Design and operation of a tri-generation system for a station in China

Abstract Tri-generation usually refers to the simultaneous production of power, heating and cooling. Tri-generation can be regarded as a high-efficiency technology, provided that a large proportion of the energy rejected by the prime mover is used. In this paper, the design and operation of a tri-generation system for a railway station was investigated. The system is composed of the internal combustion engine (ICE), absorption heat pump (AHP), heat exchanger (HE), and other facilities. The system was built and operated in 2011, and the energy efficiency level was analyzed. The results indicated that the calculated maximum comprehensive energy efficiency (CEE) was 94.94% in the winter and 84.33% in the summer; with the calculated maximum exergy efficiency is 38.01% in the winter and 36.01% in the summer. The primary energy saving (PES) of the system was 32.2% in the winter and 4.9% in the summer. The system could therefore be regarded as high efficiency tri-generation. The recovered year of the increased investment was 5.47 year compared with the reference system. These results could serve as a reference for designing or evaluating tri-generation systems.