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.
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Abbreviations
- A :
-
area (m2)
- a 0, a 1, a 2, a 3 :
-
empirical coefficients in Eq. (36)
- CDE :
-
carbon dioxide emissions (ton)
- COP :
-
coefficient of performance of chiller
- c p :
-
specific heat capacity at constant pressure (kJ/(kg·K))
- FI pm :
-
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)
- N pm :
-
number of prime movers in operation
- P :
-
pressure (kPa)
- P s :
-
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
- SCCO 2 :
-
social cost of carbon dioxide (USD/ton of CO2)
- SP :
-
simple payback (Year)
- T :
-
temperature (K or °C)
- T̅ :
-
mean temperature (K or °C)
- tFIR els :
-
total fuel injection ratio based on equal load sharing
- tFIR opt :
-
optimal total fuel injection ratio
- tẆ demand :
-
total electricity demand of building (kW)
- UA :
-
overall heat transfer value (kJ/K)
- V :
-
volume (m3)
- W net :
-
net work output per engine cycle (kJ)
- Ẇ pm :
-
capacity of prime movers (kW)
- ΔT m :
-
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))
- 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
- 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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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).
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Fong, K.F., Lee, C.K. Biofuel-driven trigeneration systems for non-residential building applications: A holistic assessment from the energy, environmental and economic perspectives. Build. Simul. 16, 557–576 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12273-022-0958-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12273-022-0958-0