Performance research of a micro-CCHP system with adsorption chiller

This paper describes a new micro-combined cooling,heating and power(CCHP) system,which is especially suitable for domestic and light commercial applications. It mainly consists of a natural gas-fired internal combustion engine,a silica gel-water adsorption chiller and other heat recovery units. In order to study the energy effciency and economic feasibility,an experimental investigation has been carried out. The experimental system has a rated electricity power of 12 kW,a rated cooling capacity of 9 kW and a rated heating capacity of 28 kW. Evaluation and analysis of the system are discussed in detail. The testing results show that the energy effciency of the overall system depends on different modes. The overall thermal and electrical effciency is over 70%. Higher heat load supplied causes higher effciency of the system. Economic evaluation shows that the micro-CCHP system enjoys a small capital cost and short payback period,which is easily accepted by customers. At current natural gas price of 1.9 RMB/m3(nominal condition) and electric price of 0.754 RMB/(kW·h) ,the total capital cost is only 90 000 RMB with a payback period of 3.21 years.     

Thermal management controller for heat source temperature control and thermal management

In many heat recovery processes, temperature control of heat source is often required to ensure safety and high efficiency of the heat source equipment. In addition, the management of recovered heat is important for the proper use of waste heat. To this aim, the concept of thermal management controller (TMC), which can vary heat transfer rate via the volume variation of non-condensable gas, was presented. Theoretical model and experimental prototype were established. Investigation shows that the prototype is effective in temperature control. With water as the working fluid, the vapor temperature variation is only 1.3 ℃ when the heating power varies from 2.5 to 10.0 kW. In variable working conditions, this TMC can automatically adjust thermal allocation to the heat consumer.