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Potential of gas microturbines for integration in commercial laundries

Article  in  Operational Research · September 2016

DOI: 10.1007/s12351-016-0263-8

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 POTENTIAL OF GAS MICROTURBINES
FOR INTEGRATION IN COMMERCIAL LAUNDRIES

This work was published at Operational Research

Please cite the work if it has been useful to you. The article can be
cited as:
Máša, V., Bobák, P. & Vondra, M. (2017). Potential of gas microturbines for
integration in commercial laundries. Oper Res Int J. 17: 849. doi:
10.1007/s12351-016-0263-8

Vítězslav Máša, Petr Bobák and Marek Vondra

e-mail: masa@fme.vutbr.cz

fax: +420 541142372

Institute of Process Engineering,

Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Brno University of Technology,

Technická 2896/2, CZ61669 Brno, Czech Republic

Acknowledgement

The research leading to these results has received funding from the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of
the Czech Republic under the National Sustainability Programme I (Project LO1202).

Abstract

Cogeneration of electrical energy and heat has become a steadily growing and flourishing segment of energy
industry. Application potential of microturbines moved from back-up sources for electrical energy and island
operation systems, and expended as a combined source for electrical energy and heat in commercial facilities and
residential premises.

In this paper, we wish to present an analysis of gas microturbine integration in a commercial laundry. We opted
for a professional laundry care since it is a common representative of a well-known process which requires a lot
of energy input. We focus on commercial laundries with a capacity over 1,000 kg of processed laundry per shift.
This type of laundries is very common and has a large innovation potential. The gas microturbine was considered
as a cogeneration unit as it has a process-adequate performance (30 kWe). Its flue gas helps heat main laundry
input flows: hot water for the washing machines and hot flue gas for the dryers. Incorporation of a progressive
technology with a common commercial process gives us a promising application potential for our work. Prices of
commercial microturbines are still rather high and short payback period may be expected only if very specific
conditions are met.

Keywords: combined heat and power, microturbine, commercial laundry, market potential, payback period,

1
1. Introduction

Gas microturbines (GMT) are small sources of electrical and heat energy with capacity ranging from 25–350 kWe.
A microturbine comprises a small gas turbine and a high-speed generator of electrical energy. Electrical efficiency
of the microturbine ranges from 20 to 30 percent. The technology was marketed in 1999 but it has not really
engulfed the market as quickly as expected. And yet it provides many advantages compared to competing
technologies, such as large gas turbines (GT) and internal combustion engines (ICE). Main reasons for slow
achievements of GMT are high investment costs and cheaper electricity than natural gas (NG) in many countries.
World annually installed capacity of GMT was 123.2 MW in 2012 (Transparency Market Research 2013). In case
of GT with max. capacity of 50 MW, the installed capacity was ca. 1,000 MW in 2012. The microturbine market
is consolidated with few large players. Capstone Turbine Corporation dominated the microturbine systems market
in 2012 accounting for 78.3 percent market share (Transparency Market Research 2013).

GMT has been mostly adopted as a source of electrical energy in off-grid locations such as oil, gas and mining
operations. The technology is further used as a fail-proof supply of electrical energy in hospitals and data centres.
Other applications are peak shaving, premium power generation and power boost capacity. In general, those are
instalments disregarding returns on investments while highly stressing availability and quality of the electrical
energy. Combustion of industrial off-gases and landfill gas is a specific category where GMT may be applied
(Capstone Turbine Corporation 2015a). Generation of electrical energy and/or heat may be profitable in this case.
However, this is a rather limited market segment.

Utilization of heat energy from flue gas is very important for profitability of GMT operations. Exhaust heat energy
rate makes up 60–80 percent of total energy generated by the turbine. Therefore the GMT have been more
commonly incorporated as a part of cogeneration plants, also known as combined heat and power (CHP) plants
which allow for exploiting the thermodynamic exceeding heat for on-site production of cogenerated thermal
energy (Canova et al. 2008). In terms of technical and economic aspects, GMT is the most promising technology
in this area (Ismail et al. 2013). Integration of GMT in CHP plants also complies with current trends for the so
called distributed generation. This entails local generation sources connected to various points of the electricity or
heat distribution systems (Canova et al. 2008). CHP should reduce CO2 emissions when compared with separate
production of heat and power. Distributed energy resources are generally more efficient, since they are located at
customer load sites, rendering transmission and distribution system losses less compared to the central station
generators (Ismail et al. 2013).

In EU, member states are encouraged by the 2012/27/EU directive to promote cogeneration installations with a
total rated thermal input of less than 20 MW in order to encourage distributed energy generation. Objective of EU
efforts is to deliver the Europe 20-20-20 strategy which set out to increase energy efficiency, promote savings in
primary energy sources and decrease CO2 emissions. However, it must be noted that regulative directives designed
to promote CHP must be drafted carefully since they may become counterproductive. The decisions have not only
economic impacts but also technical impacts that must be accounted for (Silva et al. 2011).

The core area of GMT for small-cogeneration has shifted from industry applications to commercial and even
household applications (Figure 1). GMT is currently installed in office buildings, hospitals, nursing homes and
hotels (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 2015).

5.4%

Industrial

35.3%
Commercial
59.3%
Residential

Fig. 1 Global microturbine systems market, volume share by end use in 2012 (Transparency Market Research
2013)

2
In the area of small cogeneration, GMT is facing a serious competition from conventional ICE and if the turbines
are to prove their value, investments must have a short return rate. Also, it is advisable to search for applications
which make use of advantages of the GMT compared to ICEs.

Objective of this paper is to evaluate the potential of gas microturbines for integration in commercial laundries.
Commercial laundry is a facility with a capacity exceeding 1,000 kg of processed laundry per shift. This type of
laundries is very common and has a large innovation potential. A commercial laundry has high heat requirements
and therefore may greatly benefit from GMT. Flue gas from GMT is low in pollutants and its temperatures reach
approx. 300 °C. Therefore, the flue gas may be used for direct drying of the linen. Integration of a suitable
exchanger provides for preheating of washing water (temperatures reaching more than 100 °C). GMT in the facility
must be profitable and thus most of the produced heat must be utilized, which brings us to the need to incorporate
a heat recovery system customized for the actual premises. The laundry process is rather discontinuous and
requirements for heat rise and fall rapidly, which is a big disadvantage (Bobák et al. 2012). This is a quality of a
broad spectrum of industry operations which are designated as batch processes. Our paper provides a specific
example of a commercial laundry, and presents a procedure to efficiently incorporate GMT in this type of
processes.

Most of the examples and descriptions in this paper are based on authors’ measurements on the GMT Capstone
C30, installed in the Laboratory of Energy Intensive Processes at the NETME Centre. Research equipment and
premises are described in the following chapter. Chapter 3 provides a brief introduction into the microturbine
technology as this is important for understanding how they operate. Authors pay special attention to the
profitability of GMT operations. Last chapter of this paper discusses a design of a concrete installation of GMT in
a commercial laundry as well as an assessment of return of investments.

2. Research Facility

Experiments and research were conducted at the NETME Centre (New Technologies for Mechanical Engineering),
a regional research and development centre at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Brno University of
Technology. The Centre operates a unique Laboratory of Energy Intensive Processes (Figure 2). This laboratory
combines a laundry facility with a capacity of 500 kg of linen per shift and superior research equipment. The
research model of a professional laundry care process is fully functional as a real facility and allows for analysis
of the process and its optimization in authentic premises. Mission of the research team is to help an industrial
process with minimization of wastes, high efficiency of energy utilization, minimum environmental impact,
outstanding quality of the product, and advanced stage of automation (Máša et al. 2013).

Fig. 2 Laboratory of energy intensive processes

Universal experimental infrastructure (Figure 3) is a core part of the laboratory; the infrastructure helps connect
all necessary pieces of equipment. It comprises a steel structure which connects inlets for fluid flows, waste,
exhaust, and elements for analysis of operational characteristics. 18 independent sites are located around this
structure where various energy intensive appliances may be tested (e.g. laundry equipment, reactors, dishwashers,
sterilizers, etc.).

3
One of the main research activities at the Laboratory of Energy Intensive Processes is assessment of integration of
gas microturbine in the laundry process. Gas microturbine Capstone C30 is a part of the machinery installed in the
Laboratory (Figure 3). The Laboratory offers a unique facility where a real industrial application of GMT may be
studied and analysed. All theoretical presumptions and concrete solutions to the integration may be tested here.
Microturbine Capstone C30 is described in more detail in Chapter 5.2.

Fig. 3 Gas microturbine Capstone C30 and universal infrastructure for testing of energy intensive appliances

3. Technology of Gas Microturbines and Their Operational Properties

Microturbines are small electricity generators that burn gaseous and liquid fuels to create high-speed rotation that
turns an electrical generator (Energy Solutions Center, Inc. 2004). Capacity of microturbines available on the
market today ranges from 25–350 kWe. However, they may be connected in series and the capacity may thus reach
the order of MW. CHP units with an electrical output of 3 kW and heat rate of 15 kW have been marketed recently
but they are not designed for small end users (MTT Micro Turbine Technology BV 2015). Most commercially
available microturbines provide electrical output using a generator with an integrated control system so that end-
use customers and design engineers do not need to be concerned with many of the details of how to manage their
operation (Gillette and Gilbreth 2013). Successful integration of GMT in industrial processes necessitates
understanding the basic principles and operational characteristics behind it.

3.1 Principle of Gas Microturbines

The principle of GMT, displayed in Figure 4, has been the same ever since the technology launched the market.
We may take a description of the technology by Pilavachi (2002) as it is still up-to-date. Incoming air is compressed
and then passes through the recuperator where it gains heat before entering the combustor. Here, compressed
natural gas (or another fuel) is introduced at high pressure and the hot high-pressure gases are exhausted through
the turbine, which extracts energy and uses it to drive the compressor and shaft-mounted alternator. The exhaust
gases are then fed through the recuperator and into a boiler or absorption chiller for CHP and cooling applications.
The alternator is a high-speed device (typically rotating at 75,000–100,000 rpm) producing a high frequency
output; this is converted to the desired mains frequency and voltage in the power conditioner (Pilavachi 2002).

4
Fig. 4 Basic scheme of micro-turbine system

In terms of efficiency, a recuperator, that is an air-to-air heat exchanger, is a key component of the system. It
preheats the compressed inlet air. System with recuperator is typically called a recuperated Brayton cycle. Thanks
to a compact, uni-axial design of all important components, the GMT has a low weight per unit of produced energy.
GMT may be smaller than an ICE with a same performance.

3.2 Basic Operational Characteristics

There are many operational characteristics, stemming from a specific design, which the producers highlight in
order to market the GMT. First, since there is only one moving part in the machine, the GMT is highly reliable
and vibrations and noise during the operations are low. Oil system is basically minimum or close to zero thanks to
special a type of bearings. All of this should account for low maintenance requirements. Life as published in
literature is ca. 45,000 h (Ismail et al. 2013). Manufacturers are targeting maintenance intervals of 5,000–8,000 h
(Energy Solutions Center, Inc. 2004).

As to the fuel requirements, GMT is very flexible. The turbines may burn a vast array of gaseous fuels, such as
diesel, propane, LNG, syngas including contaminated landfill gas and industrial off-gases and other bio-based
gases. Liquid fuels, such as gasoline, diesel and kerosene may also be used. Seljak et al. (2014) analyses an impact
of various liquid waste-derived fuels (tire oil, liquefied wood, diethylene glycol/glycerol mixture) on the
combustion process in a microturbine. He proves that tire pyrolysis oil can be exploited directly in gas turbines.
However, it has to be noted that the fuel and its quality have a decisive impact on amount of pollutants in the flue
gas (Pantaleo et al. 2013).

Compared to combustion engines, GMT produce less NOx and CO when combusting an identical type of fuel. In
terms of CO2 emissions, the ICE performs better than the GMT thanks to its higher electrical (and often also
overall) efficiency (Canova et al. 2008). And it is the efficiency of the GMT which has to be studied in detail since
it has a major impact on profitability of the technology.
3.3 Efficiency
In case of GMT, we have to distinguish between electrical and overall efficiency. Electrical efficiency of the
technology reaches ca. 30 percent according to Gillette and Gilbreth (2013), which is a value comparable to the
ICE. The value was obtained in testing conducted at standardized ISO conditions (15 ˚C, 14.696 psia, 60 % RH).
However, real operational efficiency may be significantly lower due to specific conditions in the facility. Most
important factors affecting the electrical efficiency of the GMT are:

 Ambient temperature and humidity: High temperatures and low relative humidity of the inlet air are related
to lowered density and increased energy intensity for compression of the air. Low temperature and higher
humidity of the inlet air is therefore good for the efficiency of the technology. (Soares 2007, U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency 2015)

5
  Altitude: Higher altitudes mean lower static pressure, which again has a negative impact on density of the
inlet air. Low altitude is therefore good for the efficiency of the technology. (U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency 2015)
 Part-load operation: GMT should be operated as close to the nominal output as possible (Soares 2007,
Kaikko and Backman 2007). Operation under output lower than the nominal output has a negative impact
on electrical efficiency. Many manufacturers advice to switch the unit off if the output drops below the 50
percent point (Canova et al. 2008).

Efficiency is further lowered by two internal processes which are a common part of the GMT system. First, there
is a change of frequency in a power conditioner. GMT generates electrical power of high and variable frequency.
This power must be rectified to direct current (DC) and then inverted to 60 Hertz (Hz) for U.S. or 50 Hz for Europe
and parts of Asia. Frequency conversion comes with an efficiency penalty, which lowers efficiency from 30
percent to ca. 28.5 percent (Soares 2007). Second, there is a compression of gaseous fuel in a device called gas
booster. Microturbines need to boost fuel pressure in order to inject it into the combustion chamber. Typical
required fuel inlet pressures are 75–80 psig (515–550 kPa). These gas boosters represent a parasitic load that
should be accounted for in the net output of the system. Electrical load required by the gas booster may be
subtracted from the gross output of the microturbine when making financial and load calculations (Gillette and
Gilbreth 2013). Typically, about 5 percent of the output of a microturbine is needed to power the fuel gas booster
drive (Soares 2007). Load of the GMT in the Laboratory of Energy Intensive Processes is approximately 2 kW of
electrical output (at a full output). Due to all the above mentioned operational conditions and both internal
processes, the actual electrical efficiency of the technology may be lowered to 20 percent.

Overall efficiency further includes thermal energy in flue gas and is predominantly affected by how the flue gas is
subsequently used. The highest overall efficiency of the GMT means maximum use of flue gas heat potential in a
follow-up device (see the CHP Operation subchapter), and minimum heat losses on the way out of the turbine and
into the device. Canova et al. (2008) presents that overall efficiency of the GMT in the CHP ranges between 75–
85 percent. Similar values are given in (Kaikko and Backman 2007). Overall efficiency of the ICE technology is
higher by several percent.

Current trends in the development of GMT focus on increase in electrical efficiency of the technology and decrease
in pollutants in flue gas. Wetting of inlet air, as a form of prevention of GMT low performance under high
temperatures of the inlet air, seems to be one of the promising development trends (Comodi et al. 2015). De Paepe
et al. (2012) published a paper where he shows a 2.2 percent rise in electrical efficiency at nominal electrical output
when 5 percent of the mass flow rate of air is replaced by steam. Malinowski and Lewandowska (2013) show that
the greatest potential for improving the efficiency of the microturbine lies in the combustion chamber and
recuperator, as these components are characterized by the largest energy destruction and loss. Mago and Luck
(2013) analyse potential of waste heat from flue gas using organic Rankin cycle to increase electrical efficiency of
the CHP system. Another way to increase electrical efficiency is in combining the technology of GMT with a high-
temperature fuel cell (SOFC). This combination should provide very high electrical efficiency which is, rather
ambitiously, expected to go up to 65–70 percent (MTT Micro Turbine Technology BV 2015).
3.4 CHP Operation
Heat energy from the flue gas is usually used for heating of water. The fact that heating water is usually not
necessary evenly throughout the whole year and the CHP system operations are not continuous is disadvantage.
This disadvantage may be overcome with an investment in application of GMT in absorption and adsorption chiller
system that is a simultaneous production of hot and cold water. This technology is called Combined Cooling,
Heating and Power (CCHP). In addition to those technically-challenging ways to use heat from flue gas, operators
of the facility may also use the flue gas for drying of wet materials directly. However, the scope of processes where
this is applicable is limited. Capstone Turbine Corporation (2015a) presents machines employed in processing of
recycled paper and plastics.

Flue gas heat flow from the gas microturbine 𝑄̇𝑓 [kWt] is represented by Eq. 1.

𝑄̇𝑓 = 𝑚̇𝑓 ∙ 𝑐𝑝 ∙ (𝑇1 − 𝑇2 ), (1)

where 𝑚̇𝑓 is the exhaust mass flow [kg/s], cp is the specific heat of the flue gas [kJ/(kg.K)], T1 is the flue gas
temperature [K] and T2 the temperature of flue gas leaving the waste heat recovery system [K].

If the flue gas temperature T1 = 305 °C (578 K) is cooled in the waste heat recovery system to T2 = 35 °C (308 K),
the available heat flow at a nominal flue gas flow rate of 𝑚̇𝑓 = 0.27 kg/s and average cp = 1.04 kJ/(kg.K) is 𝑄̇𝑓 =

6
76 kWt. Heat flow at T2 = 90 °C (363 K) is ca. 60 kWt. It is therefore obvious that maximum energy from flue gas
must be utilized in order to preserve high overall efficiency of the CHP system. Heating of water in commercial
processes is also better if the required temperature is low (ca. 50 °C). Manufacturers of GMT commonly offer an
integrated exchanger for heating of domestic hot water and/or heating water. If the exchanger has to comply with
specific requirements, the design should be customized. However, alterations of the heat recovery system mean
higher costs. Design of the waste heat recovery system must accommodate for outlet flue gas temperature which
is higher than the condensation point of the flue gas. Condensation (dew) point of the flue gas in GMT with
recuperator is ca. 30 °C. When natural gas is combusted in 35 °C air fully saturated with moisture, the dew point
of the exhaust gas equals 41.5 °C (Rachtan and Malinowski 2013). At this temperature, vapour in the flue gas
begins to condensate and may corrode the heat exchanger.

4. Economic Aspects of the Operation

One of the main reasons for limited expansion of cogeneration systems integrating GMT is a problematic economy
of their operations. It is difficult to find concrete facts about the profitability of the technology in the literature.
Putting the manufacturers’ tactics aside, this may simply be because the financial aspects of the operations vastly
differ from one application to another. This chapter summarizes main facts obtained from a literary search, and
experience of the authors with a purchase and operation of GMT Capstone C30.

Investment costs are usually expressed as a value related to kW of electric power. Values relating to GMT and
published in literature are inconsistent. Comprehensive economic data from 2003 presented Soares (2007). Total
plant investment costs range from 1,769 $/kW for a 100 kW CHP system to 2,636 $/kW for a 30 kW CHP system.
Total plant investment costs include costs of microturbine package, gas booster compressor, heat recovery system,
control system, interconnection (gas, electricity and exhaust gas), projection, engineering and installation. The unit
itself makes up approximately 50 percent of the costs of the whole installation. For power-only applications, the
costs are by 10–15 percent lower. The vast array of investment costs was presented in Copehart (2014) where
investment costs range from 700–1,100 $/kW. These costs include all hardware, associated manuals, software, and
initial training. Adding heat recovery increases the cost by 75 – 350 $/kW. If installation costs, which according
to this source make up 30–50 percent of the investment costs, are included the total plant investment costs range
from 1,100–2,900 $/kW. The authors do not discuss reasons for such a vast range. The most up-to-date and detailed
information is given in United States Environmental Protection Agency (2015) where total plant investment costs
for a CHP application range from 4,300 $/kW for a 30 kW system down to 2,500 $/kW for a 1,000 kW system.
The values should be understood as a top limit for the costs. Based on the literary search of economic data, it may
be argued that costs of GMT technology are not falling, which is a great impediment to positive returns on
investment.

Operating costs are predominantly affected by fuel price (commonly a natural gas) and mostly by electrical energy.
The prices of NG and electrical energy differ greatly depending on the location. Figure 5 displays differences in
concrete EU states. The data applies to large-scale users of both commodities. Large-scale user is a business which
requires more than 500 MWh/y of electrical energy and more than 10,000 GJ/y of NG.

7
Electricity and natural gas prices [$/kWh] 0,25

0,20

0,15

0,10

0,05

0,00

Cost of electrical energy Cost of energy in NG

Fig. 5 Comparison of prices of electrical energy and natural gas in concrete EU states (based on Eurostat 2015)

The best conditions for installation of GMT may be found in Italy, United Kingdom and Germany. Quite contrary,
Nordic countries provide the least favourite conditions for installations of GMT. These conclusions are valid for
energy prices as of 2014. However, the prices change dramatically and any predictions for the future are basically
meaningless (Samitas and Armenatzoglou 2014, Atsalakis et al. 2015). Operational costs should further include
operating and maintenance costs (O&M) which are estimated at 0.006–0.01 $/kWh (Kaikko and Backman 2007).

The published numbers for return on investment differ depending on the location and operating conditions.
Nascimento et al. (2014) says that return on investment in Brazil may differ from 8–32 years for peak shaving
applications. Expected life time of a microturbine is 20 years. Suárez et al. (2013) presents a combined solar-
cogeneration system for a block of residential houses where a payback period is 8–18 years. Shorter payback
period than that may be achieved by state subsidies and higher daily operating period of the GMT. If the operating
period equals 12 hours per day, the payback period of this application is 10–11 years (Suárez et al. 2013).

Regarding the high costs of microturbines fuelled by NG, the most promising applications seem to be a continuous
combined cogeneration of electrical energy and heat with maximum utilization of both commodities. This is also
the presumption the following study is based on.

5. Case study: Gas Microturbine Integration in a Commercial Laundry

The case study is focused on an efficient integration of a 30 kW gas microturbine in a commercial laundry care
process. The whole system comprises three components: appliances (professional laundry equipment), source of
energy (GMT Capstone C30), and a system for distribution of heat from the GMT into the appliance (a waste heat
recovery system). The objective is to lower the total consumption of electrical energy in the laundry, and use the
waste heat from flue gas for washing and drying of the laundry linen.
5.1 Laundry Process
The CHP system should cover a significant portion of heat demand in a large laundry (processing capacity over
1,000 kg per shift) with continuous, 3-shift operations. Main appliances in the commercial laundry include
commercial washing machines, dryers and ironers. The case study includes a design of heating of water for four
washing machines with a capacity of 35 kg of linen and direct use of flue gas for drying of the linen in one dryer
(35kg capacity). The technologies of direct electric heating or steam spraying are usually responsible for heating
of washing bath in the washing machines. Dryers use gas heating. The system makes up a technological unit that
is able to process ca. 1,100 kg of linen per day. However, the laundry operations cannot rely solely on GMT as the
only source of energy. GMT should be more of an additional source that can cover a certain portion of the
operations demands. This portion may equal max. of 1,100 kg of linen per day. List of input data for a case study
is given in Table 1.

Table 1 – Main data characterizing the laundry – input data for the case study

8
 Capacity & working time Specific (free) moisture content of linen

daily capacity [kgDL/d] 1,100 initial (before washing) [kgH2O/kgDL] 0

working hours daily [h/d] 24 after water extraction [kgH2O/kgDL] 0.65
working days p.a. [d/y] 350 final [kgH2O/kgDL] 0
Specific consumption - washing Specific consumption - drying
spec. heat energy cons. [kWhh/kgDL] 0.530 spec. heat energy cons. [kWhh/kgH2O] 1.600
spec. el. energy cons. [kWhe/kgDL] 0.020 spec. heat energy cons. [kWhe/kgDL] 0.012

Specific heat and electrical energy consumption are related to 1 kg of dry linen: kg DL, with the exception of
consumption of heat for drying related to 1 kg of evaporated water: kg H2O. Values are considered as nominal, i.e.,
optimal operational conditions (optimal load ratio, no major and long operational downtime) and common up-to-
date machinery. Total energy consumption for processing of 1,100 kgDL/d is 605 MWhh/y and 12.5 MWhe/y.

Specific heat consumption for washing is considered for common washing programs that is washing of cotton
linen at 90 °C. Temperature of 90 °C ensures thermal disinfection of the linen and has been therefore selected.
Washing cycle is considered to take 90 min including loading and unloading. Specific consumption of heat for
drying corresponds to linen with 65 % RH and 55 °C temperature of wet air leaving the dryer. Duration of the
drying cycle is considered 45 min including cooling of the batch, and time reserves for unloading and loading of
the linen.

5.2 Gas Microturbine

Cogeneration system comprising a gas microturbine, was designed for the above described laundry facility. The
turbine is equipped with a gas booster and a waste heat recovery system which is described further. Table 2 presents
basic operational data of the CHP system with a microturbine that have been proven in repeated operational
experiments.

Table 2 – Data from a CHP system with a 30 kW microturbine in two basic operational modes

Mode 1 Mode 2
Direct drying Heating of washing water
with flue gas in a heat exchanger
Theoretical electrical output [kW] 30.0 30.0
Real electrical output [kW] 23.2 23.2
Exhaust heat energy rate 𝑄̇𝑓 [kW] 78.6 60.4
Fuel consumption rate [kW] 115.0 115.0
Electrical efficiency [%] 20.2 20.2
Thermal efficiency [%] 68.4 52.5
Overall efficiency [%] 88.5 72.7

These numbers are valid for operating conditions on the given site. Laboratory of Energy Intensive Processes is
located in the Czech Republic at 296 m above the sea level, which provides for static pressure of 98.325 kPa
(14.187 psia). The ambient temperature or the air sucked by the GMT is 21 °C and 45 % RH on average. These
facts have a negative impact on the efficiency. Fuel gas booster requires circa 2 kWe at a full turbine output. All
these factors result in maximum attainable output of 23.2 kWe, which is the electrical efficiency of 20.2 percent.
This is a significantly lower number compared to 26 percent, the electrical efficiency indicated by the manufacturer
Capstone Turbine Corporation (2015b) at standardized ISO conditions (15 ˚C, 14.696 psia, 60 % RH).

Based on the literary search and the authors’ experience with a purchase and operations of Capstone C30, total
plant investment costs of 3,000 $/kW will be worked with in the case study. The sum includes a waste heat recovery
system which has been custom-made for the commercial laundry facility. The O&M costs are 0.006 $/kWh.
5.3 Heat Recovery System

9
Heat recovery system distributes flue gas waste heat from GMT to the appliances (Figure 6). Primarily, the flue
gas enters the dryer and directly dry the linen. Flue gas supply is equipped with an additional supply of ambient
air. This helps to lower the temperature of the drying medium (mixture of flue gas and ambient air) to ca. 150 °C.
Commercial laundries commonly use dryers with hot flue gas for drying of the linen. Drying medium consists of
a mixture of ambient air and hot flue gas from gas burner. Use of hot flue gas from GMT for direct drying of linen
followed this concept. It is assumed that direct drying requires exhaust heat energy rate 𝑄̇𝑓1 [kW] = 78.6 kW.

If there is no drying occurring or the temperature in the dryer is sufficient, the flue gas duct leading to the dryer is
closed, and the flue gas are supplied to the heat exchanger. Based on the preliminary calculations, gas convective
tube bank heat exchanger with finned tubes seems to be the most suitable type of an exchanger here. It efficiently
preheats the washing water with little pressure drop in the flue gas duct. Thanks to feature-enhancing components
described by Kilkovský et al. (2015) the heat transfer is high and design of heat exchanger is compact. The water
in the exchanger is heated to 90 °C, that is exhaust heat energy rate 𝑄̇𝑓2 [kW] = 60.4 kW. Hot water is stored in
the tanks, which is a sufficient reserve for operation of both washing machines. The washing machines require
heating of the washing bath discontinuously and the GMT could not satisfy this demand. If neither of the machines
requires heat, both valves are closed and the flue gas is released via stack into the air. The system is designed in
such a way that this happens only rarely.

Fig. 6 Scheme of CHP system with GMT, as integrated in the laundry facility

5.4 Calculation of Payback Period

Calculation of payback period is based on an assumption that GMT is operating whenever linen is being handled
in the facility. This means a 24/7, 350-day a year period. The calculation does not cover any subsidies or premiums
for supply of electricity from cogeneration which are available in many other countries. Price of the heat produced
in the microturbine is determined in comparison to heat production in a gas-fired boiler with 90 percent efficiency.
Modern condensing boilers reach more than 100 percent efficiency but they are not commonly integrated in
commercial laundries. Laundries mostly work with steam which is produced in steam generators or in boilers
whose efficiency is lower. LHV of NG is 36,400 kJ/Nm3. Main parameters for calculation of the payback period
is given in Table 3.

Table 3 – Input data for calculation of payback period

Operating period of CHP system [h/y] 8,400

Natural gas consumption [MWh/y] 966.00
Produced electricity [MWh/y] 194.88
Heat supplied for drying [MWh/y] 399.02
Heat supplied for heating of water [MWh/y] 223.04
Total CHP plant investment costs [$/kW] 3,000
O&M costs [$/kWhe] 0.006

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It is clear that the amount of produced electrical energy (194.88 MWhe/y) highly exceeds energy consumption of
the laundry machines (12.5 MWhe/y) in case of 1,100 kg/d capacity. However, this value is not considered to be a
processing capacity of a model laundry for the case study. Total processing capacity can be much higher and GMT
will be an additional source that may cover a certain portion of enegy. The electrical energy may be also used for
other purposes necessary in the facilities (lighting, HVAC, etc.). Heat supply for drying and heating of water is
based on exhaust heat energy rate 𝑄̇𝑓 and time typically necessary for washing and drying. We consulted experts
in the laundry business to determine the relevant processing time; we thus arrived at 9.5 h/d for washing (mode 2)
and 14.5 h/d for drying (mode 2).

Payback period was calculated for a concrete site in the Czech Republic, and for comparison also for Germany
and Italy (Table 4). Price of electrical energy in Germany and Italy is much higher than in the Czech Republic due
to high taxation and subsidies for renewable energy sources. Other reasons include expensive operations of the
high-voltage transmission grids and less efficient electricity market.

Table 4 – Comparison of a payback period of CHP system comprising GMT: Czech Republic, Germany, and Italy

Czech
Germany Italy
Republic
Total CHP plant (30 kWe) investment costs [$] 90,000 90,000 90,000
Cost of purchasing electrical energy [$/kWhe], Eurostat (2015) 0.106 0.197 0.226
Cost of purchasing energy in NG [$/kWhg], Eurostat (2015) 0.039 0.052 0.045
Income from production of electrial and thermal energy [$/y] 44,930 70,692 72,218
Total operational costs of CHP system (NG and O&M) [$/y] 38,756 51,285 45,020
Annual revenues from CHP system [$/y] 6,174 19,407 27,198
Payback period [y] 14.6 4.6 3.3

Calculation of the payback period was based on average exchange rates of US dollar and euro in the last five years
(2010–2015). Quoted prices comply with Fig. 4 and apply to large-scale users of both commodities. Large-scale
user is a business which requires more than 500 MWh/y of electrical energy and more than 10,000 GJ/y of NG.
These values are valid for larger commercial laundries processing more than 5 t of linen per day. Use of this data
respects the fact that GMT may cover only a portion of the energy demands of a laundry.

It is clear that investment in GMT as a cogeneration source for a laundry facility in the Czech Republic is not
recommended. Payback period of the system in Germany and Italy is lower by orders, and is a proof of a
tremendous impact the prices of electrical energy and NG have on GMT.

5.5 Discussion
Considering current prices of electricity and NG in the Czech Republic, the payback period of the above described
CHP system is totally unacceptable. Investor would have to have a strong motivation to buy such an unreasonable
cogeneration system. That kind of a motivation may be an insufficient capacity of an existing connection for
electrical energy. Besides better ratio of electrical energy and NG prices, decrease in costs of technology and
instalment would also help with a more favourable payback period. Copehart (2014) states that microturbine
manufacturers are targeting a future cost below 650 $/kW. If the total cost including waste heat recovery system
and installation is 1,300 $/kW (místo 3000 $/kW), the payback period would fall to ca. 6.3 years in the Czech
Republic, 2.0 years in Germany, and 1.4 years in Italy. Such selling price may be achieved only if GMTs are
manufactured in series, which again means serious increase in sale. High cost of GMT, low numbers of sold units
and failure to manufacture in series is a vicious circle, which currently impedes any future expansion of this
technology. Another aspect with a major impact on the payback period are state subsidies of cogeneration.
Subsidies usually mean guaranteed purchase price of electrical energy or financial bonuses for produced electrical
energy. However, subsidies are very much state-specific and their evaluation is beyond the scope of this paper.

6. Summary and Conclusion

In addition to electrical energy, the gas microturbine further produces large amounts of flue gas waste heat which
makes up 60–80 percent of total energy produced. This paper presented new methods to efficiently use this heat

11
in a commercial laundry facility. The produced electrical energy is used to cover the demands of the facility. Heat
from the flue gas is used to directly dry the linen in dryers and to heat washing water to 90 °C. The case study
proved that Capstone C30 provides enough thermal energy to process 1,100 kg of cotton linen per day. Design and
organization of the system for transfer of heat from the microturbine flue gas into the process input flows is one
of the main contributions of this paper.

Potential of integration of GMT in laundry facilities cannot be decided as of now. Economic factors for operating
the CHP system depend on the actual site and operating conditions. If the location of the site and operating
conditions are known, the economic balance of the operations and payback period may be assessed. Most important
factors affecting the payback period are:

 Electrical and overall efficiencies of the CHP system with GMT

 Actual total plant investment costs
 Prices of electrical energy vs. NG on site
 State subsidies for cogeneration

The above discussed CHP system is not a recommendable investment in the Czech Republic since payback period
here equlas 14.6 years. Considering the prices of electrical energy vs. NG, it is better to supply electrical energy
and NG from the distribution network. Payback period of an identical CHP system is 4.6 years in Germany and
only 3.3 years in Italy, which can be acceptable. Payback period may be further positively affected by state
subsidies for cogeneration and decrease in investment costs of the GMT.

Economic balance of the GMT operations may be suddenly affected by changes in prices of NG and electrical
energy. Trends in the prices are hard to predict and all calculations for payback period are therefore limited. To a
certain degree, investments in CHP system with GMT will always be risky. This paper is a guide how to proceed
when assessing this investment. If the manufacturers succeed to slightly increase the electrical efficiency of the
GMT and decrease the prices of GMT, tailor-made integration of a gas microturbine in a commercial laundry will
be a promising savings solution with positive impact both on economy of the facility and the environment.

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Nomenclature

Letters Acronyms

cp specific heat [kJ/(kg.K)] AC alternating current

𝑚̇ mass flow [kg/s] CCHP combined cooling, heating and power
Q̇ heat flow [kW] CHP combined heat and power
P cost [$/kWh] DC direct current
T temperature [K, °C] GMT gas microturbine
GT gas turbine
Subscripts HE heat exchanger
ICE internal combustion engine
DL dry linen LHV low heating value
e electricity NG natural gas
f flue gas O&M operating and maintenance
g natural gas RH relative humidity
h heat
H2O water

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