Microturbine:Future Power Jeneration

1. Introduction

1.1 MEMS
Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) is an integration of mechanical
elements, sensors, actuators, and electronics on a common silicon substrate through
the utilization of microfabrication technology. MEMS are truly an enabling
technology allowing the development of smart products by augmenting the
computational ability of microelectronics with the perception and control capabilities
of microsensors and microactuators. MEMS technology makes possible the
integration of microelectronics with active perception and control functions, thereby,
greatly expanding the design and application space.

Although MEMS devices are extremely small (e.g. MEMS has enabled
electrically-driven motors smaller than the diameter of a human hair to be realized),
MEMS technology is not about size. Furthermore, MEMS is not about making things
out of silicon, even though silicon possesses excellent materials properties making it a
attractive choice for many high-performance mechanical applications for automobiles.

Recent examples of the advantages of MEMS technology consider the MEMS

accelerometers, which are quickly replacing conventional accelerometers for crash
air-bag deployment systems in automobiles.

Microturbine is one of the best examples of the recently used MEMS. The technology
is to generate power for at a small level for a few houses or as a stand-by power
source. It is given hype now days and further research work is also in progress. Now
let us know what exactly the microturbine is.

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1.2 Gas Turbine

Gas turbines are Brayton cycle engines, which extract energy from
hydrocarbon fuels through compression, combustion, and hot gas expansion. Air is
drawn in to a compressor, which increases the air pressure. The compressed air is
mixed with fuel and ignited in a combustor. Then, the hot gas is expanded through a
turbine, which drives the compressor and gives useful work through rotation of the
compressor- turbine shaft. The shaft power can be used to drive a electrical generator,
thereby providing electricity.

1.3 Microturbine

Microturbines are small gas turbines used to generate electricity. Occupying a

space no larger than a telephone box, they typically have power outputs in the range
of 25 to 300kW. In comparison, large power stations are entire buildings and have
much higher power outputs of around 600MW to 1000MW. The small size of
microturbines is a major advantage that allows them to be situated right at the source
of electricity demand. This eliminates energy losses that usually occur when
transmitting electricity from power stations. Such transmission losses are quite
significant and can easily amount to 7% of the power generated.

Microturbines are a new class of small gas turbines used for distributed
generation of electricity. Microturbines are small version of gas turbines emerged
from four different technologies viz. small gas turbines, auxiliary power units,
automotive development gas turbine and turbochargers. Microturbines are new class
of gas turbines used for distributed generation of electricity. Microturbine
development is based on turbines used for aircraft auxiliary power units, which have
been used in commercial airlines for decades.

One way in which microturbines can be distinguished from larger turbines is

that microturbines use a single shaft to drive the compressor, turbine and generator.
Where as in large power plants, the turbines and generator are on separate shafts and
are connected by gears that slow down the high-speed rotation of the gas turbines,
simultaneously increasing the torque sufficient to turn much large electric generators.
Some microturbines even include the ability to generate electricity from heat of
exhaust gases.

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1.4 Historical Background

In 1900 when a 2 MW steam turbine was installed at Hartford, its size was 4
times bigger than any of the existing steam turbines. From then on economy of scale
meant bigger and bigger. By the end of the 1970s and largely driven by nuclear power
plants, steam turbines exceeded 1000 MW. The electric efficiency of steam turbine
power plants eventually reached 34%.
That trend was broken in the 1980s. More efficient gas turbines combined
with steam turbines could produce electric power with efficiencies up to 55%. This
new technology, combined cycle power plants, was the technology of choice for
independent power producers. It was now possible to build competitive power plants
down to the range of 100-200 MW.
Microturbines have been experimented with since 1945, when Rover tried to
develop one for a vehicle application. Since that time, automobile, aerospace, aircraft
and military contractors have tried to develop an economical and functional
microturbine for different industrial and commercial applications.

1.5 Need Of Microturbine

In today's energy economy, most electricity is produced using fossil fuel-
burning generators. These machines consist of a motor and a dense coil of copper
wires that surround a shaft containing powerful magnets. To get that power to a home
or factory typically requires a local utility to run a heavy copper cable to the residence
or business site.
But what if the site requiring energy is in a remote mountain location, or it's an
offshore oil rig where electricity is scarce and hookups don't exist? Here the
microturbines come into the picture. It is one of the best options to set up a local
power-generation plant, perhaps using a microturbine -- a small, sometimes portable,
fossil fuel-burning system that can provide enough electricity to power anywhere
from 10 to 5,000 homes.
Also it has an important application as a turbocharger in vehicles when more
energy is required from the engine in less amount of fuel.

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2. Construction Of Microturbine

Microturbines are typically single shaft machines with the compressor and
turbine mounted on the same shaft as the electrical generator. It therefore consists of
only one rotating part, eliminating the need for a gearbox and associated numerous
moving parts.
Microturbine consists of following parts
1.Compressror:- The compressor increases the pressure of the air which then
passes through the recuperator, and onto the combuster where it is superheated, and
finally delivered to the turbine.
2.Turbine:- The turbine supplies the compressor with power, and the turbine
also turns the generator which produces electricity. The exhaust product exiting the
turbine then passes through a recuperator where further heat is extracted to be used in
the preheating process of air entering the combuster chamber; this reduces the fuel
needed to be added into the combuster.
3.Recuperator:- Recuperators are heat exchangers that use the hot turbine
exhaust gas (typically around 1,200ºF) to preheat the compressed air (typically around
300ºF) going into the combustor, thereby reducing the fuel needed to heat the
compressed air to turbine inlet temperature. Today's microturbines require a
recuperator to achieve the efficiency levels needed to be competitive in continuous
duty service. Depending on microturbine operating parameters, recuperators can more
than double machine efficiency. However, since there is increased pressure drop in
both the compressed air and turbine exhaust sides of the recuperator, power output
typically declines 10 to 15%. Recuperators also lower the temperature of the
microturbine exhaust, reducing the microturbine's effectiveness in CHP applications.
4.Electrical generator:- The microturbine produces electrical power either
via a high-speed generator turning on the single turbo-compressor shaft or with a
separate power turbine driving a gearbox and conventional 3,600 rpm generator. The
high-speed generator of the single-shaft design employs a permanent magnet
(typically Samarium-Cobalt) alternator, and requires that the high frequency AC
output (about 1,600 Hz for a 30 kW machine) be converted to 60 Hz for general use.
This power conditioning involves rectifying the high frequency AC to DC, and then

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inverting the DC to 60 Hz AC. Power conversion comes with an efficiency penalty

(approximately five percent). To start-up a single shaft design, the generator acts as a
motor turning the turbo-compressor shaft until sufficient rpm is reached to start the
combustor. If the system is operating independent of the grid (black starting), a power
storage unit (typically a battery UPS) is used to power the generator for start-up.
5.Bearings:- Microturbines operate on either oil-lubricated or air bearings,
which support the shaft(s). Oil-lubricated bearings are mechanical bearings and come
in three main forms - high-speed metal roller, floating sleeve, and ceramic surface.
The latter typically offer the most attractive benefits in terms of life, operating
temperature, and lubricant flow. While they are a well-established technology, they
require an oil pump, oil filtering system, and liquid cooling that add to microturbine
cost and maintenance. In addition, the exhaust from machines featuring oil-lubricated
bearings may not be useable for direct space heating in cogeneration configurations
due to the potential for contamination. Since the oil never comes in direct contact with
hot combustion products, as is the case in small reciprocating engines, it is believed
that the reliability of such a lubrication system is more typical of ship propulsion
diesel systems (which have separate bearings and cylinder lubrication systems) and
automotive transmissions than cylinder lubrication in automotive engines.
Air bearings have been in service on airplane cabin cooling systems for many
years. They allow the turbine to spin on a thin layer of air, so friction is low and rpm
is high. No oil or oil pump is needed. Air bearings offer simplicity of operation
without the cost, reliability concerns, maintenance requirements, or power drain of an
oil supply and filtering system. Concern does exist for the reliability of air bearings
under numerous and repeated starts due to metal on metal friction during startup,
shutdown, and load changes. Reliability depends largely on individual manufacturers'
quality control methodology more than on design engineering, and will only be
proven after significant experience with substantial numbers of units with long
numbers of operating hours and on/off cycles. Air bearings significantly lengthen
microturbine startup time (one to two minutes).
All above components which is shown in fig 2.1
Microturbines are miniature versions of the huge machines used to generate
power from natural gas, and evolved from aircraft engines and automotive
turbochargers.

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A cutaway view of a microturbine is shown in Figure1. The single stage

Turbine and Compressor wheels are inertia welded to the shaft, which supports the
generator alternator rotor and provides for a cold end drive. A block diagram showing
a complete cycle of the microturbine is shown in Figure2. The inner bearing is a
hydrodynamic bearing and the outer bearing utilizes a ceramic ball race. A device
called recuperator plays an important role in completing the cycle of microturbine.

Fig 2.1: Sectional view of a typical microturbine

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3. Principle and working of microturbines

The high velocity exhaust gases coming from the combustor rotate the turbine
used in the microturbine. The basic principle of working of the microturbine is that
the compressor as well as the electric generator is mounted on the same power shaft
as that of the turbine. Because of this the compressor and the generator also rotate
with the turbine.

The generator rotates with the same speed as that of the turbine and generates
the electricity. The electricity is first given to the power conditioning devices and then
it is supplied to the required areas. The combustor is supplied with the fuel in the
gaseous form by the gas compressor. Also fresh and compressed air is supplied to the
combustor by the compressor through the recuperator.

Fig 3.1: Working cycle of a microturbine

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Here the recuperator plays an important role of heat exchanger. It absorbs the
heat from the hot gases coming from the turbine. Then it gives this heat to the
compressed air coming from the compressor. Thus the air supplied to the combustor is
hot and compressed. This helps to increase the overall efficiency of the cycle

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4. Performance

Table 4-2 summarizes the performance characteristics of typically

commercially available microturbines. Heat rates and efficiencies shown were taken
from manufacturers' specifications and industry publications. Electrical efficiencies
are net of parasitic and conversion losses. It should be noted that performance is also
affected by ambient air temperatures. High ambient air temperatures do result in a
significant drop in efficiency.
Available thermal energy is calculated based on manufacturer specifications
on turbine exhaust flows and temperatures. CHP thermal recovery estimates are based
on producing hot water for process or space heating applications. Total CHP
efficiency is the sum of the net electricity generated plus hot water produced for
building thermal needs divided by total fuel input to the system. The data in the table
show that electrical efficiency increases as the microturbine becomes larger. As
electrical efficiency increases, the absolute quantity of thermal energy available
decreases per unit of power output, and the ratio of power to heat for the CHP system
increases. A changing ratio of power to heat impacts project economics and may
affect the decisions that customers make in terms of CHP acceptance, sizing, and
other characteristics.
Each microturbine manufacturer represented uses a different recuperator, and
each has made individual tradeoffs between cost and performance. Performance
involves the extent to which the recuperator effectiveness increases cycle efficiency,
the extent to which the recuperator pressure drop decreases cycle power, and the
choice of what cycle pressure ratio to use. Consequently, microturbines of different
makes will have different CHP efficiencies and different net heat rates chargeable to
power.
As shown, microturbines typically require 50 to 80 psig fuel supply pressure.
Because microturbines are built with pressure ratios between 3 and 4 to maximize
efficiency with a recuperator at modest turbine inlet temperature, the required supply
pressure for microturbines is much less than for industrial-size gas turbines with
pressure ratios of 7 to 35. Local distribution gas pressures usually range from 30 to
130 psig in feeder lines and from 1 to 50 psig in final distribution lines. Most U.S.

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businesses that would use a 30, 70, or 100 kW microturbine receive gas at about 0.5
to 1.0 psig. Additionally, most building codes prohibit piping higher-pressure natural
gas within the structure. Thus, microturbines in most commercial locations require a
fuel gas booster compressor to ensure that fuel pressure is adequate for the gas turbine
flow control and combustion systems.

Cost & performance characteristics System1 System2 System3 System4

Nominal electrical capacity 30kw 70kw 80kw 100kw
Net electrical capacity 28 67 76 100
Package cost(2003 Rupees/kw) 109000 53500 55000 50000
Total installed cost for power_only(yr 113150 82900 76300 76300
2003 Ruppes/kw)
Total installed cost for CHP (yr 2002 131800 96300 96600 87450
Ruppes/kw)
Electrical heat rate(btu/kwh) 15070 13544 14103 13127
Net Electric efficiency(%) 22.6 25.2 24.2 26
Fuel input(MMbtu/hr) 0.423 0.91 1.09 1.31
Required fuel gas pressure(psing) 55 70 85 90
Required fuel gas pressure w/GBC(psig) 0.2-15 0.2-15 0.2-15 0.3-15
CHP characteristics
Exaust flow(1bs/sec) 0.68 1.60 1.67 1.76
GT exhaust temp(degree F) 530 450 500 520
Heat exchanger exhaust temp(degree f) 220 220 220 220
Heat output(MMbtu/hr) 0.186 0.325 0.412 0.466
Heat output(kw equivalent) 54 95 121 136
Total CHPefficiency(%) 67 61 63 62
Thermal output/fuel input 0.44 0.36 0.38 0.35
Power/heat ratio 0.52 0.70 0.63 0.73
Net heat rate(Btu/kwh) 6795 7485 7320 7300

Table 4.1-Performance sheet

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Most microturbine manufacturers offer the equipment package with the fuel gas
booster included. This packaging facilitates the purchase and installation of a
microturbine, as the burden of obtaining and installing the booster compressor is no
longer placed on the customer. Also, it might result in higher reliability of the booster
through standardized design and volume manufacture.
Booster compressors can add from $50 to $100 per kW to a microturbine CHP
system's total cost. As well as adding to capital cost, booster compressors lower net
power and efficiency so operating cost is slightly higher. Typically, the fuel gas
booster requires about 5% of the microturbine output. For example, a single 60 kW
unit requires 2.6 kW for the booster, while a booster serving a system of three 30 kW
units would require 4.4 kW. Such power loss results in a penalty on efficiency of
about 1.5 percentage points. For installations where the unit is located outdoors, the
customer can save on cost and operating expense by having the gas utility deliver gas
at an adequate pressure and obtaining a system without a fuel gas booster compressor.

On basic configuration performance of the microturbines is given in the tabular form

as below,

Table No.4.2 Microturbine Efficiency for 25 to 500KW

CONFIGURATION EFFICIENCY

Unrecuperated 15%

Recuperated 20-30%

With Heat Recovery Up to 85%

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Commercial microturbines used for power generation range in size from about
25KW to 500KW. They produce both heat and electricity on a relatively small scale.
The energy to electricity conversion efficiencies are in the range of 20 to 30%. These
efficiencies are attained when using a recuperator. Cogeneration is an option in many
cases as a microturbine is located at the point of power utilization. The combined
thermal electrical efficiency is 85%. Unrecuperated microturbines have lower
efficiencies at around 15%.

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5. Emissions

Microturbines have the potential for extremely low emissions. All microturbines
operating on gaseous fuels feature lean premixed combustor technology, which was
developed relatively recently in the history of gas turbines and is not universally
featured on larger gas turbines. Because microturbines are able to meet emissions
requirements with this built-in technology, post-combustion emission control
techniques are not needed.
The primary pollutants from microturbines are oxides of nitrogen (NO x ),
carbon monoxide (CO), and unburned hydrocarbons. They also produce a negligible
amount of sulfur dioxide (SO 2 ). Microturbines are designed to achieve the objective
of low emissions at full load; emissions are often higher when operating at part load.
NO x is a mixture of mostly NO and NO 2 in variable composition. In emissions
measurement it is reported as parts per million by volume in which both species count
equally. NO x forms by three mechanisms: thermal NO x , prompt NO x , and fuel-
bound NO x . The predominant NO x formation mechanism associated with gas
turbines is thermal NO x . Thermal NO x is the fixation of atmospheric oxygen and
nitrogen, which occurs at high combustion temperatures. Flame temperature and
residence time are the primary variables that affect thermal NO x levels. The rate of
thermal NO x formation increases rapidly with flame temperature. Prompt NO x
forms from early reactions of nitrogen modules in the combustion air and
hydrocarbon radicals from the fuel. It forms within the flame and typically is about 1
ppm at 15% O 2 , and is usually much smaller than the thermal NO x formation. Fuel-
bound NO x forms when the fuel contains nitrogen as part of the hydrocarbon
structure. Natural gas has negligible chemically bound fuel nitrogen.
Thermal NO x formation is a function of both the local temperatures within
the flame and residence time. In older technology combustors used in industrial gas
turbines, fuel and air were separately injected into the flame zone. Such separate
injection resulted in high local temperatures where the fuel and air zones intersected.
The focus of combustion improvements of the past decade was to lower flame local
hot spot temperature using lean fuel/air mixtures whereby zones of high local
temperatures were not created. Lean combustion decreases the fuel/air ratio in the

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zones where NO x production occurs so that peak flame temperature is less than the
stoichiometric adiabatic flame temperature, therefore suppressing thermal NO x
formation.
All microturbines feature lean pre-mixed combustion systems, also referred to
as dry low NO x or dry low emissions (DLE). Lean premixed combustion pre-mixes
the gaseous fuel and compressed air so that there are no local zones of high
temperatures, or "hot spots," where high levels of NO x would form. DLN requires
specially designed mixing chambers and mixture inlet zones to avoid flashback of the
flame. Optimized application of DLN combustion requires an integrated approach to
combustor and turbine design. The DLN combustor is an intrinsic part of the turbine
design, and specific combustor designs are developed for each turbine application.
Full power NO x emissions below 9 ppmv @ 15% O 2 have been achieved with lean
premixed combustion in microturbines.
CO and unburned hydrocarbons both result from incomplete combustion. CO
emissions result when there is insufficient residence time at high temperature. In gas
turbines, the failure to achieve CO burnout may result from combustor wall cooling
air. CO emissions are also heavily dependent on operating load. For example, a unit
operating under low loads will tend to have incomplete combustion, which will
increase the formation of CO. CO is usually regulated to levels below 50 ppm for both
health and safety reasons. Achieving such low levels of CO had not been a problem
until manufacturers achieved low levels of NOx, because the techniques used to
engineer DLN combustors had a secondary effect of increasing CO emissions.
While not considered a regulated pollutant in the ordinary sense of directly
affecting public health, emissions of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) are of concern due to its
contribution to global warming. Atmospheric warming occurs because solar radiation
readily penetrates to the surface of the planet but infrared (thermal) radiation from the
surface is absorbed by the CO 2 (and other polyatomic gases such as methane,
unburned hydrocarbons, refrigerants, water vapor, and volatile chemicals) in the
atmosphere, with resultant increase in temperature of the atmosphere. The amount of
CO 2 emitted is a function of both fuel carbon content and system efficiency. The fuel
carbon content of natural gas is 34 lbs carbon/MMBtu; oil is 48 lbs carbon/MMBtu;
and (ash-free) coal is 66 lbs carbon/MMBtu.

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Features:-
Microturbines offer many potential advantages for distributed power generation.
Selected strengths and weaknesses of microturbine of the microturbine technology are
listed below:

Advantages:- Following are the advantages of microturbine

 Small number of moving parts.
 Compact size.
 Light weight.
 Good efficiency in cogeneration.
 Low emission.
 Can utilize waste fuel.
 Long maintenance intervals

Limitations:-However the microturbine suffers from following limitations

 Low fuel to electricity efficiency.
 Loss of power output and efficiency with higher ambient temperature and
elevation

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6. Case study on distributed generation

6.1 Introduction
Distribution generation is a concept of installing and operating small electric
generators, typically less than 20MW, at or near electrical load. The premise of
distributed generation is to provide electricity to a customer at a reduced cost and
more efficiently with reduced losses than the traditional utility central generating
plant with transmission and distribution wires.

6.2 Microturbine in distributed generation

Microturbine is small scale combustion turbines ranging inside from 28 kW to
500kW, which include a compressor, combustor, turbine, alternator, recuperator and
generator. Microturbines are smaller, lighter and operate with no vibration and less
noise. All of these features help to make on - site installation possible without
compromising the environmental aspects. They have potential to be located on site
having space limitations to produce power.

6.3 Working principle

The technology used for distributed generation is that of microturbine. The
three basic equipments, viz. the turbine, the generator and compressor are mounted on
a single shaft. The core of the microturbine is a high-speed compressor -turbine
section, which rotates very fast - 96000rpm in Capston model 330. On the same shaft
is a high-speed generator using permanent magnets. A key element for designs of
microturbine is air bearings (or more correctly gas bearings). Air bearings enable the
high speed only air cooling a long life almost maintenance free.
The high speed generator delivers a high frequency power. To "gear it down"
to useful 50/60 Hz power, electronics is brought into application.
The following table shows the speed of microturbine for different power
generation capacities.

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Table No.6.1 Speed of Turbine for Different Power Ratings

POWER SPEED
45 KW 90,000 TO 1,16,000 (RPM)
80 KW 70,000 (RPM)
200 KW 50,000 (RPM)

Fig 6.1: Cutaway of the Capston 330 turbine

6.4 Advantages
The general advantages of microturbine are that there are small number of
moving parts are compact in size, light weight and have opportunities for greater
efficiencies, lower emissions, lower electricity costs and use renewable fuels such as
land fill or sewage treatment gases. Microturbine in general offer to be advantages
1 lower emission and
2 low maintenance.
As illustrated below (Table no.3), the Capston microturbine has one of the best
emission performances of any fossil fuel combustion.

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Table no.6.2 COMPARISION OF EMISSIONS

Item NO (ppm) CO (ppm) THC (ppm)
Reciprocating Engines (500kW) 100 340 150
Gas Turbines (4.5MW) 25 50 10
Coal Fired Steam (500MW) 200 N/A N/A
Microturbine 9 25 9
With very low emissions and maintenance, microturbines hold promise to
enable small-scale cogeneration. To exhaust heat can be use water heating, absorption
cooling, dehumidification, etc.
It is possible to reach efficiencies of 70-80%. Because of the three exhausts
with no risk of any oil fuel (due to the air bearing) it should be possible to use the
exhaust gas directly in some industrial processes.
6.5 Benefits of Distributed generation
Thus the benefits that distributed generation could potentially provide,
depending on the technology, include reduced emissions, utilization of waste heat,
improved power quality and reliability and deferral of transmission or distribution
upgrades.

6.6 Hydropower Generation

A typical use of microturbine is the hydropower generation. Microturbine
technology equipments harness the best possible energy source that is the discharge
flow of even minor streams, in that sense; they constitute cleaner, superior
environmental alternatives to the less acceptable fossil fuel powered generators.
The technology is very simple as shown in figure .A turbine with a generator
on its shaft is fitted in the way of water flowing in a river or a stream.
In most cases, microturbine views only a small portion of a stream's flow that
is channeled through a penstock. As it is clear from the figure, we can say that reliable
and renewable hydro-energy generation (with the help of microturbines of course)
does not require a reservoir or the flooding of low-lying areas. Microturbine
technology turbines may be installed low discharge flow streams and rivers. They are

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efficient even in cases of low drop river fall, as microturbine technology turbines
generate electricity from as little as one meter of hydraulic head.
6.7 Turbocharger
Turbocharger is one of the applications of microturbine. It uses the principle of
mounting the compressor on same shaft as that of turbine. Here also the exhaust gases
drive the turbine. Today with precise control offered by the computers, turbochargers
are making small engines more efficient and capable of producing more power.
Microturbines are evolved from automotive and truck turbochargers, auxiliary
power units for airplanes, and small jet engines and are comprised of a compressor,
combustor, turbine, alternator, recuperator, and generator.
6.8 Turbocharging principle
A turbocharger is a device that uses exhaust gases, rather than the engine
power to run an air pump or compressor. The air pump then forces an increased
amount of air into the cylinders. Both the diesel and gasoline engines in the market
use turbochargers.. High velocity exhaust gases pass out of the exhaust ports. From
there they pass through a turbine driven pump. Here the exhaust gases cause the
exhaust turbine to turn very rapidly.
The exhaust turbine causes the intake compressor to run very rapidly. As the
compressor turbine runs it draws in a large amount of fresh air. The intake air is
pressurized and forced into the intake port. The increase in the pressure in the intake
manifold is called as boost. Boost may produce pressure in the intake manifold of
about 6 to 10 psi or more depending on the manufacturer. The torque and the horse
power are increased at all rpm. For example at 5000 rpm the normally aspirated
engine produces about 80hp. at this rpm, the turbocharged engine can produce about
140hp.

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7.Future scope & Applications

Extensive field test data collected from units currently in use at commercial and
industrial facilities will provide the manufacturers with the ability to improve the
microturbine design, lowering the cost and increasing performance, in order to
produce a competitive distributed generation product. Utilities, government agencies,
and other
Organizations are involved in collaborative research and field-testing.
Development is ongoing in a variety of areas:
1. Heat recovery/coregeneration
2. Fuel flexibility
3. Vehicles
4. Hybrid systems (e.g. fuel cell/microturbine, flywheel/microturbine)

While the simplest application for a microturbine prime mover is of power

generation other application exists. Microturbine prime movers can be used for
cooling, refrigeration; air compression and pump drive application whereby the
inherent high speed of the power shaft can be used to drive high efficiency and low
cost centrifugal compressors.
Microturbines can be used for standby power, power quality and reliability,
peak shaving, and cogeneration applications. In addition, because microturbines are
being developed to utilize a variety of fuels, they are being used for resource recovery
and landfill gas applications. Microturbines produce between 25kw to 500kw of
power and are well suited for small commercial building establishments such as
restaurants, hotels/motels, small offices, retail stores and many others.
The development of the microturbine technology for the transportation
application is also in progress. One of the major applications used is the turbocharger
in the small vehicles. Automotive companies are interested in microturbines to
provide a light weight and efficient fossil fuel- based energy source for hybrid electric
vehicles, especially buses.
Microturbines can operate continuously or On-demand and be either grid
connected or stand alone. They can run individually or multi-packed and with a

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variety of fuels: Diesel, Propane, Kerosene, Flare Gas, Biogas, Low or High Pressure
Natural Gas, among others. Other applications can be combined heat and power
(CHP) and microgrid.6,10
Microturbines are targeted to telecommunication companies, retail services,
financial services, financial services, office buildings, restaurants and other
commercial services. Microturbines also operate in resource recovery operations like
oil and gas production fields.10
“Reliable operation is important since these locations may be remote from the
grid, and even when served by the grid, may experience costly downtime when
electric service is lost due to weather, fire or animals.” (BioTurbine, 2007)
7.1 CHP applications: In CHP operation, a second heat exchanger, the exhaust gas
heat exchanger, transfers the remaining energy from the microturbine exhaust to a hot
water system. Exhaust heat can be used for a number of different applications,
including potable water heating, driving absorption cooling and desiccant
dehumidification equipment, space heating, process heating, and other building or site
uses. Some microturbine-based CHP applications do not use recuperators. With these
microturbines, the temperature of the exhaust is higher and thus more heat is available
for recovery.
Thermal loads most amenable to CHP systems in commercial/institutional
buildings are space heating and hot water requirements. The simplest thermal load to
supply is hot water. Retrofits to the existing hot water supply are relatively
straightforward, and the hot water load tends to be less seasonally dependent than
space heating, and therefore, more coincident to the electric load in the building.
Meeting space heating needs with CHP can be more complicated. Space heating is
seasonal by nature, and is supplied by various methods in the commercial/institutional
sector, centralized hot water or steam being only one example.
7.2 Current market applications:- In CHP operation, a second heat exchanger, the
exhaust gas heat exchanger, transfers the remaining energy from the microturbine
exhaust to a hot water system. Exhaust heat can be used for a number of different
applications, including potable water heating, driving absorption cooling and
desiccant dehumidification equipment, space heating, process heating, and other
building or site uses. Some microturbine-based CHP applications do not use

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 Microturbines – future power generation

recuperators. With these microturbines, the temperature of the exhaust is higher and
thus more heat is available for recovery.
Thermal loads most amenable to CHP systems in commercial/institutional
buildings are space heating and hot water requirements. The simplest thermal load to
supply is hot water. Retrofits to the existing hot water supply are relatively
straightforward, and the hot water load tends to be less seasonally dependent than
space heating, and therefore, more coincident to the electric load in the building.
Meeting space heating needs with CHP can be more complicated. Space heating is
seasonal by nature, and is supplied by various methods in the commercial/institutional
sector, centralized hot water or steam being only one example.

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 Microturbines – future power generation

8. Conclusion

As a breakthrough technology, allowing unparalleled synergy between

hitherto unrelated fields of endeavor such as biology and microelectronics, many new
MEMS applications will emerge, expanding beyond that which is currently identified
or known. In the industrial sector, MEMS devices are emerging as product
performance differentiators in numerous markets with a projected market growth of
over 50% per year.

Microturbines (MEMS) also promise a lot of further development. The

introduction of competition into the electric marketplace has driven the development
of new electrical generation technologies. Most technologies being developed for
distributed generation application are currently too costly, and can only be utilized in
some applications. For this the microturbine is one of the best applications.
Microturbines are capable of generating power even with the availability of
low grade fuel or low head of water. It is rightly said that the microturbine will start
eating the market share that diesel engine has so far enjoyed.

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References

1.“The microturbine: A generator to ease T&D woes. The evolution of electric power
transmission under deregulation.”; Koch B; Proceedings from the Institute of
Electrical and Electronics Engineers, US; 2000.;
2.“Applied Thermal Engineering”;McDonald CF; Recuperator considerations for
future higher efficiency microturbines.;2003;
3.“Development of models for analyzing the load-following performance of
microturbines and fuel cells”; Zhu Y, Tomsovic K;. Electric Power System Research
;2002;62:1–11.
4.“ ASHRAE Journal”; Ryan W.; Applications for gas cooling; 2003;
5.“Application of microturbine in cooling and power”;Ho JC, Ng KC, Tay AO.;.
Report for British Gas Asia Pacific Pte Ltd-National University of Singapore
Collaboration Project Report, Singapore,;2003. p. 23–34.

Websources
1. www.microturbine.com
2. www.distributed generation.com
3. www.memsnet.org
4. http://www.microturbine.com/prodsol/solutions/index.asp
5. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gas_turbine#Microturbines
6. http://www.wbdg.org/design/microturbines.php

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