nGen Systems - Compressed Air Generation Units

The nGen Systems Technology

So what are nGen Systems?

nGen n (represents any number, many, multiplication) Gen generation (distributed power generation, cogeneration, tri-generation, air conditioning and space heating, hot water and process heat, cooling and refrigeration, smart grid and intelligent energy and power networks).

nGen Systems are not engines, or mere cogeneration or tri-generation units. Instead they are just that – systems. They are made of individual modules that can be integrated on site in a variety of ways to match specific customer demands. These individual modular components of nGen Systems are well proven. Some are commercially available “off-the-shelf” while others can be readily manufactured based on well known existing designs and techniques. The fundamental innovation in IT Mondial technology is in how those components are specified and integrated into an nGen System in order to supply end user requirements at costs and efficiencies that legacy infrastructures simply cannot match.

How do nGen Systems work?

The principles are simple. This compressed air system includes a compressor to compress air that is then passed through a heater/burner that heats it to slightly above 1000^oC so that its volume increases considerably but still at the same pressure as it came in.

That greatly increased flow of compressed heated air is then allowed to expand through the last component of the system that we call an expander and thereby drives the crankshaft. The crankshaft at one end drives the compressor and at the other end drives an electricity generator (or the gear box of a vehicle). The expander embodies a key part of IndraNet's IP.

The waste heat in the exhaust gases and in the expanded air is recycled through heat exchangers. The high temperature of the compressed air and the fact that it is heated externally (the combustion gases do not go through the expander) is what enables us to achieve approximately 50% greater fuel efficiency (compared with internal combustion engines) and over 50% electrical efficiency (and over 80% overall efficiency) in stationary applications. This also allows for a choice of fuels, including renewable biofuels and other heat sources (such as recycling waste heat from a wide range of industrial processes or using direct heat from the sun).

In the case of transport applications, this allows the use of much less-refined and low cost biofuels that are not suitable for internal combustion engines and, combined with the much higher efficiencies of this system, results in drastic reductions in costs.

In the first commercial installations that are currently being designing the fuel is natural gas (resulting in over 60% reductions in greenhouse gases emission compared with brown coal in Victoria, Australia). In a number of subsequent installations the heat source will be direct solar heat collected from a solar dish and therefore it can go 100% solar and sustainable at very competitive prices. This is in areas of adequate sunshine hours.

In the example given in the diagram below, the front-end compressor requires 40kW of power. The expansion device develops 130 kW. This leaves up to 90 kW available to power the electricity generator.