A district heating system based on absorption heat exchange with CHP systems

Abstract

In order to decrease the energy consumption of large-scale district heating systems with cogeneration, a district heating system is presented in this paper based on absorption heat exchange in the cogeneration system named Co-ah cycle, which means that the cogeneration system is based on absorption heat exchange. In substations of the heating system, the temperature of return water of primary heat network is reduced to about 25°C through the absorption heat-exchange units. In the thermal station of the cogeneration plant, return water is heated orderly by the exhaust steam in the condenser, the absorption heat pumps, and the peak load heater. Compared with traditional heating systems, this system runs with a greater circuit temperature drop so that the delivery capacity of the heat network increases dramatically. Moreover, by recovering the exhausted heat from the condensers, the capacity of the district heating system and the energy efficiency of the combined heat and power system (CHP system) are highly developed. Therefore, high energy and economic efficiency can be obtained.

Keywords

cogeneration / district heating / absorption heat exchange / Co-ah cycle