Modelling the Influence of Climate on the Performance of the Organic Rankine Cycle for Industrial Waste Heat Recovery

Ivan Korolija and Richard Greenough
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Ivan Korolija: UCL Energy Institute, University College London, 14 Upper Woburn Place, London WC1H 0NN, UK
Richard Greenough: Institute of Energy and Sustainable Development, De Montfort University, The Gateway, Leicester LE1 9BH, UK

Energies, 2016, vol. 9, issue 5, 1-20

Abstract: This paper describes a study of the relative influences of different system design decisions upon the performance of an organic Rankine cycle (ORC) used to generate electricity from foundry waste heat. The design choices included concern the working fluid, whether to use a regenerator and the type of condenser. The novelty of the research lies in its inclusion of the influence of both the ORC location and the auxiliary electricity used by the pumps and fans in the ORC power system. Working fluids suitable for high temperature applications are compared, including three cyclic siloxanes, four linear siloxanes and three aromatic fluids. The ORC is modelled from first principles and simulation runs carried out using weather data for 106 European locations and a heat input profile that was derived from empirical data. The impact of design decisions upon ORC nominal efficiency is reported followed by the impact upon annual system efficiency in which variations in heat input and the condition of outdoor air over a year are considered. The main conclusion is that the location can have a significant impact upon the efficiency of ORC systems due to the influence of climate upon the condenser and auxiliary electricity requirements.

Keywords: organic Rankine cycle (ORC); waste heat; cooling tower; energy efficiency; recuperator; dry condenser; climate (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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