Green Cogeneration Design Saves Environment and Tax Dollars
May 11, 2010
 
Energy and Environment Savings estimates for the system project a 50-75% overall system energy reduction from the cogeneration system that will save more than $50,000 per annual in electricity and natural gas utility costs. The project is set to begin construction in Early 2010.

Ikan Partner Jacob Kandefer, BSME, LEED AP has completed the design for a biogas powered cogeneration system for Medina New York Waste Water Treatment Plant. The design utilizes the Stirling Engine Cycle, technology typically applied by NASA and the United States Military to produce heat and power in a highly efficient manner from a single source.

The application of this technology for waste water treatment plant optimization is the first system of its kind in the Northern United States and among a select few in the World. The system runs on biogas (methane) produced as a bi-product of the anaerobic digestion process where organics in the waste stream are separated and decomposed in large vessels, thereby producing biogas (methane).

This gas is then utilized to run a Stirling Cycle heat power machine that produces 43kW of electricity and 300-500 MBH of heat. The electricity is fed into the power grid and offsets electricity consumption and the heat is pumped to the digesters that require 97˚F of constant temperature for proper methane biogas production. The Stirling cycle operates similar to a boiler and utilizes a hydrogen charge that transfers heat much like a refrigerant in a heat pump system.