Application
Getting the most out of every unit of energy
In detail
Trigeneration is one of the most advanced energy solutions for buildings and industrial facilities with a simultaneous demand for electricity, heating, domestic hot water and/or cooling. By integrating a cogeneration plant with absorption chillers, the waste heat generated during power production can be recovered and turned into chilled water for air conditioning or industrial processes.
Unlike conventional systems, where a large part of the energy is released to the surroundings, trigeneration uses practically all the energy contained in the fuel, achieving overall energy efficiencies above 85-90 %, reducing primary energy consumption and directly helping to decarbonise buildings and industry.
The ability to produce electricity, heating and/or cooling at the same time makes this technology one of the most efficient solutions for installations with continuous operation and high energy demand.
In a cogeneration plant, a reciprocating engine or a gas turbine generates electricity from a fuel such as natural gas, biogas, hydrogen or other renewable gases.
This process produces several sources of waste heat, which can be recovered instead of being released to the atmosphere.
Absorption chillers use this thermal energy to produce chilled water through the lithium bromide-water absorption cycle (LiBr-H2O), turning a waste energy source into useful cooling for air conditioning or industrial processes.
In this way, a single installation can supply electricity, heating, domestic hot water and/or cooling at the same time, making the most of the energy in the fuel.
One of the main strengths of a trigeneration installation is its ability to recover the different heat sources available in the cogeneration plant.
Depending on the type of engine or turbine and the project configuration, thermal energy can be recovered from:
The right choice of absorption technology depends mainly on the installation’s demand and the thermal quality available, and it is one of the most important aspects of the installation’s design.
Absorsistem develops solutions tailored to the energy source available, selecting the most suitable technology to maximise the installation’s performance.
When the plant has hot water from engine cooling and/or from recovering the energy in the exhaust gases through a heat recovery unit, single-effect absorption chillers are the most efficient solution for turning this energy into chilled water.
Yazaki and Thermax single-effect technologies offer high reliability for this type of application.
When high-temperature exhaust gases are available, Thermax offers chillers specifically designed to use this energy source directly, removing intermediate stages and increasing the overall efficiency of the system.
In maximum-efficiency applications, hot water and exhaust gases can be combined, increasing the cooling capacity available and optimising energy use across the whole plant.
Trigeneration is particularly suitable for installations with a high simultaneous demand for electricity, heating and cooling:
The success of a trigeneration installation depends not only on the choice of absorption chiller, but on a sound analysis of the plant’s energy balance and the integration of all the heat recovery systems.
Absorsistem is involved from the earliest stages of the project, assessing the heat available, the operating regime of the cogeneration plant and the most suitable absorption technology for each application. This approach makes it possible to design optimised solutions that maximise energy efficiency, operating reliability and return on investment.
Equipment
Chillers that produce chilled water from heat instead of electricity: hot water, steam, gas or exhaust gas, from 17.6 kW to over 8 MW.
Manufacturers
Projects
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