Performance study of a microturbine system for cogeneration application

A microturbine cogeneration system providing electrical power and space cooling to a laboratory space is presented. The system comprises a microturbine, a lithium bromide absorption chiller, heat exchangers and a propane fuel supply system. Results from the performance tests conducted on the cogeneration system showed that the microturbine electrical efficiency was 21% at near full load of 24 kW whilst the chiller operated with COP ranging from 0.5 to 0.58, depending on the electrical output. The overall system efficiency ranged from 40% to 49%. In addition, the performance of the cogeneration system under varying heat load in the cooling space and longer microturbine operating period were also studied.