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Absorption Chillers to Improve the Performance of Small-Scale Biomethane Liquefaction Plants

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  • Alessio Ciambellotti

    (Dipartimento di Ingegneria dell’Energia, dei Sistemi, del Territorio e delle Costruzioni (DESTEC)—Università di Pisa, 56122 Pisa, Italy)

  • Gianluca Pasini

    (Dipartimento di Ingegneria dell’Energia, dei Sistemi, del Territorio e delle Costruzioni (DESTEC)—Università di Pisa, 56122 Pisa, Italy)

  • Andrea Baccioli

    (Dipartimento di Ingegneria dell’Energia, dei Sistemi, del Territorio e delle Costruzioni (DESTEC)—Università di Pisa, 56122 Pisa, Italy)

  • Lorenzo Ferrari

    (Dipartimento di Ingegneria dell’Energia, dei Sistemi, del Territorio e delle Costruzioni (DESTEC)—Università di Pisa, 56122 Pisa, Italy)

  • Stefano Barsali

    (Dipartimento di Ingegneria dell’Energia, dei Sistemi, del Territorio e delle Costruzioni (DESTEC)—Università di Pisa, 56122 Pisa, Italy)

Abstract

Biomethane liquefaction may help decarbonization in heavy transportation and other hard-to-abate sectors. Small-scale liquefaction plants (<10 ton/day) are suitable for small biogas plants located near farms and other agricultural activities. “Internal refrigerant” refrigeration cycles (e.g., Kapitza cycle) are often proposed for small-scale natural gas liquefaction due to their simplicity. An optimized Kapitza-based cycle is modeled and simulated, and then several modifications were studied to evaluate their influence on the energetic and economic performances. Results showed a specific consumption ranging between 0.65 kWh/kg and 0.54 kWh/kg of bio-LNG with no significant improvements by increasing cycle complexity. Instead, a reduction of 17% was achieved with the implementation of absorption chillers, that effectively turn waste heat into useful cooling energy. An economic assessment was finally carried showing that the Levelized Cost of Liquefation is more affected by electricity cost than additional CapEx.

Suggested Citation

  • Alessio Ciambellotti & Gianluca Pasini & Andrea Baccioli & Lorenzo Ferrari & Stefano Barsali, 2021. "Absorption Chillers to Improve the Performance of Small-Scale Biomethane Liquefaction Plants," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(1), pages 1-23, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:15:y:2021:i:1:p:92-:d:709715
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Pöschl, Martina & Ward, Shane & Owende, Philip, 2010. "Evaluation of energy efficiency of various biogas production and utilization pathways," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 87(11), pages 3305-3321, November.
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