Reducing emissions from CHP plants in the healthcare sector: the new fuel cell solution

Today both insiders and non-insiders talk about:

• Efficient processes
• Enhancing the use of renewables
• Decarbonize (H2, biogas, etc.)

What role can CHP play in this new scenario?
And more to the point - how can we apply it to hospital facilities?
Can we say that CHP is still an effective tool?

We can certainly say that cogeneration is still a cost-saving factor for those who use it, and therefore, a solution to be pursued especially at a time when electricity and methane gas prices are high and no longer as stable as they once were.

Today more than before, however, emission issues are an obstacle to this type of solution: NOX, CO, CO2 are issues that we insiders all take into consideration every day.

In this scenario, fuel cell cogeneration, i.e. NOVA by Cefla - the first cogeneration system integrating fuel cell technology in Europe - can be a forward-looking solution for the healthcare sector, too. Fuel cells are systems for generating electricity through a chemical reaction.

The reaction also generates heat that can be easily recovered for integration into production processes.
Since no combustion takes place, pollutant emissions (NOX, CO, SOX) are reduced to zero.

The chemical reaction takes place using hydrogen and oxygen, so the technology already looks to the future as a hydrogen user.

In fact, today hydrogen is obtained from methane, but the cell can already work with a hydrogen-methane blend as well. One of its peculiarities is that there is no efficiency impairment when hydrogen is used (as is the case with engines).

The fuel cell also has the advantage of ensuring very high electrical efficiency and low thermal power. The electrical-thermal ratio is 2 to 1. This allows for overall efficiencies in excess of 80 percent.