Trigeneration system generates green electricity and simultaneously produces chilled water for air conditioning and refrigeration systems from waste heat

(15/12/2008)

Weatherite has developed technology that can help reduce overall carbon emissions for industry by up to 90 per cent. The company’s sustainable tri-generation technology uses the UK’s first ADsorption chiller, a greener alternative to the absorption chiller, which substantially reduces energy use and carbon emissions. Weatherite has sole manufacturing rights to the ADsorption chiller in Europe.

The trigeneration system installed at Tesco, Colney Hatch, is generating 800kW of 'green' electricity using a sustainable bio-fuel source which simultaneously produces chilled water to power air conditioning and refrigeration systems from waste heat. The energy saving on the fridges alone has been reduced by a third on traditional arrangements – a saving equivalent to the boiling of two million kettles.

The plant room has been designed by a consortium of experts, including London consultants Scott Wilson, installation specialists Space Engineering, Cogenco, and led by Weatherite.

This first bio-fuel powered tri-generation plant at Tesco Colney Hatch is a ground-breaking system designed to incorporate the latest and greenest technology. Specialist sustainable fuel consultant, Fleetsolve, has been heavily involved in developing the solution. It demonstrates that Tesco is determined to meet the challenges of energy costs while providing the best sustainable green solution to meet the demands of a typical store.

Similar to conventional absorption chillers, the ADsorption chiller uses recovered heat from the power generating process instead of electricity to produce chilled water, but one of the many benefits is that it does not require the use of Lithium Bromide (LiBr), together with its associated environmental problems.

Instead, cooling is achieved by using water as a refrigerant. Water is adsorbed onto a bed of silica gel then, under low pressure, heat is removed from the system by boiling it off. This produces chilled water as low as 4˚C which especially benefits supermarkets where an extensive amount of cooling is required.

Weatherite Chairman, John Whitehouse, who founded the company almost 40 years ago, said: “The Government’s recent Stern Review has quite clearly placed the onus on UK business to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 20 per cent on or before 2010, and we strongly believe that bio-fuel trigeneration technology will definitely provide the clear way forward.

“The ADsorption chiller is a very exciting part of the packaged plantroom and can be used in various other applications and across industries. It is a viable alternative to the absorption chiller, which is currently used in other CHP systems available on the market. It is more reliable and does not contain Lithium Bromide or other refrigerants which means no crystallisation, no corrosion, no chemical testing and no hazardous leaks.”

In 2006, Weatherite met with a Japanese manufacturer which had been developing the ADsorption chiller since 1986 and recognised the exceptional results that had been achieved using the technology.

“A top priority for industry must be to reduce reliance on the centralised National Grid for its energy supply and to move to local, decentralised energy systems”, added John Whitehouse. “We want to establish a major market presence in this area of technology and create a leading position on the European stage.”

Related categories:  Biofuels and biomass   Cogeneration, combined heat and power   Energy saving technologies   Environmental technologies for industrial plants and factories   Environmental technologies for offices and commercial