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Heat recovery technology based on the organic Rankine cycle and operating with temperatures from 85ºC to generate up to 300 kWe.

Country of Origin: Spain
Reference Number: TOES20180123001
Publication Date: 17 April 2018

Summary

Spanish SME has developed a thermodynamic cycle, based on the organic Rankine technology, for converting low-quality thermal energy into electricity or mechanical energy. They seek technological partners with knowledge and experience in heat recovery technologies or renewable energies (geothermal, biomass and solar thermal). They seek to carry out a technical cooperation agreement for different technology applications in the UK and Germany.

Description

World industry consumes 68,871 TWh annually, 52% of the world energy consumption. A 50% of that energy is lost through the combustions gases, radiation and refrigeration systems. Technically, almost 40% of that energy could be recovered. This is 27,528 TWh per year.

This energy recovery is desirable from both an economic point of view and from an environmental one, as it implies a depletion of emissions and generation of the equivalent recovered energy.

The developed cycle operates in the low range of thermal quality working from 85oC of a heat source. The heat energy recovered is converted into another kind of energy: electrical, mechanical, compressed air…

The working principle of the system is based on the Rankine Cycle. This Rankine Cycle, instead of using water as vector fluid, uses a refrigerant so, in this way, the temperature ranges of the cycle are modified, decreasing the vaporization temperature. The SME has developed its own expansion technology, based on screw compressor, modified to work inversely.

Since 2012 the company has been developing and deploying these robust, modular and efficient ORC (organic Rankine cycle) power units.

The company is focused on the development of industrial, geothermal, biomass and marine/fluvial applications.

For industrial applications, it is necessary to have knowledge of the industrial processes and the technologies to recover the wasted heat, where the thermal energy surplus cannot be used in the process, and mainly in those intensive activities (8.000 hours/year). 

In the case of biomass applications, the technology can be implemented in activities with continued thermal demand and the surplus can be used for electric power generation. It is a very interesting field, from the global efficiency point of view, those applications where low temperature is required. 

In marine or fluvial applications; inside a vessel, all the electric power consumption for auxiliary services and electrohydraulic machinery is generated using diesel. With the implementation of the technology inside the intensive activity vessels - as tuna fishing freezers, fridge freighter, river barges, etc. - make payback rates lower than a year.

The cooperation agreement with the partner defines the scope of development to be carried out by the partners. The SME will perform the development, detailed engineering and manufacturing of the control and power systems. The SME, in collaboration with the partner, will perform the thermal engineering and the final energy solution (electrical or mechanical) of the “demonstrative experimental prototype projects”. The partner will manufacture, under the engineering specifications, the thermal systems. The partner, with the assessment of the SME, will carry out the installation, commissioning and maintenance of the “demonstrative experimental prototype project”. Targeted markets are the UK and Germany.

Advantages and Innovations

Ability to work from 85oC of a heat source.

Low maintenance cost.

The company has developed a complete range of expanders from  3  to 100 Kw; allowing the final client to have a system precisely adapted to the heat power of the heat source which needs to be converted into electricity (from 30 kWth to 1MWth).

Modular and adaptative technology in relation to available spaces.

This technology improves the energy efficiency of all equipped installations including industrial sites, gensets, anaerobic digestion units, geothermal sources, internal combustion engines or concentrated solar plants.

Dedicated service team with the option of remote monitoring and analysis.

Stage Of Development

Prototype available for demonstration

Stage Of Development Comment

The power unit (actuator + expander + generator and power and control panel) is common for each power range but depending on working conditions (hot source fluid composition), environmental conditions (hot source and cold source temperature), type of evaporator, final use of the energy (electrical or mechanical); it is necessary to make modifications both in the exchanger unit and in the expander. By this reason, our consideration “prototype available for demonstration”.ew application, modifies the working and environmental conditions and becomes a new working prototype.

Requested partner

Industrial partners interested in a technical cooperation to install demonstration prototypes in different applications.

The role of the partner is to integrate the technology solution – with the company´s assessment – in the different applications of interest selected under the framework of demonstrative projects.

Dissemination Countries

Germany, United Kingdom