Contact: Phil Hearn
STARKVILLE, Miss.--Mississippi State will use a new federal grant of nearly $1 million to develop an alternative energy production system for use in residential, agricultural and small commercial buildings.
The U.S. Department of Energy is channeling a grant of $962,000 to the university's Micro Cooling, Heating and Power, and Bio-Fuel Center. The federal agency previously provided $3.8 million for the program, which was established in 2004.
"The grant will allow researchers to develop a CHP system to be used in residential or small-building application," said mechanical engineering professor Louay M. Chamra, leader of the university's Micro-CHP research program.
Chamra said the initial system will consist of a vapor compression cooling system powered by a propane or natural gas-driven generator, with waste heat recovery for hot water and heating. He predicted a small commercial CHP system delivering less than 15 kilowatts of electric power could be available within two or three years.
"This system will be packaged as one unit to be used in a residential home or on a small farm," said Chamra, who earned a doctorate in mechanical engineering from Pennsylvania State University in 1992 and joined the MSU faculty in 1996. "Fifteen kilowatts is more than enough for most houses."
Combined cooling, heating and power is a promising technology for increased energy efficiency through the use of distributed electricity generation and waste energy recovery systems at or near end-user sites. Waste energy from the power production is used to provide the cooling, heating and hot water/steam needs for the site.
Chamra said CHP systems are expected to promote energy reliability and self-sufficiency for many large institutional, industrial and agricultural applications, while also providing energy security during disasters. He said the systems are designed to be environmentally friendly by reducing greenhouse emissions.
"We continue to benefit from the computer and information systems technology revolution in which Mississippi State is a research leader," U.S. Rep. Chip Pickering, R-Miss., said in announcing the latest DoE grant.
"But the next innovations that will shape our world involve alternative energy production and conservation, and Mississippi State's reputation and results in this field is making it a known quantity in the energy research community," he added.
The Micro-CHP and Bio-Fuel Center at MSU is a joint campus effort among the departments of mechanical engineering and agricultural and biological engineering, Swalm School of Chemical Engineering and Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station. The center's work focuses on demonstration, education and research.
The biomass generated in the region is a candidate energy source to fuel different types of engines for CHP systems. Bio-fuels can be produced from sources such as animal wastes and wood by-products.
"The overall aim of the center's bio-fuel research is to develop liquid or gaseous fuels for micro-CHP systems," Chamra explained. "To accomplish this goal, developmental tasks include identifying and characterizing biomass materials, optimizing gasification processes, and enriching bio-fuels made for micro-CHP systems.
"Thus, micro-CHP systems may expand the growing biomass-based economy in Mississippi and the Southeast," he added.
Chamra is a research specialist in the areas of heat transfer enhancement, heat exchangers, boiling and condensation, refrigeration, and process equipment.
NEWS EDITORS/DIRECTORS: For more information, contact Dr. Chamra at 662-325-0618 or chamra@me.msstate.edu.
For more information about Mississippi State University, see http://www.msstate.edu/.