[May 2008] On the 3rd of April 2008 the Institute of Refrigeration (IOR) held an evening lecture. presenting a lecture entitled ‘Trigeneration – A Solution to Efficient Use of Energy on the Food Industry’. Doug Marriott has kindly reported on this lecture.
A project funded by DEFRA (funding is under the LIN scheme which provides 50% of the funding required, the remainder coming from the industry partners) is on track to deliver a new combination unit, delivering power, heat and chilling/freezing (CHRP) that will cut energy costs by up to 50%. It is expected that this new unit will save money for food manufacturers who have an on-site need for refrigeration as well as heat and power, as well as meeting the government's objective of a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions.
The work, Prof. Savvas Tassou at Brunel University and consultant engineer Doug Marriott, has already moved through a proof of principle technical feasibility study to a working pilot plant. Industry partners on the project are Bond Retail, Bowman Power, Apex Air Conditioning and Somerfield supermarket.
The basis of the process is a gas turbine producing electricity, where the research team have improved on conventional technology by utilising the exhaust gas heat transfer process into a process heat exchange for producing refrigeration effect. By developing new technology and combining this with an efficient, compact design the researchers have produced a unit which is 50% more efficient than existing and the process has a 50% reduction in carbon footprint.
The cooling capability can get the temperature down to a target of minus 12 deg C. The heat: power ratio is higher than conventional technology refrigeration Coefficient of performance is 0.6. In addition, the parts needed to build the machine are currently easily available components, thus keeping down the capital cost for new installations.
A key feature of the design is that it is modular, so can be adapted to suit small as well as large power needs. The basic unit is an 80kW module, which can be easily adapted by addition to meet any size of application
The unit is gas fired, and is capable of being powered by gas from anaerobic digestion plants, which from 2009 will qualify for double ROC allowance, reducing the cost even further.
The work has already won Doug Marriott Associates the Energy Institute's Innovation Award.
Features of Combined Heat Power and Refrigeration (CHRP)
- New technology developed with funding from DEFRA
- Compact units, 80kW Modular, adjust capability to your needs, will reduce energy costs by half
- Gas fired, can use gas from AD plant giving a double ROC value, can chill to minus 12°C or lower, built with available components to reduce capital cost
- Awarded the Energy Institute Innovation Award
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