Fraunhofer IMM develops CHP system with reformer/fuel cell

Energy management of renewable energy-based combined heat and power systems: A review

Flexibility assessment of a combined heat-power system (CHP) with energy storage under real-time energy price market framework

The efficiency of combined heat and power systems, which most commonly utilize natural gas reciprocating engines, is strongly influenced by the performance of generation sets at part-load conditions. However, there is currently a lack of comprehensive data on the part-load performance of generation sets, which can lead to model inaccuracies when evaluating combined heat and power systems early in the design phase. The current work reviews recent manufacturer reports and several industry publications to summarize the part-load thermal and electric performance of 67 natural gas spark ignition reciprocating engines from a wide variety of manufacturers and nominal capacity ranges that are commonly used in combined heat and power applications. Comparisons between linear and nonlinear performance curves for part-load heat-to-power ratios and electric heat rates demonstrated that, for most cases, nonlinear Power Law functions more accurately characterize performance above 50% part-load. The data were also used to develop a set of generalized nonlinear performance curves that extend below 50% part-load ratio that are intended for engineers to use in evaluating combined heat and power systems when more detailed performance data is not available.

Microturbines are ideally suited for distributed generation applications due to their flexibility in connection methods. They can be stacked in parallel for larger loads and provide stable and reliable power generation. One of the main applications of microturbines is operating as the prime mover in a combined heat and power (CHP) system. CHP systems are considered to be one of the best ways to produce heat and power with efficient fossil fuel consumption. Further, these systems emit less pollution compared to separate productions of the same amount of electricity and heat. In order to optimally benefit from combined heat and power systems, the proper sizing of prime movers is of paramount importance. This paper presents a technical-economic method for selecting the optimum number and nominal power as well as planning the operational strategy of microturbines as the prime movers of small scale combined heat and power systems (capacities up to 500 kW) in three modes of operation: one-way connection (OWC) mode, two-way connection (TWC) mode, and heat demand following (HDF) mode. In the proposed sizing procedure both performance characteristics of the prime mover and economic parameters (i.e. capital and maintenance costs) are taken into account. As the criterion for decision making Net Present Worth (NPW) is used. In our analysis we have also considered the impact of carbon tax on the economics of generation. The proposed approach may also be used for other types of prime movers as well as other sizes of CHP system.

With increasing heating demand and installed capacity of wind farms, combined heat and power (CHP) systems with inflexible generation are confronted with a major challenge for the efficient utilization of the wind power. Distributed heat sources (DHSs), such as electric boilers and heat storage, offer an effective way to enhance wind power penetration in a combined heat and power system by reducing the electric-heat coupling of the CHP unit. In this paper, an assessment approach for the wind power penetration of a CHP system with DHSs is proposed, and a two-stage multiple types of DHSs optimal configuration strategy to realize the minimum construction cost at a certain permissible wind power curtailment rate is established. After that, the proposed strategy is applied to a case study of a practical CHP system with in-depth analysis and detailed discussion, which reveals the effectiveness of the proposed strategy and indicates its promising applications for DHS configuration.

Performance evaluation of a solid oxide fuel cell multi-stack combined heat and power system with two power distribution strategies

Utilization of additional heat sources (AHS), such as electric boilers and heat storage tanks, is an effective way to promote the wind power consumption in large scale combined heat and power system (CHPS) in northern China. To promote the construction and operation of the AHS, this paper proposed a market mechanism that thermal power plant and wind farm share the benefits and investment risks of AHS together. A novel market mechanism of AHS including income mechanism and investment strategy is proposed. Under this market mechanism, the following aspects are studied: (1) The cost and income model of each subject is derived; (2) The feasible region of invest and income proportion of each participant is analysed; (3) The optimal investment strategy of multi participates is built. At last, actual example simulations is conducted to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed market mechanism. Simulation results show that the proposed method can arouse the enthusiasm of wind farm and thermal power plant and promote the construction and operation of the AHS, which has a certain significance to promote wind power consumption in combined heat and power system.

Proposing a decision-making model using analytical hierarchy process and fuzzy expert system for prioritizing industries in installation of combined heat and power systems

Design and optimization of a combined heat and power system with a fluidized-bed combustor and stirling engine

Assessment of utilization of combined heat and power systems to provide grid flexibility alongside variable renewable energy systems

Thermodynamic analysis of a combined heat and power system with CO2 utilization based on co-gasification of biomass and coal

Thermodynamic analysis and economic assessment of biomass-fired organic Rankine cycle combined heat and power system integrated with CO2 capture

Fuzzy comprehensive evaluation of district heating systems

Focusing on the electricity and thermal energy requirement of contemporary buildings, a joint operation of photovoltaic thermal (PV/T)‐based prosumers and a microturbine‐based combined heat and power system has been presented to analyse the economics of a grid‐connected microgrid (MG) system. The bidirectional flow of the electricity and heat model is considered and is optimally managed using a price‐based demand response (DR) scheme. Thermal storage is exploited to ward off the substantial amount of heat wastages that enhance the system's reliability during any disruption of microturbine. The objective functions of both the prosumer and MG operator (MGO) are formulated as a profit maximisation problem where they interact with each other on the basis of DR activity. To establish this strategic decision‐making process, the system is modelled as a Stackelberg equilibrium game, where MGO acts as a leader while PV/T prosumers act as a follower. The interaction or contribution of two players in a game is a problem of non‐linear optimisation, which is solved by the differential evolution algorithm. In the end, in a case study, it has been proved that the results are quite lucrative for the proposed model.

Framework for establishing the optimal implementation strategy of a fuel-cell-based combined heat and power system: Focused on multi-family housing complex