Experimental and numerical investigation of a MILD-based Stirling engine fed with landfill gas

Cogeneration systems based on Stirling cycles appear particularly appealing to achieve the goals of improving efficiency and reducing pollutants. Moreover, it is possible to couple such engines with MILD combustion burners. The industrial company Cleanergy provides energy solutions based on a Stirling engine that employs landfill gas. The objective of the present study is to evaluate the performances of such Stirling engine when the gas mixture fed to the engine itself and the operating conditions are changed. For all the combinations analyzed, the engine shows a good behavior in terms of emissions (NOx in the order of 10 ppm) stability and efficiency. Numerical simulations on the combustion chamber of this engine are also carried on. The main objective is to validate models in presence of different fuel compositions.