California Energy Commission
Public Interest Energy Research (PEF) Program
Renewable Energy Research
Research Powers the Future
Lº [I] T Renewable Energy Research
gº Pam -Emissions Exhaust: Quality http://www.energy.ca.gov/research/renewabl
E [I] D e/index.html Fº
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Fact Sheet |||||||| August 2011
The Issue H ºr --~~
While the potential benefits of distributed - temperature reduction)
generation (DG) and combined heat and - º
power (CHP) systems or combined cooling Re- ExECU
heating and power (CCHP) systems have sº tº
been understood and promoted for many
years, the actual deployment has fallen short
of the goals and the opportunity. A key
weakness in the deployment of many nºw Fuel 3.
DG/CHP systems is the inability of systems (Microturbine, Fuel Cell,
to match the actual load due to the difficulty Redpºint intº
to optimally match the demand of both Exhaust control unit (ExECU) integrated with a prime mover
electricity and thermal requirements with a and end-use equipment (Image credit: UC Irvine)
single system due to variations in loads with
Season, site operational changes, and other
factors. While examples of temperature increase via tempering air depending on the exhaust
supplemental burners are available for small scale conditions, to match the thermal and electrical load
systems, a system to control both temperature and at the site. The control device will be tested to –
overall flow rate is not available. determine the suitable range of fuel and the range
of increase in overall efficiency. The project will
focus on applying this control technology to
Project Description microturbines with absorption chillers. The project
The project will develop a control technology that anticipates an improvement from 60 percent to 70
can optimize the overall system efficiency of percent overall efficiency, and an overall capital
various DG/CHP systems when operating on cost increase of less than 10 percent. Potential
natural gas or a renewable fuel. The system, known adopters of this exhaust control technology include
as exhaust enthalpy control unit, will have low- industrial and commercial CHP and CCHP users,
emission, fuel-flexible capability and can be used in equipment manufacturers and system installers.
the 100 kilowatt (kW) to 1 megawatt (MW) size
DG/CHP systems. The control technology will be
capable of measuring the quality of exhaust from a
DG/CHP system and then manage the exhaust
temperature and flow rate by injecting fuel and SSHL,CA Docs Pamphlets
Geisel Floor 2 5
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Low-emissions exhaust
quality control system to
optimize DG/ccHP Systems






PIER Program Objectives and
Anticipated Benefits for California
The development of an exhaust control technology
that complies with the California Air Resources
Board (ARB) 2007 emission guidelines will
accelerate the deployment of DG/CHP technology
into the market place because of its ability to (1)
improve overall system efficiency, (2) improve
flexibility in deployment of a given suite of prime
mover/waste heat recovery options, and (3)
facilitate an extended capacity factor. The fuel
flexibility – ranging from natural gas to
opportunity fuels to hydrogen – will permit
placement of the systems in a wider variety of
installations. The projected long-term benefits from
this technology include: -
• Reduced fuel use as compared to current
consumption levels for power generation and
process needs, with an associated reduction in
emissions of carbon dioxide.
• Mitigated deterioration of basin-wide air quality
while meeting increased energy demands as
compared to deployment of additional central
power plants.
• Improved reliability and/or reduced costs from
additional choices in acquisition of energy, which
can trickle down to reduced costs for consumers.
• Deferred installation of new power generation,
transmission and distribution lines, which has
been estimated to have a value of over $350 per
kW per year; if applied to the projected 5,400 MW
DG/CHP installed capacity statewide, this
represents a value of about $1.9 billion.
||||||||||||| cessiº
3 1822 O3890 1500 --- --
Edmund G. Brown Jr., Governor
California Energy Commission
Chair Robert B. Weisenmiller, Ph.D. Vice Chair James D. Boyd
Executive Director. Robert P. Oglesby
Project Specifics
Grant Agreement Number: PIR-09-015
Contractor: University of California, Irvine
City/County: Irvine/Orange County
Assembly District: 70
Senate District: 33
Application: Statewide, Nationwide
Amount: $666,285
Co-funding: $71,875 from UC Irvine
Term: April 2010 to September 2013
For more information, please contact:
Rizaldo Aldas
California Energy Commission
PIER Program, Renewable Energy Research
Phone: 916-327–1417
E-mail: raldas(Genergy.state.ca.us
Vince McDonell
University of California, Irvine
Phone: 949–824–5950 x 121
E-mail: modonell(alapep.uci.edu
Disclaimer
The Commission, its employees, and the State of
California make no warranty, expressed or implied, and
assume no legal liability for this information or the
research results.
California Energy Commission
Public Interest Energy Research
1516 Ninth Street
Sacramento, CA 95814–5512
CEC–500–2010–FS-019