THREE VALUABLE ENERGY RESOURCES VIA TRIGENERATION

Natural gas is also used to produce electrical energy in trigeneration technology,. The system, which is called trigeneration because of the production of three types of energy, on the one hand produces electrical energy and on the other transforms the cooling water of the system into a hot water resource. Hot water thus becomes the second type of energy produced. Thanks to this hot water, cold water is produced in a cooling group called an absorption chiller. The cold water necessary for the climate control system needs of terminals during summer months therefore becomes the third important product of the trigeneration system.

Burak Aktaşlı, Assistant General Manager for TAV Istanbul, says that in the creation of the hot water resource the facilities of the system are carefully planned and used in the most productive way. Hot water is created both when the cooling water of the system heats while passing through the system and with the heat of the engine’s exhaust. The heat is conserved inside a waste heat recovery boiler. All heat energy generated during the production of electricity is put to good use. None goes to waste.

“The added value brought to our organization by the trigeneration project also serves sustainable development in Turkey. We operate with the knowledge that we are contributing to the productive use of the resources of this country.”

BURAK AKTAŞLI
TAV Istanbul Assistant General Manager (Technical Services)

“We know that with our work in the trigeneration installation we contribute to the productivity and profitability of TAV Airports and to customer satisfaction. We work with the thoroughness this responsibility requires.”

AHMET KILIÇ
TAV Istanbul Trigeneration Engineer

We transform the mechanical energy we obtain from natural gas into electrical energy; we obtain hot water from waste exhaust and from the chillers that process the hot water we get the main energy of the cooling water. In other words, we use natural gas down to its last drop, thus obtaining maximum productivity! Moreover, knowing that we are creating lower carbon emission and less damage for the environment in comparison with other fossil fuels adds to our job satisfaction.”

HALİS DEMİRBAŞ
TAV Istanbul Trigeneration Technician

KEMAL ÜNLÜ: “CONSUMING ENERGY PRUDENTLY IS A CIVIC DUTY”

TAV Istanbul General Manager Kemal Ünlü says that efficient energy consumption is a civic duty and that TAV Airports operates with this in mind. Like water, energy is also a natural resource that is being depleted because 80% of all energy production is obtained from fossil fuels. Oil reserves are forecast to be exhausted in 45 years and natural gas in 60 years. Ünlü adds that on the basis of this fact, the Trigeneration installation was set up in line with the principle of the most efficient use of energy.

AN INCREASE IN PRODUCTIVITY AND A FALL IN COSTS

Understanding that energy costs can be reduced through a more productive use of energy, TAV Airports set up the Trigeneration installation in order to obtain three types of energy out of one energy resource. Under normal circumstances the electricity used in the terminals is purchased from electricity distribution companies. When these companies sell electricity, they use different rates for residences, commercial operations, tourism companies and industrial plants. Since airport operations are considered within the commercial category, the electricity that TAV Istanbul uses is more expensive than that purchased in the tourism or industrial sectors. Moreover, rates vary according to the time of day. Electricity production and distribution companies sell the energy at lower prices during the day, when demand is less, while rates are more expensive between 17.00-22.00, when demand is higher. Kemal Ünlü says that there are three different tariffs at three different times of the day. Having conducted a sound cost analysis, TAV Airports decided to obtain its electricity from its own installation or from the electricity company according to the time of day. Operational costs are therefore minimized and the energy that Turkey purchases is used in the most productive way possible. Moreover, while TAV Airports consumes natural gas to produce electricity, it not only produces electricity but it also obtains hot and cold water without having to consume any other energy resource, thereby achieving savings in the energy necessary for climate control.

Kemal Ünlü says that the starting point of the Trigeneration system is, “using energy efficiently; in other words benefitting even from the heat energy emitted into the atmosphere, while at the same time minimizing carbon emission.”

CLOSE TO 25% SAVINGS

The objective of the trigeneration project is to achieve around 25% savings in the Istanbul Atatürk Airport’s yearly energy consumption. Thanks to the installation, which should produce 115 million kilowatt/hour a year, 40% of heating and 35% of cooling needs should be met. These figures will vary according to an increase in capacity and the amount of energy needed at the Istanbul Atatürk Airport, as well as variations over time in the tariffs of electricity companies.

THE RESULT OF TEAM WORK

There are three departments that are responsible for the project, which was completed at the end of 2008 after one year of construction. The project is therefore the result of teamwork which was carried out with the participation of the Mechanical Works, Electrical Systems and Engineering Departments.

Ahmet Kılıç, a Trigeneration Engineer, says that he is actually an electrical engineer, that the concept of trigeneration engineering has only recently began to spread. Electricity production, as well as heating and cooling processes, are the responsibility of Ahmet Kılıç and his team. The team receives a continuous flow of information from the Electricity Systems and the Mechanical Works departments.

As for Trigeneration Technician Halis Demirbaş, his original area of expertise was ship machinery. Since the engine used in this project is similar to machinery used on ships, his area of expertise coincides with the expertise needed for a trigeneration technician. Halis Demirbaş is responsible for the sound functioning of the gas engines within the trigeneration system. Demirbaş defines his job as, “foresee malfunctions before they happen and carry out the necessary interventions.” Another four technicians with the same qualifications work within the department, while there are four technicians in the mechanics department, who deal mainly with the cooling group and waste heat recovery boilers.

Demirbaş states, however, that they are not restricted solely to the machinery for which they are responsible. They wish to be in control of the whole system because, due to what they were accustomed to from ships, they consider “familiarity with everything” part of their responsibility. Asserting that they fulfill their jobs in line with the engineers’ directives and that all solutions are generated as a team, Demirbaş adds that he is happy and proud to be part of this trigeneration project.

TAV Esenboğa has decreased energy costs by 25%


Avni USLU (Mechanical Installation Chief) Rüçhan AKINCI (Mechanical Installation Engineer), Tevfik İŞÇİMEN (Electric Electronic Systems Chief), Naciye GEDİKOĞLU (Mechanical Installation / Chemist), Muharrem ONUR (Electric Electronic Systems Engineer), Yılmaz KOCAOĞLU (Electric Electronic Systems Engineer)

With the cogeneration system, which is used very little in Turkey in comparison with European countries, the Ankara Esenboğa Airport is able to produce its own electricity and therefore achieves savings of around 25% in energy costs. It is based on the production of electricity from natural gas and makes optimum use of electric company rates.

Nuray Demirer, General Manager for TAV Esenboğa, states his belief that airports are strategic centers adding: “We bring our passengers from 26 different places in Anatolia and transport them to 31 countries all over the world via direct flights; in our airport, which produces its own electricity, we are affected only minimally by probable electricity cuts and we therefore are able to reflect to our passengers our mission of high quality service. We see our environmentally conscious cogeneration system as part of our energy savings for ever increasing productivity and sustainable development.”

The cogeneration system, which has been operating in the Ankara Esenboğa Airport for a year, enables the production of electricity out of natural gas and the heat obtained via the waste heat recovery boiler is used in the terminal’s climate control system. The cogeneration system, used for the first time in Turkey at the Ankara Esenboğa Airport, provides a positive example for other airports.

The cogeneration system, used all over the world for over 20 years, is defined as a system that achieves the most efficient energy production with the support of technical progress. Widely implemented especially in the last 10 years, the cogeneration system is also much in demand because of the significant decrease in toxic gasses emitted into the atmosphere.

The world we live in

READING LIST ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Eco-Efficiency: The business link to sustainable development
The book, written by Livio de Simone and Frank Popoff, cites examples from international companies that have put eco-efficiency principles into practice and illustrates the link between the business world and sustainable development. The book can be purchased in the book section under the publications heading at the website www.wbcsd.org (*).

The Sustainable Business Challenge - A Briefing for Tomorrow's Business Leaders

This book, which can also be obtained from the website www.wbcsd.org (*), explains how sustainable development has been conceived in the business world since the 1970s and how it has transformed business styles, providing a guide for the business leaders of the future.

(*)The WBSCD Regional Network is a global network founded by 60 companies managed at a CE level, with the common objective of encouraging businesses in their countries and regions to contribute to sustainable development practices.

The New issue of TBCSD's publication “After…”

The second issue of the “After…” publication of the Business Council for Sustainable Development in Turkey (TBCSD) has been published in June 2009. The first issue of the publication, which focuses on Sustainable Development, deals with the subject “Water.” The second issue deals with “Climate Change,” a current issue in Turkey.

The “WBCSD Facts and Trends-Water” report has been published in Turkish

The Business Council for Sustainable Development in Turkey has published a Turkish translation of the report by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) entitled “Facts and Trends-Water” and has added it to its sources. The report, prepared on the basis of data obtained from organizations such as the UN, the OECD and the World Resources Institution (WRI), draws attention to the world’s water issue to state in a briefer and simplified way that the business world and other stakeholders need to be more sensitive to this subject. To obtain this publication: www.tbcsd.org