Grant: Discovery Grants Program - Individual

Polygeneration is an energy process for the simultaneous production of multiple products (usually four or more and often including electricity, heat, cool, synthetic fuels, desalinated water). Applications for such systems are particularly prevalent in industry, communities and utilities. The benefits of polygeneration are numerous and noteworthy, including significant efficiency increases and emissions reductions, relative to stand-alone processes for the corresponding separate products. Although simple generation systems for two or three products exist, advantageous polygeneration systems are not commonplace. Furthermore, those that do exist are usually not optimal. Thus they do not realize all of their potential benefits. This is in part due to there being a lack of innovative polygeneration systems as well as a lack of understanding of their most advantageous applications. The complexity of polygeneration systems and their operation makes essential research into all of these areas using appropriate methods and tools. The proposed research aims to address these needs. The objectives are 1) to develop and optimize innovative and advanced polygeneration systems, focusing on environmentally benign and sustainable options; 2) to establish the optimal role for energy storage in polygeneration; and 3) to develop advantageous and innovative building and community energy systems via intelligent applications of polygeneration systems, with a focus on achieving extremely high efficiency buildings and communities. The approach utilized will involve detailed thermodynamic modelling and simulation, as well as creative system development activities. Advanced multi-objective.optimization will be employed, incorporating appropriate constraints. The research will exploit advanced methods such as exergy, exergoeconomic and exergoenvironmental analyses, in developing novel systems and their analysis and optimization. The proposed research will yield numerous benefits and be of great technical significance in the engineering of advanced energy systems and their application. In particular, the proposed research will lead to many innovative developments, and improved/optimal designs for polygeneration energy systems, energy storage and building and community energy systems. The research will allow for energy systems with enhanced efficiency, economic and environmental characteristics, and expanded economic growth and employment in this sector of Canada's economy.