If a plant generates electricity and water at the same time, this is called co-generation. If this is done by a compact plant, and not a combined heat and power plant, this is a co-generation unit. These can be used anywhere where there is a need for electricity and heat as far as possible at the same time, and throughout the whole year. Examples of this include communities, industry, hotels, plant nurseries, brewers/ beverage producers, and local heating supply systems in housing complexes and urban areas.

As a leading manufacturer of state-of-the-art co-generation units, we offer our customers the foundation for an energy supply that saves energy and protects the environment at the same time, enabling them to actively contribute to climate policy.
 As well as our vegetable oil co-generation units, we also develop system solutions that are made-to-measure for you. Where necessary we also integrate the plant into existing heating systems that can be operated as combined heat and power, or cooling and power plants. We design and manufacture all plants at our Mühlhausen headquarters

An efficient and environmentally friendly powerhouse
Since 2005, Burkhardt has been developing vegetable oil co-generation units in the 150—260 kW electrical power categories. By the end of 2010 we had installed 140-160 systems in German, Italy, and Belgium. Our total experience with this renewable resource amounts to nearly 3,000,000 operating hours, making Burkhardt the leading manufacturer in this power class. It passes the benefits of this experience on to its customers through unique guarantees:

• 7.500 operating hours per year guaranteed
• 2—5 year full guarantee
• Full service agreement, inc. machine breakdown insurance

Burkhardt vegetable oil co-generation units have the following special technical features:

• Highly efficient MAN common rail motors with up to 45% electrical efficiency
• Burkhardt control units developed using vegetable oil in stationary generators
• High-pressure exhaust gas recirculation, i.e., 1000 mg/m³ Nox inside the engine possibly without SCR catalytic converter
• 2-level intercooling
• Individual power consumption < 1%
• Very high thermal efficiency thanks to 3-stage heat extraction (engine, exhaust, charge air)  
• Return flow boost (motor protection) in the system
• Vegetable oil processing
• Exhaust gas heat exchangers and plate heat exchangers complete with all pipes in the unit, inc. safety technology (reinforced concrete, safety valve)
• Unique monitoring, display, and remote access

Extreme efficiency is the motto and goal of the Burkhardt company. We work and have worked round the clock to achieve this goal! The result of the research project that has been underway since 2006 between Burkhardt GmbH and Bowman Power from England is the first system for generating electricity from waste heat produced in series, which won the Bavarian environmental award.

That’s how innovation works:
The turbo charger that was specially designed and adapted for the waste gas turbo generator compresses the charge air, like with a traditional diesel or pilot injection engine, in order to enable a higher fuel throughput per time unit. The hot waste gas, however, is first funnelled into a waste gas turbine, before then being fed into the heat exchanger and later the atmosphere. The waste gas turbo generator is in principle a second turbo charger, with the difference that a high-speed generator is directly connected to the waste gas turbine.

The hot waste gas is eased to ca. 40 mbar in this process (pressure work), and converted directly into electrical energy. During this process the waste gas is cooled by 100 °C. In Germany the conversion of waste heat into electrical energy is called “Nachverstromung”.

The rotation speed of the turbine is in the region of 35,000—55,000 l/min variable. This means it can react to increasing or decreasing gas quality. The high-frequency current produced by the waste gas turbo generator is converted to the necessary mains frequency by means of an inverter, and fed in.

In order to guarantee reliable continuous operation and high stability, all key values (oscillations, pressures, temperatures, etc.) are monitored using a modern monitoring system. This allows for far-sighted service management, in which the goal is the complete satisfaction of the customer.

The high overall efficiency of 47 % is achieved through optimisation of the gas exchange in the interplay of the turbo charger and the waste gas turbo generator.