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. 2023 Jan 17;16(4):557–576. doi: 10.1007/s12273-022-0958-0

Biofuel-driven trigeneration systems for non-residential building applications: A holistic assessment from the energy, environmental and economic perspectives

K F Fong 1,✉, C K Lee 1
PMCID: PMC9844161  PMID: 36686570

Abstract

In the metropolises, it is unlikely to use merely solar and wind energy to pursue zero carbon building design. However, it would become possible if biofuel-driven trigeneration systems (BDTS) are adopted. It is thus essential to assess the application opportunity of BDTS in a holistic way. In this study, BDTS offered definite primary energy saving of up to 15% and carbon emissions reduction of at least 86% in different types of non-residential buildings as compared to the conventional systems. With 24/7 operation for the hotel and hospital buildings, the corresponding BDTS could even achieve zero carbon emissions. All the BDTS primed with compression-ignition internal combustion engine were not economically viable even in running cost due to the high local biodiesel price level. The BDTS primed with spark-ignition engine and fueled by biogas, however, would have economic merit when carbon price was considered for the conventional systems that fully utilize fossil fuels. Adoption of carbon tax and social cost could have the payback ceilings of 8 years and 2 years respectively for most of building types. Consequently, the results could reflect the application potential of BDTS for non-residential buildings, leading the pathway to carbon neutrality for sustainable sub-tropical cities.

Keywords: trigeneration, biofuel, dynamic simulation, carbon tax, social cost, economic analysis

Acknowledgements

The work described in this paper was fully supported by a grant from City University of Hong Kong (Strategic Research Grant, Project No. 7005033).

List of symbols

A

area (m2)

a0, a1, a2, a3

empirical coefficients in Eq. (36)

CDE

carbon dioxide emissions (ton)

COP

coefficient of performance of chiller

cp

specific heat capacity at constant pressure (kJ/(kg·K))

FIpm

fuel injection rate of prime mover (kg/s)

FIR

fuel injection ratio

H

enthalpy (kJ)

h

specific enthalpy (kJ/kg)

ṁ

mass flow rate (kg/s)

Npm

number of prime movers in operation

P

pressure (kPa)

Ps

saturated vapor pressure of LiBr solution (kPa)

PEC

primary energy consumption (MWh)

PLR

part-load ratio

PMEE

prime mover electrical efficiency (%)

Q

thermal energy (kJ)

Q̇

thermal power (kW)

rps

engine speed (rev/s)

S

valve control signal

SCCO2

social cost of carbon dioxide (USD/ton of CO2)

SP

simple payback (Year)

T

temperature (K or °C)

T̅

mean temperature (K or °C)

tFIRels

total fuel injection ratio based on equal load sharing

tFIRopt

optimal total fuel injection ratio

tẆdemand

total electricity demand of building (kW)

UA

overall heat transfer value (kJ/K)

V

volume (m3)

Wnet

net work output per engine cycle (kJ)

Ẇpm

capacity of prime movers (kW)

ΔTm

log-mean-temperature-difference (K)

ϕ

shaft rotation angle during the combustion process (degree)

γ

ratio of specific heat capacity of ideal gas

ξ

LiBr solution concentration (kg/kg)

σ

Stefan-Boltzmann constant (5.67×10−11 kW/(m2·K4))

Subscripts

1–4

different state points for the diesel and gas engine cycles

AbCV

absorption chiller regenerative hot water control valve

AWCV

auxiliary water cooler control valve

ab

absorber

abw

absorber water

ai

absorber inlet

amb

ambient

ao

absorber outlet

cas

engine casing

chw

chilled water

chwr

chilled water return

cond

condenser

cw

cooling water

cyl

engine cylinder

dis

refrigerant discharge from the generator

evap

evaporator

f

fuel

gen

generator

gi

generator inlet

go

generator outlet

hw

hot water

i

inlet

jac

engine jacket

jw

engine jacket water

max

maximum

nom

nominal

o

outlet

r

refrigerant

rhwr

regenerative hot water return

SACV

supply air cooling valve

SAHV

supply air heating valve

s

LiBr solution

sc

setpoint for cooling

sh

setpoint for heating

sshxr

solution-to-solution heat exchanger

suc

refrigerant suction into the absorber

w

water

zone

building zone

Abbreviations

1

gas state inside the cylinder at the beginning of the compression stroke

2

gas state inside the cylinder at the end of the compression stroke

3

gas state inside the cylinder at the end of the combustion process

4

gas state inside the cylinder at the end of the expansion stroke

AbCV

absorption chiller control valve

AbCWP

absorption chiller cooling water pump

AbChWP

absorption chiller chilled water pump

AJWCV

auxiliary jacket water cooler valve

BDTS

biofuel-driven trigeneration systems

CCW

conventional chilled water

CI

compression-ignition engine

DO

diesel oil

EEHX

engine exhaust heat exchanger

EEHXV

engine exhaust heat exchanger valve

EJHX

engine jacket heat exchanger

EJWP

engine jacket water pump

HP

hospital building

HT

hotel building

NA

not applicable

OF

office building

RHWP

regenerative hot water pump

RT

retail building

S1

economic analysis without carbon price

S2

economic analysis including carbon tax

S3

economic analysis including carbon social cost

SAC

supply air cooling coil

SACV

supply air cooling coil valve

SAF

supply air fan

SAH

supply air heating coil

SC

sports center

SAHV

supply air heating coil valve

SHHX

space heating heat exchanger

SHHXV

space heating heat exchanger valve

SHWP

space heating water pump

SI

spark-ignition engine

SSP

shared socioeconomic pathways

TG

town gas

VCCWP

vapor-compression chiller condenser water pump

VCChWP

vapor-compression chiller chilled water pump

WHHX

water heating heat exchanger

WHHXV

water heating heat exchanger valve

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