GROUP PROJECT REPORT

MECHANICAL SYSTEM DESIGN 1 (MSD 1)

JANUARY 2015 SEMESTER

BIOMASS-POWERED GAS DISTRICT COOLING PLANT DESIGN

SUPERVISOR: IR. KAMARUDDIN SHEHABUDDIN

GROUP MEMBERS

MATRIX ID

1. MUHAMMAD ZULFAQQAR BIN MOHD KASIM

14367

2. MUHAMMAD AMIR ADLI BIN NAZARUDIN

16831

3. RAZIN AKMAL B RUSLAN

16931

4. KU MUHAMMAD FAEZ BIN KU ARIFFIN

16917

5. CHOONG WENG HONG

16777

Table of Content
Content
1.

2.

3.

Page

Introduction

1.1

Overview

1.2

Project Background

1.3

Problem Statement

1.4

Project Objectives

1.5

Scope of Project

1.5

Selected Datum KLIA GDC plant

Methodology

2.1

10

Design Process Diagram

Concept Generation

11

3.1

Physical Decomposition of Biomass-powered

GDC plant

11

3.2

Functional Decomposition of Biomass-powered

GDC plant

12

3.3

Morphology Chart

13

3.4

Concept Generated (all members)

17

3.4.1

Design Concept (Concept 1: Zulfaqqars)

17

3.4.2

Justification of the chosen system (Concept 1: Zulfaqqars)

18

3.4.3

Concept sketch (Concept 1: Zulfaqqars)

20

3.5.1

Design Concept (Concept 2: Adlis)

21

3.5.2

Justification of the chosen system (Concept 2: Adlis)

22

3.5.3

Concept sketch (Concept 2: Adlis)

24

3.6.1

Design Concept (Concept 1: Razins)

25

4.

3.6.2

Justification of the chosen system (Concept 2: Razins)

26

3.6.3

Concept sketch (Concept 2: Razins)

28

3.7.1

Design Concept (Concept 1: Faezs)

29

3.7.2

Justification of the chosen system (Concept 2: Faezs)

30

3.7.3

Concept sketch (Concept 2: Razins)

32

3.8.1

Design Concept (Concept 1: Choongs)

33

3.8.2

Justification of the chosen system (Concept 2: Choongs)

34

3.8.3

Concept sketch (Concept 2: Razins)

36

Concept Evaluation

11

4.1.1

37

Fuel Supply & Pre-Treatment System Objective Tree and

Decision Matrix

4.1.2

Justification (Fuel Supply & Pre-Treatment system)

39

4.2.1

Co-combustion System Objective Tree and Decision Matrix

41

4.2.2

Justification (Co-combustion system)

43

4.3.1

Co-generation System Objective Tree and Decision Matrix

45

4.3.2

Justification (Co-generation system)

47

4.4.1

Heat Recovery System Objective Tree and Decision Matrix

48

4.4.2

Justification (Heat Recovery system)

50

4.5.1

Refrigeration System Objective Tree and Decision Matrix

51

4.5.2

Justification (Refrigeration system)

53

4.6.1

Heat Rejection System Objective Tree and Decision Matrix

55

4.6.2

Justification (Heat Rejection system)

57

ii

5.

6.

Selected Concept

59

5.1

Winning Concept

59

5.2

Winning concepts sketch (Faezs)

62

5.3

Subsystems for winning concept

63

Detailed Selected Concepts Working Principle

65

6.1

Overall systems working principle

65

6.2

Subsystems working principle

67

6.2.1

Working principle (Drying of Biomass)

67

6.2.2

Working principle (Indirect co-firing)

69

6.2.3

Working principle (Gas turbine)

71

6.2.4

Working principle (Heat Recovery Steam Generator)

72

6.2.5

Working principle (Absorption chiller)

74

6.2.6

Working principle (Induced Draft Cross Flow Cooling Tower)

76

6.3

7.

Peer evaluation of the selected concept

6.3.1

Zuls evaluation

78

6.3.2

Adlis evaluation

80

6.3.3

Razins evaluation

81

6.3.4

Faezs evaluation

82

6.3.5

Choongs evaluation

84

Governing Equation

86

7.1

Gasification

86

7.2

Closed-cycle Gas Turbine

86

7.3

Absorption Chiller

88

iii

8.

Conclusion

89

9.

References

91

List of Figures
Figures

Page

Figure 1: KLIA GDC Plant (rear entrance)

Figure 2: KLIA GDC Plant (main entrance)

Figure 3: KLIA GDC Plant (storage tank and chimneys in view)

Figure 4: Physical Decomposition of the Biomass-powered GDC system

11

Figure 5: Functional Decomposition of the Biomass-powered GDC system

12

Figure 6: Rotary dryers operation flow for biomass drying

68

Figure 7: Schematic Diagram of Gasifier

69

Figure 8: Working principle of basic gas turbine

71

Figure 9: Components of HRSG

73

Figure 10: Absorption Chiller

74

Figure 11: Absorption Chiller process

75

Figure 12: Example of fill which being used in the cooling tower

76

Figure 13: Induced Draft Cross Flow Cooling Tower

76

Figure 14: Fan being setup on top of the cooling tower

77

iv

List of Tables
Table

Page

Table 1: Output capacity and demand for KLIA GDC plant

Table 2: Main equipment details of the KLIA GDC plant

Table 3: Weighted decision matrix for Fuel Supply & Pre-Treatment System

38

Table 4: Weighted decision matrix for Co-Combustion System

42

Table 5: Weighted decision matrix for Co-Generation System

46

Table 6: Weighted decision matrix for Heat Recovery System

49

Table 7: Weighted decision matrix for Refrigeration System

52

Table 8: Weighted decision matrix for Heat Rejection System

56

Table 9: Concept Selection

59

1.

INTRODUCTION
1.1

Overview

District Cooling is a concept in which that the central source is utilised to supply
cooling to a number of buildings instead of using multiple individual cooling systems. The
concept of this system starts with the production of the chilled water in a centralized plant,
and the chilled water will be then distributed through a district cooling system via
underground pipelines to heat exchangers within buildings to provide air cooling [9].
It is very common for the District Cooling system to be coupled along with District
Heating system or/and being integrated along with the Co-Generation system to produce
outputs other than chilled water. District Energy System (DES) for instance, covers both
District Cooling and also District Heating as well. This system will produce and distribute
both steam, as well as chilled water from a centralized plant, to individual buildings to
provide space heating and cooling, domestic hot water, and also industrial process energy
[22]. By having DES, boilers and chillers will no longer have to be installed in individual
buildings and hence could eliminate costs of installing and maintaining those individual
chillers and boilers. This kind of system was widely used in countries/regions which are
experiencing winter as well as summer season.
Meanwhile, the Co-Generation system which also known as Combined Heat and
Power (CHP) system produces both electric supply and also heat supply, from one fuel
source [2]. The electrical output produced will be distributed via national grid network for
domestic use or will be directly used by plants/facilities such as universities, airports,
government buildings, etc. On the other hand, the heat produced by this Co-Generation
system will then be used to generate steam via Heat Recovery Steam Generators (HRSGs)
and the steam produced will be passed through the Absorption Chiller as part of the District
Cooling system to produce chilled water. The chilled water produced will then be distributed
to individual buildings for space cooling and air conditioning. This system is much more
commonly used and existed in most District Cooling Plants. Depending on the type of turbine
used, the Co-Generation system is quite flexible in terms of the usage of fuel. Gas turbines in
the Co-Generation system is mainly utilising natural gas as its main fuel but it could also use
other type of fuel as backup during emergency (fuel depletion) such as the Jet A1 fuel [17]
and also Methane gas.
1

Biomass system meanwhile, is renewable and sustainable system which

produces/utilizes fuel out of organic materials that are readily available such as the
agricultural by-products, forest debris, and etc. [22]. The most common types of Biomass
systems are; Direct-fire Biomass system, and also the Biomass Gasification system. For the
Direct-fire Biomass system, the biomass fuel (from organic materials) will be burned in a
boiler to produce a high-pressured steam which will then be used to power the steam turbinepowered electrical generator. There are also many other applications which utilizes the steam
output from the Direct-fire Biomass system such as for space cooling, space heating, and also
as the process heat for industrial purposes [19].
Differing to the Direct-fire Biomass system, the Biomass gasification system is
basically a means to create fuel (in the form of flammable gas) out of the raw Biomass
source. It starts by heating up the biomass in the environment in which the solid Biomass
breaks down to form a flammable gas [11]. The flammable gas produced (i.e. Methane) will
then could be used for domestic purposes such as cooking and heating, or as the fuel source
for electric generation, or could also be used as the synthetic gas for producing a higher
quality fuels or chemical products such as Methanol and Hydrogen.

1.2

Project Background

This project is mainly to propose a design of the GDC plant which utilizes Biomass as
its main fuel source. The designed GDC plant is supposed to have two useful outputs which
is the electricity and chilled water which will be used internally (not to be supplied to the
outside grid network and also buildings outside the complex). As for the reference for this
project (datum), Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) GDC plant under the care of
Gas District Cooling (M) Sdn. Bhd. (subsidiary of PETRONAS) will be taken as datum, and
the design will be made mostly in reference to it. All the design specifications and the design
capacity will be referred to the datum chosen (KLIA GDC plant).
Additionally, this project will also be comparing some advantages and disadvantages
of having a Biomass-powered GDC to the gas-powered GDC plant and to the conventional
individual, non-centralized cooling system. The comparison will cover the scopes of energy
efficiency, cost efficiency, ease of maintainability, environmental effects and also the fuel
availability (for Biomass GDC plant and conventional GDC plant).
2

Flexibility was given in deciding which components/subsystems to be incorporated

inside the design of the plant in order to achieve the best ever solution in terms of cost and
efficiency. The end product of the design will not necessarily be the same as the datum
chosen earlier and it may have certain improvements in any form of aspects. In this project,
each team members were given a chance to come up with their own concepts with their own
justification, and later, the suggested designs will be evaluated using design concept
generation tools to see which design is the best as a whole.

1.3

Problem Statement

For this project, there are several issues regarding the current conventional GDC plant
and also the individual, non-centralized cooling system which we had found and will be taken
into focus to set our design objectives. The issues are as follows;

Maintenance issue
In the individual, non-centralized cooling system, all the components for the cooling
system were installed in the individual building, only for the usage of that particular
building alone. If there are 20 buildings in the complex, it means that there will be 20
individual systems installed in each and every building. Having to maintain 20
separate cooling systems will costs a huge money, and massive waste of time and
energy. So, to address this issue, a centralized cooling system needed to be utilized in
the design.

Cost issue
A conventional gas-powered GDC plant commonly use natural gas (Liquified
Petroleum Gas) as the main source of fuel to power the plant. With ever increasing
price of petroleum-based fuel and also the fact that it is non-renewable, the cost of
running a conventional gas-powered GDC plant will be increasing by time to time.
Hence, cheaper and renewable alternatives for the natural gas must be incorporated
into the design of a GDC in order to provide a means of reducing the running cost of
the currently available GDC plant and at the same time maintaining/improve the level
efficiency of the GDC system.

Environmental effect
Commonly, a conventional GDC plant will be using natural petroleum gas as the fuel
to power up the gas turbine. It was known that the usage of natural petroleum gas will
somehow contribute in the depletion of fossil fuel, especially within a plant which
will consume a huge amount of fuel to produce power. On top of that, utilising a fossil
fuel will produce by-products that are harmful to environment. Due to these concerns,
it is very vital to have a design of GDC plant which utilizes alternative fuel that is
clean and renewable as a source to generate power and to produce chilled water for
cooling purposes.

1.4

Project objectives

There are several objectives set for this design project. Those objectives are;

To produce a Biomass-powered GDC design that has a better or comparable output

compared to conventional GDC.

To design a cost-efficient Biomass-powered GDC plant throughout its service in

terms of maintenance costs and also in terms of fuel cost.

To produce a cleaner Biomass-powered GDC by utilising a renewable alternative

source of fuel.

1.5

Scope of project

The project will be focusing on the usage of GDC within Malaysian region and all the
requirements, supply and demand data, required specifications will be made according to the
Malaysian environment. As mentioned earlier in Project Background part, KLIA GDC plant
will be taken as the reference/datum for this design project, and all the outputs, projected
performance and specifications of the Biomass-powered GDC plant to be designed will be
referred and compared to it (KLIA GDC plant).

Due to time, knowledge and resource limitation, this project will only be focusing
onto 6 out of many critical subsystems of the Biomass GDC Plant. There will be lists of
options of subsystem types to be chosen as design concepts and all of the team members will
be having their individual personal design concepts which will be justified accordingly
according to the concepts pro and cons. All the preliminary personal design concepts will be
evaluated one after another until a decision can be made on which of the design concept the
best is using the evaluation tool such as Pughs Evaluation matrix. The best Biomass GDC
plant concept design will be chosen as the design of choice.

1.6

Selected datum KLIA GDC Plant

To design a GDC plant that is excellent in terms of its efficiency and reliability, a

datum of an established system must be taken into account as reference. Hence, this design
project had chosen the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) GDC plant as the datum.
This GDC plant is owned, being managed, and being maintained by Gas District Cooling (M)
Sdn. Bhd. which is one of the many Petroliam Nasional Berhads (PETRONAS) subsidiaries.
Gas District Cooling (M) Sdn. Bhd. is also owns 7 other GDC plants which are serving high
profile development areas within Klang Valley, Kuala Lumpur City Center (KLCC), and also
in Malaysias Administrative centre, Putrajaya [8].
KLIA GDC plants customers that make use of the chilled water for their air
conditioning needs include, Malaysia Airport (Sepang) Berhad (MAHB) (For the main
terminal, Administration Management Centre, Satellite A, Contact Pier, Car Park A, B, C
&D complex, VVIP Engineering Complex and Custom Complex of the KLIA), Malaysia
Airline System (MAS) (Flight Crew Centre & MAS Complex), KL Airport Services
(KLAS) (KLAS Cargo & KLAS Kitchen), KL International Airport Berhad (Air Traffic
Controller), Air Asia Berhad (Air Asia Simulator complex), Kuala Lumpur Airport Hotel
Sdn. Bhd. (Pan Pacific Hotel)[14]. Meanwhile, most of the electrical output produced by
the GDC plant is being exported to the KLIA grid and small portion of it is being used
internally for the plants equipment. All the plants output capacity, performance, equipment
and specifications are listed at the following page.

Table 1: Output capacity and demand for KLIA GDC plant

Type of output

Capacity

Chilled Water output

30000RT (Refrigeration Tonne unit for cooling loading

capacity)
40 MWe (34MW is distributed to the KLIA grid network and
6MW for the plants internal use) [10]

Electrical output

Table 2: Main equipment details of the KLIA GDC plant

Equipments
Co-Generation system
General Electric (GE) LM2500 Gas Turbine

Remarks
2 Units of this Gas turbine installed
Each Gas Turbines produces 20MW of
power
Both Units combined produces total
power of 40MW
Utilizes Natural Gas as main fuel
In case of emergency, Jet-A1 fuel can
be utilized as back-up reserve fuel

Steam Generator System

Heat Recovery Steam Generator (HRSG)
manufactured and installed by Mechmar Sdn.
Bhd.

2 Units of this HRSG installed

Each HRSG is capable of producing
output of 40 Tonne/hr of 8 bar
pressure of saturated steam
Both units produces 80 Tonne/hr of
saturated steam
Steam produced by both HRSGs (and
auxiliary boilers) is channelled to
Steam Absorption Chillers to produce
chilled water for cooling

Refrigeration System & Heat Rejection system

Chiller plant, built by Shinryo International
Corporation housing 12 units of absorption
chillers, and 7 Cooling Towers

Single absorption chillers capacity is

2500 RT (12 x 2500 = 30240 RT)
Produces chilled water outlet
temperature of 7C and the return
water inlet 14C
Return water (from served building
complexes) is reused again for steam
generation
Cooling Tower used is the Mechanical
Towers type.
The function of the cooling tower is to
create condensate from the return
water inlet which is used again for in
HRSG for steam generation

Here are some of the pictures of the KLIA Gas District Cooling plant retrieved via Google
Streetview and Google Maps;

Figure 1: KLIA GDC Plant (Rear Entrance)

7

Figure 2: KLIA GDC Plant (Main Entrance)

Figure 3: KLIA GDC Storage Tank and chimneys in view

2.

METHODOLOGY
In carrying out the design process of the GDC plant, several methods and design tools

will be used. All of the methods and design tools are meant to assist system designers to
make sure each and every aspect of design is thoroughly covered, without having anything
left behind. Below are the methods and tool used in conducting the design process;
a)

Taking a Datum/reference for this project

This design project will be referring to an existing GDC plant, KLIA GDC plant as
our datum. All of its output and specifications will be used as reference and will be
compared with the Biomass-powered GDC plan to be designed. The details of the
Datum chosen were presented in the part 1.6 Selected Datum.

b)

Design Process Diagram

Design process diagram functions as the reference of design steps which will be used
in designing the Biomass-powered GDC plant. The Design Process Diagram will be
included later in the end of this chapter.

c)

Physical and functional Decomposition of the overall system

Physical Decomposition of the system will be used to help the understanding of the
overall system by dividing the overall complex system into smaller chunks of
subsystems or smaller group of components that are responsible to their respective
functions.

d)

Morphological chart
From the Physical and functional decomposition chart, lists of options of
alternatives can be generated for all the subsystems determined earlier. From the lists
of alternatives, several new forms of concepts of Biomass GDC plants could be made.

e)

Pughs Chart
After having several design concepts of the Biomass GDC plants, all of the design
concepts will be evaluated later on using Pughs Chart to determine which conceptual
design is the best. The concepts generated will be compared datum set in all possible
aspects to determine whether it is better or not compared to the datum.

2.1

Design Process Diagram (Conceptual Design)

START

Define problem:

Setting problem statement

Choosing the datum
Determining the Plant Design
Specification

Gather Information:

Via multiple trusted sources;

Internet, Patents, Technical articles,
journals.

Concept Generation:

Brainstorming
Functional & Physical decomposition
Morphology chart
Multiple individual concepts

Evaluation of Concept:

Decision making
Pugh Chart
Decision matrix

END

10

3.

CONCEPT GENERATION

3.1

Physical Decomposition of Biomass-powered GDC system

Based on the information gathered from the whole working system of the datum (KLIA GDC plant) and also from the requirement needs

for this project, decomposition of the plant was done. This decomposition will only include main systems of the plant which will be the
concentrated more throughout this design project. Figure 4 and figure 5 are the physical and functional decomposition of the Biomass-powered
GDC plant.

Biomass-powered GDC Plant

Fuel supply and Pretreatment system

(Biomass)

Co-combustion system

Co-Generation system

(Biomass)
Gas Turbine

Steam Generation
system
HRSG

Co-Firing
Auxiliary Boiler

Figure 4: Physical Decomposition of the Biomass-powered GDC system

11

Refrigeration cycle
system
Absorption
Chiller

Heat Rejection
System
Cooling
Tower

Biomass

Functional Decomposition of Biomass-powered GDC

Biomass

Prepare and pretreat biomass

Combust
biomass

Energy

Generate
electricity
and heat

Electricity

Heat

Steam
Water

Steam

Generate
steam

Chilled water
Cooling
Steam

Generate
chilled
water

Returned water
Chilled water

Chilled
water

3.2

Store and
supply
chilled water

Chilled water

Figure 5: Functional Decomposition of the Biomass-powered GDC system

12

3.3

Morphology chart
After the physical and the functional decomposition of the whole Biomass-powered GDC system, a morphology chart was done in which

all the possible alternatives of components/systems that are possible to be included in the system is being grouped in its own subsystem
classifications. All of the listed alternatives will be chosen to create several Biomass GDC plant concepts.

Subsystem
Fuel Supply &
Pre-Treatment
System
Pre-treatment of
the biomass fuel
(e.g.woody/herbac
eous) produces
upgraded quality
of fuel which
reduce in storage,
transport and
handling as well as
removing
impurities within
the fuels.

Components & Equipment - Means/How

3

Pre-treatment of waste
wood
The waste wood is
shredded and added with
iron pieces later screened
into mesh sizes. Results
in wood waste with
metals composition.

Balling of fuels
Herbaceous fuels pressed
into bales (with square or
round size) using
machines.

13

Pellets & Briquettes

Compressing fuels into
cylindrical shape by
applying varying
processes.

Drying of Biomass
Reducing moisture
contents of the fuels
using different
techniques.

Co-combustion
system
Combustion of
different types of
fuel (e.g coalbiomass) at the
same time to
improve on the
combustion rate
with lower
emission.

Direct Co-firing
Involves direct feeding of
biomass to coal firing
system or furnace.

Indirect Co-Firing
Involves gasification of
the biomass and the
produced fuel gas is used
for combustion in the
furnace.

Parallel Co-Firing
Involves combustion of
biomass in different
combustor and boiler.
Produced steam is
utilized for power
generation systems.

Co-generation
(CHP) system
Generation of
electricity and
useful
cooling/heating by
utilizing heat
engine or power
station.

Steam turbines
Power derived from
expansion of steam to the
engine driving electricity
generator. Capacity
power of (<120 MW).

Gas Turbines
Combustion of fuel
(natural gas) and air to
generate power to drive
electricity generator.
High efficiency and
capable of producing up
to 120 MW.

Combined-Cycle Gas/
Steam Turbine
Incorporates the gas
turbine and steam
turbine generating set.
HRSG creates steam
from exhaust gas to
power steam turbine.

14

Stirling engines
Main operation from
cyclic compression or
expansion of air/other
gas to produce work.
Small scale applications
of 1kW to 100 kW.

Heat Recovery
Steam Generators
(HRSG) system
Hot waste gases
are passed through
the heat exchanger
which produces
steam that is used
for cogeneration or
powering steam
turbine.

Horizontal HRSG
The gases flow
horizontally with vertical
coils providing natural
circulation in the system.
Simple design with more
floor space.

Vertical HRSG
The gas flow vertically
with horizontal coils and
has low air circulation
rate that is assisted with
water circulation. More
compact in design.

Once-Through Steam
Generators (OTSG)
Advance version of
HRSG without boiler
drums. Water enters the
coil and immediately
converts to steam.

Refrigeration
Cycle system
Circulation of
refrigerants
through various
cycles to absorb or
reject heat creating
low temperature
condition.

Vapor CompressionCycle Chiller

The compressor pumped
the refrigerant to a
condenser unit to reject
heat from refrigerant to
cooling water or air
outside the system.

Absorption Chiller
Mixture of liquid
refrigerant water &
absorbent with high
pressure, directed to
condenser which rejects
heat.

Exhaust Gas Fired

Chiller
Double-effect (twostage absorption
system) machine
powered from hot
exhaust gases and can
be direct coupled to
combustion engine.

15

Generator-Absorber
Heat Exchange (GAX)
cycle Heat Pump
Gas-cooling by
absorption of heat based
on difference from high
temperature end of
absorber and the low
temperature end of
generator.

Heat Rejection
System
Removal of excess
heat from a
refrigeration
system to the
outside
environment.

Natural Draft-Type
Cooling Tower
Inducing airflow from
difference of density
between the ambient air
entering the bottom of
tower and vapor mixture
leaving the system.

Forced -Draft Cross

Flow Cooling Tower
Air is forced into the
tower from axial flow
fans. Hot water
distribution system may
be used at the bottom.

16

Forced-Draft Counter
Flow Cooling Tower
Axial or centrifugal
fans mounted at low
level forcing air to flow
upwards. Enable
reduction in overall
height of tower.

Induced-Draft Cross
Flow Cooling Tower
More distribution of air
through the tower from
axial fans. Available in
twin pack versions.

Induced-Draft
Counter Flow
Cooling Tower
Air is circulated
using axial flow fans.
Input air comes from
openings at the base
of the tower.

3.4

Concepts generated (all members)

3.4.1

Design Concept (Concept 1: Zulfaqqars)

Subsystem

Alternatives
1

Fuel Supply & Pretreatment system

Pre-treatment of
waste wood

Baling of fuels

Pellets & Briquettes

Drying of biomass

Co-combustion
System

Direct Co-firing

Indirect Co-Firing

Parallel Co-Firing

Gas turbines

Combined-Cycle
Gas Turbine/Steam
Turbine

Vertical HRSG

Once-through
Steam Generators
(OTSG)
Generator-Absorber
Heat Exchange
(GAX) Heat Pump
Induced-Draft Cross
Flow Cooling Tower

Co-generation
System
Heat Recovery
Steam Generators
(HRSG) System

Steam turbines

Horizontal HRSG

Refrigeration
Cycle System

Vapor Compression
Cycle Chiller

Absorption Chiller

Exhaust Gas Fired

Chiller

Heat Rejection
System

Natural-Draft Type
Cooling Tower

Forced-Draft Cross
Flow Cooling Tower

Forced-Draft
Counter Flow
Cooling Tower

17

Stirling engines

Induced-Draft Counter
Flow Cooling Tower

3.4.2

Justification of the chosen system (Concept 1: Zulfaqqars)

a)

Fuel Supply and Pre-Treatment system.

For this subsystem, the drying of Biomass raw materials was proposed as the means

of preparation of the Biomass fuel. Drying of Biomass process is very important in

maximizing the energy efficiency of the whole Biomass process. This process is mainly to
eliminate any moisture content that exists in the Biomass raw material before they can be
used as fuel for the next stage; which is the direct co-firing process. By eliminating the
moisture content of the raw Biomass material, the combustion of the fuel can be performed
more efficiently, producing more heat energy.

b)

Co-combustion system.
Meanwhile, for the co-combustion system, direct co-firing process was used for this

subsystem. This process is the faster means to consume the Biomass fuel and produce steam
at much faster rate compared to then indirect co-firing system. This means that the waiting
time for a system which adopted the direct co-firing system to start up is much less compared
to the gasification process. Additionally, since this system will be producing steam as its
output, the usage of Heat recovery steam generators (HRSGs) can be omitted from the whole
system. This can be very helpful in reducing the maintenance bills. The less component to
maintain, the cheaper the maintenance bill would be.

c)

Co-generation system
Next, it was proposed that this particular subsystem will be using a steam turbine

instead of gas turbine. The main reason for it is since direct co-firing system was adopted in
the design of the GDC system, the only type of turbine that is compatible is the steam turbine.
On top of that, a steam turbine can help reducing the fuel cost as it will not be consuming any
petroleum-based fuel. The price of Natural gas (one of the petroleum-based fuel) kept
increasing, which had cause the cost of running a system with gas turbines also rising. To
curb this, adopting the steam turbine as an alternative will be a very smart choice. Having a
steam turbine adopted in the GDC system could also help in terms of maintenance costs.
Since the process in the steam turbine does not involve any combustion process, there will be
no carbon residue formed within the steam turbine system. This also means there will be no
18

reduction of efficiency due to dirty turbine internals and there will be no need for
maintenance to address this issue when steam turbine is adopted to the system.

d)

Refrigeration cycle system

For this subsystem, absorption chiller was chosen. The main reason for the absorption

chiller to be used in the system is due to its energy efficiency. The absorption chiller
consumes less electricity, which will be very helpful in reducing the electricity bill compared
to the rest. Additionally, the absorption chiller was also known to be quiet and produces less
vibration compared to the other type of chiller. This type of chiller will also be very useful in
eliminating the CFC emission which will be produced by some other chiller system, making
it a greener and cleaner chiller alternative to be used in any plant, particularly in a GDC plant.

e)

Heat rejection system

This particular subsystem will be using the induced-draft cooling tower as the main

heat rejection system. The reason for this cooling tower to be chosen is because it is could
sustain a constant airflow regardless of whatever the ambient temperature might be. On top of
that, this type of cooling tower can be adapted to any water flow, slow of fast. This type of
cooling tower is also able to adapt in the condition in which the thermal condition at that time
is severe. (i.e. draught, extreme cold). By having the mentioned qualities above, it is clear
that the induced-draft cooling tower is the best choice of component to be used in the Heat
rejection system.

19

3.4.3

Concept sketch (Concept 1: Zulfaqqars)

20

3.5.1

Design Concept (Concept 2: Adlis)

Subsystem
Fuel Supply &
Pre-treatment
system
Co-combustion
System

Alternatives
1

Pre-treatment of
waste wood

Baling of fuels

Pellets & Briquettes

Drying of biomass

Direct Co-firing

Indirect Co-Firing

Parallel Co-Firing

Stirling engines

Co-generation
System

Steam turbines

Gas turbines

Combined-Cycle
Gas Turbine/Steam
Turbine

Heat Recovery
System

Horizontal HRSG

Vertical HRSG

Once-through
Steam Generators
(OTSG)

Condenser Heat
Recovery System

Refrigeration
Cycle System

Vapor Compression
Cycle Chiller

Absorption Chiller

Exhaust Gas Fired

Chiller

Generator-Absorber
Heat Exchange
(GAX) Heat Pump

Heat Rejection
System

Natural-Draft Type
Cooling Tower

Forced-Draft Cross
Flow Cooling Tower

Forced-Draft
Counter Flow
Cooling Tower

Induced-Draft Cross
Flow Cooling Tower

21

Induced-Draft Counter
Flow Cooling Tower

3.5.2

Justification of the chosen system (Concept 2: Adlis)

Fuel Supply & Pre-treatment System

Pre-treatment of waste wood involves processing the waste wood obtained through logging
from the forest. The waste wood is developed into biomass fuel through processing plant
which have four main working steps. In the first step, the wood passes through the low speed
shredder which include 100mm screen basket. Through this, an overband and magnetic roller
remove the iron pieces from the composition of waste wood. Later, the waste wood is
screened through 10mm mesh which separates the ferrous and non-ferrous metal wood. This
results in wood waste which is free from other metal composition or impurities and produced
for size between 10 and 100mm. The beneficial part of this waste wood processing involves a
reduction of costs for ash disposal. It has been shown that pre-treated waste wood have lower
amounts of ashes produced during combustion which result in less deposit formation in the
furnace and the boiler. Therefore, the combustion plant will has better availability and
reduced operating costs due to this initiative.

Co-Combustion System
The indirect co-firing is based on the gasification of biomass where the produced fuel gas will
be combusted directly in the coal-fired furnace. After the gas emitted from combustion of
biomass fuel is passed through the gasifier, the product of the gasification process has low
calorific value fuel gas (syngas) and similar property as natural gas. The gasifier installed in
the indirect co-firing system has the function to process bio-fuel which termed as synthetic
natural gas (SNG). This may acts as a substitute for natural gas as the main source of fuel to
the gas turbine.

Co-generation System
Combined cycle gas turbine & steam turbine incorporates the gas-turbine generator with heat
recovery steam generator (HRSG) and steam-turbine generator, condenser and auxiliary
system. The HRSG acts as the heat exchanger which provides steam from the hot exhaust
gases of the gas turbine and later is used to power the steam turbine. Based on the
cogeneration system, the heat recovered through the HRSG is projected as in the form of
high-pressure steam which later injected to the steam cycles (in steam turbines) to produce
additional power. It is beneficial to employ the combined cycle where the facility or plant has
22

large low or high-pressure steam load where the steam can be used for the intermediate stage
of the steam turbine. Besides, additional electric power generated by the steam turbine can be
used for mechanical drive service in smaller capacity applications. Mainly in facility plants or
district heating/cooling plants this include the use of steam turbines to drive chillers, pumps
and other related equipment. Conventional combined-cycle system is employed where power
plants have medium-to-large scale of power production from 100 MW to 1000 MW. Further,
combine-cycle system has high efficiency compared to conventional power plants and
reduction in compensation cost to the society due to emission of pollution and other damaging
externalities.

Heat Recovery System

Horizontal HRSG design is incorporated with natural circulation under all conditions of
operation. It composed of simple design with fewer platforms and light supporting structure.
Usually, the stack is supported from the ground hence providing zero load acting on the
structure which means greater stability. Basically, it requires pump assistance for blowoff and
draining as the headers are low and the blow tanks are at higher level than the boiler system.

Refrigeration Cycle System

Vapor Compression Chiller basically comprises of four primary components which are the
compressor, evaporator, condenser and metering device. It is equipped with different types of
compressor namely reciprocating, scroll, screw-driven and centrifugal powered by motors or
gas turbines to pump refrigerant to the condenser unit which later rejects heat energy from the
refrigerant to the cooling water or air outside the system. With evaporative cooling, the
coefficient of performance (COP) for this type of chiller is quite high.

Heat Rejection System

Induced-Draft Cross Flow Cooling Tower is equipped with axial fans to give more even
distribution of air through the system but makes control of drift difficult. Due to distribution
of air in the tower, it is able to maintain constant airflow throughout the operation. Besides,
the tower is able to operates in any given operating condition regardless of ambient
temperature (e.g. winter, summer) thus providing maximum performance output.

23

3.5.3

Concept sketch (Concept 2: Adlis)

24

3.6.1

Design Concept (Concept 3: Razins)

Subsystem

Alternatives
1

Fuel Supply & Pretreatment system

Pre-treatment of
waste wood

Baling of fuels

Pellets & Briquettes

Drying of biomass

Co-combustion
System

Direct Co-firing

Indirect Co-Firing

Parallel Co-Firing

Gas turbines

Combined-Cycle
Gas Turbine/Steam
Turbine

Vertical HRSG

Once-through
Steam Generators
(OTSG)
Generator-Absorber
Heat Exchange
(GAX) Heat Pump
Induced-Draft Cross
Flow Cooling Tower

Co-generation
System
Heat Recovery
Steam Generators
(HRSG) System

Steam turbines

Horizontal HRSG

Refrigeration
Cycle System

Vapor Compression
Cycle Chiller

Absorption Chiller

Exhaust Gas Fired

Chiller

Heat Rejection
System

Natural-Draft Type
Cooling Tower

Forced-Draft Cross
Flow Cooling Tower

Forced-Draft
Counter Flow
Cooling Tower

25

Stirling engines

Induced-Draft Counter
Flow Cooling Tower

3.6.2

Justification of the chosen system (Concept 3: Razins)

Sub-System

Justification

a) Fuel Supply and Pre-treatment system

- Drying of biomass

Able

to

utilize

whole

Biomass

process as this process is mainly to

eliminate any moisture content that
exists in the Biomass raw material
before they can be used as fuel for the
next stage

Eliminating the moisture content

inside the biomass material, will help
the in term of combustion process.

b) Co-combustion system.
- Co - Firing

Co-firing process was choosen for

this subsystem.

Able to produce steam steam faster

rate because the biomass is feed
directly to the firing system or
furnace.

Output of the system is steam

compare to indirect firing which is
fuel gas.

Able to omitted HRSG from the

system.

c) Co-generation system

Use steam to move the turbine.

- Steam turbine

Able to use steam directly from the co

firing system.

Less maintenance as no combustion

and carbon deposited on the turbine.

Save cost as using easily obtainable

renewable resources.

d) Refrigeration cycle system

- Vapor Compression Cycle Chiller

The

vapor-compression

uses

circulating liquid refrigerant as the

medium which absorbs and removes

26

heat from the space to be cooled and

subsequently

rejects

that

heat

elsewhere from the system.

Relatively inexpensive, so able to

save in term of costing.

e) Heat rejection system

Efficient up to 60%.

Crossflow is a design in which the air

- Forced-Draft Cross Flow Cooling Tower

flow is directed perpendicular to the

water flow.

Gravity water distribution allows

smaller pumps and maintenance while
in use.

Typically lower initial and long-term

cost,

mostly

requirements.

27

due

to

pump

3.6.3

Concept sketch (Concept 3: Razins)

28

3.7.1

Design Concept (Concept 4: Faezs)

Subsystem

Alternatives
1

Fuel Supply & Pretreatment system

Pre-treatment of
waste wood

Baling of fuels

Pellets & Briquettes

Drying of biomass

Co-combustion
System

Direct Co-firing

Indirect Co-Firing

Parallel Co-Firing

Gas turbines

Combined-Cycle
Gas Turbine/Steam
Turbine

Vertical HRSG

Once-through
Steam Generators
(OTSG)
Generator-Absorber
Heat Exchange
(GAX) Heat Pump
Induced-Draft Cross
Flow Cooling Tower

Co-generation
System
Heat Recovery
Steam Generators
(HRSG) System

Steam turbines

Horizontal HRSG

Refrigeration
Cycle System

Vapor Compression
Cycle Chiller

Absorption Chiller

Exhaust Gas Fired

Chiller

Heat Rejection
System

Natural-Draft Type
Cooling Tower

Forced-Draft Cross
Flow Cooling Tower

Forced-Draft
Counter Flow
Cooling Tower

29

Stirling engines

Induced-Draft Counter
Flow Cooling Tower

3.7.2

Justification of the chosen system (Concept 4: Faezs)

Subsystem

Alternatives

Fuel Supply & Pre-

Drying of biomass

Justification

treatment system

Biomass can be burned efficiently

and much faster due to low
humidity level.

The amount of energy burnt from

the dry biomass is much higher
compare to other alternatives

Cheap, easily maintained with

low capital cost.

Co-combustion

Indirect Co-Firing

System

Increase the energy produced in

order to drive the turbine much
faster.

Increase the efficiency of the

burning process of the biomass
product, thus reduce the energy
wasted during the process.

Co-generation

Gas turbines

System

High efficiency in producing

power, especially in electricity.

High power capacity produced.

Low time taken to generate

electricity as the energy from
combustion is enormous.

Heat Recovery

Vertical HRSG

Low space required, thus save

some space for other equipment.

Steam Generators
-

(HRSG) System

Easily maintained as it uses

natural circulation, assisted with
water flow during the process.

30

Refrigeration Cycle

Absorption Chiller

Environmental friendly, no CFC

emission.

System
-

Quiet operation, less vibration

produced.

Lower electricity cost incurred.

Reliable, yet low in maintenance.

Heat Rejection

Induced-Draft Cross Flow

Induces hot moist air quickly.

System

Cooling Tower

Reducing the recirculation effect

due to low input velocities and
high output velocities.

Increase rate of cooling due to

induced process.

31

3.7.3

Concept sketch (Concept 4: Faezs)

32

3.8.1

Design Concept (Concept 5: Choongs)

Subsystem

Components & Equipments

3

Fuel Supply & PreTreatment System

Pre-treatment of
waste wood

Balling of fuels

Pellets & Briquettes Drying of Biomass

Co-combustion
system

Direct Co-firing

Indirect Co-Firing

Parallel Co-Firing

Co-generation
(CHP) system

Steam turbines

Gas Turbines

Combined-Cycle
Gas/ Steam
Turbine

Heat Recovery
Steam Generators
(HRSG) system

Horizontal HRSG

Vertical HRSG

Once-Through
Steam Generators
(OTSG)

Refrigeration Cycle
system

Vapor
CompressionCycle Chiller

Absorption Chiller

Exhaust Gas Fired

Chiller

Heat Rejection
System

Natural Draft-Type
Cooling Tower

Forced -Draft Cross Forced-Draft

Flow Cooling
Counter Flow
Tower
Cooling Tower

33

Stirling engines

GeneratorAbsorber Heat
Exchange (GAX)
cycle Heat Pump
Induced-Draft
Cross Flow Cooling
Tower

Induced-Draft
Counter Flow
Cooling Tower

3.8.2
i.

Justification of the chosen system (Concept 5: Choongs)

Fuel Supply and Pre-Treatment System

Fuel supply and pre-treatment system is functions to prepare the biomass before it is supplied
for energy conversion process. For this subsystem, drying of biomass is chosen. For all
biomass conversion technologies, biomass is heated in order to produce steam or hot gas.
Therefore, the dryness of biomass has significant effect on the efficiency of biomass
conversion process.
Besides that, low moisture content of the biomass feedstock will result in higher energy
efficiency of the conversion process. This is because moisture biomass needs more energy for
heating and vaporizing the moisture content, this energy is lost in the stack. Hence, drying
process of biomass is needed in the design for proper process function and control [21].
ii.

Co-Combustion System

Co-combustion system is functions to produce hot gas or steam and uses it to drive turbine
generator. There are three different types of co-combustion system and in-direct firing has
been selected in this design. In-direct firing system is also known as gasification. By
comparing to the direct-firing system, gasification is more environmental friendly. Fuel
contaminants are removed in gasification and it assists in reducing emissions [21].
iii.

Co-generation system

Gas turbine is chosen in co-generation system. The reason why gas turbine is chosen is that it
generates high power up to 120MW. High power generation is needed in this design of GDC
system because it is used to power up the plant and supplied to a district.
The second reason is that gasification produce hot gas and it is commonly used to drive gas
turbine. Thus, gas turbine is chosen. The benefits of gas turbine include high reliability and
high power density, which makes it has lower operating cost and higher efficiency compare
to steam turbine. In addition, the exhaust heat from gas turbine has high quality and usable.
The heat produce can be used in other processes such as generate steam [15].

34

iv.

Heat Recovery Steam Generator (HRSG) system

HRSG system in this design is functions to convert the waste heat from the exhaust of gas
turbine to steam. Once-through steam generator (OTSG) is picked in this system because it
provides high degree of flexibility as the sections are allowed to grow or contract based on
the heat load from gas turbine.
In this design, the inlet feedwater follows continuous path without segmented sections for
economizers, evaporators and superheater. Moreover, OTSG is a special type of HRSG
which without drum, this characteristic allows for quick changes in steam production and
fewer variables to control [18].
v.

Refrigeration Cycle System

Absorption chiller is chosen as the refrigeration cycle system in this design. The use of
absorption chillers eliminates the high incremental cost of electric cooling. Furthermore,
absorption chiller utilize the waste heat from the gas turbine that would otherwise be unused
greatly increases the cost-effectiveness of the systems. Absorption chillers are also have
several non-energy benefits which are environmental friendly and they are elimination the
use of chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) and hydrochlorofluorocarbon (HCFC) refrigerants, and also
reduction in sound pollution due to its vibration free operation [21].
vi.

Heat Rejection System

Natural draft cooling tower has selected as heat rejection system in this design concept. This
type of cooling tower is particularly attractive as a cost-saving solution for larger power
stations and industrial plants requiring greater quantities of cooling water. As this type of
cooling tower operates without fans, the substantial amount of electric power otherwise
required for large cooling tower systems is not needed. The required cooling air is conveyed
through the tower by natural draft thus neither fan nor fan power is required [15].

35

3.8.3

Concept sketch (Concept 5: Choongs)

36

4.

CONCEPT EVALUATION
In this section, evaluation for all concepts will be done through the breakdown of each concepts subsystems. All of the concepts

subsystems will be evaluated through several primary and design criteria determined from the objective tree made before the subsystems
evaluation. Evaluation will be done through Weighted Decision Matrix (WDM).

4.1.1

Fuel Supply & Pre-Treatment System Objective Tree and Decision Matrix

Fuel Supply & Pre-Treatment System

1.0

Cost
0.5

Operation
(OPEX)

0.6

Design

Performance

0.2

0.3

Capital
(CAPEX)

Quality
0.4

Productivity
0.6

Complexity
0.4

37

Reliability
0.5

0.5

Table 3: Weighted decision matrix for Fuel Supply & Pre-Treatment System

Primary
Criterion

Cost
(0.5)

Performanc
e
(0.3)

Design
(0.2)

Design
Criterion

Weight
factor

Unit

Concept 1 Drying
of Biomass
(Zulfaqqar)
Mag.

Score

Rate

Concept 2 PreTreatment of waste

wood
(Adli)
Mag. Score Rate

Concept 3 Drying
of Biomass
(Razin)

Concept 4 Drying
of Biomass
(Faez)

Concept 5 Drying
of Biomass
(Choong)

Mag.

Score

Rate

Mag.

Score

Rate

Mag.

Score

Rate

Operation
(OPEX)
(0.6)

0.30

Exp

Low

2.70

Medi
um

1.80

Low

2.70

Low

2.70

Low

2.70

Capital
(CAPEX)
(0.4)

0.20

Exp

Medi
um

1.40

High

0.60

Medi
um

1.40

Medi
um

1.40

Medi
um

1.40

Quality of
fuel
(0.6)

0.18

Exp

Medi
um

1.08

Very
Good

1.44

Medi
um

1.08

Medi
um

1.08

Medi
um

1.08

Productivity
(0.4)

0.12

kg /
hr

2000

0.96

1500
0

10

1.20

2000

0.96

2000

0.96

2000

0.96

Complexity
(0.5)

0.10

Exp

Very
Good

0.80

Good

0.70

Very
Good

0.80

Very
Good

0.80

Very
Good

0.80

Reliability
(0.5)

0.10

Exp

High

0.80

High

0.80

High

0.80

High

0.80

High

0.80

Total

7.74

6.54

38

7.74

7.74

7.74

4.1.2

Justification (Fuel Supply & Pre-Treatment system)

Biomass fuels have varying quality and characteristics which are mainly dependent

of the types of biomass and pre-treatment technologies applied to these fuels. For example
some of the characteristics of biomass fuels include moisture content which is important for
storage durability and combustion effectiveness, net calorific value (NCV) or gross calorific
value (GCV) that determines the fuel utilization as well as the ash content which provides
information on dust emission, ash utilization or disposal and the combustion technology to be
used. The fuel supply of biomass system consists of planting, harvesting, comminution,
drying, storage as well as transport and handling. The fuel quality of biomass is usually an
important considerations for the operation of biomass combustion plant as well as on
realization of costs incurred from combustion to utilization of the fuels.
The criteria which have been assigned for the Fuel Supply and Pre-Treatment system
include cost, performance and design of the overall pre-treatment technologies. The cost of
the system accounts for 0.5 of the initial weightage for the system as the operator must
consider different circumstances on costs which relates to capital expenditure (CAPEX) as
well as operation expenditure (OPEX) while maintaining profits. Whereas the performance of
the system has been evaluated at 0.3 significance as this includes the quality of fuel as well as
productivity. Further, the design of the system has been given at 0.2 as the complexity and
reliability of the equipment in operation will provide a relation in manpower as well as
maintenance costs.
The operational costs (OPEX) for the system have been given a higher significance
which is 0.6 as these costs are borne by the operator every year during operation of the
system. These costs include maintenance, personnel and transportation costs. For the capital
expenditure (CAPEX), a weightage of 0.4 is given to assess on the initial investment for the
technologies. The magnitude of this criteria has been ranked from high to low based on 11point scoring system in which a lower cost incurred for the operation of the system is
preferable. The ranking of each subsystem has been assigned where a score of 9 will be given
for the lowest cost, score of 7 for the medium cost while score of 3 for the highest cost. These
scores are given based on review from Processing Cost Analysis for Biomass Feedstock;
Phillip Badger [2] and Report on Biomass Drying Technology; Wade Amos [3].

39

The quality of fuel is one of the important considerations for this pre-treatment system
as this determines the amount of impurities within the fuel composition. It has been given a
weightage of 0.6. The scoring is based on the level of fuel quality from Low, Medium to
Very Good which is given depending on information from the book of Biomass Combustion
& Co-firing [1]. While the productivity is a measure of output the system may attained in
terms of kg per hour of operation and assessed to has 0.4 significance. The magnitude given
which is 2000 kg/h is the rated output derived from Agromech, a company specialized on
drum driers for biomass drying [16] while 15000 kg/h is the nominal capacity for breakers
from Rudnick-Enners GmbH [4].
The complexity of the design is judged based on the equipments involves in each
system and the operability of these equipments. It has been given a rating from Bad, Good to
Very Good in which the information are derived from Biomass Combustion & Co-firing [1].
Drying of biomass can be done at the outside which reduces its moisture content and later
transferred to drum dryers that are heated directly or indirectly. Whereas the pre-treatment of
waste wood involves using magnetic roller, screening basket and wood breakers to obtain
wood waste which has relatively low impurities contents. In terms of reliability, it has been
given the same merit as complexity at 0.5 and rated based on operational duration of the
system before maintenance or breakdown. All systems are given High consideration due to
the operational data retrieved from Biomass Combustion & Co-firing [1].

40

4.2.1

Co-Combustion Objective Tree and Decision Matrix

Co-Combustion System
1

Cost

Quality of
Service

0.4

Operation
(OPEX)

0.6

Capital
(CAPEX)

Environmental Effect
0.2
0.4
Contaminants
Emission
1

0.4

Plant
Efficiency

Versatility
0.6

0.4

41

Table 4: Weighted decision matrix for Co-Combustion System

Primary
Criterion

Design
Criterion

Weight
factor

Unit

Cost
(0.40)

Operation
(OPEX)
(0.6)
Capital
(CAPEX)
(0.4)
Plant
Overall
Efficiency
(0.70)
Versatility
(0.30)
Contaminan
ts Emission
(1.00)

0.24

USD
$/yr

0.16

Quality of
Service
(0.40)

Environmen
tal Effect
(0.20)
Total

Concept 1 Direct
Co-Firing
(Zulfaqqar)
Mag. Score Rate
660K
8
1.92

Concept 2 Indirect
Co-Firing
(Adli)
Mag. Score Rate
955K
6
1.44

Concept 3 Direct
Co-Firing
(Razin)
Mag. Score Rate
660K
8
1.92

Concept 4 Indirect
Co-Firing
(Faez)
Mag. Score Rate
955K
6
1.44

Concept 5 Indirect
Co-Firing
(Choong)
Mag. Score Rate
955K
6
1.44

Exp

9610
K

1.28

1900
0K

0.96

9610
K

1.28

1900
0K

0.96

1900
0K

0.96

0.28

Exp

med.

1.68

high

1.96

med.

1.68

high

1.96

high

1.96

0.12

Exp

med.

0.60

high

0.84

med.

0.60

high

0.84

med.

0.84

0.20

Exp

med.

1.00

low

1.60

med

1.00

low

1.60

low

1.60

6.48

6.80

42

6.48

6.80

6.80

4.2.2

Justification (Co-Combustion System)

Co-combustion system plays a vital role in biomass-based GDC plant and responsible

for driving turbine in order to generate electricity. Hence, it is important to select the most
suitable components listed in the morphology chart based on the criteria shown in the
objective tree that had been constructed.
From the objective tree, one of the main criteria of selecting components for cocombustion system is cost and the weightage is rated as 0.4. There are two costs are taken
into consideration under the criteria of cost and they are operational (including maintenance)
and capital. Both costs have a weightage of 0.6 and 0.4 respectively. The reason why the
weightage of operational cost is higher than the capital cost is that operational cost has long
term effect on the plant, while capital cost is only taken into account during the initial
expenses.
Besides that, quality of service is also considered as one of the criteria in the objective
tree. The weightage for quality of service is similar to the cost which is 0.4. Under the quality
of service, there are two factors are taken into consideration and they are plant overall
efficiency and versatility. Plant overall efficiency has a weightage of 0.7 while versatility has
0.3. This is because efficiency is the most important criteria in designing. Besides, versatility
of the product produced from co-combustion system is important as the product may only
suitable to drive only one turbines type or more. Thus, versatility is considered as one of the
criteria.
Furthermore, environmental effect is also one of the criteria of selecting the
components and has a weightage of 0.2 which is lesser compared to cost and quality of
service. In line with the objective of this project, the emission of contaminants from the cocombustion system is included as criteria in order to optimize the plant to be more
environmental friendly.
From the five concepts generated, only two components from the morphology chart
are chosen and they are direct co-firing and indirect co-firing. By comparison, direct co-firing
has lower operational and capital cost [21]. Hence, the score for direct co-firing is higher than
indirect co-firing under cost criteria in Table 4.

43

However, in term of plant overall efficiency, indirect co-firing is greater than direct
co-firing. Heat from the turbine exhaust can be recovered when fuel gas, also known as
syngas, produced from indirect co-firing is used to power up gas turbine for generating
electricity. With the heat recovery, the system efficiency can improve to 80% [21]. Moreover,
the syngas produced from indirect co-firing can used to heat up boiler and produce steam.
This makes indirect co-firing is more versatile since it can used to drive steam turbine and gas
turbine. Thus, indirect co-firing has higher score under quality of service criteria in Table 4.
In term of contaminants emission, direct co-firing produces by-products such as flying ash
from the combustion of biomass and these by-products is harmful to environment. In
addition, indirect co-firing emits lesser contaminants compared to direct co-firing [21].
Therefore, indirect co-firing is rated as 8 while direct co-firing rated as 5 for the score of
environmental effect criteria in Table 4.

44

4.3.1

Co-Generation System Objective Tree and Decision Matrix

Co-Generation System
1

Cost
Flexibility

0.4

0.3

Operation
(OPEX)

0.6

Capital
(CAPEX)

Maintenance

0.4

Control
0.6

0.4

Performance

Design
0.3

0.4

Efficiency

Reliability
0.5

Compatibility

Complexity
0.5

0.3

0.3

Size
45

0.4

Table 5: Weighted decision matrix for Co-Generation System

Primary
Criterion

Cost
(0.40)

Performance
(0.40)

Flexibility
(0.30)

Design
(0.30)

Total

Design
Criterion
Operation
(OPEX)
(0.60)
Capital
(CAPEX)
(0.40)
Efficiency
(0.50)
Reliability
(0.50)
Maintenance
(0.60)
Control
(0.40)
Complexity
(0.30)
Size
(0.40)
Compatibility
(0.30)

Weight
Factor

0.24

Mag.

Score

Rate

Concept 2
Combined_Cycle Gas /
Steam Turbine
(Adli)
Mag. Score Rate

15.00

1.44

13.20

1.68

15.00

1.44

7.30

2.16

7.30

2.16

Concept 1
Steam Turbine
(Zulfaqqar)

Unit

USD
$/kW
-yr

Concept 5
Gas Turbine
(Choong)

Concept 4
Gas Turbine
(Faez)

Concept 3
Steam Turbine
(Razin)
Mag.

Score

Rate

Mag.

Score

Rate

Mag.

Score

Rate

0.16

USD
$/kW

800

1.44

900

1.28

800

1.44

980

1.12

980

1.12

0.20

75

1.40

80

1.60

75

1.40

75

1.40

75

1.40

0.20

94

1.40

95

1.60

94

1.40

97

1.80

97

1.80

0.18

Exp

High

1.08

Med

1.26

High

1.08

Fair

1.44

Fair

1.44

0.12

Exp

High

0.72

Med

0.84

High

0.72

Fair

0.96

Fair

0.96

0.09

Exp

Med

0.63

High

0.54

Med

0.63

Fair

0.72

Fair

0.72

0.12

Exp

Med

0.96

Big

0.84

Med

0.96

Med

0.96

Med

0.96

0.09

Exp

Med

0.72

Med

0.72

Med

0.72

High

0.81

High

0.81

9.79

10.36

46

9.79

11.37

11.37

4.3.2

Justification (Co-Generation System)

The co-generation system is important in the gas district cooling system as it

generates electricity and also useful heat simultaneously. Therefore, it is very important to
choose the proper co-generation system to be run in the gas district cooling system. To
determine and choose the best system, some criteria are listed in the objective tree diagram.
Four main criterias are listed in which focused more on the cost, performance, flexibility and
also the design of the system.
The highest weightage in the objective tree diagram is more towards the cost and also
the performance, in which rated as 0.4 as these two factors is the main objectives in the
selection, which is to get an affordable system with a better performance. In the cost factor,
the operational expenditures (OPEX) is weighed higher then capital expenditures (CAPEX)
with the rating on 0.6 against 0.4. This is due to the annual cost that is need to be in higher
considerations in which including the maintenance, parts replacement and also the client cost.
Even so, the CAPEX also should be as low as possible in order to reduce the overall
expenditures throughout the years.
Other than that, the third and fourth factors are shared together; flexibility and its
design which is rated as 0.3. Flexibility in this term means that how the system operates
without too much hassle when the operator or working dealing with the system. This factor
includes the difficulty of handling the system, and also the difficulty of repairing of
inspecting the system when required to ensure its reliability at its best. For the design criteria,
the sub factors are divided into three, which is the complexity, size and also its compatibility.
Complexity and compatibility are sharing the same weightage which is 0.3 while the size
factor is the a little bit in concern in the selection which is 0.4. This is due to the further
consequences of choosing bigger system in which requires bigger area thus inducing higher
cost. While the complexity and compatibility of the design is more referred to the installation
procedures and also the connection between the systems to the other system in the gas district
cooling plant.

47

4.4.1

Heat Recovery System Objective Tree and Decision Matrix

Heat Recovery System

1

Quality of
service

Cost

0.5

0.4

Operation
(OPEX)

0.6

Design

Capital
(CAPEX)

Output

Maintenance
1

0.4

48

0.1

Sizing
0.4

0.6

Table 6: Weighted decision matrix for Heat Recovery System

Primary Design
criteria Criterion

Weight Unit
factor

Cost

0.24

Exp

Concept 1
Concept 2
Concept 3
Concept 4
Concept 5
Not Selected
Horizontal HRSG
Not Selected
Vertical HRSG
OTSG
(Zulfaqqar)
(Adli)
(Razin)
(Faez)
(Choong)
Mag
Score Rate Mag Score Rate Mag
Score Rate Mag Score Rate Mag Score Rate
Norm. Norm. Norm. Med 6
1.68 Norm. Norm. Norm. Med 7
1.68 Low 8
1.92

0.16

USD

Norm. Norm. Norm. 5.8M

1.28

Norm. Norm. Norm. 5.8M 8

1.28

Low

1.44

0.5

Tn/hr Norm. Norm. Norm. High

(40)

Norm. Norm. Norm. High

(40)

Med
(32)

3.5

Exp

Norm. Norm. Norm. Hard

0.2

Norm. Norm. Norm. Easy

0.36

Easy

0.36

Area

Norm. Norm. Norm. Large 5

0.3

Norm. Norm. Norm. Med

0.48

Small 9

0.54

Quality
of
service

Operation
(OPEX)
(0.6)
Capital
(CAPEX)
(0.4)
Output
(1)

Maintenance 0.04
Design
Sizing

0.06
Total

7.0

7.22

49

7.0

7.8

7.76

4.4.2

Justification (Heat Recovery System)

The heat recovery system is important in the gas district cooling system. The function

of this system is to recover the exhaust waste heat. Hence, it is important to choose the
suitable candidate in order to implement this system in our gas district cooling plant. In order
to determine the best heat recovery system, several criteria were listed in the objective tree.
There are three criteria listed in the objective tree diagram for choosing the best heat recovery
system, which are cost, quality of service and design.
The highest weightage in the objective tree diagram is given to the quality of service
which is 0.5. As we need to maximize as much as possible output for the system. Cost is
given second highest weightage in the objective tree diagram after quality of service which is
0.4. Cost also need to be taken into serious consideration as the initial expenses (CAPEX)
and annual operational and maintenance cost (OPEX) cannot be too expensive or beyond the
budget limit. Operational cost (OPEX) is set to 0.6 because this will be the cost client need to
bear in order to run and maintain the equipment throughout the year of usage. As higher cost
will lead to higher expenditure in order to keep the equipment running in good condition.
While 0.4 weightage is given to initial expenses (CAPEX). Even the weightage allocation is
slightly lower than (OPEX) the initial expenses should be low as possible.
Lastly, design also is one of the criteria listed in objective tree in choosing the best
component. The weightage is given 0.1 which is the lowest compare to the other criteria.
Under this criterion there is complexity which is given 0.4 weightage and sizing 0.6. As the
complexity of the heat recovery system is almost the same more weightage is allocate to the
sizing category. Sizing refer to the area size of the plant will be build and constructed, bigger
area will promote to higher expense in constructing it. Remaining area are able to use for
other important equipment or usage.

50

4.5.1

Refrigeration System Objective Tree and Decision Matrix

Refrigeration system
1

Cost

Performance
0.3

Operation
(OPEX)

0.5

Capital
(CAPEX)
0.6

Environmental Effect

CO2
Emission

Output
Capacity

Efficiency
0.4

0.2

0.4

1
0.6

51

Table 7: Weighted decision matrix for Refrigeration System

Primary
Criterion

Design
Criterion

Weight
factor

Unit

Concept 1
Absorption Chiller
(Zulfaqqar)
Mag. Score Rate
104K
7
1.26

Concept 2 Vapor
Compression Chiller
(Adli)
Mag. Score Rate
73K
9
1.62

Concept 3 Vapor
Compression Chiller
(Razin)
Mag. Score Rate
73K
9
1.62

Concept 4
Absorption Chiller
(Faez)
Mag. Score Rate
104K
7
1.26

Concept 5
Absorption Chiller
(Choong)
Mag. Score Rate
104K
7
1.26

Cost
(0.3)

Operation
(OPEX)

0.18

USD
$/yr

0.12

USD
$

571K

0.72

540K

0.84

540K

0.84

571K

0.72

571K

0.72

0.20

Exp

mid

high

1.4

high

1.4

mid

mid

(0.4)
Output
Capacity

0.30

RT

2500

2.7

325

1.2

325

1.2

2500

2.7

2500

2.7

(0.6)
CO2
Emission

0.20

kg/G
J

20

1.6

30

1.4

30

1.4

20

1.6

20

1.6

(0.6)
Capital
(CAPEX)

Performance
(0.5)

Environment
Effect
(0.2)

(0.4)
Efficiency

(1)
Total

7.28

6.46

52

6.46

7.28

7.28

4.5.2

Justification (Refrigeration System)

Another subsystem that played an important factor in Gas District Cooling system is
the Refrigeration system. Refrigeration system is the system where the production of the
chilled water for the usage of consumer occurs. The aim for the Refrigeration system need to
achieve is to have a system that is economically feasible (for both initial cost and operating
cost), to have an excellent performance throughout its useful life, and also to be as
environmental friendly as possible. The evaluation will be done by considering several
criteria that are relevant to the above aims. The criteria will be given weightage and will be
rated using the 10-point scoring system. By the end, the concept which gains the highest total
rating will be the winning concept for this particular subsystem.
For this particular subsystem, three primary criteria that are most relevant were
identified. The criteria are; cost, performance and environmental effect. Similar to any
engineering projects, cost played a pivotal role in a project to determine whether it is feasible
or not. Investors will mostly be looking at the cost criteria to decide whether it is worth or not
to invest into a particular project. However, despite of its importance, cost criterion was
assigned with the second highest weightage (0.30) as it is less crucial in comparison to the
performance criterion, at least only for this subsystem. Like any other subsystems, the capital
expenditure (CAPEX) and operational expenditure (OPEX) were taken into consideration
with OPEX has been given with a higher weightage (0.6) compared to CAPEX (0.4) due to
its long term importance.
Meanwhile, the second primary criterion which is the performance has been assigned
with the highest weightage (0.5). The reason for this is because the performance of the
refrigeration system is very important as it will determine the production output of the chilled
water distribution. If there is any performance drop for this subsystem, it will heavily affect
the chilled water production, which is the main product for a GDC plant. Under the
performance criterion, there are two design criterions considered. Both of them are
efficiency, and output capacity. The output capacity has been given the weightage of 0.6,
which is higher than the efficiency (0.4) since the output capacity of chilled water is the
utmost priority for the refrigeration subsystem, particularly for a GDC plant.

53

Finally, the last primary criterion to be evaluated is the environmental effect which
takes up the weightage of 0.2. Environmental concerns are still one of the important part to be
considered in this subsystem and that is the main reason why does the environment effect was
taken as one of the factors in consideration. However, despite of its importance, it does not
outweigh the other two primary criterions cost and performance. The only design criterion
set under the environmental effect is the CO2 emission from the refrigeration system. Highest
score will be given to the system which adopting the refrigeration system that has the lowest
CO2 emission.
In this subsystem, concepts that are Absorption Chiller as the choice for the
Refrigeration System has the highest overall score (7.28) followed by the Vapor Compression
Chiller (6.46). In terms of Cost, the Absorption chiller has been given the score of 7 for the
OPEX because the cost to run the Absorption chiller in long term is considerably low.
However, the Vapor Compression Chiller has a much lower operational cost and has been
given a higher score (9). For the CAPEX, Absorption chiller had scored 6, which is slightly
lower than the Vapor Compression chiller (7) because the absorption chiller system is a bit
expensive as far as the first cost is concerned for the system.
In term of performance, the Absorption chiller had been given the score of 5 in terms
of overall efficiency for being slightly less efficient compared to the Vapor Compression
Chiller overall. However, in terms of the output capacity, the absorption chiller is far more
superior because it is capable to produce about 8 times more chilled water output than the
Vapor compression chiller. Due to that reason, the absorption chiller had been given the score
of 9. Finally, in terms of the environmental effect, the absorption chiller did slightly better
than the Vapor Compression chiller as the amount of the CO2 emitted by the absorption
chiller is 20kg/GJ which is 10kg/GJ less than the Vapor Compression Chiller and is also
generally low by industry standard. Due to this, the absorption chiller has been given the
score of 8.

54

4.6.1

Heat Rejection System Objective Tree and Decision Matrix

Heat Rejection System

1

Cost

Performance
0.5

Design
0.3

0.2
Flowrate

Operation
(OPEX)

0.6

Capital
(CAPEX)

Complexity

Adaptability
0.6

0.4

55

0.4

Table 8: Weighted decision matrix for Heat Rejection System

Primary
Criterion

Design
Criterion

Weight
factor

Unit

Exp

Concept 1 Induced
Draft Cross Flow
Cooling Tower
(Zulfaqqar)
Mag. Score Rate
med.
6
1.8

Concept 2 Induced
Draft Cross Flow
Cooling Tower
(Adli)
Mag. Score Rate
med.
6
1.8

Concept 3 Forced
Draft Counter Flow
Cooling Tower
(Razin)
Mag. Score Rate
high
3
0.9

Concept 4 Induced
Draft Cross Flow
Cooling Tower
(Faez)
Mag. Score Rate
med.
6
1.8

Cost
(0.5)

Operation
(OPEX)

0.30

Mag.
low

Score
8

Rate
2.4

0.20

Exp

med.

1.2

med.

1.2

med.

1.2

med.

1.2

high

0.6

(0.4)
Flowrate

0.20

m3/h
r

480

1.2

480

1.2

768

1.6

480

1.2

36.5
K

0.6

(1)
Complexity

0.18

Exp

med.

1.08

med.

1.08

high

0.72

med.

1.08

low

1.44

(0.6)
Adaptability

0.12

Exp

high

0.96

high

0.96

low

0.36

high

0.96

low

0.36

(0.6)
Capital
(CAPEX)

Performance
(0.2)
Design
(0.3)

Concept 5 Natural
Draft Cooling Tower
(Choong)

(0.4)
Total

6.24

6.24

56

4.78

6.24

5.4

4.6.2

Justification (Heat Rejection System)

One of the important subsystems that exist in the Gas District Cooling system is the
heat rejection system. The main role of the Heat Rejection System is to reject waste heat from
the overall system of the Gas District Cooling plant. This waste heat may come from the
auxiliary boilers, gas turbines and several other components that require cooling. The primary
criterions that are being taken into consideration for the selection of the best Heat Rejection
System are; cost, performance, and also design. All of these criterions were given their own
respective weightage according to their level of importance towards the overall subsystem
and also to the whole main system. There are also design criterions, placed under all primary
criteria and will also be given their own respective weightage according to their level of
importance. All of the criterion will be given scores and 10-point scoring system will be
utilized where 0 is the lowest score given, indicating the worst and 10 is the highest,
indicating the best.
The first primary criterion considered for this subsystem is Cost which carries the
weightage of 0.5. Cost has been given the highest weightage compared to the rest of the
criterion is because of its importance in affecting the feasibility of this project in both short
term and long term. Investors will be using cost as their main reference to see whether it is
worth enough for them to invest to this project for both short and long term. Under the Cost
criterion, there are two design criterions being set which is the capital expenditure (CAPEX)
and also the operational expenditure (OPEX). OPEX for this subsystem has been assigned
with the weightage of 0.6 as compared to CAPEXs 0.4. The main reason for this is because
the main concern of cost for this particular subsystem is the long term cost. The Heat
Rejection System will be used for quite a long time and it is particularly important to make
sure that the cost to maintain it to be as minimal as possible to ensure a high profitability.
Next, the second primary criterion considered for this subsystem is the performance.
The subsystems performance in delivering an optimum flowrate of cooled condensate (to
cool the system) has been considered as well. However, the performance is the least concern
for this subsystem because it is not as important as the other criterion. Hence, due to this, the
performance criterion was given with the least weightage which is 0.2. Under the Flowrate,
the only design criterion considered is the flowrate (in m3/hr). As mentioned earlier, this
flowrate refers to the flowrate of cooled condensate produced from this subsystem.

57

On top of that, another vital primary criterion considered for this system is the design.
This criterion has been given the second highest weightage (0.3) due to its importance in
affecting the cost criterion as well as the performance criterion. Under Design, there are
another two criterions considered which are the system complexity and also the system
adaptability. System complexity will affect heavily on the cost, especially the OPEX because
if the Heat Rejection system is too complex, the maintenance work will be a bit complex,
hence causing the operating cost to soar. Meanwhile, the system adaptability refers to the
capability of the system to adapt to various kinds of environmental conditions and at the same
time maintaining its optimum performance. Under this criterion, system complexity has been
given the weightage of 0.6 and the system adaptability has been given the weightage of 0.4.
In this subsystem, concepts that are utilizing Induced Draft Cross Flow Cooling
Tower as the choice for the Heat Rejection System has the highest overall score (6.36)
followed by the Natural Draft Cooling Tower (5.1) and finally the Induced Draft Counter
Flow Cooling Tower (4.72). In terms of Cost, the Induced Draft Cross Flow Cooling Tower
has been given the score of 6 for the OPEX because the operational cost of the Induced Draft
Cross Flow Cooling Tower is comparatively lower than the Forced Draft Counter Flow
Cooling Tower due to its simpler design and a bit higher than the Natural Draft Cooling
Tower since the Induced Draft Cross Flow Cooling Tower uses some electricity to power up
the fan to suck out all the air from the chamber. For the CAPEX, Induced Draft Cross Flow
Cooling Tower had also scored 6, which is the same as the Forced Draft Counter Flow
Cooling Tower as the capital cost for both is comparatively the same and also much less than
the CAPEX of the Natural Draft Cooling Tower.
In term of performance, the Induced Draft Cooling Tower had been given the score of
6 as well as it is able to handle the near-optimum flowrate which is 480 m3/hr. However, the
Forced Draft Counter Flow Cooling Tower had performed better as it is able to handle 768
m3/hr. Meanwhile the Natural Draft Cooling Tower is able to handle about 36500 m3/hr
which is too high for a Gas District Cooling plant. Finally, in terms of design, the Induced
Draft Cross Flow Cooling Tower had scored 6 out of 10 for the system complexity, as its
system is moderately complex compared to Natural Draft Cooling Tower but a little bit
simpler than the Forced Draft Counter Flow Cooling Tower. As far as the system adaptability
goes, the Induced Draft Cross Flow Cooling Tower scored the highest point among the rest as
it

is

very

capable

to

adapt

to

changes

58

in

working

environment/parameters.

5.

SELECTED CONCEPT

5.1

Winning Concept

The finalized rating for the evaluation concepts are presented in the table below:
Table 9: Concept Selection
Subsystem

Concept

Fuel
Supply &
PreTreatment
System

Concept 1
(Zulfaqqar)
Concept 2
(Adli)
Concept 3
(Razin)
Concept 4
(Faez)
Concept 5
(Choong)

Heat
CoCoRefrigeration
Combustion Generation Recovery
Cycle System
System
System
System

Heat
Rejection
System

Total

7.74

6.48

9.79

7.28

6.36

44.65

6.54

6.80

10.36

7.22

6.46

6.36

43.74

7.74

6.48

9.79

6.46

4.72

42.19

7.74

6.80

11.37

7.80

7.28

6.36

47.35

7.74

6.80

11.37

7.76

7.28

5.10

46.05

Based on the table and values calculated above, it can be seen that Concept 4 has the
highest rating in total by using the weighted decision matrix. The criteria chosen are based on
the aspects required for the operation of the gas district cooling system. The scores obtained
are given by the evaluation all indicators in each criterion for every alternative available in
the subsystem.
In this project, the cost has been the major concern for evaluating the alternatives in
the subsystem. This factor is to ensure that the project proposal is capable in minimizing cost
required and at the same time maximize the efficiency of the system for the usage of the
desired customers or buildings. However, Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) in the
industry standards needs to be taken seriously into account to avoid any bad occurrences of
any catastrophic event.
Based on the weightage scores calculated above, the highest score is in the Concept 4
with the score of 47.35. The chosen concept has scored all six subsystems listed which are the
fuel supply and pre-treatment system, co-combustion system, co-generation system, Heart
recovery system (HRS), refrigeration cycle system, and heat rejection system. Unfortunately,
the total score might be unfair as some concepts do not require HRS system due to the usage
of steam turbine in their concepts. However, taking into account of the average score for HRS
59

system is 7, the maximum score that can be compensated is 44.65, which is still lower that
the highest score calculated earlier.
Concept 4 uses drying of biomass system before entering the indirect co-firing
system. The reason behind the selection of this concept is basically to maximize the heat
produced and at the same time to reduce time taken to burn the biomass materials due to the
presence of humidity in the materials. The selection of indirect co-firing is basically to
produce fuel gas in which will be using by the gas turbine. This includes the process of
gasification of the organic materials in the biomass itself.
In the selection of co-generation system, gas turbine is still one of the best turbines
available so far in the market compare to the other turbines. This is due to the high efficiency
produced by the gas turbine to generate electricity, smaller in size and also capable in
producing high power output for large usage from the customers or buildings. The excess
heat produced by the gas turbine can be channelled back to the vertical HRS system in order
to produced useful steam to be channelled to the refrigeration system. The selection of
vertical-based system is basically to use the density differences of hot and cold air so that the
proper steam can be produced.
On the other side, the selection of absorption chiller and also induced-draft cross flow
cooling tower is basically due to its efficiency, availability of its replacement parts and also
the capability of producing cooled water in a short time with the mixture of refrigerant. The
induced-draft cooling tower is selected due to presence of hot air in which will naturally goes
up to the atmosphere. This process also will reduce the recirculation in which the discharged
air enters back into the intake due to low entry and high exits of air velocities. The overall
concept sketch for the selected concept is shown:

60

Winning concepts selection matrix (Faezs)

Subsystem

Alternatives
1

Fuel Supply & Pretreatment system

Pre-treatment of
waste wood

Baling of fuels

Pellets & Briquettes

Drying of biomass

Co-combustion
System

Direct Co-firing

Indirect Co-Firing

Parallel Co-Firing

Gas turbines

Combined-Cycle
Gas Turbine/Steam
Turbine

Vertical HRSG

Once-through
Steam Generators
(OTSG)
Generator-Absorber
Heat Exchange
(GAX) Heat Pump
Induced-Draft Cross
Flow Cooling Tower

Co-generation
System
Heat Recovery
Steam Generators
(HRSG) System

Steam turbines

Horizontal HRSG

Refrigeration
Cycle System

Vapor Compression
Cycle Chiller

Absorption Chiller

Exhaust Gas Fired

Chiller

Heat Rejection
System

Natural-Draft Type
Cooling Tower

Forced-Draft Cross
Flow Cooling Tower

Forced-Draft
Counter Flow
Cooling Tower

61

Stirling engines

Induced-Draft Counter
Flow Cooling Tower

5.2

Winning concepts sketch (Faezs)

62

5.3

Subsystems for winning concept

Fuel Supply & Pre-Treatment System:

Drying of Biomass

Co-Combustion System:
Indirect Co-firing

Co-Generation System:
Gas Turbines

63

Heat Recovery System:

Vertical Heat Recovery Steam Generator
(HRSG)

Refrigeration Cycle System:

Absorption Chiller

Heat Rejection System:

Induced Draft Cross Flow Cooling Tower

64

6.

DETAILED SELECTED CONCEPTS WORKING PRINCIPLE

6.1

Overall systems working principle

The new system working principle is based on following subsystem which is:
1- Fuel supply and pre-treatment Drying of biomass
2- Co Combustion system Indirect co firing
3- Co-generation system Gas turbines
4- Heat recovery system Vertical HRSG
5- Refrigeration cycle system Absorption Chiller
6- Heat rejection system Induced draft cross flow cooling tower.

Initially,the process starts with drying the biomass material. Due to the moisture and water
content in the material, it is recommended to reduce it by applying various drying methods which can
improve the efficiency of combustion system. After drying process completed, gasification process
will take place. In this process the biomass solid is converted into the combustible gases. The output
of this process is synthesis gas (syngas) which can be used to produce heat energy by combusting it.
The gas then is used to power up gas turbines. Gas turbines will generate electricity and the excess
exhaust heat will be recovered using heat recovery steam generator. HRSG will mainly absorb heat
from the hot exhaust and produce steam. The steam then enter absorption chiller. Function of
absorption chiller is to reject heat and create low temperature condition for steam by circulate it with
mixture of liquid refrigerant water and absorbent with high pressure. Low temperature steam then is
supplied to the consumer. Lastly, induced draft cross flow cooling tower is used to remove excess
heat from the refrigeration system to outside environment.

65

Selected concepts process flow

Air

Electricity

Gas
Turbine

Compress
or

Combustion
Chamber
Fuel Gas
Indirect Co-firing
System
(Gasification)
Dry
Biomas

Generator

Chilled
Water

Exhaust
Heat
Vertical
HRSG

Steam

Steam
Absorption
Chiller

Steam
Water

Drying of
Biomass

Induced Draft
Cross Flow
Cooling Tower

66

Returned
Chilled Water

6.2

Subsystems working principle

6.2.1

Working Principles (Drying of Biomass)

Biomass fuels mainly contain a portion of water in the contents which termed as moisture
content. It is recommended to reduce the moisture content by applying various drying
methods which can further improve the efficiency of the combustion system. Besides
utilization of fuel with low moisture content can also lowers the investment cost due to more
complex technology and process control that mainly affect fuel with high moisturization [3].
Drying of biomass fuels can be seen as economical way of saving on total fuel costs due to its
simple process. Basically, the wood logs are piled outdoors with temperature ranging from
35oC above during the summer which naturally reduced the moisture content by 50 to 30
wt% (w.b.) from convection [3]. However, the piling of wood outdoor is only accomplished
in the initial stage as the humidity or uncertain weather conditions may affect the biological
degradation of wood due to micro-organisms. Afterwards, the biomass fuels are passed
through to a continuous drying technologies which may include belt dryers, drum dryers, tube
bundle dryers and superheated steam dryers. Drum dryers in the form of rotating drum is
most commonly used drying technologies in biomass sector [13].
Rotary dryers has several variations for its design but the most-widely used in industry is the
directly heated single-pass rotary dryer. Usually, the biomass material (e.g. wood chip) are
filled into a rotating drum which are fed with hot gas that later react with each other. While
rotating, the solids in the dryer are lifted that causes reaction with the hot gas flowing in the
system while enhancing the heat and mass transfer. Normally, the hot gas can be in the form
of flue gas or heated incoming air from a burner or steam heater. Inside the rotating drum, the
biomass and hot air flow co-currently which leads to the hottest gases to come in contact with
the wettest material [13].
Fine particles which are contained in the exhaust gases leaving the dryer are screened through
a cyclone or multicyclone. Indirectly heated rotary dryer operates based on heat conduction
where heat is transferred from steam or hot air which passes through the outer wall of the
dryer or even inner central shaft of the drum [13]. This design is mainly applied where the hot
flue gases or air may contaminate the material within the dryer thus reducing the system
performance.

67

Inlet gas coming through the rotary dryers may include temperature ranging from 450o 2,000oF (232o - 1,093oC). Outlet temperature from rotary dryers have ranges from 160o 230oF (71o - 110oC) and in most cases the outlet temperatures are higher than 104oC to avoid
condensation of acids and resins [13].

Figure 6: Rotary dryers operation flow for biomass drying

68

6.2.2

Working Principles (Indirect Co-firing)

Indirect co-firing system as known as gasification is a process that converts solid

biomass into combustible gases. It is a thermochemical process involving heating the solid
biomass in an oxygen-starved environment, partial oxidation, or indirect heating in the
absence of oxygen to produce fuel gas called synthesis gas (syngas). Syngas produced can
used to produce heat energy by combusting it. The heating value of syngas is within the range
of 10 to 50% that of natural gas, depending on the carbon and hydrogen content of the
biomass and the properties of gasifier [21].
A schematic diagram of a typical gasifier is shown in Figure 7. The gasification
process follows several steps and the first step is pyrolysis. Pyrolysis is a step where thermal
decomposition of solid biomass takes place and vaporizes the volatile components of the
biomass at around 1000F. The volatile vapours are mainly hydrogen, carbon monoxide,
carbon dioxide, methane, hydrocarbon gases, tar and water vapour. Since biomass feedstock
tend to have more volatile components 70 to 86% on a dry basis, pyrolysis plays vital role in
gasification of biomass [21].

Figure 7: Schematic Diagram of Gasifier

Pyrolysis is followed by further gasification process that converts the leftover tars and
char into carbon monoxide by using provision of addition heat such as steam or partial
combustion. Some of the tars and hydrocarbons in the vapours are thermally cracked to give
smaller molecules, with higher temperatures resulting in fewer remaining tars and
hydrocarbon. The char is converted into gas by various reactions between carbon dioxide and
69

steam through steam gasification to generate carbon monoxide and hydrogen. For the
production of hydrogen, higher temperatures and pressures are prefer, while carbon
monoxide production is prefers higher temperatures and carbon dioxide production is prefers
higher pressures [21].
The gases formed from these processes are further react with the reverse water-gas
shift reaction in order to change the concentration of carbon monoxide, steam, carbon dioxide
and hydrogen within the gasifier. In the end, mixture of the gases is produced from the
gasification process and can be used to produce heat energy to generate steam, drive gas
turbine and so on [21].

70

6.2.3

Working Principles (Gas Turbine)

Co-generation system or know as combined heat and power (CHP) system is basically
a system that produces electricity and heat at the same time. For the same power output, cogeneration system uses less fuel than traditional separate heat and power production, thus
making it useful for distribution of heat and electricity demand at the time.
There are two types of co-generation system, a topping cycle and also a bottoming
cycle. Topping cycle is mainly for the generation of the electricity or mechanical energy first
by using a fuel and then the remaining portion of the waste heat is then used in order to
produce useful thermal energy. The bottoming cycle produces heat first for manufacturing
process by using fuel combustion process. The remaining portion is then use for generation of
electricity. Generally, bottoming cycle is used for process-based industries, such as glass and
steel.
There are various types of co-generation system available, however most of the
popular alternatives is the gas turbine and also steam turbine. Gas turbine operates similar to
jet engines, with additional heat recovery system in order to capture the heat from the exhaust
of the turbine. Gas turbines are highly reliable and also has a wide range of power output
(500kW to 250MW). The working principal of the basic gas turbine is shown below.

Figure 8: Working principle of basic gas turbine

71

6.2.4

Working principles (Heat Recovery Steam Generator)

Heat recovery steam generator (HRSG) is a heat exchanger designed to recover the
exhaust waste heat from power generation plant prime movers, such as gas turbines or large
reciprocating engines, thus improving overall energy efficiencies. HRSGs can be used to
generate steam for district heating or factory processes, or to drive a steam turbine to generate
more electricity.
There are several types of HRSG, but the basic construction techniques are largely similar,
comprising banks of tubes mounted in the exhaust path. Exhaust gases at temperatures of
430650C heat these tubes, through which water is circulated. HRSGs mainly absorb heat
from the hot exhaust in the flue gases by convection heat transfer, but, in certain sections,
heat is transferred by both radiation and convection. The water is typically held at high
pressure to temperatures of around 200C, boiling to produce the steam.

HRSG design and construction

HRSGs typically comprise three sections:
1) Low pressure (LP)
2) Reheat/intermediate pressure (IP)
3) High pressure (HP)
This a triple pressure system, which maximizes plant thermal efficiency. Each section has a
steam drum and an evaporator section where water is converted to steam. The steam then
passes through superheaters to raise the temperature and pressure past the saturation point.
Diverter valves regulate inlet flows, allowing the gas turbine to continue to operate when
there is no steam demand, or if the HRSG needs to be taken offline.

Component in HRSG
Evaporator
This is where the heat from the gas turbine exhaust turns the water in the tubes into steam.
The evaporator is so important that it defines the overall HRSG configuration. Since the inlet
and outlet temperatures are both close to the saturation temperature for the system pressure,
the amount of heat that may be removed from the flue gas is limited.
72

Superheater
This dries the saturated steam from the steam drum perhaps only heated a little above
saturation point, but sometimes to a much higher temperature for extra energy storage. The
superheater is usually positioned in the hot gas stream before the evaporator. The type used
depends on the evaporator type.

Economizer
This preheats the feedwater, and it replaces steam removed via superheater or steam outlet,
and also because of water loss through blowdown. The economizer is conventionally fitted in
the path of the colder gas downstream of the evaporator. The type of economizer also
depends on the evaporator type, with configurations being typically similar to those of
superheaters.

Steam drum
The drum stores the steam generated in the water tubes and acts as a phase-separator for the
steam/water mixture.

Figure 9: Components of HRSG

73

6.2.5

Working Principle (Absorption Chiller)

In the last section, the chosen unit for the Refrigeration System is the Induced
Absorption Chiller. For this section, the overall working principle of the Absorption Chiller
will be explained.

Figure 10: Absorption Chiller

Similar to the compressor in an electric vapor compression cycle, the absorption
system uses its "thermal" compressor (consisting of the generator, absorber, pump and heat
exchanger) to boil water vapor (refrigerant) out of a lithium bromide/water solution and
compress the refrigerant vapor to a higher pressure. As the pressure of the refrigerant
increase, its condensing temperature also does too. In this high temperature and pressure, the
refrigerant vapour condenses into liquid. Since the temperature of refrigerant condensation is
higher than the ambient temperature, the heat flows out from the condenser and released to
the outside environment [7].
Then, the high pressure liquid flows through the throttling valve in which at this stage,
its pressure will be reduce and by reducing the fluids pressure, this will also cause the
boiling point of the fluid to drop. The reduced pressure fluid will then be passing through the
evaporator where it will be boiled at reduced temperature and pressure. Since the boiling
temperature is now lower than the conditioned air temperature, the heat will move from the
conditioned air stream to the evaporator hence causing it to boil [7].

74

Next, the vapour produced will pass through the absorber where it will return to liquid
state and then being pulled into the lithium bromide solution (absorption process). The
diluted lithium bromide solution will be pumped back to the generator. Since Lithium
bromide (absorbent agent) would not boil, the water is easily separated by applying a little bit
of heat. The resultant water vapour will pass through the condenser, absorbent solution
returns to the absorber and the cycle repeats [7]. Below is the diagram which describes
pictorially the process inside the absorption chiller.

Figure 11: Absorption Chiller process

75

6.2.6

Working Principle (Induced Draft Cross Flow Cooling Tower)

In the last section, the chosen unit for Heat Rejection System is the Induced Draft
Cross Flow Cooling Tower. For this section, the overall working principle of the Induced
Draft Cross Flow Cooling Tower will be explained.
Induced Draft Cross Flow Cooling Tower falls into the category of mechanical drafttype cooling tower in which the air is being moved using fans. In Induced Draft Cross Flow
Cooling Tower, the water flows vertically through the fill while the air flows horizontally,
across the flow of the falling water.

Figure 12: Example of fill which being used in the cooling tower
Due to this, the air does not have to pass through the distribution system, allowing the
use of gravity flow hot water distribution basins mounted at the top of the unit above the fill.
These basins are universally applied on all crossflow towers [20]. Below is the example of the
Induced Draft Cross Flow Cooling Tower;

Figure 13: Induced Draft Cross Flow Cooling Tower

76

Typically, the fan setup for the Induced Draft Cross Flow Cooling Tower will be at
the top of the structure which draws air upwards against the downward flow of water passing
around the wooden decking or packing.

Figure 14: Fan being setup on top of the cooling tower

Since the airflow is counter to the water flow, the coolest water at the bottom is in contact
with the driest air while the warmest water at the top is in contact with the moist air, resulting
in increased heat transfer efficiency [12].

77

6.3

Peer evaluation of the selected concept

6.3.1

Zuls evaluation
Muhammad Zulfaqqar Kasim

Fuel Supply & Pre-

Drying of biomass system reduces the humidity in raw

Treatment Statement

biomass material which reduces the required heat to

Drying of Biomass

combust. Hence, lower time will be needed to achieve

perfect combustion process. It also lowers the need of fuel
supply in co-combustion system.

Co-Combustion System

Gasification process in the indirect co-firing system enables

Indirect Co-Firing

the production of fuel that is suitable for use in a gas turbine.

The produced fuel namely syngas, has high power to heat
ratio and more efficient than the direct combustion process of
the solid biomass since it can be combusted at higher
temperature. Conversion process of solid biomass to syngas
produces

less

combustion

of

waste
the

emissions
solid

compared

biomass

making

to

direct

it

more

environmental friendly.

Co-Generation System

Gas turbines generally produce high power output and also

Gas Turbine

have higher efficiency and lower start up duration compared

to steam turbine. Additionally, the exhaust heat from the
turbine can be recovered using heat recovery system together
to produce useful thermal energy.

Heat Recovery System

Vertical HRSG generally has high steam production output

Vertical Heat Recovery

depending on the amount of exhaust heat recovered. Besides

Steam Generator (HRSG) that, vertical HRSG takes up less space which can be
practical in reducing the usage of space in a plant. Simpler
design of vertical HRSG could also mean less maintenance
cost.

78

Refrigeration Cycle

Useful steam generated from the heat recovery system is

System

used in absorption chiller to produce chilled water.

Absorption Chiller

Comparing to other components of refrigeration cycle

system, absorption chiller produces less CO2 emission. This
is due to the process of the absorption chiller which used
steam instead of fuel to generate chilled water.

Heat Rejection System

Induced draft cross flow cooling tower takes up less space

Induced Draft Cross

and it is suitable for moderate-size plant. It also has a lower

Flow Cooling Tower

operational and capital costs compared to other types of

cooling tower. Besides that, it has simpler design and highly
adaptable to different environment. It also capable in
reducing the recirculation effect in which will reduce the
efficiency of the heat rejection process.

79

6.3.2

Adlis evaluation
M. Amir Adli Nazarudin

Fuel Supply & Pre-Treatment System

Drying of Biomass

Reduction in total fuel costs by lowering

the moisture content in biomass fuels.
Improvement in combustion efficiency
and ash emission.
Integrating natural heating process and
dryer which save in operating cost.

Co-combustion System
Indirect Co-Firing

Availability of fuel resource (e.g. woods)

which could replace dependability on
fossil fuels.
Producing low calorific fuel gas that
could power the gas turbines.
No considerable impact on the boiler
performance e.g. stability, availability and
capacity.

Co-generation (CHP) System

Gas Turbines

Capable of producing large power output

rated at >150 kW and great efficiency of
> 30%.
High initial investment for installation
and commissioning but relatively low
operating or maintenance costs (major
overhaul every 3-4 years).
Suitable for large industrial or
commercial applications which require
considerable amount of power.

Heat Recovery System

Vertical Heat Recovery Steam Generators

Vertical design requires less floor space

in the power plant.
Has smaller boiler volume and less
probability of steam blockage in
economizers during start-up.

Refrigeration Cycle System

Absorption Chiller

Saving in operating costs by avoiding

peak electric demand charges and rates.
Eliminate the use of CFC and HCFC
refrigerants.
Very high efficiency at 0.60 COP and
5.86 kW/ton for single effect absorption.

Heat Rejection System

Induced-Draft Cross Flow Cooling Tower

Equipped with axial fans to facilitate the

flow of air into the unit.
Used in smaller capacities, air flow
horizontally while the water fall
downward.

80

6.3.2

Razins evaluation

RAZIN AKMAL B RUSLAN

Fuel supply & pre treatment system
This system help to remove the moisture
Drying of biomass
and water content in the biomass material.
By removing the mositure content it will
improve the efficiency of the combustion
system. Moisture will delay the combustion
process and more energy needed to fully
burnt the biomass. As dry biomass
combustion more quicker and less energy
neeeded.
Co-combustion system
Syngas is produce from the gasification of
Indirect co-firing
indirect co-firing. This output can be use to
produce heat enerygy by combusting it. The
advantage of the system that it has low
emission of contaminant to environment.
Co-generation system
Gas turbine is choosen because this system
Gas turbines
is already establish and been used by many
GDC plant. The benefits of gas turbine
compare to steam turbine is the output is
higher and also more efficient. In term of
maintenance cost, the cost of maintenance
gas turbines more cheaper. So it is more
favourable.
Heat recovery system
Vertical HRSG have higher output compare
Vertical Heat recovery steam generator
to other system. In term of maintenance , it
is easily repaired and the sizing area not
consuming large space.
Refrigeration cycle system
Eventhough the capital cost and operational
Absorption chiller
cost of absorption chiller is high. The output
capacity of the system is very high and it is
enviromentally friendly.
Heat rejection system
Has simpler design. Consume medium space
Induced draft cross flow cooling tower
to built thus decrease construction cost. The
capital and operational cost also lower
compare to other type heat rejection
system. Have average performanc and can
be consider suitable for the plant system.

81

6.3.4

Faezs evaluation
Ku Muhammad Faez Ku Ariffin

Fuel Supply & Pre-

Drying of biomass system helps to reduce the humidity level

Treatment Statement

in biomass which eventually reduces the required heat to

-Drying of Biomass

combust. Thus, it will require lower time to achieve perfect

combustion process. It also lowers the fuel supply in cocombustion system.

Co-Combustion System

Gasification process in the indirect co-firing system enables

-Indirect Co-Firing

the production of fuel to be use in the gas turbine, which is

known as syngas. In addition, syngas has high ratio of power
to heat and has more efficient than direct combustion of the
solid biomass because it can be combusted at higher
temperature. Conversion process of solid biomass to syngas
has lesser byproduct of contaminants compared to direct
combustion of the solid biomass thus it has low emission of
contaminants to environment and makes it better than direct
combustion in term of environmental friendly.

Co-Generation System

Gas turbine has wide range of power output and also higher

-Gas Turbine

efficiency and lower start up duration compared to steam

turbine since it is using air to drive the turbine. Besides, the
exhaust heat from the turbine could be captured and
recovered using heat recovery system together to produce
useful thermal energy.

Heat Recovery System

Vertical HRSG has high output of steam produced,

-Vertical Heat Recovery

depending the amount of exhaust heat enters. Besides that,

Steam Generator (HRSG) vertical HRSG has a medium size which is practical in
reduces the whole system capacity. It also has simple
maintenance compared to other types of HRSG and thus the
cost of maintenance can be minimized.

Refrigeration Cycle

Useful steam produce from the heat recovery system is used

System

to power up absorption chiller and generate chilled water.

-Absorption Chiller

Comparing to other components of refrigeration cycle

82

system, absorption chiller is more environmental friendly in

term of CO2 emission. This is due to the process of the
absorption chiller is which using steam instead of fuel to
generate chilled water.
Heat Rejection System

Induced draft cross flow cooling tower has medium size and

-Induced Draft Cross

it is suitable for moderate-size plant, and also lower

Flow Cooling Tower

operational and capital costs compared to other types of

cooling tower. In addition, its design is simpler and has high
adaptability for different environment. It also capable in
reducing the recirculation effect in which will reduce the
efficiency of the heat rejection process.

83

6.3.5

Choongs evaluation
Choong Weng Hong

Fuel Supply & Pre-

Applying drying of biomass helps to reduce the moisture

Treatment Statement

content in biomass which eventually reduces the required

Drying of Biomass

heat to combust. With this pre-treatment, the efficiency of

co-combustion system could be improved. It also lower the
investment cost in fuel supply in co combustion system.

Co-Combustion System

Syngas produced from indirect co-firing, which also known

Indirect Co-Firing

as gasification, can be directly used in generating steam or

gas turbine or engines with heat recovery. Besides that,
syngas has high ratio of power to heat and is potentially more
efficient than direct combustion of the solid biomass because
it can be combusted at higher temperature. Conversion of
solid biomass to syngas using gasification has lesser
byproduct of contaminants such as flying ashes compared to
direct combustion of the solid biomass. Thus, gasification
has low emission of contaminants to environment and this
makes it better than direct combustion in term of
environmental friendly.

Co-Generation System

Gas turbine has higher efficiency and lower start up duration

Gas Turbine

compared to steam turbine since it is using air to drive the

turbine. It also has a wide range of power output. Moreover,
the heat exhaust from the turbine could be captured and
recovered using heat recovery system. Thus, the system
efficiency is improved.

Heat Recovery System

Vertical HRSG has high output of steam depending on the

Vertical Heat Recovery

exhaust heat from co-generation system. Besides that,

Steam Generator (HRSG) vertical HRSG has a medium size which reduces the whole
system capacity. It also has simple maintenance compared to
horizontal HRSG and thus lower the cost of maintenance.
Refrigeration Cycle

Steam produce from the heat recovery system is used to

System

power up absorption chiller and generate chilled water. By

Absorption Chiller

comparing to others components of refrigeration cycle

84

system in morphology chart, absorption chiller is more

environmental friendly in term of CO2 emission. This is
because absorption chiller is using steam instead of fuel to
generate chilled water.
Heat Rejection System

Induced draft cross flow cooling tower has medium size and

Induced Draft Cross Flow it is suitable for not very large plant such as biomass-based
Cooling Tower

GDC plant. It also has lower costs in operational and capital

compared to other types of cooling tower. Moreover, its
design is not complex and has high adaptability. Thus, it is
suitable for biomass-based GDC plant.

85

7.

Governing Equation

7.1

Gasification

If the syngas is used for direct burning, the gasification efficiency is defined as:

In which:

+ ( )
100%

th = gasification efficiency (%)

Hg = heating value of the gas (kJ/m3)
g = volume flow of gas (m3/s)
g = density of the gas (kg/m3)
Cp = specific heat of the gas (kJ/kg.C)
T = temperature difference between the gas at the burner inlet and the fuel entering the
gasifier (C)
7.2

Closed-Cycle Gas Turbine

Data which refer to the operation of the gas turbine are useful to calculate the power output
and total efficiency of the closed gas turbine (utilized in co-generation plant).
Compressor pressure ratio,
Inlet temperature at each compressor side, oC
Inlet temperature turbine, oC
Lowest pressure in cycle, bar
Isentropic efficiency of compressor, c
Isentropic efficiency of turbine, T
Pressure loss in boiler, %
Pressure loss in intercooler, regenerator, %
Pressure loss after cooler, %
Effectiveness of regenerator, %
Generator efficiency, g
Mechanical efficiency, m
Mass flow rate of gases in the cycle,
*Combustion efficiency, comb

86

The temperature increase in the compressor is calculated by the following equation:

1

= 2 1 =

where cp is the specific heat ratio of the flue gases based on temperature, oC.
The temperature increase in the turbine is given from the relation:

= 6 7 = 6 1

where T is the turbine pressure ratio in terms of P6 / P7 and cp is the specific heat ratio of the
flue gases based on temperature, oC.
The power output from the turbine is calculated from the equation as follows:
= ( )

= 2
87

The total efficiency of the closed-cycle gas turbine operation is calculated as:
=

=
1

(6 5 )

where T5 is calculated based on heat exchanger efficiency, HE as follows:

=
7.3

5 4
7 4

Absorption Chiller

Cooling capacity of the chiller load:

where;

= ( )

is the flow rate of the chilled water

TCHWR is the temperature of the chilled water entering the chiller

TCHWS is the temperature of the chiller water leaving the chiller
Cp is the specific heat of water
The heat delivered to the chiller by steam condensation is calculated from (the quantity can
also be estimated from electrical power consumption in the steam boiler):

where;

= ( )

is the flow rate of the steam supply

hstean is the enthalpy of the steam supply (based on temperature)

hcondensate is the enthalpy of the condensate (based on temperature

88

8.

CONCLUSION
It has been a challenge to produce a cooling system that is excellent in terms of its

maintainability, cost efficiency, and energy efficiency. The existing individual cooling
system is neither that efficient in terms of energy efficiency nor in terms of cost efficiency.
Meanwhile, the current GDC system that utilizes natural gas is becoming too costly to run
due to ever increasing price of petroleum based fuel.
To tackle this issue, several objectives were set for this design project. Firstly, to
produce a Biomass-powered GDC design that has a better or comparable output compared to
conventional GDC. Secondly, to design a cost-efficient Biomass-powered GDC plant
throughout its service in terms of maintenance cost and also in terms of fuel cost. Lastly to
produce a cleaner Biomass-powered GDC by utilizing renewable alternative source of fuel.
The design project starts by selecting a datum to be the system and also performance
reference for the Biomass-GDC plant design. Next, the original system of the selected datum
was dissected (undergo decomposition) both physically and functionally to identify
thoroughly the subsystems in the referred datum, and also according to the requirements set
by the project question (A Biomass system to be included in the GDC system). After having
all the information of the basic system, a morphology chart was produced, in which all the
alternatives/means to obtain the desired output were listed down in a table. After that, several
concepts were generated from the alternatives given and justifications were made for each
and every concepts generated. Each and every member of the team will be having their own
concepts generated.
Later, all of these concepts were evaluated. However, the evaluation was done
through the breakdown of each concepts subsystems. Objective trees for each subsystem
were created and from there, the weightage for every primary and design criteria were
assigned according to their importance. Then, after having all of the criterions sorted out, it
was then being evaluated using Weighted Decision Matrix (WDM). In this matrix, scores and
rating will be given to every concepts individual subsystems. Later, the scores/ratings for all
the concepts subsystems will be totalled up and the concept that yielded the highest sum will
be chosen as the main concept for the project. In the case for this project, the concept chosen
is Faezs concept where the subsystems for his concepts are; drying of Biomass method for
Fuel Supply & Pre-Treatment system, Indirect co-firing for co-combustion system, Gas
89

turbines for Co-Generation system, Vertical Heat Recovery Steam Generator (HRSG) for
Heat Recovery system, Absorption chiller for Refrigeration Cycle System, and finally
Induced Draft Cross Flow Cooling Tower for the Heat Rejection System.
The entire overall and the chosen subsystems working principles, advantages and
strength of the selected concepts were also discussed in the previous part of the reports. Each
and every members of the group had also given their own feedback and comments regarding
the chosen concept. Finally, several related governing equations for subsystems were
identified and had also been included in the report as the preparation for the next stage of the
project. All in all, the current progress of the project is generally on track in achieving all the
objectives set for the project as the concept selected for this project is generally able to
produce output that is comparable to the normal GDC plant, a relatively cost efficient plant in
terms of fuel costs and maintenance and able to utilize biomass as the alternative fuel.

90

REFERENCE
[1]

(2009). Review of Technologies for Gasification of Biomass and Wastes. [Online].

Available: http://www.ecolateral.org/gasificationnnfc090609.pdf

[2]

American DG Energy, Cogeneration/Combined heat and power (CHP), 2013.

[online] Available: American DG Energy corp, www.american ds.com//cleanenergy-technology/cogenerationchp retrieved 2/3/2015

[3]

Amos, W. (1998). Report on Biomass Drying Technology. National Renewable

Energy Laboratory, (1), 19-22.

[4]

Badger, P. (2002). Processing Cost Analysis for Biomass Feedstocks. U.S.

Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, (1), 46-48.

[5]

C.
Chappell.
(1998).
Absorption
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