Steam injection experiments in a microturbine – A thermodynamic performance analysis

This paper reports on a series of steam injection experiments on a Turbec T100 microturbine. Combined Heat and Power (CHP) systems, such as the considered T100 microturbine, use one single primary fuel to simultaneously produce electric and thermal power. In doing so, they realize significant energy savings compared to conventional schemes of separated production. However, a reduction in the demand for heat (e.g. in summertime) will force this type of units to shutdown. This significantly reduces the amount of operating hours and has a severe negative impact on the net present value of such CHP investment projects.