Took a tour of the UCONN Co-Generation Plant and explained to the class "how it works"

1. Co-Generation Plant
Project REP Group #66
Asa Army, Derek Dodge, Vincent Chov,
Cameron Hopkins, Reed Thaner

2. Who?
Asa Army - asa13002 - 2026842
Derek Dodge - djd13002 - 2019982
Cam Hopkins - cah13001 - 1999781
Vincent Chov - vac13002- 2036548
Reed Thaner - rst10002 - 1866527
Tuesday/Thursday section

3. What is the Cogeneration
Plant?
●The Co-Generation Plant is the power plant
on campus.
●The plant generates all of the power needed
for the UConn Storrs campus.
●It is powered by natural gas which fuels
turbines to pressurize steam, which is then
used for both heating, cooling, and power
production.

4. What makes it unique?
● Most conventional power plants use oil or coal to
produce electricity, which is an inefficient use of energy,
and natural resources.
● The Co-Generation plant takes the exhaust heat and
uses it for a myriad of other functions.
● The Co-Generation plant runs primarily on natural gas,
which is the cleanest form of fossil fuel currently
available.
● The Co-Generation plant allows UConn to produce its
own power, along with heating and cooling the campus,
significantly reducing our environmental impact.

5. Simple Flowchart of Plant

6. Power Output
●The plant is capable of producing 25
Megawatts(MW) of power, and 2-3 MW are
used to run the plant.
●UConn used CL&P prior to the Cogen Plant.
●CL&P stands for Connecticut Light and
Power, which has an effective monopoly on
power in CT.
●The co-gen plant only produces enough
energy to meet its needs, since any extra
energy goes to CL&P for free.

7. Cost and Savings
●The Cogeneration plant cost $80 million to
build in 2005.
●The UConn Storrs campus reduced its
energy costs from $12 million in 2005 to
$2 million per year in 2006 by constructing
the Co-Generation facility.
●This $10 Million savings per year means that
in 2013 the facility will have paid for itself
with the money that was saved by the
University.

8. Gas Turbines
●Three 7.5MW Solar Taurus 70 Turbines run
the plant.
●These are run on natural gas, which then run
3 water-cooled electric generators.
●The exhaust from these generators is then
used to power a steam generator, which
then produces both high and low pressure
steam.

9. Gas Turbines

10. Gas Turbines
●In a gas turbine,
air goes from a
compressor into
the “combustion
chamber”.
●Fuel injectors mix
gas and air in the
combustion
chamber.

11. Gas Turbines
●Compressing the air and gas allows for more
energy to be released upon ignition since
there is more fuel per unit of volume.
●Once this energy is released by gas
combustion, the pressure and temperature
increases drastically.
●The high temperature and pressure exhaust
gases drive the turbine.

12. Gas Turbines

13. Gas Turbines
●The exhaust pushes
the turbine into
motion like air
through fan blades.
●This turbine rotation
cranks an output
shaft which makes
usable rotational
kinetic energy.
Turbine
Blades

14. Gas Turbines
●This rotary motion is used to power an
electric generator.
●In the Co-Generation plant, a magnet is
attached to the output shaft and spun inside
a coil of copper wires.
●This creates an electric current through the
wires, thus creating usable electricity.

15. Gas Turbines
Even though we call the piece of the turbine
that turns the magnet the output shaft, this
shaft also connects the compressor to the
turbine blades.
Output Shaft

16. Gas Turbines
●Since the output shaft is also connected to
the shaft between the compressor and
turbine, the turbine is able to pull air through
the compressor and essentially run itself.
●The rotation of the shaft rotates the
compressor, which causes it to pull in the air
on its own and thereby continues the cycle.

17. Gas Turbines
●Simple summary of a gas turbine
● http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rM9Cd6kpVpY (click below to watch video)

18. Gas Turbine Protection
●The three gas turbines are all protected in a
thick solid metal box.
●This box adds soundproofing and insulation
to the turbines as well as protection to the
people inside the building in the event of a
turbine malfunction.

19. Gas Turbine Video
●A potential problem with a gas turbine.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WAhjSviYVr8

20. Gas Turbine Protection
●If something like this were to go wrong at the
Co-gen plant, the thick metal surrounding
the turbines would keep everyone safe.
Metal box

21. Gas Turbine Exhaust
●Most gas turbines just waste the exhaust
gases and release them into the
atmosphere.
●But in the Co-Generation plant, the
exhaust gas is used to heat steam.
●This way the heat energy is harnessed
and converted into more electricity.

22. Gas Turbine Exhaust
●The exhaust from
the gas turbines
flows through here.
●The exhaust from
the gas turbines is
upwards of 1400
degrees Fahrenheit.
●This exhaust gas
runs over plates,
and heats them up.

23. Making Steam
●Water is then run over
these plates in
another chamber.
●Since the plates are
roughly 1400 degrees
fahrenheit, the water
very quickly turns into
steam.

24. Steam
● Most conventional power plants release steam and
waste it, but the Co-gen plant uses that steam to
increase efficiency.
● The high pressure steam pressurized to roughly 620
pounds per square inch(psi) and is used to generate
more electricity in a steam powered generator.
● The low pressure steam is pressurized to roughly 128
psi and is sent to all of the buildings on campus for
heating.
● The low pressure steam also runs refrigeration
compressors during the summer months for air
conditioning on campus.

25. Steam Turbine
●The Steam Turbine
Generator (STG) takes the
excess steam produced
and turns it into electricity
●The STG can produce an
extra megawatt of energy
that would otherwise be
wasted.

26. Steam Turbine Generator
●The STG works in the same basic manner
as a gas turbine, but instead uses steam to
drive turbine blades, which in turn drives a
generator, creating electricity.
●High pressure steam is needed so when the
compressed vapor is allowed to expand it
has the force necessary to drive the turbine.

27. Steam Turbine Generator
●Here is a simple
steam turbine
attached to a
generator.
http://geothermal.marin.org/geopresentation/sld038.htm

28. Steam Turbine Generator
●The STG is located in this metal box.
●It is powered by the turbine behind.
Turbine is behind here
Generator inside here

29. Simple Generators
●The rotary motion is supplied by the
turbines.
Front View
Battery
Side View
http://www.ncert.nic.in/html/learning_basket/electricity/electricity/machine/ac_generator.htm

30. Water
● The power plant is the largest single user of water on
campus.
● 600,000 gallons of water a day are used to power the
plant.
● 100,000 gallons evaporated per day from the
Cogeneration plant.
● Source of the water is the state-of-the-art Water
Reclamation facility opened in.
● Previously had drawn from Fenton river, which ran dry
in 2005 due to high water usage by the university.

31. Water
●The University of Connecticut was forced to
look for ways to reduce their water
consumption on campus due to the Fenton
River running dry.
●This lead to several innovations including the
water reclaim facility that feeds the the Co-
generation plant.
●It also sparked interest on how to reduce
water consumption on campus and how to
solve these issues.

32. Boilers
●Large boilers are used to produce steam in
the plant.
●The water gets pumped through a series of
pipes, which then pass through a natural gas
fueled burner.
●This produces roughly 60,000 lbs/hour of
steam when at full capacity.
●The steam then gets sent throughout
campus in an underground piping system.

33. Boilers
●During our tour,
maintenance was being
performed on a leaky pipe
in the boilers.
●This is the first time the
boilers have been taken
apart in roughly 40 years.
●This enabled us to get an
inside view of the boilers.
The flame of the boiler would
come from here.

34. Boilers
●The water being
boiled runs through
these pipes and the
immense heat turns
it into steam.

35. Tunnels
●Throughout campus, there are underground
tunnels.
●There are two major tunnels, the North and
South tunnel.
●The South tunnel run all the way from the
Co-Gen plant to South Campus.
●They house the piping system required to
move massive volumes of steam, natural
gas, and water.

36. Tunnels
●This is a vast improvement over the previous
outdated piping system.
●The majority of the main steam arteries are
enclosed, away from the deteriorating effects
of mother nature.
●They are also in a more stable environment
less affected by heating and cooling due to
the changing of the seasons.
●This will enable the Cogen plant and all of its
systems to work properly for years to come.

37. North Tunnel

38. Water Purification
●The water used at the Co-Gen plant is sent
from the highly advanced water reclamation
facility, which removes impurities, anions
and cations.
●The water reclaim facility processes water
that has already been used on campus in
the dining halls, academic buildings or in the
residence halls.

39. Water Purification
●Once it arrives at the plant, it then is purified
further using Reverse Osmosis.
●Ultra pure water is essential to prevent
buildup of impurities in piping systems.
●At the Co-Gen plant, the water goes through
another advanced purification process.

40. Reverse Osmosis
● Reverse osmosis is a method of diffusion
commonly used to purify water
● The process involves sending the
nonpotable water through a semipermeable
membrane.
● This membrane diffuses the water by only
allowing pure water, not excess ions
through the membrane.

41. Water Tanks
●One of the water
storage tanks.
●There are storage
tanks after many of
the steps of water
filtration.

42. Cooling Towers
●Honeycomb-like apparatus located on the
roof, where the water is sent for cooling.
●The honeycomb design allows for increased
surface area to speed up heat transfer.
●Also the prolonged exposure to the
atmosphere acts as a heat sink for the Co-
gen plant.
●Roughly 100,000 gallons of water
evaporates per day.

43. Cooling Towers
Water

44. Backup Systems
●The plant also has numerous emergency
and reserve systems, for when the plant
goes offline.
●There are 600,000 gallons of diesel fuel in
storage tanks underground for emergencies.
●Three diesel generators are the primary
reserve system.
●Two are used for power generation, while
the third is only used to power up the main
gas turbines.

45. Backup Systems
● When it gets really cold, the plant may need to
use the back up boilers to produce more heat
(rare occurrence).
● These backup systems also come into effect
when the plant is shut down for maintenance
during most of May.
● However occasionally there are total plant shut
downs, in which case power is drawn from the
grid.

46. Efficiency
●The Co-Gen plant is roughly 80% efficient,
whereas a conventional power plant is about
33% efficient.
●This is because in a Co-Generation facility
all the energy that could possibly be
harnessed is being used.
●Power is produced by producing energy from
steam, which is used for both heating and
cooling on campus.

47. Environmental
Responsibility
●The Co-Generation plant has played a vital
role in making UConn one of the most
environmentally friendly colleges in the
world.
●The plant has reduced greenhouse gas
emissions of CO2 by ~30,000 tons per year.
●UConn was recently ranked the most
environmentally sustainable campus in the
world due to the advancements that have
been made within the past few years.

48. Exhaust Systems
● Due to state and federal regulations restricting
emissions into the atmosphere the Co-gen plant has a
system to reduce the NOX released into the
atmosphere.
● To reduce the NOX that is a product of combustion of
natural gas; NH3 along with a selective catalytic
reduction catalysts to break the NOX into nitrogen gas
and water vapor.
● The following reactions are the reactions that take place
to break down the NOX.
○4NH3+4NO +O2→4N2+6H2O
○2NH3+NO+NO2→2N2+3H2O
○8NH3+6NO2→7N2+12H2O

49. Exhaust & “Smokestack”

50. Exhaust
●Although it looks as if there is a lot of smoke
coming from the plant, it is actually relatively
cool steam and exhaust gases.
●The Co-gen plant uses all of the heat energy
it can in the plant to make more electricity.
●This results in cool exhaust gases being
released.

51. ●~100,000 gallons of water are evaporated a
day.
●Energy loss from aging piping system. This
loss is due to steam leaking off due to small
leaks and aging seals.
●The power plant in itself requires an
enormous amount of energy (2-3MW).
Energy Losses

52. Monitoring the Plant
●The plant is monitored through the control
room.
●75% of the plant can be controlled by the
computers in the control room.
●Live feed: energyservices.uconn.edu

53. Co-gen Plant Control Room
●From the power plant control room, a team
of people monitor and control the various
turbines, pumps, valves and actuators in the
plant.
●One has the ability to view which turbines
and pumps are online as well as view
information pertaining to power output as
well as the power being used due to the
plant’s energy consumption.

54. Co-gen Plant Control Room

55. Electrical Overview

56. Steam System Overview

57. Insulation
●Insulation prevents major changes in
temperature.
●Most of the systems in the Co-gen plant
have insulation.
●Often metal (Aluminum) coats the insulation
for the pipes, etc. to protect them from dents
as well as to maintain the proper
temperature.

58. Boiler Insulation
●This is fire resistant
tile covering the
inside of the boiler.
●These tiles are
around 40 years old
but they are still
able to withstand
the intense heat of
the boiler.

59. Water Pipe insulation
●Since it is important
that these pipes
remain at a constant
cold temperature,
insulation is needed
to make sure the air
in the plant does not
warm the water.

60. Steam Insulation
●As you can see, the
tunnels go a long
way.
●So to maximize the
amount of steam we
can use, the pipes
are insulated so the
steam does not leak
or loses heat. Pipe insulation

61. Gas Turbine Insulation
●Along with the thick
metal surrounding
the turbines, there is
also insulation
inside the metal so
heat does not
escape into the air
in the plant.
Extra insulation outside
the turbine

62. Soundproofing
●As you can imagine, a power plant of this
scale creates quite a lot of noise.
●The entire building is brick and has been
engineered for sound reduction.
●Each turbine and generator is enclosed in a
thick metal box which greatly reduces noise.
●Aluminum sound barriers are on the roof,
which are extremely effective, and virtually
no sound escapes.

63. Soundproofing
●This is the
Aluminum sound
barrier surrounding
the entire roof of the
plant.
Wall
Wall

64. Soundproofing
●The interior walls of the Co-gen plant are
also soundproofed to the outside.
Cuts in the brick help to
absorb the noise inside
the plant.

65. Soundproofing
●For added safety,
earplugs are given out
at the door before
entering the plant.
●The building is sound
proof to the outside,
but it is still very loud
inside the plant.

66. Employees
●Thanks to many
employees working in
the Co-gen plant, the
plant can be
monitored and kept in
check.
Tim

67. Safety Precautions
●Hard hats, safety glasses, and ear protection
need to be worn inside the Co-gen plant.
Hard Hat
Safety Glasses
Ear Protection
Derek

68. References
[1] Anonymous Combined Cycle Journal, pp. 71-74, 2007.
[2] J. W. Burns and D. J. Cooper, "Active NOX control of cogen gas turbine exhaust using a nonlinear
feed forward with cascade architecture ," ISA, 2011.
[3] (2010). Co-Generation Plant. Available: http://ecohusky.uconn.edu/energy/cogen.html.
[4] (2012). Rankings Reveal Most Sustainable Campuses in the World. Available:
http://www.universitybusiness.com/article/rankings-reveal-most-sustainable-campuses-world.
[5] R. Gaudet, S. Nolan and S. Marks, "UCONN CEAB Presentation," 2010.
[6] L. S. Langston, "Campus Heat and Power," Mechanical Engineering, December 2006.
[7] (2013). GAS TURBINE OVERVIEW. Available: http://mysolar.cat.com/cda/layout?m=35442.

69. Sources
[1]https://www.asme.org/engineering-topics/articles/energy-efficiency/a-greener-less-expensive-
cogeneration-plant
[2]http://combinedcyclejournal.com/5Q-Pacesetter/UConnCogen.pdf
[3]http://www.ctenergy.org/pdf/CHPUCONN.pdf
[4]http://mysolar.cat.com/cda/layout?m=35442
[5]http://ecohusky.uconn.edu/energy/cogen.html
[6]http://www.engr.uconn.edu/control/pdf/pow11.pdf
[7]http://www.universitybusiness.com/article/rankings-reveal-most-sustainable-campuses-world