Applications of Cogeneration

Industrial cogeneration systems have received an impetus in recent years. The potential savings of cogeneration are significant. A gas turbine cogeneration system has been installed at ONGC, Uran with a capacity of 40 MW.

Gas turbine with heat recovery, steam turbine with heat recovery and diesel engine with heat recovery is the different cogeneration schemes used in traditional power plants.
Cogeneration systems are eminently suitable for various process industries like rayon, pulp and paper, chemical process, textile and fertilizer where both power and process system are used.

A few typical examples of industries where cogeneration systems could be utilized are:

1. In industries, such as rayon, pulp and paper, chemical processing, and textile, which require simultaneous steam and power, it is possible to meet either part or full heat and power requirements using steam turbine, gas turbine with heat recovery boiler.
2. Cement kilns and brick kilns require a large amount of high temperature process heat. The gas turbine exhaust, with or without supplementary firing, can supply this heat and produce electric power for the factory.
3. In glass melting furnaces, heat from the exhaust gases can be recovered in waste heat boiler to produce steam. The steam can be expanded in steam turbines to produce electrical power.