LH Cogen: Low grade heat driven adsorption-linear-expander cycle for cogeneration of power and refrigeration
Lead Research Organisation:
Newcastle University
Department Name: NIRES Newcastle Inst for Res on Env &Sus
Abstract
The proposed system operates on a novel adsorption-linear-expander cycle, using low grate heat from process industry or from solar heat collection system, for cogeneration of power and refrigeration, with high efficiency, low energy consumption and 'zero' carbon emissions.
Planned Impact
A novel, high efficiency LH Cogen system using an adsorption-linear-expander cycle has the potential to benefit a large cross section of industry and society through highly efficient combination of adsorption cycle with linear-expander cycle, by using the low grade heat largely available everywhere to generate electricity and refrigeration; and maximisation of the use of the energy during the expansion process of refrigerants; and heat source flexibility for driving the LH Cogen system, which will enable low grade heat resources to be utilised. If commercialised, this will deliver a reduction in harmful CO2 emissions and will help to achieve national and European targets associated with energy use and carbon reduction, in turn reducing the UK's dependence on imported fossil fuel;, and it will improve the UK's competitiveness in the sustainable energy technology industry, which is a rapidly expanding market worldwide. The UK would be at the forefront of the technological areas integrated in this project. Beneficiaries of the research would include industry, as the project results would be disseminated to the technical community including designers and manufacturers of commercial power generations/generators and refrigeration systems. The work will further generate fundamental knowledge which will be of benefit to other researchers working in energy systems, both in academia and industry. Other beneficiaries include economic benefits such as the development of IPR (Intellectual Property Rights), employment, and the training of research staff. Also, society and commerce would benefit economically in the long term through reduced energy costs and reduced emissions if the LH Cogen concept is subsequently commercialised. The results of the research will be communicated to the academic and industrial research community as the project progresses. Dissemination will be mainly through high-quality academic and industrial journals, such as Applied Energy, Applied Thermal Engineering and International Journal of Refrigeration, as well as appropriate international conferences, such as Heat Powered Cycles and Electrical and Energy Systems. These papers and presentations will form a key element of engagement with the worldwide scientific community to maximise learning and knowledge exchange. A dedicated project website will be developed and maintained as a data sharing facility and is seen as a key dissemination tool through open access to progress reports, research publications, and the advertisement of engagement activities. Towards the end of the project, the outcomes from the research will be released/presented on the PRO-TEM (Process Industry Thermal Energy Management Network, funded by EPSRC) network website, which is established in 2009 in alignment with the current need of process industry in thermal energy management and managed by SWAN Centre in Newcastle University. PRO-TEM network will offer a good platform to disseminate the LH Cogen technology developed from the project.
Publications
Bao H
(2014)
Chemisorption cooling and electric power cogeneration system driven by low grade heat
in Energy
Bao H
(2014)
Modelling of a chemisorption refrigeration and power cogeneration system
in Applied Energy
Bao H
(2014)
Chemisorption cooling and electric power cogeneration system driven by low grade heat
in Energy
Lu Y
(2015)
Design and assessment on a novel integrated system for power and refrigeration using waste heat from diesel engine
in Applied Thermal Engineering
Lu Y
(2015)
Analysis of an optimal resorption cogeneration using mass and heat recovery processes
in Applied Energy
Lu Y
(2014)
Optimisation of a Novel Resorption Cogeneration Using Mass and Heat Recovery
in Energy Procedia
Lu Y
(2015)
Experimental Investigation of a Scroll Expander for Power Generation Part of a Resorption Cogeneration
in Energy Procedia
Wang Y
(2017)
Experimental study of the operation characteristics of an air-driven free-piston linear expander
in Applied Energy
Wu Q
(2016)
Fabrication and thermal conductivity improvement of novel composite adsorbents adding with nanoparticles
in Chinese Journal of Mechanical Engineering
Yuan Y
(2014)
Investigation of a Heat Pipe Heat Exchanger Integrated with a Water Spray for the Heat Recovery from Boil Exhaust Gas
in Energy Procedia
Description | The project team, including the PI, one RA funded by EPSRC, two PhD and one MPhil students, developed a LH Cogen system (cogeneration of power and refrigeration, driven by low grate heat between 100 - 145 °C), to produce electrical power and refrigeration simutaneously. It is the first prototype of such a LH Cogen system for utilising of low grade heat from processing industries and solar heat to generate power and cooling. A linear expander has also been developed and tested using compressed air. A computational model has developed to predict the outcomes and efficiency of the LH Cogen system. |
Exploitation Route | The system developed may be used in domestic environments or scaled up to be utilised in processing industries. Food and other processing industries such as breweries; domestic applications driven by the waste heat from chemneys or solar heat. |
Sectors | Agriculture Food and Drink Education Electronics Energy |
URL | http://research.ncl.ac.uk/lhcogen/ |
Description | The findings from the LH Cogen project has been used for: 1. Contribution to the knowledge in the science and engineering area. Two papers are published on peer-reviewed journals 'Applied Energy' (Impact Factor 5.261) and 'Energy' (Impact Factor 4.159). Two papers published on International Conference of Applied Energy. 2. Disseminated to the public: The outcome was presented on the Seminar: Efficient Triple-Energy Outlook and Practices to manage UK's 10-40 TWh of industrial waste heat, organised by the Energy Institute (EI) North Eastern Branch (Newcastle University, 11th December, 2013). 3. Potential application to the industries with large amount of wasted low grade heat, i.e. food industry. |
First Year Of Impact | 2014 |
Sector | Agriculture, Food and Drink,Education,Energy |
Impact Types | Societal Economic |
Description | Building Global Engagements in Research - GLOBAL - Sustainable Energy through China-UK Research Engagement (SECURE) |
Amount | £483,547 (GBP) |
Funding ID | EP/K004689/1 |
Organisation | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 03/2012 |
End | 03/2013 |
Description | Industrial Demand Reduction through Innovative Storage Technologies |
Amount | £602,610 (GBP) |
Funding ID | EP/M008088/1 |
Organisation | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 11/2014 |
End | 10/2016 |
Description | EPSRC Prosperity Outcomes: Feasibility study of carbon based Nanomaterials to Enhance heat transfer and efficiency for chemisorption cooling and power Cogeneration system |
Organisation | Guangdong University of Technology |
Country | China |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Guangdong University of Technology of China. |
Collaborator Contribution | Dr Qibai WU from Guangdong University of Technology, bringing her expertise in 'nano-carbon-coated-metals' into the LH cogeneration system. By adding the nano-materials, it is found that the heat transfer rate is increased. That means the efficiency of the LH Cogen will be increased. Several papers published on international conferences and a journal. |
Impact | 1. WU Qibai, ZHANG Haiyang, WANG Yaodong and ROSKILLY Anthony Paul, Fabrication and Thermal Conductivity Improvement of Novel Composite Adsorbents adding with Nanoparticles, CHINESE JOURNAL OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING, Vol. 29, 2016, DOI: 10.3901/CJME.2016.0810.091, available online at www.springerlink.com |
Start Year | 2015 |
Description | Efficient Triple-Energy Outlook and Practices to manage UK's 10-40 TWh of industrial waste heat (11th December, 2013) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Talk sparked questions and discussion afterwards. After my talk, the audience asked questions, such as whether this LH Cogen system could be used in industries. The answer was: Yes and it is possible. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
URL | http://research.ncl.ac.uk/lhcogen/projectoutcomes/LH%20Cogen%202013%20EI%20Seminar%20_11%20Dec%20201... |