LH Cogen: Low grade heat driven adsorption-linear-expander cycle for cogeneration of power and refrigeration

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.

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.