Experimental assessing of the performances of a MILD-based Stirling engine fed with LCV gas

Paper in proceeding, 2016

In the field of energy production, cogeneration systems based on Stirling cycles appear particularly suitable to reach the goals of improving efficiency and reducing pollutants, as they ensure high efficiency, fuel flexibility, low emissions, low noise/vibration levels and good performance at partial load. Moreover, it is possible to couple such engines with MILD (or flameless) burners. The industrial company Cleanergy provides energy solutions based on the Stirling engine. Cleanergy currently focuses on renewable, gaseous mixtures that are relatively difficult to burn since the energy content is small compared to natural gas, such as landfill gas. In the present study, the performances of such Stirling engine are evaluated, when the gas mixture fed to the engine itself and the operating conditions are changed. For all the combinations analyzed, the engine shows a good behavior in terms of emissions (NOx in the order of 10 ppm) stability and efficiency.