- Highly efficient CPS micro gas turbines with a total efficiency of up to 98%
- ORC systems for power generation from waste heat
- New business models for energy supply companies and municipalities
- Product delivery and integration in existing energy systems
CPS: Highly efficient micro gas turbines for generating domestic current and heat. The Dürr Compact Power System is an economical solution for the combined generation of electricity and heat. In addition to maximum fuel utilization of up to 98%, the highly efficient CPS technology helps to save costs due to long maintenance intervals, provides excellent controllability in a great variety of applications, and reaches minimum emission values. Appropriate fuels are natural gas, biogas and biomass as well as methane, sewer gas or dump gas. Another benefit is the generation of electricity from weak gas at low methane concentrations (<1 volume percent) under co-firing of auxiliary gas.
The Dürr Compact Power System is based on gas turbine technology and has an electric power of 100 kWel which can be adjusted between 30 and 100 kWel subject to power requirements. The thermal power in the turbine exhaust gas varies between 210 and 520 kWth depending on the model.
Typically, CPS systems are used in companies requiring domestic current and heat, for example beverage and food manufacturers, market gardens, building material manufacturers, supply and disposal companies, sewage plants, or public utility companies.
In vegetable greenhouses, the highly purified waste gas can be directly used for CO2 fertilization. As a result, the yield from vegetable growth can be increased by up to 20%. After having produced domestic electricity, breweries can use the turbine exhaust gas which reaches temperatures of 270 °C to 650 °C to generate process steam via a downstream waste heat boiler or high-speed steam generator. For this purpose, various CPS versions are available for different steam volumes to meet basic or peak load requirements; and the CPS can also be retrofitted in existing boiler systems.
Micro gas turbines not only have a high electrical efficiency of up to 30% (net) and a total efficiency of up to 98% but also a high availability thanks to the characteristics of the system. In many cases of application, this yields a high return on the capital employed. The economic efficiency of cogeneration systems featuring micro turbines can be further increased by consistently using state aid offers and reimbursements; for example, the surcharge for renewable energy and the power grid fee are no longer applicable, and electricity and petroleum taxes are reimbursed.
ORC systems: next generation technology for power generation from residual heat. With its ORC systems (Organic Rankine Cycle), Dürr Cyplan offers innovative technology for cost-effective power generation using waste heat from combustion or production processes. The waste heat evaporates an organic working fluid when temperatures are still relatively low and drives a generator in a closed thermal circuit. The heat used for ORC power generation can then be employed in further processes, for example for heating purposes.
Use can be made of low and high temperature sources with levels ranging from 90 °C to 800 °C. These include, e.g., geothermal energy, waste heat from industrial production processes, (biomass) combustion processes, exhaust air purification plants or combined heat and power (CHP) units, and gas turbines. The ORC range of Dürr Cyplan comprises standardized compact modules having an electric power of 40 to 500 kW. Depending on the size of the plant and on the temperature level, combined heat and power units using ORC technology can produce up to 10% more electricity without requiring additional fuel; this is even 30% when the units are used in connection with gas turbines.
Dürr developed a compact ORC module with cogeneration operation especially for application by energy supply companies, where the residual heat is available for further heating purposes after the electric current has been generated. In this context, Dürr received the Environmental Technology Award Baden-Württemberg and the Sustainable Production Award at the Hanover Fair in 2013. The cogeneration ORC module converts up to 20% of the waste heat into electricity; 80% of the initial energy are available for downstream heat utilization. The public utility company of Groß-Gerau uses this technology in a biogas CHP unit and can therefore increase its electricity generation by more than 560 MWh or 7% per year, just by using the CHP waste heat. The residual heat remaining after the electricity has been generated reaches temperatures of up to 90 oC and serves to heat the building or is used for drying processes in a neighboring herbage drying company.
Due to its compatibility with a multitude of different waste heat sources and its wide temperature range, ORC is a highly flexible technology allowing a great variety of possible applications. The highest efficiency can be reached with waste heat sources that are available all year round.
Interesting business models for modernizing existing cogeneration plants. An interesting option for energy supply companies and municipalities is the modernization of cogeneration plants after the limit of 30,000 hours has been reached. In this case, the ORC can be retrofitted so that the re-investment criterion of 50% can be fulfilled, with 40% allotted to the ORC system and 10% to the CHP. After the ORC has been retrofitted, the company once again has the right to the CHP bonus of 30,000 hrs, and the power generation also yields additional income. The retrofitted ORC increases the power-to-heat ratio of the complete company by up to 20%, and depreciated CHPs can be operated for a prolonged period. Alternatively, the additional electricity and the residual energy can be used for own requirements which is, for example, interesting for operators of sewage treatment plants.
Dürr services for system integration and ongoing operation. In addition to the delivery of powerful products, such as CPS, ORC, plastic heat exchangers and high-capacity heat pumps, Dürr also arranges for economically and technically optimal incorporation of these products into existing energy supply systems. Dürr services include consulting and project planning for new projects, retrofitting of existing plants, remote monitoring, maintenance and servicing, and training courses.