condenser at 20 kPa. Steam
is extracted from the turbine at 0.4 MPa to heat the feedwater in an open feedwater
heater. Water leaves the feedwater heater as a saturated liquid. Show the cycle on a
T-s diagram and determine (a) the net work output per kilogram of steam flowing
through the boiler and (b) the thermal efficiency of the cycle.
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Solution
W23 (+ve)
2 W34 (+ve)
Boiler Turbine
y kg
Condenser
W71 (-ve) 5 W (-ve)
Feed Pump 6
56
Feed Pump
7
Open Feed Heater (mixed)
2
60 bar
T
1
6' 4 bar 3
6 7
5 0.2 bar
4
s
Referring to the T-s diagram and using the given pressures and temperature, from
the steam table:
(a) For 90-bar and 600oC
h2 = 3,633 kJ/kg, s2 = s3 = s4 = 6.958 kJ/kg K
sg@4bar = 6.897 kJ/kg K
Since s3 = 6.958 > sg@4bar, the steam is still superheated after the first stage of
expansion.
For 4-bar and 6.958 kJ/kg K, from the superheated steam property table,
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h3 = 2,766 kJ/kg
Also, s3 = s4 = [email protected] + x4 [email protected], 6.958 = 0.832 + (x4 x 7.075)
Therefore, x4 = 0.865 = 86.5%
h4 = [email protected] + x4 [email protected] = 251 + (0.865 x 2,358) = 2,290.7 kJ/k
Pump work input, w5-6 = [email protected] x (P6 – P5) x 100 = 0.001 x (4 – 0.2) x 100
= 0.38 kJ/kg
Pump work input, w7-1 = vf@4bar x (P1 – P7) x 100 = 0.001 x (90 – 4) x 100
= 8.6 kJ/kg
wnet = wturb – wpump = (h2 – h3) + (h3 – h4) – (w5-6 + w7-1)
= (3,633 – 2,766) + (2,766 – 2,290.7) – (0.38 + 8.6) = 1,333.3 kJ/kg
Summary
The vapour power cycle, also known as the Rankine cycle, which is widely used in
combined heat and power cycles has been presented. The working fluid in the
Rankine cycle is steam. Both the ideal and actual Rankine cycles have been
presented and analysed thermodynamically. Various thermal efficiency improvement
techniques have also been discussed with their analysis. A number of illustrative
examples are included at the end of the chapter to give practising industrial
professionals a good feel of the analysis of the ideal and actual Rankine cycles.
References
1.Cengel Yunus, Thermodynamics: an engineering approach, McGraw-Hill, New
York, 2008.
2.Nag P. K, Engineering Thermodynamics: Tata-McGraw-Hill, New York, 1999.
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Learning Outcomes:
The main learning outcomes from this chapter are to understand:
1. Different types of prime movers
2. Selection of prime movers
3. Advantages and disadvantages of different types of prime movers
4. Applications of CHP systems involving the prime movers
6.1. Introduction
As discussed in the preceding sections of this reference manual, co-generation or tri-
generation CHP systems, produce both electrical power and useful heat from the
same fuel source. In any CHP system, one group burns the fuel to produce heat in
order to produce rotary power for electricity, where heat is a by-product. Some CHP
systems derive electricity directly from the chemical process of oxidation of fuel, and
again heat is a by-product. In the most common group of CHP systems, fuel is directly
burned in a prime mover process. Examples of such a CHP group include internal
combustion engines and combustion turbines. In each case, the combustion follows
the expansion of the combustion gases, resulting in outputs of rotary power to drive
an electrical generator. With internal combustion, the hot gases expand inside a
cylinder with a piston and the expansion drives the piston. These prime movers are
called internal combustion engines, e.g. automotive engines, and are closely related
to vehicle engines.
A second group of fuel-fired CHP systems burns the fuel in a boiler to produce high
pressure and often superheated steam. The steam produced is delivered to a steam
turbine. Expansion of steam through the turbine blades produces rotary power which
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drives an electrical generator. The steam turbine process is often used in large
commercial electricity generation power plants.
When the CHP system is used with steam driving the turbine, the heat energy rejected
during condensation can be used for space heating or cooling of buildings or various
industrial processes. For this to work, the discharged steam from the turbine must be
piped to a low-pressure steam heat use, which is needed at the same time as the
steam turbine operation. This necessitates a balance between a thermal load
recovered from the turbine exhaust and the power output of the steam turbine. Boilers
with supplementary firing and thermal storage systems are common in industry to help
balance load requirements.
It is important to ensure that temperature and pressure of the exhaust steam matches
the load requirements. It is worthwhile to note that the lower the temperature and
pressure needed by the facility, the more energy is available to the steam turbine.
Note that in comparison to gas turbines, boilers and steam-driven turbines have more
flexibility in the fuel which drives the process. Steam necessary to drive a steam
turbine can be produced by any fuel which can be burned in a boiler or waste heat
derived from a process. In a combined cycle power plant, waste heat from a gas-fired
combustion turbine produces steam that drives a steam turbine or is injected back
into the combustion turbine for additional power. A common application today is to
install a backpressure steam turbine in an existing steam boiler and steam distribution
system. Boilers are sometimes operated at higher pressure than is required to deliver
the steam, and with a backpressure steam turbine, steam expands through the turbine
to the lower pressure needed to deliver the steam to the loads served, producing
power as a by-product.
Another type of CHP set-up is using a fuel cell, which does not need mechanical
energy to produce electricity. A chemical reaction occurs within the cells through the
combining of hydrogen and oxygen. The products of that chemical reaction are
electrical energy, water vapour, and heat. The source of the hydrogen could be natural
gas or town gas depending upon the availability of such sources. The natural gas or
town gas undergoes a fuel refining process producing the hydrogen gas. In CHP
plants, the waste heat is used to meet the heating energy needs of buildings or
processes. The temperature of the waste heat depends on the specific fuel cell
process. While the temperature in some fuel cell processes is quite low (e.g. 65oC to
85oC for Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cells, PEMFC), in other processes, the
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waste heat temperature is high enough (e.g. 75oC to 1000oC for Solid Oxide Fuel
Cells, SOFC) to produce steam for a combined process.
In this Chapter, the different types of prime movers used in CHP systems are
discussed. The power produced by the prime mover is typically used to generate
electricity. The power generated can also be used as mechanical power to drive
pumps, chillers, and compressors in an industrial set-up. As noted, heat may be
produced directly in the prime mover, and/or heat can be recovered from the prime
mover exhaust stream using an appropriate heat recovery method. Heat recovery is
a critical component of CHP systems which essentially reduces the fuel input energy
wastage. Subsequently, the recovered heat is used to produce additional power, hot
water, steam, chilled water, and/or desiccant dehumidification.
Generally, CHP prime movers can be classified into two types, namely: fuel-to-power
equipment (FPE) and thermal-to-power equipment (TPE). The FPE prime mover
equipment is fired with premium gaseous fuels such as natural gas, methane from
wastewater plants or landfills, or liquid fuels such as light oils, biofuels. It is to be noted
that fuel cells are a fuel-to-energy process. Hence fuel cells do not produce rotary
power and are not considered as prime movers.
In Singapore and the region, natural gas (NG) is the preferred fuel as it is readily
available via a piped distribution system from Indonesia and Malaysia. Furthermore,
with the commissioning of the Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) terminals in Jurong Island,
an NG based industrial system’s operational reliability is unmatched. Natural gas is
cleaner than fuel oil, coal, wood, or agricultural waste, etc.
NG has a smaller carbon footprint than most other fuels. NG, therefore, may not have
the environmental problems associated with other such fuels.
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A typical CHP system requires many other additional components and/or systems to
constitute a complete CHP plant. However, the actual requirements may vary
depending on the CHP system itself. Experience suggests that the following
components/systems are common to many CHP applications in the industry:
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• Integration technology/system for integrating voltage and phase with local grid
supplies
• Control system for the plant and engine
A waste heat recovery system can be used to recover the waste heat available from
prime movers and converting it to useful outputs such as power, process heat loads
through the generation of hot water or steam or building cooling with the help of
absorption chillers. It is to be noted that in Singapore and the region, the most
common application of CHP systems is to provide steam, hot water, and/or chilled
water for process heating and cooling. CHP systems producing two and three useful
outputs simultaneously from the same fuel source are called co-generation and tri-
generation systems, respectively and will be discussed in detail in Chapter 7.
A comparison of the prime movers commonly used in CHP systems is given in Table
6.1. This comparison will be helpful for facility managers, engineers and operators
alike to understand equipment considerations and how prime movers integrate into
their complete CHP system. This in turn will help them to be more effective and
productive in their day-to-day management of their CHP systems and thereby
increasing the CHP system’s operational efficiency.
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Size (MW) 0.05 - >10 0.05 - 7 1 - 200 Any size 0.025 – 0.02 –
0.25 0.4
Electrical 30 - 50 25 - 40 25 – 40 (simple) 30 - 42 20 - 30 40 – <
Efficiency (%) 40 – 60 (combined) 50
Fuels Used Diesel and NG, NG, biogas, All NG, H2,
residual oil biogas, propane, distillate biogas, NG,
propane oil propane, propan
distillate e
oil
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It is worth noting that the basic criterion for a CHP system is that it produces both
thermal and electrical energy from a single fuel source. In this respect, CHP differs
from the typical electrical power generation plant today. The other factor in the
economic feasibility of a CHP system is an attractive utilisation factor (U.F) i.e.the
almost complete use of the input energy value with the help of an effective heat
recovery system. The recovered heat is generally used for process heating to pre-
heating applications depending on the quality of the recovered heat.
There are different choices and methods available when developing a CHP system.
One basic configuration of a CHP system is the use of an internal combustion (IC)
reciprocating engine or combustion turbine generator (CTG) with heat recovery
equipment capturing exhaust heat and heat from the IC engine cooling jacket, etc.
The IC engine type of system is most often used where the electrical loads are 2 to 3
MW or less, and where the need for thermal heat is low in comparison to the need for
electrical power (for a relatively low heat to power ratio application). Since IC engine
prime movers tend to be more fuel efficient than combustion turbines, there is
proportionally more electrical power and less heat energy derived per unit fuel energy
input.
IC engines are available in the market with sizes ranging from less than 50 kW to
more than 15 MW. The CTGs’ capacities range from approximately 1 MW to over 100
MW. The CTGs require high-pressure gas supply or gas compressors to provide the
necessary gas pressure. Typically, the CTGs have higher exhaust temperatures and
higher volume exhaust. Hence, CTGs are used for applications where high-
temperature recovered heat is required, such as high-pressure steam, or low-
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pressure high-temperature oil. CHP systems using CTG as the prime mover also have
higher heat-to-power ratios than IC engine-based CHP systems. Hence, applications
requiring high year-round, 24 hours-a-day heat loads are better candidates for CTG
based CHP systems.
On the other hand, internal combustion engine-based systems are most suited for
applications which require lower recovered waste heat temperatures, such as hot
water or low-pressure steam of less than about 1 bar. It is worth noting that IC engines
can be used with lower quality fuels, e.g. methane gas from a wastewater treatment
plant or a garbage landfill. Generally, IC engine-based CHP systems require less
specialised maintenance, training, and auxiliary equipment than CTG-based CHP
systems.
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Both the engines (SI and CI) are available to operate in either a 4 or 3 stroke
combustion cycle. The 4 strokes of the 4-stroke cycle are: intake, compression,
power, and exhaust. Engines can be either naturally aspirated or turbocharged
engines. In naturally aspirated engines, air and fuel are mixed in a carburetor and the
intake stroke draws in the fuel-air mixture. Whereas a turbocharged engine has a
compressor which compresses air and discharges that air into the combustion
chamber during the intake stroke. To eliminate carburetors or external mixing of fuel
and air, in most cases, only the air is injected by the turbocharger and fuel is directly
injected into the combustion chamber. In either case, a turbocharged engine can
deliver more power because there is a greater density of fuel and air in the process.
The 2-stroke cycle differs from the 4-stroke cycle in that it combines the power and
intake strokes into one stroke while the exhaust and compression strokes are
combined into a second common stroke. Start-up time for reciprocating engines can
be fast, around 10 seconds for diesel-fueled engines. Generally, warm-up times take
significantly longer and depend upon the mass of the system. In cold climates (not
applicable in Singapore), the warm-up time can be reduced if the system includes a
crankcase heater to keep the engine warm. Therefore, it is recommended to consider
a crankcase heater as mandatory for a CHP system serving as an emergency power
system in an industrial facility in cold climates.
As the name suggests, in spark ignition engines, a spark is added at the end of the
compression stroke that ignites the fuel-air mixture to start the power stroke.
Compression ignition engines differ from spark ignition engines, in that there is no
spark added to the air-fuel mixture to start combustion. Instead, the intake air is
compressed by the piston’s motion reducing the volume of the cylinder. A CI engine
uses a very high compression ratio which heats the air in the chamber to a point high
enough to ignite the fuel. At the top of the compression stroke fuel is injected into the
hot compressed air in the combustion chamber causing a spontaneous ignition. The
heat of combustion develops very high pressure which drives the piston in an
expansion stroke. When a compression engine is first started a glow plug is heated
by an electric source. Once the engine is running and hot, the glow plug is no longer
needed.
The most common fuel used in CI engine is diesel fuel (No. 2 oil). CI engines can also
be fueled by a wide range of petroleum products (up to No. 6 oil). CI engines, also
referred to as Diesel cycle engines, can also be fired with gaseous fuel in combination
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with liquid fuel, called pilot oil, used as the ignition agent in dual fuel engines. Note
that the fuel in a compression cycle engine needs to have a fairly high flash point to
prevent ignition until full compression is achieved at the top of the piston stroke.
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The total amount of available waste heat from an engine is the total amount of fuel
energy input less the energy value of the rotary power produced. It is to be noted that
all the waste heat produced cannot be usefully recovered. As an example, engine
heat loss by radiation and convection to the space is not possible to recover. Also,
the heat carried away by the water vapour resulting from the combustion of fuel cannot
be recovered. Condensation in the exhaust is avoided because of potential corrosion
of the exhaust system due to the formation of carbonic acid (H2CO3).
The latent heat in the water vapour is a significant part of the heat of combustion,
around 10% in the case of natural gas, and depends on the type of fuel burned. For
example, fuel oil derives more energy from carbon, which creates less water vapour
than does natural gas. The Lower Calorific Value (LCV) is the heating value of the
fuel less the latent heat of vapourisation for water in the fuel. The latent heat of
vapourisation of the water vapour during combustion is a function of the fuel type and
its chemistry, and most processes do not recover the water vapour energy. Hence,
most engine manufacturers rate their engines based on LCV. On the other hand, the
Higher Calorific Value (HCV) is the heating value of the fuel including latent heat of
vapourisation of water. While engine performance may be rated based on the LCV of
fuel, fuel purchases are typically based on the HCV. Therefore, owners, operators
and engineers must take these differences into consideration in their engineering
calculations.
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The amount of waste heat which can be recovered from the IC engine depends on
the type of engine, the temperature at which the heat recovery occurs, and on the
type and capacity of the heat recovery equipment. In general, a turbocharged engine
has more of its waste heat in the exhaust gases than a naturally aspirated engine.
The higher the temperature at which beneficial heat recovery must occur, the less
energy that can be recovered.
The typical distribution of input fuel energy for a reciprocating engine operating at
rated load is tabulated as follows:
The latent heat of vapourisation for the water vapour created by combustion of
hydrogen is lost in the exhaust gases unless the gases are cooled to a point where
the water vapour condenses. Condensing systems can be highly efficient and improve
CHP sustainability, but, as noted, the exhaust system must be designed for the
corrosive condensate (e.g., constructed of stainless steel). Most of the heat in jacket
water and lube oil cooling can be recovered and used. Typical heat recovery practices
can recover some 60 to 80% or higher of the heat in the exhaust gases depending on
various factors including the thermal output temperature, with the highest efficiency
achieved when the exhaust gases are cooled to near ambient temperatures. With
respect to the fuel distribution percentages discussed above, it should be noted that
the percentages vary with manufacturer and model as well as with engine load.
As noted, the quantity and quality of the heat that can be collected from reciprocating
engines per kilowatt of power produced (heat to power ratio) is lower than what can
be obtained from CTGs which have higher thermal-electric ratios. Firstly, less of the
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Typically, SI engines between 100 and 900 kW have observed electric efficiencies
between about 25 and 30% based on the HCV. Larger SI engines, above 4,000 kW
electrical output, have efficiencies of around 36%, based on the HCV. Note that given
the electrical efficiency, the heat rate can be easily calculated (or vice versa) as heat
rate is equal to the inverse of electric efficiency multiplied by 3,413 (the number of Btu
per kWh).
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The coolant loop can be the “jacket water system” which transfers heat to beneficial
heat load applications and/or to heat rejection to keep the engine cool.
It is worth noting that not all the engine noise can be mitigated through these
techniques. Installing reciprocating engines in sound-insulated engine rooms is one
good way to help mitigate unwanted sound. Engines are usually mounted on vibration
isolators to greatly reduce vibration transmission from the engine to surrounding
areas. Where vibration is likely to cause problems, an isolated inertia base is often
used in addition to vibration isolation on the engine. While a heat recovery heat
exchanger will help reduce translated engine noise, an exhaust muffler may also be
required.
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Turbine capacity and efficiency is strongly dependent on the temperature of the air
entering the compressor, and, therefore, many combustion turbine systems precool
the air entering the CTG compressor. Precooling the combustion turbine inlet air
provides more air flow and greater compressor efficiency. Greater turbine inlet air flow
can produce more CTG power output resulting in greater efficiency. Some turbine
inlet air cooling systems use evaporative cooling, since air density is related to dry
bulb temperature. Other turbine inlet air cooling systems use chilled water from
absorption chillers driven by recovered steam from the steam turbine generator
exhaust. Still others cool the inlet air using chilled water from ice storage with the ice
produced by electric power at night when other facility electrical loads are lower. The
advantage of ice is that it can produce lower inlet air temperatures than can be
produced with chilled water from absorption chillers.
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Industrial combustion turbines are built for stationary electrical generation and are
available in much higher capacities (up to around 500 MW). Industrial combustion
turbines are heavier than their aero-derivative counterparts and are generally less
efficient. Industrial combustion turbines have maximum simple cycle efficiencies of
approximately 36% based on HCV. As discussed above, the heat rate for combustion
turbines increases with increased inlet air temperature while, at the same time, power
output capacity falls linearly. Experience suggests that a 5oC increase in air
temperature approximately equates to about a 5% decrease in power output.
Combustion turbine inlet cooling, as discussed, can be effective in maintaining
consistent power output even at higher outside air temperatures.
The amount of inlet pressure loss and combustion turbine backpressure also affects
the performance of the combustion turbine generator, and the CTG inlet and outlet
pressure drops need to be kept within the turbine manufacturer’s allowable limits. An
approximate 0.5% decrease in power output can be expected for each inch of water
column increase in air inlet pressure drop, therefore the design of the combustion
turbine air inlet system is critical to successful, sustainable CHP operations.
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The combustion turbine exhaust contains a large percentage of excess air. Therefore,
afterburners/duct burners may be installed in the exhaust to create a supplementary
firing system providing additional steam. Installation of duct burners can be very
efficient, reaching an estimated maximum efficiency that exceeds 90%.
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common CTIC system type, chilled water coils and direct expansion (DX) refrigerant
coils can be used to provide even greater benefit in situations with high outside air
temperatures especially those with high humidity.
Example:
If the turbine inlet cooling is improved from 42oC to 32 oC, estimate the improvement
in the power output and heat rate for the turbine.
Solution:
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6.2.6.5 Noise/Vibration
Combustion turbines exhibit noise differently from reciprocating engines and generate
high-frequency noise and vibrations. An operating combustion turbine can be loud
and uncomfortable to the casual observer. Manufacturers often attenuate this noise
by enclosing their turbine generators in sound-insulated enclosures. Locating the
CTG in an enclosure reduces sound levels considerably but will not
eliminate/attenuate the sound completely. Additional sound attenuation equipment is
typically installed on turbine generators to further lower noise to acceptable levels.
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Sound attenuation equipment includes inlet air silencers and exhaust silencers.
However, if the CTG exhaust flows through a HRSG and exhaust stack, the HRSG
may attenuate the exhaust noise sufficiently without an exhaust silencer. Vibration
levels in combustion turbines are generally low as the rotational nature of the
assembly does not include reciprocating parts. It is to be noted that vibration is
important as the machines operate at high speeds (around 10,000rpm) making the
system easy to trip due to smallest imbalance in rotor due to compressor or turbine
fouling.
6.2.7 Microturbines
Microturbines are very small combustion turbines, which feature an internal heat
recovery heat exchanger called a recuperator. In a microturbine, the inlet air is
compressed in a radial compressor and then preheated in the recuperator using heat
from the turbine exhaust. Heated air from the recuperator is mixed with fuel and
subject to ignition in the combustor chamber and the resulting hot combustion gas is
then expanded in the expansion and power turbines. The expansion turbine drives
both the compressor and generator connected to a common single-shaft. Whereas,
two-shaft turbine designs use the turbine’s exhaust to power a second turbine (called
the power turbine) that drives the generator. The power turbine exhaust is then utilised
in the recuperator to preheat the air from the compressor. Microturbines can be
designed to operate on a number of fuels, including natural gas, propane, landfill gas,
digester gas, sour gases, and liquid fuels such as biodiesel, gasoline, kerosene, and
diesel fuel/heating oil, for example. It is to be noted that operating fuel pressures for
microturbines may require built in fuel compressors that are offered as options by
most manufacturers these days.
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Microturbines are ideally suited for distributed generation applications due to their
flexibility in connection methods, ability to provide stable and extremely reliable power,
and low emissions.
In CHP applications, the waste heat from the microturbine is used to produce hot
water to heat building(s), to drive absorption cooling, desiccant dehumidification
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principle of a fuel cell is depicted in Figure 6.8 and that a commercial fuel cell based
CHP system is shown in Figure 6.9.
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The most common fuel cells (phosphoric acid process) reject heat (the chemical
reaction byproduct) in the 60 to 90°C range and are about 40 to 55% efficient in
electric generation. Other processes have different efficiencies, different temperature
heat discharge and different cost per watt. For example, molten carbon is about 55%
efficient and discharges heat at temperatures high enough (300 to 350°C) to produce
high-pressure steam for the facilities’ requirements.
As hydrogen (the fuel) enters the fuel cell and is mixed with air (containing oxygen),
the fuel is oxidised as shown in Figure 6.5, broken down into protons and electrons.
In the proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) and phosphoric acid fuel cell
(PAFC), positively charged ions move through the electrolyte across a voltage to
produce electric power after which the protons and electrons are recombined with
oxygen in the air to make hot water. As this water is removed from the fuel cell, more
protons are pulled through the electrolyte, resulting in further power production.
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A steam turbine generator can make use of the thermal energy produced in a heat
recovery steam generator (HRSG) to generate additional power. With a conventional
boiler system, to qualify as combined heat and power, boiler produced steam must be
used for both heating (and/or thermally driven cooling) and power. Sometimes, this
means steam is produced at temperatures and pressures greater than needed for the
facility’s heating or cooling needs/applications, and the steam is expanded through a
STG to the pressure needed for use by the facility. This type of CHP system produces
power in direct relation to the thermal load. As a retrofit project where there is an
existing steam boiler and steam distribution system, such a system is often very cost-
effective to install. The backpressure turbine used is very efficient because all the
steam exiting the turbine is beneficially used.
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High pressure
steam
Power
Turbine
Low pressure
steam to process
(a) (b)
High pressure
steam
Power
Turbine
Low pressure
steam to condenser
(c)
Figure 6.10 Different types of turbines (a) extraction turbine (b) total condensing
turbine (c) extraction cum total condensing turbine
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Axial-flow turbines are also defined by the type of stages and blades. The blades can
either be impulse or reaction. Impulse blades are fixed to the turbine wheel and
undergo rotation from the force of the steam hitting the turbine blades, while reaction
blades also undergo rotation due to the nozzle effect as the steam leaves the blades.
Radial-flow steam turbines are dramatically different from their axial-flow
counterparts. In a radial-flow steam turbine, high-pressure steam enters the turbine in
the center of the turbine impeller and decompresses radially, perpendicular to the
turbine’s axis of rotation. This drop in steam pressure (and energy) provides the
motive force that causes the rotation of the turbine and, thus, the rotation of the shaft
driving any mechanical device or generator. Multi-stage radial-inflow steam turbines
are factory prepackaged equipment that includes two or more impellers connected
through reduction gearing with steam piping installed between stages to transport
steam from one stage to the next. Condensate, if any, is removed between stages,
since turbines (of all types) operating at high rpm can be severely damaged if
subjected to trace water droplets.
For example, if a steam boiler can produce about 14-bar absolute steam and only 5-
bar is needed for distribution, a backpressure steam turbine can be used to generate
power operating on the energy difference between 14 and 5-bar absolute steam. The
power produced is a function of the steam pressure difference across the
backpressure turbine and the steam flow.
Typically, the steam flow rate is related to the heat loads served and usually varies
depending on the applications they are serving. Another application may serve part
of a steam plant needs where different pressures are needed. For example, a hospital
may need about 10-bar steam for sterilizers and 1-bar steam for domestic water and
space heating, absorption cooling, and other processes. When the steam is produced
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by waste heat recovery from a prime mover like a combustion turbine the application
is similar. Steam is generated at pressures higher than needed for the thermal loads
served. The steam pressure is then reduced through a backpressure turbine to the
pressure needed to serve the thermal loads.
A total condensing steam turbine is a steam turbine that exhausts into a condenser
where the exhausted steam is condensed. The condenser will be in a vacuum
allowing much more enthalpy to be obtained from each pound of steam, making the
steam turbine thermodynamic process much more efficient. Most condensers are
water cooled but some condensers are air cooled. Condensing turbines are the usual
choice in commercial electrical power plants since the only need is for electrical
power. A condensing turbine provides more rotational power for the steam available
but most of the energy is lost in condensing. With a backpressure turbine, the
condensing occurs in serving the thermal loads and is therefore beneficial. The overall
efficiency in serving both power and thermal needs is therefore much greater for a
backpressure turbine. In any case, a power plant that does not serve a heat load is
not a CHP system.
Extraction condensing turbines allow steam to be removed from the turbine at any
reduced pressure, including multiple reduced pressures. So, for example, steam
could enter the steam turbine generator at 13 barg and a portion of the steam could
be extracted at 7 barg to feed the medium pressure steam system; a second
extraction port could also bleed off steam at 1 barg for use in the low-pressure steam
system, and the remaining steam would drive the turbine to produce useful work as it
expands through the rest of the turbine. Since the steam bleed-off serves beneficial
thermal needs, such a plant is a CHP system.
The existence of multiple steam turbine types offers mechanical engineers several
options to consider when analysing and designing the most efficient CHP plants.
Steam turbine exhaust, when reduced in both pressure and temperature, can be used
to supply heat exchangers, absorption chillers, pumps, or other equipment that are
designed to operate with steam and that are installed in place of electrically driven
equipment.
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6.3.1.4 Noise/Vibration
Steam turbines, like combustion turbines, experience high-frequency noise and
rotational vibrations. Noise from a steam turbine is generally around 90 dBA or less,
which requires hearing protection when spending an extended time near the
equipment. Turbines are also provided with acoustic housing. Facility team should
also note that noise from steam flow in pipes and the operation of pumps may be of
greater concern.
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CTG generally exhibits higher heat to power ratios and generate substantially more
heat in comparison to IC engines. The useable temperature of the recovered heat
varies. For example, some applications can use cooling tower water from a steam
turbine plant to heat agricultural processes, fish farms, or air-drying using heat at 25
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to 32°C. On the other extreme, a duct-fired combustion turbine may recover heat from
the 600°C exhaust.
The fuel pressure required to operate fuel-to-power prime mover equipment in CHP
systems varies between 0.03 and 3 barg for fuel cells to between 8 and 35 barg for
CTGs. Natural gas-based IC engines are designed to operate on low-pressure gas.
Typically, CHP Prime movers that require high-pressure fuel, including CTGs and
microturbines, require gas compression equipment to increase the pressure of the
utility delivered fuel to the required pressure at the prime mover (summarised in Table
6.2).
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are small, varying from about 0.25 to 0.7 ft2/kW and 0.2 to 1.6 ft2/kW, respectively.
Generally, IC reciprocating engines take more room than CTG for the same power
output. The energy footprints for natural gas and diesel engines vary from about 0.25
to 0.35 ft2/kW. Note that fuel cell-based CHP plants can have some of the largest
energy footprints among all the CHP plant fuel-to-power equipment at up to 5 ft2/kW.
STG-based CHP plant energy footprints are noted to be extremely low, typically less
than 0.15 ft2/kW. However, it is to be noted that STGs represent the thermal-to-power
classification of CHP prime mover equipment, therefore, additional space must be
catered for the steam producing equipment such as HRSG and other similar heat
exchangers.
Availability is a key issue while considering a CHP plant. The availability of the CHP
system is associated with the nature of the load at the facility level. Therefore, if the
load served by the CHP system is critical in nature, there must be a backup system.
If the backup draws power from the local grid, there are associated charges which
need to be addressed in the economic feasibility study of the CHP system. Obviously,
CHP plants with multiple prime movers will be impacted less by down time because
of the availability of other prime mover(s) during the down time of one prime mover.
The appropriate, diligent selection of equipment in conjunction with proper preventive
maintenance largely eliminates down time. However, it is to be noted that no CHP
system will ever achieve 100% availability.
Overhaul of CHP systems involves the scrutiny of major components of the prime
mover equipment for the purposes of restoring the operations through reconstruction,
etc. Generally, equipment manufacturers/vendors have backup/replacement
equipment available at their factories during the overhaul of the system thereby
limiting the CHP system’s down time. The recommended best practice is that prime
mover equipment be overhauled at regular intervals to ensure that the CHP plant
operates consistently and with optimum performance in terms of efficiency. CTGs are
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6.4.7 Noise
As CHP systems consist of prime movers, which are essentially rotating machinery,
such as reciprocating engines, combustion turbines, and compressors, they generate
high decibel noise and vibration. Such noise and vibrations not only affect facility
equipment and personnel but also neighbouring facilities and residents. Excessive
vibration without proper control can propagate, causing damage to equipment as well
as adjacent equipment and structures. In some areas, more recently developed
zoning laws specify permissible noise levels in terms of octave band frequency levels.
The noise produced by the CHP system must be added to existing noise levels before
the system is installed to calculate the post-CHP noise level. CHP systems can
generate significant levels of noise from multiple components, including engines,
engine exhaust, compressors, and cooling fans.
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Noise generated by the prime movers can be reduced or attenuated using acoustic
insulation, acoustic barriers, air attenuation baffles, and exhaust silencers. Vibration
reduction will not only contribute to noise reduction but is also necessary between
rotating machinery and connected structures, piping, ductwork, and equipment.
Vibration reduction is normally accomplished by mounting the equipment on spring
vibration isolators and using flexible couplings between the rotating machinery and
other equipment, piping, and ductwork. In almost all cases, CHP equipment requires
noise attenuation and vibration isolation. This should be considered in the beginning
phase of design and may require input from an acoustic specialist in sensitive areas,
such as locations close to residential developments, libraries, theatres, and
healthcare facilities. Consideration also should be given to other sources of vibration
and their potential to interfere with CHP equipment operation. Locations should also
be checked for existing sources of vibration that might impact the operation of the
CHP plant components, which typically comprise high-speed rotating machinery that
are also sensitive to high levels of vibration. In some cases, the location of the CHP
plant may need to change to mitigate noise and vibration issues if other methods
cannot provide sufficient attenuation.
In general, the prime movers are typically selected based on the heat to power ratio
required for a facility’s application. The chart in Figure 6.8 shows different options for
the selection of prime movers based on heat to power ratio.
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Prime Electrical Heat Recovery Fuels and Power Availa- Start- Noise
Movers Output Potentials Fuel density, bility, % up
and Pressures kW/m2 time
Electric
Efficiency
Reciproc- 50 kW to 5 HW & LP steam Natural gas, 30 to 43 90 to 95 10 s Low
ating MW; 25 to generation (2 biogas and frequen
engine 40% bar) propane, cy
diesel noise
Micro- 20 to 50% HW & MP steam Natural gas, 6 to 53 90 to 95 60 s High
turbine generation biogas and frequen
propane cy
noise
CTG 3to 200 HW & MP steam Natural gas, 15 to 43 90 to 95 10 m High
MW; 40 to generation (up biogas and frequen
60% to 17 bar) propane cy
(combined noise
cycle)
Table 6.2 Comparison of different prime movers used in CHP
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At facility level, a CHP plant support system will be determined by the type of CHP
prime mover used and the type of heat production and the subsequent uses for
various applications.
Accordingly, typical support systems required for a CGT based CHP system include
the following:
• Combustion-air system: louvers, ducting, air filters, turbine inlet cooling, inlet
air silencer
• High-pressure gas system such as air compressors
• Low-pressure gas system such as pressure reducing valves
• Turbine exhaust system such as ducting, duct burners, superheater, Heat
Recovery Steam Generators, (HRSG), emission system
• control system including continuous emissions monitoring system (CEMS) as
required
• Electric power generator distribution system such as substations, switchgear,
motor
• Control centres, electrical and mechanical protection devices
• Lube oil system such as lube oil cooler, lube oil pump, day tanks
• Fire protection systems such as smoke detectors, sprinkler systems
• Chemical storage and emergency showers
For a CTG CHP system using a HRSG, the following typical support systems will also
be required:
• Main steam system such as non-return valve, pressure reducing valves, steam
traps to remove condensate
• Condensate system: condensate receiver(s), condensate pumps, de-aerating
feed tank
• Feedwater system: feedwater pumps, feedwater control station (feedwater
control valves)
• Emission control systems typically have support subsystems, such as
ammonia/ urea storage and delivery.
For an IC reciprocating engine CHP system, the following typical support systems will
be required:
• Combustion-air system: louvres, ducting, air filters, inlet air silencer
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If a chiller plant is to be part of the CHP plant, the following additional support systems
will likely be required as well:
• Chilled water supply and return system: chilled water pumps, distribution
system,
coils, control valves, water treatment
• Condenser water supply and return system: cooling towers, condenser water
pumps, water treatment
• Auxiliary systems can include:
Compressed air
Backup fuel oil storage
Makeup water
Treated water: deionised/reverse osmosis (DI/RO)
Fire protection systems
The above CHP system plant requirements are depicted with the help of a flow chart
in Figure 6.9.
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It is the responsibility of the CHP design engineer to understand and evaluate the
different fuel-to-power prime movers available in the market versus what will best
serve the facility. Each prime mover option has various heat load options and the type
of prime mover, generated heat quality, and heat uses incorporated into the CHP plant
will determine the plant systems required. It is recommended that the design engineer
should be familiar with each system listed in the preceding sections.
Summary
The selection of suitable prime mover is important for the optimum operation of a CHP
system at an industrial facility level. In this Chapter different types of prime movers
are presented with their characteristics described, such that a practising facility level
engineer could make the prime mover selection decision based on their heat to power
ratio at their respective facilities.
Reference
1. ASHRAE Handbook Fundamentals, 2009
2. U.S. Department of Energy, 1999. Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable
Energy: Review of Combined Heat and Power Technologies, October 2006
3. https://www.energy.gov/eere/amo/combined-heat-and-power (Last accessed on
16 May 2019)
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Learning Outcomes:
The main learning outcomes from this chapter are to understand:
1. Ideal co-generation system
2. Practical co-generation system
3. Combined gas-vapour cycle co-generation system
4. Performance analysis of CHP systems
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heating plant without any heat losses due to convection and radiation. All the heat
transferred to the steam in the boiler is used in the process-heating units, as shown
in Figure 7.1. In this case, the process heating seems like a perfect operation with
practically no waste of energy. However, if one considers the Second Law of
Thermodynamics, which essentially deals with the quality of the energy, no such
perfect thermodynamic process is possible.
This can be attributed to the fact that there is a degradation of energy when the high
furnace temperature in the order of around 1,400oC to 1,500oC is transferred to water
to produce steam at about 200oC or below, which is an irreversible process. Whenever
there is an irreversibility associated with any process, the resulting undesirable
entropy generation leads to a loss in exergy or work potential. For the same reason,
it is recommended not to use high-quality energy to accomplish a task that could be
accomplished with low-quality energy.
Many industries around the world that use large amounts of process heat also
consume a large amount of electric power. Therefore, it makes economical as well as
engineering sense to use the already-existing work potential to produce power instead
of letting it go to waste. This would result in a plant that co-generates both the
electricity and heat, known as a co-generation plant. In general, co-generation is the
production of more than one useful form of energy such as electricity and heat from
the same energy source. Either a steam-turbine cycle (Rankine cycle) or a gas turbine
cycle (Brayton cycle) or even a combined cycle can be used as the power cycle in a
co-generation plant.
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transferred to the steam in the boiler is utilised as either process heat or electric
power. Thus, the efficiency (Utilisation Factor, U.F.) of an ideal co-generation plant is
a perfect 100%. Such a co-generation plant is not practical though.
50 kW
Turbine
Boiler
Qin =
150 kW 100 kW
Pump Process
Figure 7.1 Schematic of an ideal co-generation system
Alternatively, the utility factor is defined in terms of just heat rejected in the condenser
and heat absorbed in the boiler as follows:
𝑈. 𝐹 = 1 − Q 𝑜𝑢𝑡 /Q 𝑖𝑛 (7.2)
Where,
Qout = Heat rejected in the condenser, and
Qin = Heat added in the boiler
Strictly speaking, Qout also includes all the undesirable heat losses from the piping
and other components, but they are usually small and are thus neglected. It also
includes combustion inefficiencies such as incomplete combustion and stack losses
when the utilisation factor is defined based on the heating value of the fuel.
As mentioned in the preceding section, the utilisation factor of the ideal steam-turbine
co-generation plant is 100%. However, actual co-generation plants can have
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utilisation factors as high as around 80%. It is worthwhile to note that modern co-
generation plants can have an even higher utilisation factor.
In the co-generation plant of Figure 7.1, in the absence of the turbine, the heat needs
to be transferred in the boiler at a rate of only 100 kW instead of at 150 kW. The
additional 50 kW of heat supplied is converted to work.
4
Expansion
valve Turbine
Boiler 5
6
7
Process
3
heater
8
9 Condenser
Pump 1
2
Pump
Figure 7.2 Schematic of a practical co-generation system
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T 4
9 5
3
2 6
8
1 7
3. When the process heat demand is high, all the steam is routed to the process
heating by isolating the condenser path (m7 = 0). For this mode of the co-
generation operation, the waste heat available is zero.
4. If the process heat is still not sufficient, some steam leaving the boiler is
throttled by an expansion or pressure-reducing valve (PRV) to the extraction
pressure P6 and is directed to the process-heating unit.
5. Maximum process heating is realised when all the steam leaving the boiler
passes through the expansion valve (m5 = m4). In this mode of operation, no
power is produced.
6. When there is no demand for process heat, all the steam passes through the
turbine and the condenser (m5 = m6 = 0), and the co-generation plant operates
as an ordinary steam power plant.
The rates of heat input, heat rejected, and process heat supply as well as the power
produced for this co-generation plant can be expressed mathematically as follows:
𝑄𝑝 = ṁ5 ℎ5 + ṁ6 ℎ6 − ṁ8 ℎ8 (7.5)
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We call the above co-generation plant an ideal plant when the plant operates
optimally. The conditions for such an optimum operation are as follows:
1. All the steam expands in the turbine to the extraction pressure and continues to
the process heating unit.
2. No steam passes through the expansion valve or the condenser; thus, no waste
heat is rejected (m4 = m6 and m5 = m7 = 0). This condition may be difficult to
achieve in practice because of the constant variations in the process heat and
power loads, and equipment limitation. But the plant should be designed so that
the optimum operating conditions are approximated most of the time.
Over the years, the economic feasibility of the co-generation system was dependent
on fuel tariffs. When the fuel tariffs were extremely high at the beginning of the last
century, the use of co-generation systems was very common. Power plants were
integrated to provide district heating/cooling (for thermal comfort), hot water, and
process heating for residential and commercial buildings. When the fuel tariff became
cheaper, the popularity of the district heating/cooling systems declined. However, the
rapid rise in fuel prices in the 1970s brought about renewed interest in district heating.
In recent years, co-generation plants have proved to be economically very attractive.
As a result, more and more such plants have been installed all around the world
including in Singapore.
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The three useful effects: electrical power, heating (steam) and cooling (chilled water)
are circled in the figure. As seen from the figure, a gas turbine cycle is topping the
steam turbine cycle. The steam is generated with the help of a waste heat boiler or
heat recovery steam generator using the recovered waste heat from the gas turbine
exhaust. The high pressure (HP) steam is expanded in the steam turbine generating
additional power. The expanded low pressure steam (LP) is sent to the adsorption
chiller, which in turn produces the chilled water.
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Fuel Combustion
chamber
GAS
CYCLE Gas
Compressor
Turbine
Exhaust
gases
Air in
Heat Steam
exchanger Turbine
STEAM
CYCLE Process
Condenser
Pump
Figure 7.5 Schematic of a combined vapour cycle co-generation system
In the combined cycle power plant, energy is recovered from the exhaust gases by
transferring it to the feedwater in an HRSG. Typically, more than one gas turbine is
needed to supply sufficient heat content to the steam. In addition, the steam cycle
may involve regeneration as well as reheating. Energy for the reheating process can
be supplied by burning some additional fuel in the oxygen-rich exhaust gases.
Developments in gas turbine technology have made the combined gas-steam cycle
economically very attractive. The combined cycle increases the efficiency without
greatly increasing the initial cost. In fact, many new power plants operate on combined
cycles. There is also a trend around the world to convert existing steam- or gas turbine
plants to combined-cycle power plants. Such conversions result in thermal efficiencies
of well over 50%.
All the three main power generators (Tuas Power, Senoko Power and Power Seraya)
as well as some of the smaller ones in Singapore use the combined vapour power
cycles for power generation, accounting for more than 95% of the 13 GW of installed
power plant capacity. Hot combustion gases enter the gas turbines at about 1,150oC,
and steam enters the steam turbines at about 500oC. Steam is cooled in the
condenser by cooling water at an average temperature of about 25oC. A 1,350-MW
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Gas turbines with heat recovery steam generators are another mode of co-generation.
The entire system is dynamic and depends on power and steam load variations in the
plant. A performance assessment would yield valuable insights into co-generation
system performance and any need for further optimisation.
The purpose of the co-generation plant performance test is to determine the power
output and plant heat rate. In certain cases, the efficiency of individual components
like the steam turbine is addressed specifically where performance deterioration is
suspected. In general, the plant performance will be compared with the base line
values arrived at for the plant operating condition rather than the design values. The
other purpose of the performance test is to show the maintenance accomplishment
after a major overhaul. In some cases the purpose of evaluation could even be for a
total plant revamp.
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HRSG efficiency = ṁ𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑎𝑚 (ℎ𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑎𝑚 − ℎ𝑓𝑤 )/ṁ𝑓𝑔 C𝑝𝑓𝑔 ΔT𝑓𝑔 + ṁ𝑓,𝑎𝑢𝑥 𝐺𝐶𝑉
(7.12)
Test Duration:
The test duration is site-specific and in a continuous process industry, 8-hour test data
should give reasonably reliable data. In the case of an industry with a fluctuating
electrical/steam load profile a set 24-hour data sampling for a representative period
is recommended.
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Air flow / Flue gas flow : Venturi / Orifice flow meter / Pitot tubes
Flue gas Analysis : Zirconium Probe Oxygen analyser
Unburnt Analysis : Gravimetric Analysis
Temperature : Thermocouple
Cooling water flow : Ultrasonic flowmeter
Pressure : Pressure Gauges/transducers
Power : Clamp on power meters
Condensate : Ultrasonic flow meter
It is essential to ensure that the data is collected during steady state plant running
conditions. Among others, the essential parameters to be collected for co-generation
plant performance evaluation are tabulated below:
No Quantity to be computed Parameters
1 Steam inlet to turbine Flow rate
Pressure
Temperature
2 Fuel input to boiler/gas turbine Fuel flow rate
Composition
3 Combustion air Flow rate
Pressure
Temperature
4 Process extraction steam Flow rate
Pressure
Temperature
5 Back pressure steam to process Flow rate
Pressure
Temperature
6 Condensing steam Pressure or
Temperature
Temperature
Temperature
Composition
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Excess O2
Establish the specific enthalpies from the steam table (Appendix) for the given steam
conditions:
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steam after the expansion is determined and the enthalpy at the state point 2 is read
from the appropriate steam property table (saturated or superheated steam table) i.e.
enthalpy at 1st extraction: h2 kJ/kg
Using P3 and T3, Sg3 is read from the steam property table and compared with the
entropy at the state point 1 (assuming isentropic first stage expansion). The type of
steam after the expansion is determined and the enthalpy at the state point 2 is read
from the appropriate steam property table (saturated or superheated steam table) i.e.
enthalpy at 1st extraction: h3 kJ/kg
Using P3 and T3, Sg is read from the steam property table and compared with the
entropy at the state point 1 (assuming isentropic first stage expansion). The type of
steam after the expansion is determined and the enthalpy at the state point 2 is read
from the appropriate steam property table (saturated or superheated steam table) i.e.
enthalpy at 1st extraction: h2 kJ/kg. Referring to Figure 7.6, h11 is the enthalpy of
feedwater at boiler pressure, typically used to quantify heat input into the boiler.
Wherever there is wet steam after the expansion in the turbine, the dryness fraction
and the enthalpy of the steam are determined as follows:
𝑆1 = 𝑆2 = 𝑆𝑓 + 𝑥𝑆𝑓𝑔 (7.13)
ℎ = ℎ𝑓 + 𝑥ℎ𝑓𝑔 (7.14)
(Relevant pressure and temperature are read from the steam property table)
Dryness fraction of the steam after the last expansion is estimated by assuming the
expansion processes in the turbine to be isentropic. The typical dryness fraction value
after the final expansion is 0.88 to 0.92.
The specific work produced by the turbine at each extraction point is calculated as
follows:
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The actual enthalpies, taking the isentropic efficiencies of the pumps and turbine into
account, can be established based on the isentropic efficiency definition (refer to the
T-s diagram shown in Figure of the illustrative example 7.6.4 below)
The process heat, the net power output and the Utility Factor of the co-generation
plant are determined as follows:
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Referring to the diagram and using 16-bar and 300oC, from the superheated steam
table, the enthalpy h1 = 3,036.2 kJ/kg
Using 3-bar and 140°C, from the superheated steam table, h2 = 2,748.8 kJ/kg
Heat energy input to turbine is calculated as:
h1– h2 = (3036.2 – 2748.8) = 287.4 kJ/kg
Total steam flow rate, Q1 = 6000 kg/hr = 1.67 kg/s
Power generation = 200 kW
Energy input to the turbine = 1.67 x 287.4 = 480 kW
Power generation efficiency of the turbo alternator,
ƞturbo-alternator = 200/480 = 0.416 = 41.6 %
ƞturbo-alternator = 41.6%
ƞalternator = 92 % (Typical efficiency of an alternator)
ƞgear = 98 % (Typical efficiency of a very efficient gear)
ƞturbine = ƞturbo-alternator / (ƞalternator x ƞgear) = 0.416/(0.92 x 0.98) = 0.461
Quantity of steam bypassing the turbine = Nil
Natural gas consumption of the boiler = 1,600 kg/hr.
*Note: The plant heat rate is in the order of 80,409 kJ/kWh because of the use of a
backpressure turbine. This value will be much reduced while operating on fully
condensing mode. However, with a backpressure turbine, the energy in the steam is
not wasted, as it is utilised in the process.
Overall plant fuel rate including boiler = 1,600/200 = 8 kg NG / kW
The following points are observed from the analysis of the co-generation cycle.
• The efficiency of the turbine generator set is as per manufacturer design
specification. There is no steam bypass indicating that the power generation
potential of the process steam is fully utilised.
• At present the power generation from the process steam completely meets the
process electrical demand, or in other words the system is balanced.
• It is to be noted that similar steps can be followed for the evaluation of the
performance of a gas turbine based co-generation system.
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Example 7.6.1
Steam enters the turbine of a co-generation plant at 70-bar and 600oC. One-fourth of
the steam is extracted from the turbine at 8-bar pressure for process heating. The
remaining steam continues to expand to 15 kPa. The extracted steam is then
condensed and mixed with feedwater at constant pressure and the mixture is pumped
to the boiler pressure of 70-bar. The mass flow rate of steam through the boiler is 50
kg/s. Disregarding any pressure drops and heat losses in the piping, and assuming
the turbine and the pump to be isentropic, determine the net power produced and the
utilisation factor of the plant.
Solution
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The co-generation utility factor, U.F = (Wnet + Qprocess)/ Qin = (59,125 + 28,205)/152,360
= 0.573 = 57.3%
Example 7.6.2
Steam is generated in the boiler of a co-generation plant at 10 MPa and 450oC at a
steady rate of 5 kg/s. In normal operation, steam expands in a turbine to a pressure
of 0.5 MPa and is then routed to the process heater, where it supplies the process
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heat. Steam leaves the process heater as a saturated liquid and is pumped to the
boiler pressure. In this mode, no steam passes through the condenser, which
operates at 20 kPa. (a) Determine the power produced and the rate at which process
heat is supplied in this mode. (b) Determine the power produced and the rate of
process heat supplied if only 60 percent of the steam is routed to the process heater
and the remainder is expanded to the condenser pressure.
Solution
Using 100 bar and 450oC from the superheated steam property table (Reference 3),
h6 = 3241 kJ/kg, s6 = 6.419 kJ/kg.K
For 5 bar, sg = 6.822 kJ/kg.K, therefore the steam at the state point 7 is wet.
The dryness fraction x7 is determined as follows:
s6 = s7 = sf@5bar + x7 sfg@5bar = 6.419 kJ/kg.K
That is, 1.86 + x7 4.962 = 6.419 kJ/kg.K
Therefore, x7 = 0.92
h7 = hf@5bar + x7 hfg@5bar = 640 + 0.92 x 2,109 = 2,580.3 kJ/kg
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For 20 kPa, sg = 7.907 kJ/kg.K, therefore the steam at the state point 8 is wet.
The dryness fraction x8 is determined as follows:
s6 = s8 = sf@20kPa + x8 sfg@20kPa = 6.419 kJ/kg.K
That is, 0.832 + x8 7.075 = 6.419 kJ/kg.K
Therefore, x8 = 0.789
h8 = hf@20kPa + x8 hfg@20kPa = 251 + 0.789 x 2358 = 2,111.4 kJ/kg
wpump-1 = v1 (P2 – P1) = 0.001 (500 – 20) = 0.48 kJ/kg
h2= h1 + wpump-1 = 251 + 0.48 = 251.48 kJ/kg
Performing an energy balance at the mixing chamber yields:
ṁ4h4 = ṁ2h2 + ṁ3h3
Therefore, h4 = (ṁ2h2 + ṁ3h3)/ṁ4 = [(2)(251.48) + (3)(640)]/5 = 484.5 kJ/kg
h5 = h4 + wpump-2 = 484.5 + 9.5 = 494 kJ/kg
Example 7.6.3
Consider a co-generation power plant modified with regeneration. Steam enters the
turbine at 90-bar and 400oC and expands to a pressure of 16-bar. At this pressure,
35 percent of the steam is extracted from the turbine, and the remainder expands to
10 kPa. Part of the extracted steam is used to heat the feedwater in an open feedwater
heater. The rest of the extracted steam is used for process heating and leaves the
process heater as a saturated liquid at 16-bar. It is subsequently mixed with the
feedwater leaving the feedwater heater, and the mixture is pumped to the boiler
pressure. Assuming the turbines and the pumps to be isentropic, show the cycle on a
T-s diagram with respect to saturation lines, and determine the mass flow rate of
steam through the boiler for a net power output of 25 MW.
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Solution:
Referring to the schematic and T-s diagram and using steam property table
(Reference 3),
h1 = hf@10kPa = 192 kJ/kg
v1 = vf@10kPa = 0.001 m3/kg
wpump-1 = v1 (P2 – P1) = 0.001 (1600 – 10) = 15.9 kJ/kg
h2 = h1 + wpump-1 = 192 + 15.9 = 207.9 kJ/kg
h9 = hf@16bar = 721 kJ/kg
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Using 90-bar and 400oC from the superheated steam property table (Reference 3),
h6 = 3,118 kJ/kg, s6 = 6.286 kJ/kg.K
Using 16-bar and sg = 6.422 kJ/kg.K, which is greater than s6 = s7 = 6.286 kJ/kg.K,
therefore the steam at state point 7 is wet.
The dryness fraction x7 is determined as follows:
s6 = s7 = s8 = sf@16bar + x7 sfg@16bar = 6.286 kJ/kg.K
That is, 2.344 + x7 4.078 = 6.286 kJ/kg.K
Therefore, x7 = 0.94
h7 = hf@16bar + x7 hfg@16bar = 859 + 0.94 x 1,935 = 2,677.9 kJ/kg
For 10 kPa, sg = 8.149 kJ/kg.K, therefore the steam at the state point 8 is wet.
The dryness fraction x8 is determined as follows:
s6 = s7 = s8 = sf@10kPa + x8 sfg@10kPa = 6.286 kJ/kg.K
That is, 0.649 + x8 7.5 = 6.286 kJ/kg.K
Therefore, x8 = 0.75
h8 = hf@10kPa + x8 hfg@10kPa = 192 + 0.75 x 2,392 = 1,986 kJ/kg
Example 7.6.4
A textile plant requires 4 kg/s of saturated steam at 20bar, which is extracted from the
turbine of a co-generation plant. Steam enters the turbine at 90bar and 500oC at
a rate of 11 kg/s and leaves at 10 kPa. The extracted steam leaves the process heater
as a saturated liquid and mixes with the feedwater at constant pressure. The mixture
is pumped to the boiler pressure. Assuming an isentropic efficiency of 86 percent for
both the turbine and the pumps, determine (a) the rate of process heat supplied, (b)
the net power output from the system, and (c) the utilisation factor of the CHP plant.
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Solution
Referring to the schematic and T-s diagram and using steam property table
(Reference 3),
h1 = hf@10kPa = 192 kJ/kg
v1 = vf@10kPa = 0.001 m3/kg
wpump-1 = v1 (P2 – P1) = 0.001 (2,000 – 10) = 19.9 kJ/kg
h2 = h1 + wpump-1 = 192 + 19.9 = 211.9 kJ/kg
Isentropic efficiency of pump and turbines are given as 0.86.
ƞs,pump = (h2 – h1)/ (h2’ – h1)
Therefore, h2’= h1 + (h2 – h1)/ ƞs,pump = 192 + (211.9 – 192)/0.86 = 215 kJ/kg
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Using 90-bar and 500oC from the superheated steam property table,
h6 = 3633 kJ/kg, s6 = 6.958 kJ/kg.K
Using 20-bar, sg = 6.340 kJ/kg.K, which is less than s6 = s7 = 6.286 kJ/kg.K, therefore
the steam at state point 7 is superheated.
Therefore, using 20-bar and , s6 = s7 = 6.958 kJ/kg.K
h7 = 3,138 kJ/kg
ƞs,turb1 = (h6 – h7’)/ (h6 – h7)
Therefore, h7’= h6 - (h6 – h7) ƞs,turb1 = 3633 - (3,633 – 3,138)0.86 = 3,207.3 kJ/kg
For 10 kPa, sg = 8.149 kJ/kg.K, therefore the steam at the state point 8 is wet.
The dryness fraction x8 is determined as follows:
s6 = s7 = s8 = sf@10kPa + x8 sfg@10kPa = 6.958 kJ/kg.K
That is, 0.649 + x8 7.5 = 6.958 kJ/kg.K
Therefore, x8 = 0.84
h8 = hf@10kPa + x8 hfg@10kPa = 192 + 0.84 x 2,392 = 2,201 kJ/kg
ƞs,turb2 = (h7 – h8’)/ (h7 – h8)
Therefore, h8’= h7 - (h7 – h8) ƞs,turb2 = 3138 - (3,138 – 2,201)0.86 = 2,332 kJ/kg
(a) The rate of process heat supplied,
Qprocess = ṁ7(h7’ – h3) = 4(3,207.3 – 909) = 9,193 kW
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Example 7.6.5
Consider a co-generation power plant that is modified with reheat and that produces
4 MW of power and supplies 8 MW of process heat. Steam enters the high-pressure
turbine at 90-bar and 500oC and expands to a pressure of 12-bar. At this pressure,
part of the steam is extracted from the turbine and routed to the process heater, while
the remainder is reheated to 500oC and expanded in the low-pressure turbine to the
condenser pressure of 10-kPa. The condensate from the condenser is pumped to 12-
bar and is mixed with the extracted steam, which leaves the process heater as a
compressed liquid at 110oC. The mixture is then pumped to the boiler pressure.
Assuming the turbine to be isentropic, show the cycle on a T-s diagram with respect
to saturation lines, and disregarding pump work, determine (a) the rate of heat input
in the boiler and (b) the fraction of steam extracted for process heating.
Solution
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Referring to the schematic and T-s diagram and using steam property table
(Appendix),
h1 = hf@10kPa = 192 kJ/kg
v1 = vf@10kPa = 0.001 m3/kg
wpump-1 = v1 (P2 – P1) = 0.001 (2,000 – 10) = 19.9 kJ/kg
h2 = h1 + wpump-1 = 192 + 19.9 = 211.9 kJ/kg
h3 = hf@110oC = 461 kJ/kg
Using 90-bar and 500oC from the superheated steam property table (Appendix),
h6 = 3385 kJ/kg, s6 = 6.657 kJ/kg.K
Using 12-bar, sg = 6.523 kJ/kg.K, which is less than s6 = s7 = 6.657 kJ/kg.K, therefore
the steam at state point 7 is superheated.
Therefore, using 12-bar and , s6 = s7 = 6.657 kJ/kg.K
h7 = 2,810 kJ/kg
The amount of process heat supplied = ṁ7 (h7 - h3) = 8,000 kW
That is, ṁ7 (2,810 - 461) = 8,000 kW
Therefore, ṁ7 = 8,000 kW/(2,810 – 461) = 3.41 kg/s
Using 12-bar and 500oC from the superheated steam property table,
h8 = 3,220 kJ/kg, s8 = 7.539 kJ/kg.K
For 10 kPa, sg = 8.149 kJ/kg.K, therefore the steam at the state point 9 is wet.
The dryness fraction x9 is determined as follows:
s8 = s9 = sf@10kPa + x9 sfg@10kPa = 7.539 kJ/kg.K
That is, 0.649 + x9 7.5 = 7.539 kJ/kg.K
Therefore, x9 = 0.92
h9 = hf@10kPa + x9 hfg@10kPa = 192 + 0.92 x 2,392 = 2,392 kJ/kg
The power output from the system disregarding the pump power is expressed as
follows:
PTurbine = ṁ6(h6 – h7) + ṁ8(h8 – h9) = ṁ6(h6 – h7) + (ṁ6 - ṁ7) (h8 – h9) = 4,000 kW
i.e. ṁ6(3,633 – 3,003) + (ṁ6 – 3.14) (3,220 – 2,392) = 4,000 kW
Therefore, ṁ6 = 4.52 kg/s
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Summary
Industrial professionals dealing with CHP systems need to understand the optimum
operation of a CHP system in terms of its heat and electricity requirements. As far as
design is concerned, the CHP system can be for a co-generation or a tri-generation
system with the gas turbine topping the cycle. This chapter provided a detailed
introduction to CHP systems starting with the discussion of an ideal CHP cycle and
finally the most widely used combined vapour power cycle, which is the most popular
power generation cycle in Singapore as well. The chapter also includes a number of
illustrative examples for better understanding of the optimum operation of co-
generation and tri-generation systems.
References
1. Cengel Yunus, Thermodynamics: an engineering approach, McGraw-Hill, New
York, 2008.
2. Nag P. K, Engineering Thermodynamics: Tata-McGraw-Hill, New York 1997
3. G. F. C. Rogers and Y. R. Mayhew, Thermodynamic and Transport Properties of
Fluids, Fifth Edition (SI Units), 1998
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Learning Outcomes:
The main learning outcomes from this chapter are to understand:
1. The thermal load profile and its estimation
2. The electrical load profile of a facility
3. Heat to power ratio and their significance in the CHP system design
4. The CHP system selection options
5. Factors other than electrical and thermal loads in the selection of a CHP
system
8.1 Introduction
There are many considerations to be made in designing an optimal CHP plant that
meets the facility level requirements. The load profile and demand are two of the major
considerations but these two alone may not provide the whole input required in the
decision on CHP system design. However, the load profile and demand data will
determine the heat to power ratio of a facility which in turn would provide the required
information for the proper selection of a CHP system in an optimum manner.
Therefore, it is very important to understand these data as a preliminary step. Load
profiles are developed to properly understand the loads throughout the year to
facilitate the optimum efficiency operation of the CHP system. These data will also
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serve as a baseline against which the output of the CHP system can be examined
from time to time.
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It will be very useful to quantify steam system/boiler losses from an operational and
maintenance point of view. It is common to use periodic readings of the gas meter in
conjunction with an inventory of gas-fired equipment and more generic data such as
water use patterns as a basis for creating a thermal load profile for the facility. If an
energy audit was carried out in the recent past, the data acquired in the energy audits
could be a reliable source of energy data too, assuming the data collected include
salient data points. The energy audits may include short-term metering or other data
collection efforts that can be the basis of information required for the CHP system. In
addition, one should identify existing site operational problems related to the thermal
application, anticipated future changes, and any other factors that should be
considered in any CHP system analysis. Typically, a level-3 audit covering all the
heating and cooling application in conjunction with the historical utility bills will be
helpful for the development of a reliable load profile. In the absence of any detailed
energy audit of the facility, the plant logs by the supervisors will also form a useful
source of data provided one understands the basis of such logs. For this, the following
questions
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could be prompted: When during the day or shift are data entered? Are data taken at
the same time each day or during successive shifts? Are the terms used on the log
consistent with generally accepted practice? Are the data available from the logs
consistent with metered, utility-supplied data? Once these estimates have been
developed and monthly use profiles developed, the data must be further refined to
calculate the load usage during operating hours for a facility that does not support
8760-hour operation of a CHP plant. The resulting addressable loads during operating
hours must then be plotted and further analysed to establish the base, average, and
peak loads so that the true load factor for the CHP system could be established.
The above data are normally provided as a CSV (comma separated value) file that
can easily be read by programs like Excel spreadsheet for further analysis. The data
are typically trend logged in kW. In some cases, the data may be provided as kWh
readings, in which case the actual kW demand can be derived by dividing the kWh
value by the ratio of the period to one hour. For example, if the data were provided as
kWh readings in 15-minute intervals, then the actual demand is the reading value
divided by 0.25. If the readings were in 30-minute intervals, then the actual demand
is the reading divided by 0.5.
Figure 8.3 shows a weekly electrical load profile for a production facility based on
utility-provided 5-minute interval demand data. As seen from the figure, the facility has
a base load of approximately 800 kW. It is also obvious from the figure that there is a
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trend of high demand during working days followed by low demand for weekends.
There are also some anomalies where readings appear to go to zero for short periods
three times during the year and a single event when the demand increased to
approximately 75% more than the normal demand for a short period.
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For example, one of the anomalies could be a single zero reading that occurred on
one of the week days. In this situation, the readings before and after this reading could
be examined and if it found to be typical for the period, the reasons for the zero data
anomaly, which is a short duration event could be one of the following
• a grid failure
• testing of standby generators
• a meter malfunction
It is to be noted that this does not affect the design of the CHP system other than
possibly enhancing the value of CHP as a backup system if this and the other similar
anomalies were in fact grid failures.
On the other hand, there are cases where a high demand anomaly is found between
an interval. For example, in Figure 8.5, between 2:30 a.m. and 3:00 a.m, the electrical
power demand surged to almost twice the demand in the previous and subsequent
intervals. The demand recorded was also found to be significantly higher than the
peak demand reading of about 850 kW. It is highly unlikely that the facility actually
required this level of power to operate, especially at 2:30 a.m. on a Sunday, which
normally is the lowest load time. The likely causes for such a surge in power demand
could either be one of the following:
• a fault level or short circuit current
• a meter malfunction
In either case, this should be investigated with facility personnel, and, if no fault is
recorded, this should be reported to the local utility provider and a corresponding
adjustment needs to be made for the affected period.
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Experience with the CHP systems in Singapore suggests that all topping-cycle CHP
systems have a nominal overall efficiency (utilisation factor, U.F) of approximately
70%. The overall efficiency calculation takes into account the electrical or mechanical
power as well as recovered thermal energy for the facility process loads or preheating.
Bottoming-cycle systems have CHP efficiencies of approximately 80%. It is to be
noted that the CHP system efficiency can be increased if the system is applied to a
thermal load that requires low-quality heat, but for most practical applications the load
temperature requirements keep the overall efficiency at these levels. Depending on
the CHP configurations, the performance level in terms of power efficiency versus
thermal efficiency varies. A good example is a topping-cycle CHP system which may
have 32% electrical and 38% thermal efficiency or 38% electrical and 32% thermal
efficiency.
In bottoming-cycle CHP systems, fuel is burned and utilised for thermal energy first
and that is then used to drive a power generation device such as a steam turbine or
generators working on organic Rankine cycles. The remaining thermal energy based
on the quality of the thermal energy is further recovered to meet other small or medium
scale thermal applications in the facility. Experience also suggests that CHP systems
working on bottoming-cycle generally have lower electrical efficiencies, ranging from
about 15% to 25%, with superior thermal efficiencies of about 55% to 65%.
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The key performance indicators helping to evaluate the performance of a CHP system
are electrical and thermal efficiency. Along with many other characteristics to be
considered, the first CHP configuration option to be reviewed is the heat to power
(H/E) ratio. The heat to power ratio is a function of the power and thermal efficiencies
of the system. The heat to power (H/E) ratio is a primary criterion in matching the
facility loads with the appropriate CHP configuration.
The possible number of CHP configurations is largely determined by the facility level
heat to power ratio. There is always a misconception regarding the CHP prime movers
that are operated in a CHP system because the prime movers are often described in
terms of their rated electrical efficiency, leading one to intuitively believe that the 45%
efficient engine is “superior in performance” to the 40% efficient engine. However, it
is to be noted that the “superior” engine is the one that best matches the load
requirements. It is obvious that a 45% electrically efficient engine will convert more of
the fuel to electricity and less to thermal output. Therefore, if the facility application is
limited by the electrical base load and has a higher thermal load than the CHP
system’s output, then a better option could be to select an engine with a lower
electrical efficiency. This will enable more of the fuel energy to be converted to thermal
energy, matching most of the thermal load by the CHP plant.
Applications such as district heating systems that use bottoming cycle configurations
require very high heat to power ratios, because the system addresses large thermal
loads with relatively small electrical loads available in the plant. On the other hand, if
the limiting factor is thermal load availability, the higher electrically efficient engine
could be selected for the CHP system. This will provide more power while maintaining
a high thermal load factor.
From an economic point of view, the better option should be reviewed against energy
costs to determine how to optimise fuel conversion efficiencies with the help of a Cost
Benefit Analysis (CBA), etc. A CHP system’s heat to power ratio (H/E) depends on
the cycle, prime mover type and design, heat recovery systems used, thermal
conversion technology type and design, and the load quality requirements of the
facility. A second CHP system characteristic equally important in determining the CHP
configuration that best meets facility needs, is the temperature requirements of the
thermal load applications. The CHP systems that provide high-temperature energy
streams are more easily applied to various loads, whereas lower-temperature CHP
systems have some restrictions on the type of loads they can serve. For example,
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Besides the important heat to power (H/E) ratio criterion, there are numerous other
issues when a CHP system is designed for a facility. A facility may meet all the general
requirements for the application of a specific CHP plant size and configuration, but
fuel availability or emissions limitations by the authorities could be among the pressing
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issues that must be addressed for the successful implementation of the CHP system.
Stringent and rigid requirements may affect the CHP system design in terms of heat
to power ratio optimisation. An economic analysis performed with these stipulations
may look less attractive to one without the considerations of the regulations and
stipulations by the local authorities. Such issues related to CHP systems are
discussed briefly in the following sections.
Example:
An industrial facility has decided to go for a CHP system (Co-generation plant). Steam
is available at 35 T/h with a pressure of 70-bar and 500oC. The process steam
requirements are given in the Table below.
Design the CHP system with single turbine. The facility requires 5 MW electrical
power. Find out whether the CHP system is self-sufficient, or any additional power
needs to be purchased from the local grid. Assume efficiencies of turbine and
generator are 72% and 92%, respectively.
Solution:
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These power quality issues will impair the operation of some sensitive equipment or
cause them to underperform. In addition, poor power quality can negatively impact
the performance and life of a CHP system. The power quality issues will also prevent
the CHP system getting grid synchronised, affecting the import of electricity from the
local grid. Hence, power quality issues will be thorny ones regardless of whether the
CHP system is in island or grid-syncronised modes of operations.
In addition, careful consideration should also be given to fuel intake pressure because
many prime movers require high-pressure fuel to operate. For example, combustion
turbines require from 5 to 21-bar absolute pressure for the smallest to largest unit,
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respectively. Reciprocating engines and fuel cells generally require from 1.2-bar for
smaller units to over 2-bar for larger units. Fuel pressure can be augmented with gas
pressure boosters/compressors, but these systems will consume additional power
ranging from under 3% for smaller combustion turbines to over 5% for larger units
with low pressure supply.
When biogas is used as CHP system fuel, it may consume very high booster system
power because the pressure at the supply point can be close to zero. In addition to
the fuel availability and off-take pressure, fuel quality must also be checked. CHP
systems using fuel cells may have fuel quality requirements (Contaminant free fuel,
the contaminants are CO, H2S and NH3) that exceed that provided by the local utility.
It is important to recognise that not all gas supplies are of equal quality, with many
gas grids accepting synthetic gas or other forms of gas that may have a deleterious
effect on the gas quality, particularly just downstream from the point of injection. It is
very common practice to have a fuel quality statement from the gas utility provided to
the engine supplier to confirm the fuel compatibility. When considering CHP systems
that are fueled by biogas or synthetic gas, a higher level of investigation regarding
fuel energy content and impurities is required. Gas pretreatment equipment will most
likely be required to remove moisture, sulfur, particulate matter, siloxanes, and other
impurities. In addition, the operation and performance ratings of the engine must be
characterised for the specific energy content of the fuel.
Low energy gases, such as municipal wastewater treatment plant anaerobic digester
gas, are compatible with many engines, but these engines must be configured for the
application and will not perform at the same capacity or efficiency as if the engine
were configured for typical pipeline quality natural gas. Gas cleanup requirements can
be relaxed if higher maintenance costs and more frequent maintenance intervals are
allowed, but there may be little alternative to implementing high level gas pretreatment
equipment if engine exhaust aftertreatment is required, because fouling of catalysts
can occur very quickly if fuel quality is low.
Solid fuel biomass, such as woody biomass, can be directly combusted in a boiler to
produce steam that turns a backpressure steam turbine to generate power, with the
exhaust steam going to process or heating. Alternatively, the biomass can be
pyrolysed to produce syngas, which can be combusted in an engine to produce power
and heat. In these CHP systems, the fuel quality and energy content are a function of
the type and moisture content of the biomass as well as the combustion or pyrolysis
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process used. Such systems are generally designed around the specific feedstock
and must be appropriately sized to the throughput of fuel necessary to provide the
energy output required by the facility.
Although natural gas is the predominant fuel for CHP systems in the continental
United States, CHP systems can also be operated with a variety of fuels, including
diesel or propane. In all cases, the fuel specifications should be reviewed with the
prime mover supplier to ensure that the available fuel quality is in line with the
manufacturer’s requirements as well as its impact on warranty, maintenance, and
emissions.
Power Quality: One of the concerns by grid operators in Singapore, the Power
System Operator (PSO) is that an interconnected on-site generator should not
degrade the quality of power supplied by the utility in any circumstances. This is
measured by voltage and frequency stability, power factor, and harmonic content. In
general, with the exception of induction generators and inverters, the quality of power
available from an on-site generator will exceed the quality of power that is available
from the grid. From the owner’s perspective, poor grid power quality, whether caused
by facility loads or the utility, are of equal concern. Short-term metering to document
power variations of a few seconds or less may be required where the end-user
processes are characterised by short, significant changes in load. In this case, it is
necessary to establish that the selected prime mover can respond to short-term
variations in load.
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working on that circuit. Most utilities will require the CHP system to install a reverse
power relay and an external disconnect switch that is accessible by utility personnel
and that can be used to disconnect and lock out the CHP system. For CHP systems
connected to local grids, additional protective devices will be required to ensure the
utility that the generator can be disconnected when required. These devices generally
must be reviewed by and meet the approval of the authorities before an
interconnection will be allowed. Generally, expertise of an electrical professional
engineer is needed.
Grid Fault Protection: Utility operation of the grid can be quite complex and include
the coordination of relays, switches, and fault control. The interconnection of a CHP
system or any other active source of power within the grid generally must be reviewed
by the utility to avoid jeopardising the ability of the utility to manage grid operations.
This includes the calculation and declaration of the fault level or short circuit current
during the design stage of the CHP system.
In all scenarios and particularly where existing equipment is used to support a new
CHP plant, it is important to review the equipment loads when the CHP system is fully
operational in order to ensure that the existing ancillary equipment has the turndown
necessary to accommodate the CHP plant. For example, where a CHP plant that
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generates 9 million Btu (9.5 GJ) of steam is added to an existing facility with a 300 hp
steam boiler (10 million Btu/h) (2943 kW) that is at times fully loaded, it will be
necessary to either adjust the existing boiler to provide for stable operation at 1 million
Btu/h (294 kW) or add a new small boiler to provide the supplementary steam. It is
not unusual that existing facilities have boilers that cannot operate efficiently below
30% of their nominal capacity such that, if the CHP thermal output is slightly less than
the load, a new boiler may need to be incorporated as part of the CHP plant.
It is also important to recognise that, while CHP may provide a less costly source of
power and thermal energy, it will not solve pre-existing problems with the site steam
and hot or chilled-water systems or inadequacies in the power distribution system or
automated control systems. Any CHP review or audit should attempt to identify any
such inadequacies in the facility thermal and electrical distribution systems which
should be fixed before installation of a CHP plant. Equally, any potential energy
efficiency measures that would impact the loads intended to be addressed by the CHP
plant should be implemented before installation of CHP equipment. Addressing such
issues after installation of CHP may not only result in wasted resources, but also lead
to poor performance of the CHP plant, resulting in lower efficiencies and higher-than
anticipated maintenance costs.
8.4.5 Emissions
Local air quality emissions requirements for stationary engines, fuel cells, or boilers,
in the case of biomass CHP systems, are an important consideration for CHP system
design. Most projects, as a minimum, are required to ensure that project emissions
comply with local air quality requirements as defined by the local jurisdictional
authority. (See Chapter 10 for further information on emissions considerations.) This
may require the addition of exhaust aftertreatment devices, which must be included
in the project capital cost as well as operation and maintenance costs, because most
of these devices do consume chemicals and require replacement of components.
Lower restrictions may be placed on renewable fuels, such as landfill gas or digester
gas, but if these systems require exhaust aftertreatment, then a high level of gas
pretreatment will most likely be required to prevent fouling of any catalysts used for
exhaust aftertreatment. Consideration must also be given to the location of the point
of emissions of the stack. The location must comply with local regulations that
normally prescribe distances from air intakes, open windows, etc., as well as sensitive
receptors (people).
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recommended to have the existing boiler/chiller plant personnel operate and maintain
the CHP system plant thermal equipment.
Summary
Understanding the basic concepts underlying the design and selection of a CHP
system is of paramount importance. This chapter provided an account of the thermal
system design of a CHP system for a facility based on the heat to power ratio of the
facility as well as the other relevant local regulations and codes of practices. The
importance of considering beyond the heat and load requirements are also
emphasised in this chapter.
References
1. Cengel Yunus, Thermodynamics: an engineering approach, McGraw-Hill,
New York, 2008.
2. Nag P. K, Engineering Thermodynamics: Tata-McGraw-Hill, New York,
1999.
3. ASHRAE Handbook Fundamentals, 2009
4. U.S. Department of Energy, 1999. Office of Energy Efficiency and
Renewable Energy: Review of Combined Heat and Power Technologies,
October 2006
5. https://www.energy.gov/eere/amo/combined-heat-and-power (Last accessed
on 16 May 2019)
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Learning Outcomes:
The main learning outcomes from this chapter are to understand:
1. The basics of feasibility analysis
2. CHP simulation software and tools
3. Analysis of existing CHP systems
4. Different levels of CHP feasibility studies
5. CHP economic analysis
9.1 Introduction
Prior to the consideration of a successful Combined Heat and Power (CHP) system,
a careful economic and technical feasibility evaluation of the system needs to be
carried out to convince the top management of the firm. The process of performing
the feasibility study for a CHP system includes a preliminary screening study as well
as a detailed and comprehensive study. During the feasibility study, information on
existing or proposed facilities including cooling, electrical, heating load data, etc. are
collected and analysed. In addition, technically feasible solutions to effectively and
efficiently meet the facility’s load requirements are developed. Finally, an economic
analysis using a suitable economic tool is conducted. The economic analysis shall
include estimating energy usage and the resulting cost, preparing budget cost
estimates, and calculating life-cycle costs to determine the recommended plant size
and configuration.
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The three phases of a CHP feasibility study for an existing installation are shown in
Table 9.1. Table 9.2 provides an indication of the time, effort and information required,
and typical cost.
Stages Purpose
Site screening and defining scopes To evaluate and ascertain if the site is a good
candidate for a CHP system
Preliminary assessment (Level 1) To evaluate and ascertain if a CHP system is
technically appropriate and has economic
potential
Detailed assessment (Level 2) Data collection, analysis and optimisation of
the CHP system including conceptual design
Table 9.1. Three phases of a CHP feasibility study
Stages Time required Information required Cost of study
Site screening and 2 days Site information to a Negligible
defining scopes minimal level and average
utility cost. e.g. Site layout,
nature of business, types of
energy used, energy tariff
and annual energy cost etc.
Preliminary 3 – 5 weeks 3 years of utility bills, $10,000
assessment building operation
(Level 1) information, building loads
including electrical, ACMV
and process heating loads,
future forecast on
production expansion,
equipment addition,
projected energy cost
Detailed 1 – 4 months Data collection for two to $10,000 to $100,000
assessment three weeks period, data
(Level 2) analysis and modelling,
conceptual design and cost
estimates
Table 9.2. Information required for the feasibility study
For new installations, the integration of a CHP system is like any other mechanical
and electrical system (such as hybrid chiller plants and air side systems). The
feasibility of CHP systems in new installations should be part of the project design
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process, which is typically performed during the programming or planning stage. For
the above-mentioned CHP feasibility studies, currently, quite a number of popular and
proven building energy simulation programs are available. Some of the commonly
used software are: HAP, Visual DOE, eQuest, Energy Plus and IES, etc.
The cost-effectiveness of CHP systems can be evaluated in the early stages of the
system design. A section of this chapter describes the procedure of analysing a CHP
system for new construction.
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No. Questions
1 What is your current electricity tariff? More than $0.13/kWh?
2 Are you concerned about the impact of current or future energy tariffs on your
business operations?
3 Are you concerned about power reliability? Is there a substantial financial or
other impact to your business if the business operation is disrupted for 1 hr.?/
for 10 minutes?
4 Does your facility operate more than 5,000 hours per year?
5 Do you have heating (steam, hot water, chilled water using absorption chiller,
hot air, etc.) requirement throughout the year?
6 Currently, do you have a central plant?
7 Do you anticipate a replacement, upgrading or retrofitting of central plant
equipment within the next 3-5 years?
8 Do you anticipate a facility/production expansion within the next 3-5 years?
9 Have you already retrofitted your facility with any energy efficient measures
but still have high energy cost?
10 Do you intend to reduce your inefficient energy consumption impact on the
environment?
11 Do you have access to any nearby biomass resources? e.g. food processing
waste etc.
Table 9.3. Questionnaire for the CHP suitability check
The CHP level 1 feasibility study starts with data collection with highly accurate
instrumentation. For example, temperature, flow rate and power are trend logged for
a sufficient period of time with thermistors, non-intrusive type flow meters (ultrasonic
flow meter) and clamp-on power meters, respectively.
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Prior to the data gathering, a level 1 feasibility analysis checklist comprising the
following main elements is prepared:
• Contact information
• Site information and data
• As-built drawings of building, chiller and boiler plants, etc.
• Electricity and fuel use data
• Thermal loads like heating, cooling, domestic hot water, etc.
• Existing equipment design specifications
• Other relevant data
These data can be acquired by liaising with the facility team that is in charge and
responsible for the daily operation of the various systems and equipment.
Subsequent to the data collection, the engineer will proceed with the following tasks:
Hurdle Identification
This first and foremost step involves the identification of any major uncontrollable
hurdles that will prevent the project from being implemented. Typical examples of
such hurdles are:
• long-term corporate power purchase contracts that will not allow installation of
on-site power generation
• local utility and regulatory policies that add CHP constraints and costs
• stringent local building and environmental codes
• special requirements for the stack to exhaust the products of combustion
• space for prime mover and auxiliary equipment
• noise level constraints, etc.
If any one of these hurdles is revealed during this stage of the economic analysis, it
should be eliminated by adopting the optimum and best available solution.
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The electrical energy consumption profile could be obtained from utility bills, sub-
metering (electrical, steam/hot water, chilled water) or in some cases, from trend data.
The cooling and heating load profiles could be obtained from the trend logged data of
a sufficient duration (e.g. two weeks).
Another approach for obtaining the building load profiles is by calibrated simulation.
This is the use of hour-by-hour building energy simulation by using energy simulation
software such as Carrier Hourly Analysis Program (HAP) or Equest to calibrate
various physical inputs to the developed building model so that the actual energy use
from utility bills or other sources matches closely with that predicted by the building
energy simulation. The accuracy of the calibrated simulation depends heavily on the
data available from the site personnel. The results of the calibrated simulation are a
set of 8760 hourly values for electrical demand, thermal energy for space heating,
domestic hot water, and cooling energy. This information along with proper tools can
be used for optimal sizing of the prime mover and thermally operated chiller with
available analytical tools. It can be as simple as a customised Excel spreadsheet.
In cases where the site has already implemented (or plans to implement) energy
conservation measures (ECM), it is important to take these measures into account in
the optimal sizing of the prime mover(s) and, if applicable, the absorption chiller. In
addition to equipment sizing, the engineer or the CHP project developer will
investigate the proper prime mover technology (reciprocating engines, gas turbine,
microturbine, etc.). Despite the capability of the available analytical tools to optimise
the prime movers, it is suggested that several prime mover alternatives be considered.
This could be in terms of the prime mover sizes, technology, the best available
absorption chillers, etc.
In the event of the unavailability of an optimum sizing tool, it is advisable for the design
engineer to start off with a prime mover or movers with the capability of providing a
portion of the site electrical power demand and the majority of the site thermal load.
The shortfall site electrical power resulting from this design approach could be
imported from the Singapore electricity grid. This approach is known as thermal load
matching resulting in higher system efficiency since it maximises the use of waste
heat.
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Island Mode Operation: where the CHP site is stand-alone, i.e. the CHP plant is not
connected to the local grid, and hence all the thermal and electrical needs have to be
met by the CHP system. In this mode of operation, excess standby capacity for
scheduled and unscheduled maintenance as well as momentary demand spikes and
energy creep issues must also be considered.
Electric Base Load Design: Sized by electric base-load where the CHP system is
sized such that it meets the minimum electricity billing demand which can be
established from the past electricity bills. Any shortfall in electrical power is purchased
from the local electricity grid. Similarly, any thermal energy shortfalls have to be met
by a separate economical heating source.
Thermal Base Load Design: where the CHP system is sized so that most of the
facility’s thermal load is met with heat recovered from the CHP prime mover, with any
excess electrical power sold to the electricity grid and any shortfalls in electrical power
met by importing from the local grid.
Intermediate Loads Design: where some amount of thermal load and some amount
of electrical load are met by the CHP system. In reality, this is probably the most
common design option because of the fact that the final CHP design and equipment
sizing will depend on location-specific economics and issues such as energy security
and reliability. Economic issues not only involve the consideration of cost of thermal
and electrical energies, but also the operation and maintenance costs of the
equipment as well as environmental costs.
Peak Load Design: where the CHP system is specifically designed to shed electrical
demand during the peak period, and thereby save on demand charges.
Economic Analysis
The CHP level 1 feasibility study is intended to determine the economic feasibility of
a CHP system. An economic analysis is very important as well at this stage of the
CHP system feasibility study. Typically, one should carry out an economic analysis
using just a simple payback period tool to quantify the economic benefits without
taking into account the time value of money and discounting factors. etc. As the name
suggests, this simple payback way of evaluating the economic return is the simplest
compared to more accurate and sophisticated methods such as net present value,
internal rate of return (IRR), and life-cycle costs (LCC). The simple payback period
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method is the least accurate of all the methods because it does not take into account
the time value of money, unlike all the other more accurate economic tools.
The simple payback period is the ratio of the capital or investment cost to the annual
net cost savings. The cost of borrowing money, inflation, and other factors associated
with the operation of the system during its lifetime are ignored in this method.
However, the simple payback analysis does take into account the following:
• Heat and power produced by the CHP system, and the estimated amount of
each to be used on the site
• Avoided costs of utility-purchased heat and power
• Cost of fuel associated with running the CHP system
• Cost estimates to install and maintain the system
• Available incentives for CHP installations
These variables are applied to each of the proposed alternatives. It should be noted
that, often, estimated equipment pricing is quite accurate at this initial stage, but other
project development costs (such as the cost of CHP system tie-in and site
construction expenditures, additional structural work, noise and pollution) are
preliminary. Given these uncertainties it is important that reasonable estimates for all
other turnkey costs associated with CHP system implementation, operation, and
maintenance be included in this preliminary budget. Sometimes additional analysis
will be required to account for benefits such as backup power in events of utility outage
or potential increase in the utility rates.
The determination to proceed to a level 2 feasibility study will depend on the simple
payback estimates, since owners have an upper threshold value based on their own
economic criteria., If all of the previously mentioned costs and benefits are included
in the preliminary economic analysis, it should provide a fairly accurate representation
of the opportunity or benefit of the CHP project. It should be clear, however, that the
results of this economic analysis are simply a necessary phase before proceeding to
the more accurate economic study that is part of the level 2 feasibility study.
1. Executive summary
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The economic analysis will be based on final system sizing and proposed operation
and will be based on more accurate thermal and electrical load profiles. Accurate data
in this regard is measured data obtained from trending (utilising the existing control
system or installing new instrumentation) or from electrical utility interval data.
Planned site expansion or new construction has to be considered and coordinated
with various entities in this facility; for example, engineering, planning, and
construction. In cases where the CHP plant is part of a new construction substantial
cost savings can be achieved, and these avoided costs have to be incorporated in the
total implementation cost resulting in improved return on investment of the system.
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Several site visits and a comprehensive review of the existing conditions will be
required as part of this study, thereby allowing the decision maker to make a well
supported decision.
Typically, a CHP level 2 feasibility analysis report should include the following:
• Site load profiles
• System operational schedule
• Mechanical and electrical system components
• Heat recovery
• Systems efficiency
• Sound levels
• System vibration
• Space considerations
• System availability during utility outage
• Utility interconnection
• Emissions and permitting
• Capital cost
• Fuel costs
• Maintenance costs
• Availability of incentives
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Economic Feasibility
It is recommended to perform an energy audit, to identify areas where improvements
to existing utility systems can be made. Design of a CHP system should be based on
an optimised energy base-load.
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The cost benefit of installing a CHP plant shall be made by comparing with the
following:
• Current methods/ costs of power procurement
• Current methods / costs of heat (steam) procurement (fuel / technology)
• Age of current systems (do they need to be replaced?)
• Other factors to consider include:
• Company’s hurdle rate
• Any plant expansion
• Availability of fuel
• Engineering Capability (O&M support, Facility Management, etc.)
• Modifications to Infrastructure (If any)
• Load profile
A Cost Benefit Analysis (CBA) provides the CHP system developer with a snapshot
of the current market condition. The CBA should not be used to make a decision to
invest in a CHP system because other factors also need to be considered. The other
factors which are to be considered include oil prices, availability of fuel, fuel switching
as well as foreign exchange. One or more of these factors may change with time
which would diminish the attractiveness of implementing a CHP system. Therefore, a
sensitivity study should also be made based on changes in these factors. It is also a
good idea to determine the breakeven point at which it does not make sense to invest.
The various economic tools used in the economic analysis of a CHP system are:
• Simple payback period
• Return on investment (ROI)
• Cash flow analysis
• Net present value (NPV)
• Discounted payback period
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Example:
The investment for a new energy efficient chiller is $1 million. The expected annual
savings is $100,000
Solution
The advantages and disadvantages of the Simple Payback Period are as follows:
Advantages:
• Simple to use
• Gives an immediate indication of how long it will take to recover the
investments
• Useful when time scale is small
• Provides an indication of when cash flow will become positive
Disadvantages:
• Does not consider time value of money
• Does not account for cash flows after payback period
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In order to make an investment decision, the rate of return should be higher than cost
of capital (interest rate). The greater the difference between ROI and interest rate, the
better the investment for the project
Advantages:
• Simple to use
• Provides indication of Return from investment (to compare with cost of capital)
Disadvantages:
• Does not consider time value of money
• Does not consider variable nature of cash flow
Example
A new chiller A will cost $500,000 and will provide savings of $80,000 a year. Another
new chiller B will cost $550,000 and will provide savings of $85,000 a year. Compare
the ROI for the above 2 options.
Solution
Cashflow Analysis
Cash flow resulting from a project may not be uniform due to reasons such as varying
nature of electricity tariff, maintenance cost, utilisation hours of the new system, tax
rates, etc. Hence, a cashflow analysis covering the entire life span of the new system
or equipment needs to be carried out. An example of such a cash flow analysis is
given below:
Example 9.1
The investment cost for new equipment is $250,000. Expected energy savings are
$50,000 based on the present electricity tariff. There will be no maintenance cost for
the first year of operation. Thereafter, the annual preventive maintenance cost will be
$5,000 a year. An additional maintenance cost of $5,000 will be charged every 5 years
starting from the 5th year of operation. Assume that the electricity tariff will increase
by 5% a year from the 2nd year, prepare the cash flow for the first 10 years of
operation.
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Solution
Example 9.2
Calculate the PV for a cash flow of $100,000 which will result in the 2nd year if the
discounting rate is 5%.
Solution
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where,
FVn = future value of cash flow at end of year “n”
i = interest rate or discounting rate
n = number of years in the future
Io = initial investment
Example 9.3
Calculate the NPV for the following two projects taking the discounting rate to be 5%
Solution
Project A:
NPV = 200,000/(1+0.05)1+200,000/(1+0.05)2+200,000/(1+0.05)3+200,000/(1+0.05)4
– 500,000
= 190,476 + 181,406 + 172,768 +164,540 - 500,000
= $209,190
Project B:
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NPV = 260,000/(1+0.05)1+260,000/(1+0.05)2+260,000/(1+0.05)3+260,000/(1+0.05)4
– 700,000
= 247,619 + 235,828 + 224,598 + 213,903 – 700,000
= $221,948
If the project NPV (based on the discounting rate used) is positive, the project is
considered to be acceptable.
Disadvantages:
Requires an estimate of the cost of capital
Provides an absolute $ value (not a %)
The discounting rate used in the economic analysis of a CHP system project should
take into consideration the following:
• borrowing cost
• return on investment (opportunity cost)
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If one of the CHP system projects requires $4 million for which $1 million is to be
borrowed at 7% while $3 million will be from the company’s own funds which can yield
10% in an alternative investment, then the discounting rate is calculated by giving the
respective weightage on the borrowed and own money as follows:
Discounting rate can be taken as 10%, or weighted average = (0.25 x 7%) + (0.75 x
10%) = 9.25%
Example 9.4
Calculate the discounted payback period for the following project taking the
discounting rate to be 7%
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Solution
In the IRR method of economic evaluation, the value of “i” (discounting rate) needs to
be calculated by trial & error. IRR should be higher than the “hurdle rate” for the
company investing in the CHP system project. For different CHP system investment
options, the one with the highest rate of return should normally be chosen.
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Example 9.5
For the following project cash flow, compute the IRR
Solution
1 2 3 4
NPV = 0 = 200,000/(1+i) + 200,000/(1+i) + 200,000/(1+i) + 200,000/(1+i) - 500,000
1 2 3
NPV = 200,000/(1+0.05) + 200,000/(1+0.05) + 200,000/(1+0.05) +
= $209,190
1 2 3
NPV = 200,000/(1+0.15) + 200,000/(1+0.15) + 200,000/(1+0.15)
4
+200,000/(1+0.15) -500,000
1 2 3
NPV = 200,000/(1+0.25) + 200,000/(1+0.25) + 200,000/(1+0.25)
4
+ 200,000/(1+0.25) -500,000
= $-27,680
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Therefore, this project investment, the IRR is between 15% and 25%.
It is to be noted that the NPV, IRR types of economic evaluation can easily be carried
out using the built-in functions of the Excel spreadsheet.
Advantages:
Uses time value of money
Considers variable cash flows
Able to compare with hurdle rate
Disadvantages:
Requires an estimate of the cost of capital
Does not show improvement in $ value
Cannot allow more than one change in sign of cash flows
Some of the terminologies related to the economic analysis are described below:
Inflation Rates
Inflation rates are the rates at which the costs of goods or services increase. The
inflation rates vary from country to country.
The inflation rates that are typically considered in a Life Cycle Cost analysis are as
follows:
• Cost of energy (purchased electricity and fuel),
• Cost of labour (operations and maintenance labor, as well as administrative
labour costs),
• Cost of permits,
• Cost of spare parts and general goods
Length of Analysis
The length of the LCC analysis of a CHP system is an important consideration. A
typical Life Cycle Cost Analysis is approximately 20 to 25 years, though it will vary
from project to project. As a CHP system consists of different components with varying
useful service life, it would be more difficult to estimate the useful life span of the entire
CHP plant. For example, the plant building may have a 50-year life, the prime mover
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a 20-year life, and the piping a 30-year life. The confidence level of the economic
analysis weakens as one gets into more micro levels of the CHP project. However,
the project investors may have a standard analysis length that is used for all analyses,
or a specified time period in which they need to achieve the projected savings.
Salvage Value
Salvage value, or scrap value as it is interchangeably called, is the value of an asset,
usually with a fairly high capital cost, at the end of its useful service life, e.g. car,
chiller, boiler, building, etc. Whether or not salvage value is considered is primarily
dependent on the length of the analysis, as discussed in the above paragraph. If the
salvage value of any equipment that reaches the end of its useful service life is
considered in the Cost Benefit Analysis, one of the stumbling blocks or hurdles in the
economic analysis could be overcome. It is also to be noted that the actual effective
amount of the salvage value and its significance to the overall analysis depends on
many factors, such as whether the equipment was fully depreciated at the point of
salvaging, market value of the equipment, which in turn can be affected strongly by
the advancement of related technologies, and the cost of demolition/removal of the
item, etc.
The various energy costs that are to be considered in the CHP system cost estimates
are as follows:
• Electrical energy costs.
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In order to estimate the energy costs, one must first estimate the energy usage in the
facility where the CHP system is going to be installed. The first step in establishing
the energy usage is to analyse the facility energy usage profiles through measurement
or from the historical utility bills for at least 3 or 4 years.
Energy usage profiles that are considered in analysing a CHP plant are electricity
usage, thermal usage (e.g., heating, domestic hot water production), and cooling
usage. The interaction of these energy usages determines how the facility’s energy
needs will be met using the conventional method, as well as under each of the CHP
options being considered. Once the energy usage is determined, costs can be
assigned to each component of energy used (or saved).
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• Making even small changes to the model once it is substantially complete can
prove challenging
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materials and up to 50% for labour. Location factors also need to be considered while
estimating the budgetary construction cost of CHP systems.
Other factors include the following:
Local Taxes: Sales tax may be applicable to all purchased material depending on the
locale and is applied to the subtotal including the above markups and location factors.
General requirements: General requirements such as contractors’ cost of
reproduction, office equipment, construction trailers, mobilisation and demobilisation,
project management, etc. Typical values are often around 5 percent and are either
estimated individually or the 5 percent factor is applied to the subtotal including the
sales tax.
Insurance and bonds: This is for the contractors and their labour and even for an
expensive piece of equipment, this could be roughly around 3%.
Contractor’s overhead and profit. This typically ranges from 10 to 15 percent and is
applied to the subtotal including the insurance and bonds.
Owner’s project costs. Project costs additional to the budget construction costs should
be included in the LCC analysis. These include: cost of engineering design, testing,
and inspection fees, and the owner’s construction administration. Project costs are
typically about 20% of the construction costs.
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A sample of Life Cycle Cost calculation is shown in Tables 9.6 to 9.7. Table 9.5 shows
assumed economic factors like discounting rate, fuel and electricity escalation rates,
etc. Table 9.5 shows the annual costs, escalated year by year over the project life and
equated to the present worth, and Table 9.6 provides a summary of the LCC
calculation. In a sample calculation as shown in Table 9.6, the total present cost is
$49,378,164 which is the sum of the $12,000,000 project cost and the $37,378,164
NPV of the annual costs.
Note that the sum of the annual costs is nearly $62 million, but the future value is
discounted to the amount shown in Table 9.6. The total present costs of an alternative
would then be compared with that of other alternatives to determine the alternative
with the lowest LCC.
Project Cost ($) NPV of Annual Cost ($) Total Present Cost ($)
12,000,000 37,378,164 49,378,164
Note that the sum of the annual costs is nearly $49 million, but the future value is
discounted to the amount shown in Table 9.7. The total NPV of an alternative would
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then be compared with that of other alternatives to determine the alternative with the
lowest LCC.
Summary
As with any major engineering project, the CHP system planning and design stage
needs a detailed technical and economic feasibility study to evaluate the feasibility of
going ahead with the project. In this chapter, such a feasibility study along with various
economic analysis tools are presented to aid practising industry professionals
currently dealing with or who may deal with CHP systems in future.
References
1. Younus Cengel, Thermodynamics: An Engineering Approach ed.6, McGraw-Hill,
2006.
2. ASHRAE Fundamentals, Handbook, 2009
3. American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy, URL:https://aceee.org ›
Topics (Last accessed on 16 May 2019)
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Learning Outcomes:
The main learning outcomes from this chapter are to understand:
1. The registration of different types of CHP systems
2. The basic terminologies associated with the regulatory requirements
3. The Singapore electricity market
4. The various local authorities involved in the CHP system registration
10.1 Introduction
Prior to the planning, design and implementation of a CHP system, it is very important
to have a good understanding of various local regulatory requirements in Singapore
as far as CHP systems are concerned. Singapore’s national electricity grid is highly
interconnected and complex, and regulatory requirements are also stringent for grid-
connected CHP systems. The important CHP related regulatory requirements are
controlled by EMA, EMC and NEA, etc. In this Chapter, such regulatory requirements
are described for practising engineers to have a better understanding of the relevant
regulatory requirements pertaining to CHP systems.
10.2 Basic Terminologies and Key Players in the Singapore Electricity Market
In this section, a brief account of the basic terminologies and the key players in the
Singapore electricity market are provided.
Basic terminologies
1. Co-generation: Simultaneous generation of heat and electrical power
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6. Dispatch Period: A thirty-minute time interval beginning on the hour or the half-
hour during which dispatch is being effected
7. Node: Any of the injection or exit points on the transmission system in the
market model
12. Real-time market: The wholesale electricity markets operated by the EMC for
energy, reserve or regulation
14. Regulator: The entity that has regulatory oversight over the Singapore
electricity market (the EMA)
15. Reserve: Spare capacity that can be used quickly to maintain supply when
there is mismatch between supply and demand
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The size of the CHP systems and their corresponding categorisation is tabulated as
follows:
CHP Capacity Category
< 1MWe Small
1 to 10 MWe Medium
> 10 MWe Large
Table 10.1: CHP system categorisation based on the size
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As per the Singapore regulations, any company that generates electricity needs a
generation licence if one or more generating units have an individual nameplate rating
of 10 MW or above. If the generation system is connected to the national power grid,
the generating unit(s) must be registered with EMC and will have to compete to secure
dispatch in NEMS.
A licence is also needed if a company has a generating unit whose nameplate rating
is less than 1 MW but wishes to sell this electricity to the grid.
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The Singapore electricity market settlement is illustrated in Figure 10.2 below. As can
be seen from the Figure, the Energy Market Company (EMC) plays a central role in
the Singapore electricity market settlement.
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When a CHP plant is going to be installed in a greenfield kind of facility, the facility
may not have adequate infrastructure and availability of backup utility supply at the
beginning. The advantages and disadvantages when a CHP system is planned in
such a greenfield set-up are as follows:
Advantages:
• Infrastructure for interfacing is planned or made ready, e.g. connection to the
grid takes fault level contribution into account
• Disruptions to operations are minimal
• Operational savings achieved from start of operations (in an optimised system)
Disadvantages:
• Lack of historical utility demand data – over-design of systems could occur
• Construction team have different objectives (capacity over optimal operation)
e.g. electrical demand projected based on Maximum Power Rating
• Sunk cost of new equipment has to be factored into cost benefit study
On the other hand, when a CHP plant is going to be installed in a brownfield kind of
facility, the facility may have adequate infrastructure and availability of backup utility
supply in the beginning. The advantages and disadvantages when a CHP system is
planned in such a brownfield set-up are as follows:
Advantages:
• Historical data is available for analysis – design with confidence
• Utility assets are close to full depreciation, or need to be replaced
• Plant improvements can be incorporated into the design
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Disadvantages:
• Plant operations may be momentarily disrupted, e.g. during the tie-in between
the CHP system and existing plant systems
• Lack of available or suitable space
• Substantial modifications (including hot taps) may have to be made
• Brownfield construction cost is high
The typical requirements for electrical power and heat for the various sectors in
Singapore are tabulated as follows:
Table 10.3 Typical CHP heat to power ratio for industries in Singapore
As can be seen from the Table, good CHP candidates are those with a fairly good
heat to power ratio. This suggests that when the waste heat produced could be well
utilised for their heating applications, the CHP system becomes optimum.
It is to be noted that even within similar industries, utility requirements may differ
widely. One good example is the common trend in the pharmaceutical industries
where the Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient (API plants) are better CHP candidates
than the Biologics plants.
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biomass boilers to make steam or hot water. Compared to gas or diesel-based boilers,
their fuel costs $0. In such a scenario, their fuel cost will be zero. Factors such as this
also need to be considered in the planning stage of the CHP system.
A CBA is a comparison of current energy procurement costs versus the costs incurred
by a potential CHP system. It provides a snap shot of the various cost issues at any
point in time and gives insight into the feasibility of the potential CHP development.
Load consumption pattern also plays an important role in deriving the economic
benefit from a CHP system. For example, a steady continuous consumption pattern
is desirable when considering CHP system implementation for the following reasons:
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• The efficiency of the CHP system also decreases with sub-optimal heat to
power ratios (due to the discharge of unused heat into the atmosphere)
The operating hours of the industrial plant affects how the CHP system will be
scheduled for maintenance. Plants that produce different products will see differing
utility loads, This will also affect the design at which the operating load of the CHP
system is optimal, as well as the operation strategy. As far as the load consideration
for the CHP system design is concerned, a reliable monthly electrical load profile
needs to be established as shown in Figure 10.6. From the monthly load profile, the
continuous load and the CHP base load can be established. The CHP design is based
on the baseload in order to avoid the part-load operations of the CHP system.
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It would make a clear distinction if the CHP system can be connected to non-critical
loads. This could reduce the contracted capacity significantly. It is to be noted that in
some cases, island mode operation (a CHP system operation without connecting to
local grid) may be considered by the facility owner.
On the other hand, it will not make any clear distinction if the grid connection is
necessary for backup purposes. In such situations, the contracted capacity for the
industrial plant may not be reduced or just partially reduced.
It is to be noted that most plants with CHP systems installed are net importers of
electricity. The heat requirements of any plant or facility can be boosted through
supplementary firing.
Experience suggests that typical industries in Singapore with high heat requirements
are:
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• Pharmaceutical plants
• Chemical industry
• Petro-Chemical industry
• Food processing industry
Generally, the industries with CHP systems export excess electricity to the grid only
under special circumstances. Some of the circumstances are as follows:
• Where the co-generation plant is the primary heat generator, for example:
o a refinery
• Where the factory/plant has to be split into different sites due to space
constraints (subject to EMA’s approval), for example:
o The company operates two sites that are on separate plots, but both
sites are majority owned by the company. Also, the company must
demonstrate that the reason for the two different plots was due to a
lack of space
Some of the fuel types most commonly available and used - or planned for use - in
co-generation plants in Singapore are:
• Natural Gas
• Process / Waste Gas / Waste Oil
• Bio-gas
• Biomass
• Diesel / Renewable diesel
• Town gas
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In Singapore, natural gas is available in the Western and Northern areas. Currently,
most of the power generation, about 95%, uses natural gas. In addition, all the co-
generation plants in Singapore run on natural gas. With the commissioning of the
Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) terminal in Jurong Island in 2013, the natural gas
availability in Singapore is highly stable and reliable, with the power generation
companies largely benefitting from it. In Singapore, the Natural Gas price is tied to
HSFO price in Asia and converted based on calorific value in mmBTU.
The factors that need to be considered when using Natural Gas include gas off take
pressure (depending on the location, technology and availability). The current (as of
May 2019) average natural gas tariff in Singapore for large consumers is about
S$16/mmBTU.
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Figure 10.9 High pressure and low pressure Natural Gas lines in Singapore
(Reference 5)
The height of the CHP stack needs to be in compliance with the National Environment
Agency’s (NEA) guidelines (refer to the NEA web portal www.nea.gov.sg for more
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information). The stack height requirement for the CHP system installation is shown
in Figure 10.11.
The NEA Code of Practice on Pollution Control for fuel-burning equipment also needs
to be complied with during the CHP implementation. The NEA Code of Practice on
Pollution Control for emission control of fuel burning states that: A chimney of an
approved height should be provided for safe dispersion of flue gases from fuel burning
equipment. The design chimney height computed from the SO2 emission calculation
shall not be lower than 3m from roof of factory or 15m from ground level, whichever
is higher.
A CHP plant should be situated near to the utility building. It is generally better to site
CHP plants close to the point where the steam interface occurs, to reduce the
complexity and distance of the steam and condensate pipes, as well as other services
(such as instrument air).
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While planning the CHP system installation, the noise emitted from the CHP system
needs to be addressed. The noise emission data in decibels can be obtained from the
CHP engine supplier and that should be compared with the noise level permitted by
the authorities. If the noise level exceeds the level allowed by the local authorities,
some kind of remedial actions to mitigate the noise level must be considered to reduce
it to the acceptable level. In addressing the noise emission through various strategies,
be mindful about the following:
• Sound propagation to surrounding buildings and public roads
• Proximity to buildings nearby has the effect of amplifying high frequency noise
The noise emission of a CHP plant and amplification of the noise is illustrated in Figure
10.13 below.
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• Control room
• MCC room
• Transformers
• Water Treatment / Chemical dozing skid (for greenfield facility)
Industrial experience suggests that a 5MW Gas Turbine Driven CHP plant will require
approximately 30m x 20m of space.
Three models for the declared contracted capacity are shown in Figures 10.14 and
10.15. In the model shown in Figure 10.14, there is one tri-generation system
producing B MW of power and A MW is imported from the grid. The total requirement
for the load is (A+B) MW and the declared capacity is A+B MW. This model is
operating without a load limiter switch. In the right-hand side model shown in Figure
10.14, the difference is on the declared capacity. This model declares only A MW
assuming the load limiter will do the load shedding within the allotted time frame. The
allowable capacity in this model is 20% more than the declared capacity of A MW.
Figure 10.15 shows a model with two tri-generation systems with each producing 1/2B
MW. The declared capacity is only (A+1/2B) MW despite the load requirement of
(A+B) MW. In this model, the assumption is that at any time only one generator will
fail. As in the case of the previous model, the allowable capacity that can be drawn
from the grid is 20% more than the declared (A+1/2B) MW, based on the condition
that the load limiter will kick in and perform the load shedding within the allotted time
frame.
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Figure 10.14 Contracted capacity scheme with and without load limiter and a
single generator
Figure 10.15 Contracted capacity scheme with load limiter and two generators
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Use-of-System
Peak √ x x
Off peak √ x x
Contracted Capacity √ √ x
Uncontracted Capacity √ √ x
Reactive Power √ √ x
MSSL Charges
Meter reading √ √ Net x
MSS basic services √ √ Net x
Billing & collection √ √ Net x
Retail market system related charge √ √ Net x
Legend:
√ Applicable
x Not Applicable
Figure 10.18 Various charges for CHP with and without grid synchronization
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Protection systems are designed to isolate only the faulty section of network. If the
fault current rating is too high, it may not be interrupted. If the fault current rating is
too low, the protective devices may not operate.
Circuit Breakers are designed to interrupt normal and maximum fault current.
E.g. 25kA for 22kV, 65kA for 400V, etc.
If the actual fault current is higher than the equipment designed rating, the equipment
will fail. Singapore’s electrical network is interconnected to improve reliability and
availability. This will result in an increase in fault current contribution.
Every transformer has “%” impedance value stamped on the nameplate. It is stamped
because it is a tested value after the transformer has been manufactured. The test is
as follows: A voltmeter is connected to the primary of the transformer and the
secondary 3-Phase windings are bolted together with an ampere meter to read the
value of current flowing in the 3-Phase bolted fault on the secondary. The voltage is
brought up in steps until the secondary full load current is reached on the ampere
meter connected on the transformer secondary.
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This implies that if there was a 3-Phase Bolted fault on the secondary of the
transformer then the maximum fault current that could flow through the transformer
would be the ratio of 100 / 5.75 times the FLA of the transformer,
i.e. 17.39 x the FLA = 20,903A = 20 kA
based on the infinite source method at the primary of the transformer. A quick
calculation for the Maximum Fault Current at the transformer secondary terminals is:
This quick calculation can help to determine the fault current on the secondary of a
transformer for the purpose of selecting the correct overcurrent protective devices that
can interrupt the available fault current. The main breaker to be installed in the circuit
on the secondary of the transformer has to have a KA Interrupting Rating greater than
21,000A. Be aware that feeder breakers should include the estimated motor
contribution too. If the actual connected motors are not known, then assume the
contribution to be 4 x FLA of the transformer. Therefore, in this case the feeders would
be sized at 20.904 + (4 x 1202) = 25,712 Amps.
Example 2: Determine the Fault Level Current (FLC) for the transformers shown in
the Figure below:
Solution
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Such a CHP system would typically use an external fuel source (e.g. gas or distillate).
‘Embedded co-generation’ refers to embedded generation that provides electricity as
well as other products such as process steam, hot water and/or chilled water. Such
generation may use an external fuel source (e.g. gas or distillate) or within plant fuel
(e.g. non-saleable refinery product).
However, there are some areas where the benefits of embedded cogenerators in
particular are not reflected in the charges they pay or receive. The key areas where
the NEMS does not reward embedded cogenerators for the benefits they could
potentially provide are: Greenhouse gas emission reductions and fuel diversity during
a gas crisis.
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Example:
Under the Market Rules, one settlement account is assigned to a group of embedded
generators.
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After Approval from EMA, the various steps that need to be followed are tabulated
below:
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Summary
Understanding the Singapore regulatory framework to register a CHP system in the
Singapore electricity market is important for industry professionals taking care of the
CHP systems. In this chapter, the Singapore electricity market and the various players
in the electricity market are presented. The various regulations for the registration of
a grid synchronised CHP system is also presented.
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References
1. Cengel Yunus, Thermodynamics: an engineering approach, McGraw-Hill,
New York, 2008.
2. Nag P. K, Engineering Thermodynamics: Tata-McGraw-Hill, New York,
1999.
3. Energy Market Authority (EMA) web page, URL:
https://www.ema.gov.sg/index.aspx (Last accessed on 16 May 2019)
4. Singapore Power web page
5. Singapore Power Gas web page, http://www.powergas.com.sg
6. Singapore Certified Energy Manager (SCEM) Lecture Notes by LJ Energy
Pte Ltd
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11.1. Introduction
As discussed in the preceding Chapters, in a conventional power plant, only a portion
of the energy transferred from the fuel to the working fluid is converted to work. The
remaining portion of the energy is rejected as waste heat to larger heat sinks such as
rivers, oceans or atmosphere. This was evident from the Sankey diagram for a
conventional power plant shown in Chapter 1. As seen from the figure, the rejected
heat is about 67% of the total energy input and is wasted unless it can be recovered
and used for other heating applications.
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The following benefits are derived by the companies implementing a CHP system:
The company uses electricity, steam, chilled water and hot water in its operations.
Currently, the company buys electricity from the grid, while steam is produced
separately by its natural gas fired fire-tube boilers. Chilled water is produced by the
electrical chillers and hot water is produced from steam with the help of a heat
exchanger. The utility demand of the company prior to the tri-generation system
implementation is schematically represented in Figure 11.2.
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Figure 11.2 The utility demand of the company A before the CHP system
implementation
In order to improve the energy efficiency of its plant, the industrial company decided
to install a tri-generation plant to partially meet the demand for electricity, steam, and
chilled water, and fully meet the demand for hot water. The rationale for the sizing of
the tri-gen facility is to achieve the highest fuel utilisation efficiency of about 83%. The
company also decided to replace the existing boilers with high efficiency boilers. The
new boilers’ efficiency was estimated to be 90% at a steam load of 1.3 tons per hour.
It was anticipated that the implementation of these measures would help to reduce
the energy consumption of the company by 10% at the facility level. The proposed
system is shown schematically in Figure 11.3.
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Figure 11.3 The proposed energy efficient system including a CHP system for
Company A
Project Description
The tri-generation project involves the installation of the following key equipment:
Considering the steam usage profile (peak demand of 5 tons/hour and average
demand of 3 tons at 40% production load) and the projected average steam demand
of 4.5 tons/hour at production full load, the company proposed to replace the existing
2 nos. of 22 tons/hour boilers with 2 nos. of 5 tons/hour fire-tube boilers (1 operating
and 1 serving as standby) with economisers to supplement the steam production from
the tri-generation plant.
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The company estimated that the annual energy savings of the project is 33,647,050
MJ or $1,364,126 (using a natural gas tariff of $20.5821/mmBtu and an electricity tariff
of $0.2128/kWh, the electricity and gas tariffs in Singapore in 2013). The project was
completed in a year.
Background
Pharmaceutical company B used to depend on the electricity from the national grid
for plant use and to produce chilled water for air conditioning and plant cooling
systems. The electricity drawn from the grid prior to the implementation of the CHP
system (tri-generation) was about 12 to 13 MW. Out of this electricity drawn from the
grid, about 9 to 10 MW of electricity was for plant use, and 3 MW for operating the
electrical chiller producing chilled water for plant use. The company plant also used
to consume significant amount of fuel energy (natural gas) for the production of steam
for plant use. The electricity and fuel use details for the plant are depicted in Figure
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11.4. The tri-generation system using a gas turbine as the prime mover is shown in
Figure 11.5.
Figure 11.4 The utility demand flow diagram of company B before the CHP system
implementation
In order to improve the energy efficiency of its plant, the industrial company B decided
to install a 10 MW tri-generation plant to meet the majority of the company’s demand
for electricity and partial demand of steam, chilled water, and hot water. As with
company A, the rationale for the sizing of the tri-gen facility is to achieve the highest
fuel utilisation efficiency of about 83%. It was anticipated that the implementation of
these measures would help to reduce the energy consumption of the company by
about 12% at the facility level. The proposed tri-generation system is shown
schematically in Figure 11.7.
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The process flow diagram after the installation of the CHP system is shown in Figure
11.6 below. As can be seen from the Figure, the CHP plant produces about 10 MW
of electricity reducing the grid drawn electricity amount to 3 MW. In addition, the waste
exhaust from the two gas turbines are producing 4,000 RT of cooling with the help of
the steam driven absorption chiller. The steam quantity used in the absorption chiller
is about 15.5 tons/hr which is part of about 24 tons/hr steam generated by the waste
heat recovery boiler.
Figure 11.6 The process flow diagram of the company after the CHP system
implementation
Figure 11.7 The utility situation of the company, post-CHP system implementation
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Background
Company C is a Japanese company, which is a leader in innovative technologies and
materials for food products. The company is a global manufacturer and supplier of
high-quality cocoa butter equivalents (CBE), non-lauric cocoa butter replacers (CBR),
lauric cocoa butter substitute (CBS) as well as other specialty oils and fats. Prior to
the CHP implementation, the company’s electricity and steam demands were met by
the local electricity grid and steam boilers, respectively. Before the implementation of
the CHP system, the annual electricity and steam demands for the company C used
to be about 3.4 MW & 166,000 Tons, respectively. This constitutes a total annual
energy consumption (fuel and electrical energy) of about 660 TJ. The high demand
for heat and electricity which are sourced in a conventional manner makes the plant
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operation inefficient. Company C potentially risks losing its competitive edge in this
highly competitive and volatile market. Therefore, the management decided to
introduce a CHP system producing electricity and steam simultaneously. The utility
source details prior to the CHP implementation at company C are shown in Figure
11.8. As can be seen from the Figure, company C procured the electricity from the
national grid and used LFO and diesel to generate the steam using medium pressure
boilers.
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gas turbine is recovered by a Heat Recovery Steam Generator (HRSG). The details
of the gas fired co-generation system is shown in Figure 11.10 and 11.11 for the
unfired and fired mode, respectively.
Figure 11.10 The gas turbine-based co-generation system (unfired mode) installed
at company C
The specifications of the Kawasaki gas turbine generator are tabulated in Table 11.1
and a photograph of the gas turbine is shown in Figure 11.14.
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Figure 11.11 The gas turbine-based co-generation system (fired mode) installed at
company C
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Figure 11.13 The annual energy savings for Company C through the installation of
the CHP system
The annual energy savings in absolute and percentage terms are as follows:
Annual energy savings : 147.8 TJ (140,095 MMBtu)
% energy savings : 22 %
Figure 11.14 The annual cost savings for Company C through the installation of the
CHP system
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The annual reduction in CO2 emissions for company C resulting from the installation
of the CHP system is depicted in Figure 11.15
Figure 11.15 The annual CO2 emissions reduction for company C through the
installation of the CHP system
The annual CO2 emissions reduction in absolute and percentage terms are as
follows:
Annual CO2 emissions reduction: 18,300 tons of CO2
Some of the useful references for further reading on various programmes on CHP
in Europe and USA are included in the references.
Summary
A CHP system is the simultaneous production of two (co-generation) or more useful
outputs, namely electricity, heat and cooling (tri-generation). Three industrial
implementations of CHP systems as case studies have been presented in this
chapter. At the end of each case study, the benefits achieved from the installation of
the CHP systems are highlighted in terms of the energy and cost savings as well as
the reduction in CO2 emissions.
References
1. Younus Cengel, Thermodynamics: An Engineering Approach ed.6, McGraw-Hill,
2006.
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APPENDIX
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