Power Generating RTU

Every time I do research on a new HVAC technology I get excited, but at the same time I worry about the future of a refrigeration technician.  The bulk of my 4 years of schooling at SAIT was learning about refrigerant pressures, temperatures, condensers, evaporators and compressors. This new technology by the company BeCool could put guys like me out of work, especially ones that live in the southern hemisphere with high humidity and warm winters.

The new BeCool RTU doesn’t need refrigerant a condenser or an evaporator. It doesn’t need a compressor to move refrigerant or oil to operate. What it does have are three heat exchangers. HMX heat exchangers are cross-flow plate type exchangers. The first one is used to dehumidify the air, second one is an indirect evaporative cooler for cooling the dry air and the third one which is a natural gas regenerator that produces electricity.

The RTU draws process air into the first heat exchanger. The first exchanger dehumidifies the air using a high concentration of a salt solution, liquid desiccant . The desiccant dehumidifies the air by absorbing the water out of the air.  This absorption process creates heat that is added to the entering air. This hot dry air now requires cooling.  Water and outdoor air are passed over the HMX heat exchanger to cool the air. The water, outdoor air and  process air are not mixed. The process air is now warm and dry but needs further cooling. The process air enters an HMX evaporative cooler. Water is added once again to the evaporative cooler to cool the warm dry air. The continual flow of strong desiccant solution and a water source are the keys to this system. To keep the strong desiccant regenerating, a natural gas fuel cell regenerator is required. This fuel cell enables desiccant regeneration and creates electricity from the burning of the natural gas. The only two by-products are heat and water which are reused.

If you have a cheap source for natural gas, live in a warm humid climate, need power generated, then this technology when it hits the market in 2017 might be worth looking into.