Electricity and Control February 2020

ENERGY MANAGEMENT + THE INDUSTRIAL ENVIRONMENT

Wood gas Wood gas is a syngas fuel which can be used as a fuel for furnaces, stoves and vehicles in place of petrol, diesel or other fuels. It can also be used in gas generators. Energin gas engines All the gases noted above can be used to fuel Energin gas engines from Schmitt Enertec. These are supplied in South Africa by Jet Park-based Energas Technologies. Schmitt Enertec, which is based in Germany, specialises in gas- powered engines from 140 kW to 500 kW. A 12-cylinder Energin engine running at sea level can produce 500 kW electricity at an efficiency of 42.1% running on natural gas or CNG, 42.7% on biogas; and can produce 450 kW running on LPG at an efficiency of 36% and 250 kW using wood gas at an efficiency of 35%. The heat of the engine jacket water can be recovered through an engine-mounted heat exchanger to produce hot water, which can be used in domestic applications. An Energin engine producing 500 kW electricity can produce 255 kW free thermal power, delivering an overall efficiency of 63.6%. More heat can be recovered from the exhaust gas to push efficiency up to 87.5% and producing 539 kW thermal power. The Energin CHP (combined heat and power) engine is equipped with all the pumps and heat exchangers on a base frame. This engine can also be combined with absorption chillers to use the heat for air- conditioning in a process called tri-generation. This is ideal

for hospitals and clinics, shopping complexes, or other facilities, especially where grid power is not available due to limited infrastructure. The overall running cost is very competitive and, if required, steam can be produced using the exhaust heat. Energin engines can be supplied with an optional sound enclosure mounted on the base frame. This reduces the engine noise to a level below 70 dB at one metre's distance. Equipped with a control unit several engines can be run in parallel mode, either without a grid connection or in synchronisation with the grid. The engines can be monitored remotely and require an oil service only after 2 000 hours (three months running 24 hours a day).

Fitted with a control unit, several Energin engines can be run in parallel.

The Energin CHP engine, equipped with the required pumps and heat exchangers, is supplied on a base frame.

16 Electricity + Control

FEBRUARY 2020