Operation and evaluation of a cogeneration system utilizing an engine taken from a scrapped locomotive

The authors describe the design, construction, operation, and evaluation of a cogeneration system utilizing an engine taken from a scrapped diesel locomotive. A total output of 1500 kW is produced by three dynamos driven by three engines against a power demand of 2500 kW for a large-scale factory. It is possible to considerably lower the consumption of commercial power and to preheat the feed water in the boiler using the waste heat from the engine. A weak point in this system is that there is no exhaust-gas heat exchanger. Therefore, a cogeneration system with or without a heat exchanger for exhaust gas, taking into consideration an increase or decrease in the number of dynamos driven by the engine, is evaluated using the life-cycle cost analysis. The new system seems very promising