Abstract
Constant pressure is put on energy consumers to decrease their demands. A special focus is on primary energy sources, its maximum efficiency, and the best possible utilisation of produced energy. Another critical question nowadays is the environmental impact. With strict emission limits, it is important to aim for the cleanest source possible. A cogeneration unit seems to be a very promising solution thanks to its high efficiency and good acquaintance. This paper focuses on gas microturbines which are still considered progressive technology. A gas microturbine can obtain the combined heat and power efficiency of up to 90 % with low pollutant flue gas. With such parameters, gas microturbine ought to be considered a promising source of energy, especially for industrial operations with high heat demand. This paper provides essential gas microturbine characteristics, its advantages and disadvantages, and a comparison with other types of combined heat and power units (e.g., organic Rankine cycle units, solid oxide fuel cells units). The study is based on recent papers published in a wide range of journals. Review of the literature shows that gas microturbine is suitable for coupling with other technologies, especially for combined cooling, heat and power units. However, about 50 % of the examined paper used gas microturbine only for power generation. There is still space for complex and more rigorous gas microturbine integration into industrial operations, especially the use of exhaust gases for direct drying.
