An experimental investigation of CI engine operated micro-cogeneration system for power and space cooling

This paper describes the performance and emission characteristics of a micro cogeneration system based on a single cylinder diesel engine. In this cogeneration system, in addition to the electricity generated from the genset, waste heat from hot exhaust gas of diesel engine was used to drive a combination of four units of Electrolux vapor absorption (VA) system for space cooling. The capacity and heat input of each unit of VA system was 51 l and 95 W respectively. A cabin of 900 mm width, 1500 mm length and 1800 mm height made of ply wood was fabricated as a space for air conditioning. A temperature drop of 5 °C was obtained in cabin at full engine load about 6 h after system start up. The reduction of CO2 emission in kg per kWh of useful energy output was 19.49% compared to that of single generation (power generation only) at full load. The decrease in specific fuel consumption in case of cogeneration compared to that in single generation was 2.95% at full load. The test results show that micro capacity (3.7 kW) stationary single cylinder diesel engine can be successfully modified to simultaneously produce power and space cooling.