System Design of a Novel Combined Cooling, Heat, Power, and Water Microturbine Combined Cycle

The Power, Water Extraction, and Refrigeration (PoWER) engine has been investigated for several years as a distributed energy system, among other applications, for civilian or military use. Previous literature describing its modeling and experimental demonstration have indicated several benefits, especially when the underlying semi-closed cycle gas turbine is combined with a vapor absorption refrigeration system, the PoWER system described herein. The benefits include increased efficiency, high part-power efficiency, small lapse rate, compactness, less emissions, less air and exhaust flows (which decrease filtration and duct size) and condensation of fresh water. The current paper describes the preliminary design and modeling of a modified version of this system as applied to distributed energy, especially useful in regions which are prone to major grid interruptions due to hurricanes, under-capacity, or terrorism. In such cases, the distributed energy system should support most or all services within an isolated service island, including ice production, so that the influence of the power outage is limited in scope. The current paper describes the rather straightforward system modifications necessary for ice production. The primary focus of the paper is the use of this ice-making capacity to achieve significant load-leveling during the summer utility peak, hence reducing the electrical capacity requirements for the grid as well as load-leveling strategies.