Type 2 – Maximum Efficiency J208 GS is the Best in its Power Range
30 April 2003 11:22
The Jenbacher Type 2 engines have undergone a number of technical modifications and developments in their 25-year history as an integral part of our product range. We currently produce two Type 2 models in Jenbach: our smallest, the J208 GS, an 8-cylinder in-line engine, and the V12-cylinder J212 GS. This type was the predecessor to the current Type 3 and the subsequent Type 4, although the latter only remotely resembles the Type 2, for example in the 70° V-angle of the crankcase.
With people, positive qualities are usually handed down from one generation to the next; in the case of engines, that process also works the other way round. This, however, calls for the special expertise of the R&D engineers, who transfer the advantages of the latest generation of engines back to its predecessors. They managed to do this very effectively when developing the current models of Jenbacher’s Type 2 engines, specifically by adopting some of the most important features of the combustion principle utilized in the Type 4. These include, for example, the combustion chamber geometry of the piston – the so-called 'heart-shaped piston bowl' – and the use of a new type of spark plug. Additionally, by minimising the crevice volume between the top of the piston and the cylinder, combustion and fuel efficiency have been improved.
The combination of features has made it possible to increase the mechanical efficiency of the natural gas model from 38.3% to 40.1% while keeping emissions within the German 'TA-Luft' limits. In this power category, 2% represents an enormous improvement in efficiency. In the biogas model, which is mainly employed at wastewater purification plants, landfills and agricultural biogas facilities, an increase of even 2.7% was achieved. This means a mechanical efficiency of 39.4%, a major commercial benefit for facility operators.
The effects of all these technical developments can be clearly seen at the wastewater purification plant at Strass im Zillertal, a town near our factory in Jenbach. Two JMS 206 GS-B.L engines with a total electrical output of 274 kW and an electrical efficiency of 33.2% have been in operation there since 1989. In April 2001 a new JMS 208 GS-B.LC engine producing 330 kW and with an electrical efficiency of 38% was added to the facility. The purification plant at Strass produces approx. 1.2 million m³ of sewage gas annually. The original engines were able to generate an average of 1.98 kWh of electricity per m³ of gas. Supplementing the plant with the J208 GS has increased that figure to 2.34 kWh/m³, which translates into EUR 37,000 a year in additional revenue for the purification plant – a clear improvement in overall profitability.
This latest development to the Type 2 secures its position as a cutting-edge and competitive product.
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