Performance and cost evaluation of Organic Rankine Cycle at

different technologies
(Master thesis)




By:
Reza Rowshanzadeh


Sustainableenergyengineeringmasterstudent
DepartmentOfEnergyTechnology
KTH,Sweden

Supervisor:Dr.Rahmattolahkhodabandeh
1

Abstract

ORCasapowergenerationmethodfrommediumandlowthermalgradeheatsourcesiscurrentlya
strongplayerinthemarket.Unprecedentedenergydemand,moreenvironmentalconcernsand
abundantlowgradeheathavemotivatedgreatactionsforORCusage.Inthisstudy,variousfieldswhich
ORCcancosteffectivelybeappliedisevaluatedandrelevantcostreductionoptionsaresuggested.
Byconsideringdifferentapplications,classificationonproducedpowerrangeandheatsource
temperatureisimplemented.Usedmedium,appliedequipmentandthecostofthesystemare
investigated.ReasonsonhowtheORCcancosteffectivelyfitintoeachsystemispresented.Influenceof
ORCapplicationoncost,thermalandinsomecasesexergyefficiencies,systempaybacktime,internal
rateofreturnandnetpresentvaluedependingonrivaltechnologieshavebeenstudiedtosupportthe
idea.Insectionwithmoredetails,caseofratherlowtemperaturegradeORCespeciallywithsolar
basedheatsourceisstudied.Acomputermodelisdevelopedtocomparethermalandexergy
efficiencies,outputpowerandturbinesizefactorascostandperformanceindicatorsfordifferent
conditions.
BiomassandgeothermalbasedORCalongwithsolarORCwithstoragesystemcanbeconsideredas
renewableresourcesinanacceptablecosttoproducepower.Wasteheatrecoveryopportunitiessame
as,wasteheatsinsteel,cement,oilandgas,glassandvehiclesindustriesandinternalcombustion
enginesarestronglyrecommended.MicroscaleORCsasmodularunitsinhomeandofficeusages,
remoteareaspowergenerationforabout2billionpeoplewhodonothavegridconnectedelectricityin
additiontosolardesalinationmicrounitsandORCinoceanthermalenergyconversionareproventobe
interestingapplicationsofmicroORCs.ORCasbottomingcycleofrecuperativeorhighpressureratiogas
turbines,microgasturbinesandfuelcellsarealsoconsideredasothercosteffectiveoptions.Moreover,
itwasshownthatusingORCincombinationwithcoolingandheatingsystemswillimprovethe
performanceanddecreasethecostofsystem.Fromcomputermodelitwasconcludedthatdegreeof
superheats,evaporatorandcondenserpressures,fluidtypeandmassflowratesonORC,heatsources
andheatsinkssides,pumpsefficiency,turbinetypes,etc,havesignificanteffectonORCperformance
andcost.

Nomenclature:

ORCOrganicRankinecycle
TppPinchpointtemperature
CHPCombinedheatandpower
CCHPCombinedcooling,heatandpower

HEFHeatexchangersfactor
SFTurbinesizefactor
ICInternalcombustion
kWKilowatts
MWMegawatts
eleElectricity
ThThermal
Exeloss1Exergylossinevaporator
Exeloss2Exergylossinexpander
Exeloss3Exergylossincondenser
HEnthalpy
VCSVaporcompressionsystem

PGUPowergenerationunit

SOFCSolidoxidefuelcells

Twater3Intermediateuid
exhausttemperaturefrompreheater

PEMFCProtonExchangeMembraneFuel
Cells

MOFCMoltenoxidefuelcells

NPVNetpresentvalue
IRRInternalrateofreturn
PBTPaybacktime
Subscripts:
1 Stateafterpump
2 Stateafterevaporator
3 Stateafterturbine
4Stateafercondenser
eff
0
Opticalefficiencyofcollector

a,bcollectorconstants

T
0
Ambienttemperature

TintHeattransferfluidtemperature

oIDegreeofsuperheatinevaporator

TppPinchpointtemperature

Tpp1FirstEvaporatorpinchpoint
temperature

Tpp2SecondEvaporatorpinchpoint
temperature

TppcCondenserpinchpointtemperature

Tableofcontents
Abstract....................................................................................................................................................................1
Nomenclature:..........................................................................................................................................................0
:Applications...........................................................................................................................................................4
1 Introduction......................................................................................................................................................4
11Purposes.........................................................................................................................................................7
12OverviewonMethodology.............................................................................................................................7
13Background....................................................................................................................................................8
14Initalclassicaton.........................................................................................................................................9
2 BiomassrelatedapplicationsofORC,ratherhighergradeheatapplications...............................................11
21ComparisonofORCinbiomassCHPplantwithgasicatonandICengines...............................................12
22Biomassdigestonplantwasteheatrecovery.............................................................................................17
3 MicroscaleapplicationofORCdownto1KW................................................................................................19
31MicroscaleCHP,mainlysolarandbiomassbased,ORCs............................................................................19
32Costofthesystem........................................................................................................................................21
33SmallscaleORCforsolardesalinatonunits................................................................................................23
34ORCasbotomingcycleofmicrogasturbines............................................................................................24
35Oceanthermalenergyconversiontechnology............................................................................................25
4 Geothermalapplications................................................................................................................................26
41Lowenthalpygeothermalapplicatons:.......................................................................................................26
42Geothermalpowerfromwasteheatofoilandgaswells............................................................................27
5 WasteheatrecoveryapplicationsofORC......................................................................................................29
51WasteheatfromSteelindustry...................................................................................................................31
511Exergyanalysis..........................................................................................................................................32
52Ceramicindustry..........................................................................................................................................34
53Cementindustry...........................................................................................................................................34
54ORCinvehicles.............................................................................................................................................36
6 ORCasbottomingcycleincombinedpowercycles.......................................................................................37
7 Wasteheatrecoveryinfuelcells...................................................................................................................39
71Gasturbinesasbotomingcycle..................................................................................................................40
1

72ORCasbotomingcycleofSolidoxidefuelcell...........................................................................................41
73Thermoelectricpowergeneration..............................................................................................................43
74Fuelreformingbywasteheat......................................................................................................................43
75Cogeneratonarrangementoffuelcell........................................................................................................44
8 GascoolednuclearpowerplantwithclosedBraytoncyclecombinedwithORC.....................................45
9 Solarthermalelectricitygeneration...............................................................................................................47
91SolarthermalelectricproductonsystemwithPCMstorage......................................................................47
92CostofSolarbasedORC...........................................................................................................................49
Indepthstudy:.....................................................................................................................................................50
1 MoredetailedcasestudiesCostreductionandperformanceimprovementofORC.................................50
11EffectofsuperheatingonORCperformance...............................................................................................51
12Exergylossesandeciency.........................................................................................................................53
13ORCspeed....................................................................................................................................................55
14Turbineselecton..........................................................................................................................................56
15 Turbinesizefactor..................................................................................................................................58
16Pumpeciency............................................................................................................................................60
17ORCuidmassow......................................................................................................................................61
18Heatexchangers...........................................................................................................................................63
19Boilersevaporators...................................................................................................................................63
110Regenerator...............................................................................................................................................64
111Workinguid..............................................................................................................................................65
2 OptimizationofMicroORCasCHPorCCHPsystemmainlybasedonsolarenergy......................................66
21SystemdetailsandalternatvesforORCCHPsystem................................................................................66
22Workinguids..............................................................................................................................................67
23Heattransferarea........................................................................................................................................68
24OptmizedtemperaturebasedonCollectorandORCeciencies..............................................................68
25Eectofdegreeofsuperheat......................................................................................................................71
26CondensertemperatureandPressure.........................................................................................................71
3 OptimizationofORCforcoolingpurposes.....................................................................................................73
CONCLUSIONS........................................................................................................................................................77
Futurework............................................................................................................................................................78
References:.............................................................................................................................................................78
2

A APPENDIX.......................................................................................................................................................82
A1Computermodel..........................................................................................................................................82
A2Denitonofterms.......................................................................................................................................90

Figures:
Figure1:NormalORCTSdiagram...........................................................................................................................4
Figure2:Variablephaseturbinebladesincomparisonwithnormalturbineblades.............................................6
Figure3:ORCmarketsharefordierentheatsources...........................................................................................8
Figure4:CombinedheatandpowerplantusingORCincombinatonwithBiomasscombustonsystem...........13
Figure5:Combinedheatandpowerproductonusinggasicatonandinternalcombustonengines................14
Figure6:ComparisonofORCandgasicatonbasedcombinedheatandpowerplantbasedoninitalcost.......15
Figure7:ORCandgasicatonbasedcombinedheatandpowercomparisoninreturnofinvestmentbasedon
currentvalue..........................................................................................................................................................16
Figure8:Layoutofbiomassdigestonplantwasteheatrecovery.........................................................................18
Figure9:HybridsolarandgasdrivencombinedheatandpowercyclewithORC................................................20
Figure10:Electricitypricefora5kWmicroORCsystem(1Ctmeans0.01/KWh)..............................................21
Figure11:SmallscalesolarORCdesalinationunit..............................................................................................23
Figure12:ORCasbotomingcycleofamicrogasturbine....................................................................................24
Figure13:TypicalbinarygeothermalplantanditsORCunit.................................................................................26
Figure14:Steelindustrytypicalwasteheatsourcesandtheirpotential..............................................................32
Figure15:CosteectveapplicatonofORCinthreewasteheatrecoveryapplicatons......................................35
Figure16:ORCinvehicles......................................................................................................................................36
Figure17:Gasturbineasbotomingcycleoffuelcell...........................................................................................40
Figure18:SolidOxidefuelcell,ORCTrigeneratonsystempossiblelayout.........................................................42
Figure19:WasteheatrecoveryfromSolidOxidefuelcelltoreformfuelforPolymerelectrolytemembranefuel
cells.........................................................................................................................................................................43
Figure20:ORCusageinGascoolednuclearpowerplantwithclosedBraytoncycle...........................................46
Figure21:SolarbasedORCgeneralsketch............................................................................................................48
Figure22:Superheatngeectontotaleciencyandworkoutput....................................................................51
Figure23:Turbineandexpanderselectonbasedonpowerrange.......................................................................57
Figure24:ANormalboilersystemBBoilersystemwithpossibilityofwetvaporoutlet..........................64
Figure25:ORCinCHPsystem................................................................................................................................67
Figure26:SolarORC...............................................................................................................................................68
Figure27:Effectofcollectortemperatureonsystemperformance.....................................................................70
Figure28:ORCforcoolingdevices.........................................................................................................................73
Figure29:Evaporatonandpreheatingprocesses................................................................................................74
Figure30:Wet,Isentropicanddryuid.................................................................................................................92
Figure31:Bladeshapeofradialinowturbine.....................................................................................................93
Figure32:Radialoutlowturbine...........................................................................................................................93
3

Figure33:Axialturbine..........................................................................................................................................94
Figure34:Screwexpanders...................................................................................................................................95
Figure35:Abasicfuelcell......................................................................................................................................96

Tables:
Table1:ClassicatonofORCapplicatonbasedonpower,heatsourcetemperatureandproducers................10
Table2:CostreductonoptonsinbiomassORC...................................................................................................12
Table3:A10kWORCboxinformaton...................................................................................................................22
Table4:ORCincomparisonwithsteamcycleforgasturbinebotomingcycle....................................................38
Table5:Heatrecoveryoptonsfromfuelcells......................................................................................................44
Table6:Eectofpinchpointtemperatureonexergylossinevaporator(exeloss1)............................................54
Table7:LowheatsourcetemperatureORC(ORCcycleswithheatsourcetemperatureofmostlylessthan
150C).....................................................................................................................................................................54
Table8:Exergyeciencychangeswithdegreeofsuperheat...............................................................................54
Table9:Turbinesizefactorvariatonwithevaporatorsaturatontemperatureanddegreeofsuperheat(T
pp
is
pinchpointtemperatureinevaporatorand6
T
isdegreeofsuperheat)................................................................58
Table10:Isentropicowratochangewithpinchpointanddegreeofsuperheatmodicatons........................59
Table11:Eectofpumpeciencyonevaporatorpressureandtotalcycleeciency........................................60
Table12:VariatonofORCthermaleciencywithmassow..............................................................................61
Table13:HeatsourceuidmassowvariatoneectonORCeciencyandoutputpower..............................62
Table14:SolarCollectordata................................................................................................................................69
Table15:Eectofintermediateuidtemperatureoncollector,ORCandtotalsystemperformance................70
Table16:Eectofconstantsuperheatonturbinesizefactor(SF)andHeatexchangersfactor(HEF).................71
Table17:EectofcondensertemperatureonORCeciencyandoutputpower...............................................72
Table18:EectofevaporatorpressureonCF.......................................................................................................75
Table19:MassowrateeectonCFandORCperformance...............................................................................75
Table20:R227eaORCperformanceforcooling....................................................................................................76
Table22:R245faORCperformanceforcooling.....................................................................................................77

:Applications
1 Introduction
Nowadaysdueto40%predictedincreaseinenergyconsumptonoftheworld,moreenvironmentalconcerns
andlessdependencyonfossilfuels,demandforsophisticatedpowersupplyoptionsisgreatlyincreased.
Environmentalconcernswillbeinformofglobalwarming,acidrains,air,waterandsoilpollution,ozone
depletion,forestdevastationandradioactivesubstancesemissions.

Utilizingwasteheatsalongwithattemptstoderiveenergyoutofrenewableresourcesaslowgradethermal
heatsourceshavemotivatedtheuseofORC.

ORCorOrganicRankinecyclebasicallyresemblesthesteamcycleaccordingtoworkingprinciples.InORC,
Waterisreplacedwithahighmolecularmassfluidwithlowerdegreeofboilingtemperatureincomparison
withwater.FluidcharacteristicsmakeORCfavorableforapplicationsoflowtemperatureheatrecovery
(normallylessthan400C).
InFigure1,aTSdiagramofORCisdepicted.AsnormalORC,preheater(23)whichpreheatstheworking
fluid,evaporator(34)whichchangesthephaseofworkingfluidfromliquidtovaporbygainingheatfromthe
heatsource,superheater(45)whichwillsuperheattheworkingmediumbyaddingmoreheatfromheat
source,turbine(56)whichexpandstheworkingfluidandextractpowerfromit,desuperheater(67)which
willformsaturatedvaporfluidatcondenserinletfromsuperheatedfluidafterturbine,condenser(71)that
removestheheatfromfluidandmakeitliquidandpump(12)thatincreasestheliquidpressurearemain
components.Entireprocesscanberepeatedtoproducecontinuouspower.
Figure1:NormalORCTSdiagram
Source:Wikipedia
1

1
Wikipedia;availableat:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ideal_and_real_organic_rankine_cycle.jpg:17.10.2010.

Theseandadditionalcomponentslikeregeneratorwillbemorestudiedinchapter1,Moredetailedcase
studiesCostreductionandperformanceimprovementofORCandalsoinapendix,sectionA2.
ORChasseveraladvantagesoversteamcycle.ItisknownthatworkingfluidsinORChashighermolecular
weightthanwater.Thiswillincreasemassflowrateoffluidforthesamesizesofturbine.Moremassflowrates
willgivebetterturbineefficienciesandlessturbinelosses(Drescher,D.Bruggemann,2007).Moreover,turbine
efficiencywhichisabout85%iskeptefficientinpartloadapplicationsandthesystemcanbestartedfaster.
Mostimportantly,boilingpointofORCfluidsarelessthanwater;hence,theycanbeappliedinlower
temperatures.
2
(FormoreinformationaboutmassflowrateinturbineandlossespleaseseetheappendixA2,
turbinelosses).

Therearesomeotheralternativesforpowergenerationfromlowtemperatureheatsources.Kalinacycleand
transcriticalCO
2
powercyclesaretwoimportantexamples.

DuetoglidingtemperatureforKalinacycleworkingmediuminevaporationanddecreasingtemperatureduring
condensation,betterheattransferfromheatsourceandtotheheatsinkisexpected.Thiscausesbetter
efficiencyforKalinacycle.However,toachievethis,highermaximumpressureshallbemaintainedintheKalina
cycleincomparisonwithORCandthismakesthecycletobemoreexpensive.Morecomponentssameas
absorberandseparatorisneeded,turbineneedstobemultistageorhaveahighrotationalspeedandsincethe
mediumisamixtureandnormallyisfromwaterandAmmonia,itisdeemedtobecorrosive.Allinall,thesewill
resultinbulkiersystem,morecomponentsandhigherelectricitypricefromKalinacycleincomparisonwith
ORC.
3

Transcriticalpowercyclescanalsobeusedtogenerateelectricityfromlowtemperatureheatsourcessameas
vehiclesexhaust,geothermalandsolarenergyresources.Phasechange,sameasKalinacycle,occursinnon
constanttemperaturewhichwillenhancetheheattransfer.OneofimportantworkingmediumsisC0
2
with4
10tmesmoreslopeinvaporpressurediagramincomparisonwithmanyfluidswhichwillgiveproperheat
transfercriteriaforthecycle.

TranscriticalpowercycleproducesmorepowerthanORCandgainsbetterefficiencies.Oneimportantobstacle
onthewayofitsimprovementwasthatthemediumhaspropertiesinbetweenliquidandthegas.Thisdelayed
thedevelopmentofthecycleduetolackofappropriateexpanderwhichworksinvariablephasesituation.Due
toveryrecentachievementsinvariablephaseturbinesthistechnologyisavailabletoday.Arrangementofthe
turbineissameasnormalimpulseaxialturbines;however,specialshapeofthebladeswillpassthesmallliquid
dropletswiththegasandwillminimizetheerosion.InFigure2thevariablephaseturbinebladeandanormal
turbinebladehavebeendepicted.

2
U.Drescher,D.Bruggemann,FluidselectionfortheorganicRankinecycle(ORC)inbiomasspowerandheatplants,
AppliedThermalEngineering2007;27:223228
3
PaolaBombardaa,CostanteM.Invernizzi,ClaudioPietra,HeatrecoveryfromDieselengines:Athermodynamic
comparisonbetweenKalinaandORCcycles,AppliedThermalEngineering2010;30:212219.
6

Figure2:Variablephaseturbinebladesincomparisonwithnormalturbineblades.
Source: GRC Transactions, Vol. 33, 2009.
4

IncomparisonofarealgeothermalprojectusingR134aasavariablephasecycleandanORCbasedgeothermal
plant,itwasconcludedthattheoverallcostincludingthepowercyclecanbebroughtdownfrom4000$/kWe
inORCbasedtechnologyto3000$/kWeinvariablephasepowercycle.
3

NanostructuredmetalorganicheatcarrierscanalsobeusedtoenhancetheORCoverallperformanceand
reducetheORCcost.USDepartmentofEnergysPacificNorthwestNationalLaboratory(PNNL)isoneofplayers
inresearchanddevelopmentsontheissue.Anewprojectonlowtemperaturegeothermalbasedpower
generationisunderinvestigationbytheaforementionedinstitute.
5

NanostructuredmetalorganicheatcarriersareBiphasicfluidswithrapidexpansionandcontraction
capabilities.Whentheygetheat,thethermalcyclingofthebiphasicfluidwillrunaturbinetoproduce
electricity.Duetotheirfeaturesandbetterheatdeliveryfromheatsource,theycanproducemorepowerin
ORCunitandtheycanincreasethepowergenerationcapacitytonearthatofaconventionalsteamcycle.By
applyingthemcostperproducedunitofelectricitycanbereduced.Theirdevelopmentisunderstudyanditis
hopedthattheywillbemoreknownandappliedinnearfuture(PhilWelch,PatrickBoyle,2009).
4

4
PhilWelch,PatrickBoyle;availableat:
htp://www.energent.net/documents/Geothermal_Resources_Council_2009_Paper.pdf;availableat:
5
NathanaelBaker;availableat:http://www.energyboom.com/category/tags/mohcs;asaccessed:01.06.2010.
7

11Purposes

Demandforsophisticatedandaffordablepowergenerationsystems,securityofelectricitysupplyineach
countryandenvironmentalconcernsencouragetheinvestigationforcosteffectiveORC.Itisanenvironmental
friendlyoptiontomeetthisimportantneed.Ruralelectricityprovisionfornearly2billionpeopleandbeter
wasteheatrecoveryofdifferentindustriesinadditiontoRenewablebasedpowergenerationcanbenefitfrom
this.
Moreover,acomprehensivestudyondifferentapplicationsofcycleindifferenttechnologiescannotbefound
andpreliminarystudyshowsthatORCapplicationshavebeenoverlookedinmanyareas.Theseallgivegreat
impetusforthisstudy.Asaresult,thismasterthesisisaimedtobeastudyoneconomicallyfeasible
applicationsofOrganicRankinecycleandsolutionstoimproveitsperformanceandcost.
Itistargetedthatamarketanalysisbeperformedtoidentifycosteffectiveapplicationsofcycleindifferent
technologies.Classificationonproducedpowerrangeandheatsourcequalityandtemperatureissettobe
implementedtorecognizethetechnology,usedworkingfluidsandappliedequipment.
Eachcomponentandprocessofthecycleinintroducedtechnologywillbestudiedandsuggestionswillbe
madetoreducetheoverallcost,improvetheefficiencyandpoweroutputofcycle.Recommendationsfor
enhancementofsolarbasedORCsystemshouldbegiveninratherdetailedmanner.Introducedimprovement
optionsarebettertobeexpandableformanyotherapplicationstopromotethesystemperformanceand
reducethecosts.
12OverviewonMethodology

Bysearchinginternetcommercialwebsites,digitallibraries,brochuresfrommanufacturerandviacontacting
relatedcompanies,necessarydataiscollected.Itincludescosts,configurations,powerandtemperature
ranges,andspecialconsiderationsregardingeachORCtechnology.
Thenthegathereddatahasbeensortedandclassified.Duringtheevaluation,lifecyclecostofORC,qualityand
quantityofproducedenergyandORCpropertiesaswellasitsinitialcosthasbeentakenintoaccount.Thenthe
componentsofORChavebeenwellrecognizedandsomerecommendationshavebeenproposedforcost
reductionopportunities.Ineachapplication,othertechnologieswhichcanbeusedalternativelyhavebeen
introducedandcomparedwithORC.Thiscausesbetterunderstandingofwholesystemandtoidentifymost
propertechnologyineachapplication.InsomecasesthecomparisonshowstheadvantagesofORCmore
clearly.
Toreachaforementionedgoals,equipmentofORCshallbeselectedproperly.Theworkingfluid,ORCspeedof
turbomachineries,degreeofsuperheat,workingminimumandmaximumtemperaturesandpressuresare
checkedindatarecoursesforsomeapplications.
8

Acomputermodelforthermalandexergyefficiencies,heattransferfactorandturbinesizeisbuilt.Theoutputs
giveinformationoncycleperformanceandcostasmostlysomenondimensionalnumbers.Then,effectof
selectingcomponentswithdifferentcharacteristicsandORCfeatureshasbeenstudiedonthem.
13Background

ItisbelievedthatideaofORCaspowergenerationsystemfromlowheatsourceswasfirstpresentedin1961
byIsraelisolarengineersHarryZviTaborandLucienBronicki.
6

InFigure3itisshownthatcurrentmarketshareofBiomassORCisadominantshareandGeothermalwhich
usedtobethemostsignificantpartisinsecondpositioncurrently.Wasteheatrecoveryindifferentindustries
whichisinthirdplacecanbeappliedtonumerousindustriesandsolarORCstillhaveahugepotentialtobe
flourished.Thistechnology,duetolackofawareness,currentlyisonly1%ofORCmarket.Biomassbased
applicationissodevelopedsinceitistheonlyproventechnologyfordecentralizedapplicationstogainpowers
upto1MWelfromsolidfuelslikebiomass.
10

From1980swhichORChasbeenavailableinthemarket,morethan200projectswithtotalpowerofabout
2000megawatsofelectricityhavebeeninstalled.ThisiswhilethatrateofORCusagehasbeen
unprecedentedlysoaredinrecentyears.ThisshowsapromisingfutureforORCmarketinnearfuture.

Figure3:ORCmarketsharefordifferentheatsources
Source:FifthEuropeanconference,Economicsandmanagementofenergyinindustries.
7

6
Wikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia;availableat:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organic_Rankine_Cycle#References;as
accessed:19.06.2010.

7
SylvainQuoilinandVincentLemort;availableat:
http://www.labothap.ulg.ac.be/cmsms/uploads/File/ECEMEI_PaperULg_SQVL090407.pdf;asaccessed:01.05.2010
BiomassORC48%
GeothermalORC
31%
Wasteheatrecovery
20%
Solarapplications
1%
9

14Initialclassification

Afterevaluationofgatheredinformation,preliminarycalcificationofORCapplicationsissummarizedashere
bellow:
BiomassbasedORC
MicroscaleORCwhichincludessmallCHPORC,Solardesalinationunit,ORCasmicrogasturbine
bottomingcycleandOceanthermalenergyconversiontechnologyforORCapplications
GeothermalORC
ORCforwasteheatrecoveryofsomeindustries,e.g.:Steel,cementandceramicindustriesorinternal
combustionenginesorvehicleswasteheatrecovery
ORCasbottomingcycleofGasturbine
FuelcellbasedORC
SolarORCLargersolarpowerplantsusingORCwithpossibilityofstoragesystems
ORCinnuclearpowerplants
ORCforcooling

InTable1severalmainORCproducers,powerrange,temperaturerangeandbriefusedtechnologyis
mentioned.

10

Table1:ClassificationofORCapplicationbasedonpower,heatsourcetemperatureandproducers
Source:Europeanconference,Economicsandmanagementofenergyinindustries.
8

Innityturbineproduces250KWeORCandrecently10KWeORCboxesfromthiscompanyareavailableinthe
market.FreepowerinUKisanotherproducerofsmallORCunits.OpconinSwedencanalsobeaddedtothis
endlesslist.ORMATandTurbodenaresomeotherimportantmanufacturers.
InnextchaptersapplicationsofORCwillbestudied.

8
SylvainQuoilinandVincentLemort;availableat:
http://www.labothap.ulg.ac.be/cmsms/uploads/File/ECEMEI_PaperULg_SQVL090407.pdf;asaccessed:01.05.2010.
11

2 BiomassrelatedapplicationsofORC,ratherhighergradeheat
applications

DuetohighavailabilityofBiomassassolidfuelforpowergeneration,thisoptionhasbeenincreasinglyunder
development.Ratherproperpartandfullloadefficiencyatsmallscalebiomassbasedpowergenerationplants
attractsattentionforORCusage.Moreover,ORCcycleactsmoreeconomicallyinsmallerpowerssinceless
safetymeasuresareappliedatlowerpowersandtemperatures.Asaresult,BiomassbasedORChasalarge
marketshareofthetechnologybesideGeothermalandwasteheatrecoveryapplications.
BiomassbasedORCdiffersinsomeaspectswithusualknownORCsandthisrequiresaccurateandelaborative
studyonthesubject.
Boilersinbiomassapplicatonsareheatedupto450Cand6070barswhichrequireexpensivematerialsin
designofequipment.WhenORCisusedinthesystem,biomassboilersareheatedupto300Cwhichareless
costlythannormalbiomassboilers.However,thisisratherhightemperatureinORCs.Thiswillgiveagreat
opportunityofusingthesystemascombinedheatandpowercyclewhichwillbediscussedlater.
Coolingsideofcondenserinbiomassapplicationscanbeusedindistrictheatingsystemsasheatsupply.This
makesanotherdifferencewithnormallypracticedORCapplicationssincethetemperatureofcondensermay
reachupto100C.
CarnotefficiencyfortypicalbiomassbasedORCwithheatsourcetemperatureofabout300Candheatsink
temperatureof100Cisabout35%whichmeansthatthisapplicationhashigherpotentialforthermal
efficienciesincomparisonwithnormalORCswithCarnotefficienciesofusuallyaboutlessthan25%.
Oneimportantrestrictonisthemaximumallowableworkingtemperaturesofabout400C.Inthesehigh
temperaturesworkingfluidsarepronefordissociationandinstabilityduetochemicalreactionsinworking
fluidswhichoccurinhightemperatures.Furthermore,themaximumpressureinBiomassORCisnormallykept
bellow20barstoavoidexpensivesafetymeasuresandmaterials.Iflargeamountofheatisavailable,
superheatngwillbethesolutontokeepthehigherpressureofsystembellow20bars.
InORCapplicationsbetterefficienciesarewhenlesssuperheatisdoneandreasonablehigherevaporation
temperatureandpressureareselected.Thiswillbewelldiscussedin(Section:chapter1).Tokeepthe
superheatinanacceptablerange,thesystemshouldbeoptimizedformaximumpressure(Section:Chapter
1),ofsectonandforbiomassbasedoperatons,around20barsisnormallysuggested.
ForbiomassbasedORCapplications,usingAlkylbenzenesfamilyandspeciallyButylbenzeneasworkingfluidare
assumedtogivebestefficiency.
12

TheaforementionedissuesrelatedtoBiomassbasedORCusageissummarizedintable2andsome
considerationshavebeenaddedtogiveimportantsuggestionsoncostreductionoptions.
9

Itemstobe
implemented
Keepthemaximum
workingpressurebellow
20bars

Maximumworkingtemperature
Reasonsforcost
reduction
Lesssafetymeasures
willbeneeded,less
materialcost

Increasesefficiencies

Considerations

Excessivesuperheat
shallbeprohibitedto
keepevaporator
pressurehighenough*
However,incaseofhigh
availableheat,tokeep
theevaporatormax.
pressurebellow20bars
superheatwillbe
done**

Optimizationshouldbe
performed.Excessiveincreasein
notinteresting.*
Table2:CostreductionoptionsinbiomassORC
*Formoredetailsseechapter1.
**Availableheatsourcecanbeusedinbothevaporatorandsuperheater.Ifmorefractionofheatisusedin
evaporator,highertemperatureandpressureinevaporatorwillbeachieved.Sinceevaporatorpressureabove
20barswillraisethecostofmaterialandsafetymeasures,ifthispressureisreachedinevaporator,more
fractionofinputheatwillbeusedinsuperheater.Otherwise,itisinterestingtolimitthesuperheat.Thiscanbe
donebydesigningtheevaporatorandsuperheaterandpressureafterthepumpinawellmanner.Forsuper
heatingeffectandadjustingpumppressureseechapters1and6.

21ComparisonofORCinbiomassCHPplantwithgasificationandICengines
Inbiomassgasification,biomasswillbeconvertedtoHydrogenandCarbonMonoxide(Syngas)whichisa
suitablefuel.Gasificationisanefficientandratherlowcostenergyconversionmethodtoharnessbiomass
energyandproduceelectricity.(FormoreinformationseeAPPENDIX:A2).

9
Ulli.Drescher,Dieter.Bruggemann,FluidselectionfortheOrganicRankineCycle(ORC)inbiomasspowerandheatplants,
AppliedThermalEngineering27(2007)223228.
13

Anotheroptiontoextractbiomassenergyisbiomasscombustion.AsdepictedinFigure4,thebiomassis
combustedandamedium(Herethermaloil)deliversheattovaporgeneratorofORCunit.Thenpowerwillbe
producedinORCunit.WasteheatofORCcondensercanbeusedindistrictheatingsystem.Thisheatcanalso
beusedinanabsorptionchiller(trigeneration)toproducecoolingaswellasheatandpower,dependingon
demands.EvenproducedpowerfromORCcanbeusedinvaporcompressionchiller.Addingdistrictheating
andabsorptionchillerwillincreasethetotalthermalefficiencyofwholeplant.InFigure4,ORCuidafer
expanderwillbeusedinregenerator.Inthisdevice(regenerator),remainedamountofheatinORCfluidafter
turbinewillbeusedtopreheatthefluidbeforeenteringtheORCevaporator(vaporgenerator).

Inatypicalplantwith30MWh/yearheatproductonandnetgeneratedelectricalpowerof4.6MWh/year,
totaleciencyofmorethan80%isachievedandusing38.240MWh/yearofnaturalgasisavoidedthatresults
inthepreventionofcarbondioxideemissionstoabout10000tonsperyear(A.Rentizelas,S.Karellas,E.Kakaras,
I.Tatsiopoulos,2009).

TheFigure4showshowtheORCsystemwillbefitinthecombinedheatandpowersystembasedon
biomasscombustion.

Figure4:CombinedheatandpowerplantusingORCincombinationwithBiomasscombustionsystem
Source:EnergyConversionandManagement2009
10

CombinedheatandpowerplantusingORCincombinationwithBiomasscombustionsystemcanbecompared
withcombinationofbiomassgasificationandinternalcombustionengines.InFigure5,gasificationsystemwith
ICenginesisdepicted.Inthelattersystem(gasificationbasedsystem),biomassisconvertedtoSyngas(COand

10
A.Rentizelas,S.Karellas,E.Kakaras,I.Tatsiopoulos.ComparativetechnoeconomicanalysisofORCandgasificationfor
bioenergyapplicatons.EnergyConversionandManagement2009;50:674681.
14

H
2
)ingasifier,andthentheproducedgas(fuel)iscleanedandisburnedinanICengine.Wasteheatofthe
systemcanbeusedfordistrictheating.Bothsystemscanproduceheatandpower;howevertheydifferin
someaspectsasherebellow.(DefinitionofgasificationismentionedinAppendix,sectionA2).

Figure5:Combinedheatandpowerproductionusinggasificationandinternalcombustionengines
Source:EnergyConversionandManagement2009
9

First,electricitytoheatratioingasificationandICenginesismorethandoubleincomparisonwithCHPplant
usingORCincombinationwithBiomasscombustion.Gasificationbasedsystemneedsabout3040%more
biomasstoachieverathersameheatproduction.

Secondly,sincegasificationdealswithhighertemperatures,morelossesoccurinheattransfersystem,hence,
morenominalpowerisexpectedtocompensatelossesandgivethesameheatoutput.Toclarifythis,forward
heatingpipeingasificationtypeisabout120CandinORCtypeis90C.

AllabovementionedissueswillgivealittlemoretotalefficiencyforcombinedheatandpowercyclesusingORC
ratherthangasification(A.Rentizelas,S.Karellas,E.Kakaras,I.Tatsiopoulos,2009),however,betterelectrical
efficiencyingasificationbasedcasewillmaketheindustryownerstoselectthetechnologybasedupontheir
electricityorheatdemand.
9

15

ConsideringelectricityandheatpricesasanexampleinGreece
10
,duetomoreelectricitygenerationin
gasificationbasedsystem,thistechnologygivestwicenetpresentvalueincomparisonwithORCbasedCHP
plant(A.Rentizelas,S.Karellas,E.Kakaras,I.Tatsiopoulos,2009);however,muchmoreinitialinvestmentis
neededforgasificationbasedsystemwhichmeansnotsolowerpaybacktimeandnotsohigherinternalrateof
returnforthetechnology.Definitionoftermsnetpresentvalue,internalrateofreturnandpaybacktime
ismentionedinsectionA2.
10

ORCincombinedheatandpowersystemhasabout20%lessinternalrateofreturnandabout25%more
paybacktimeincomparisonwithgasificationbasedsystem.Gasificationhasabouttwotimesthenetpresent
valuesincetheeffectofrevenuefromelectricitygenerationismoreimportantinthiseconomicalfactor.The
Figure6showstheinitialcostbreakdownfortwotechnologies.
9

Figure6:ComparisonofORCandgasificationbasedcombinedheatandpowerplantbasedoninitialcost
Source:EnergyConversionandManagement2009
9

TheFigure7Showsthereturnofinvestmentforproducedheat,coolingandelectricityinbothtechnologies.
16

Figure7:ORCandgasificationbasedcombinedheatandpowercomparisoninreturnofinvestmentbasedon
currentvalue.
Source:EnergyConversionandManagement2009
9

DistrictheatingsystemincaseofORCneedshigherpipediameterssincethetemperatureislower.This
increaseisabout56%incost.However,morenecessarybiomasspreparatonwillcostabout40%morein
gasificationcase.Furthermore,ORCismuchmoreknownsystemandisavailableinpackageswhichmakeit
easierandsafertoworkwith.Thissystemhashalfcostforoperationandmaintenanceandhaslessoperational
riskincomparisonwithGasificationbasedtechnology.ORConlyneedsaweeklyoperatorinspectionandjust
bettertobecheckedtwiceinayearbyproducer.

Toconcludefromeconomicalcomparison,ORCincombinedheatandpowertechnologyhasalittleless
internalrateofreturnandjustsmallamountofmorepaybacktimeincomparisonwithgasificationbased
technology.Asmentioned,duetomoreelectricityproduction,gasificationbasedsystemwillreturnmore
revenue,hashighernetpresentvalueandismoreinterestingwhenlongtimeinvestment,moreelectricityand
morerevenueisconsideredover20yearsofitslifetme.

17

However,heattoelectricitypriceratiowillhelpinselectingtherighttechnology.Closerpricesforheatand
electricity,moredemandforheat,interestsforlowerrisk,moresafety,lessinstallationtimeandlowavailable
initialbudgetmightgiveenoughimpetusforORCapplicationandtodisregardhighincomeandmoreelectricity
generationfromgasificationsystem.
9

22Biomassdigestionplantwasteheatrecovery

Currentlyextractingbiogasenergyinbiomassdigestionprocessisnotsoeconomicallyactiveandefficient
method.Themostimportantreasonishugeamountofwasteheatwhichcannotbeusedindistrictheating
systemsincetheplantsarenormallyinremoteareasanditisnotpracticaltotransferheateconomicallyfor
ratherfardistances.

UsingORCandproducingelectricityfrombiomassdigestionplantwasteheatcanimprovetheefficiencyofthe
plant,producebaseloadelectricityandhelpinmorecleanpowergeneration.

InFigure7aschematicofanalreadyinstalledsystemisdepicted.

18

Figure8:Layoutofbiomassdigestionplantwasteheatrecovery
Source:AppliedThermalEngineering2009
11

AccordingtoFigure8,extractedbiogasfromBiomass(2)iscombustedinengines(1).Compressedairfrom
turbogenerator(3)andcoolingwaterheatisutilizedtoheatthedigester.Oilwillbeusedtoextractheatfrom
fluegasofcombustion(9)whichwillgiveheattoORCuid(1012).TheORCfluidcanbeheatedorevensuper
heatednormallyinasingleheatexchangerwhichiswellknownasevaporator(1112).

AnimplementcostevaluatononaddedORCsystemshowsthatforatypical500KWbiomassdigestonplant,
additonal35KWelectricitycanbeproducesbyanextrainvestmentof4800$/kW.Assumingmorethan7500
hoursoffulloperaton,15yearsoflifeforsystemandinterestrateofabout5%,itwillyield0.074$/kWh
electricitywhichisquietlowerthannormalbiomassbasedelectricitypriceofabout0.17$/kWh.
11

11
A.Schuster,S.Karellas,E.Kakaras,H.Spliethoff.EnergeticandeconomicinvestigationofOrganicRankineCycle
applicatons.AppliedThermalEngineering2009;29:1811.
19

3 MicroscaleapplicationofORCdownto1KW
31MicroscaleCHP,mainlysolarandbiomassbased,ORCs

Inmanyplacesoftheworld,sameasAfricaandsouthAsia,greatnumberofpeopledonothaveaccesstogrid
connectedelectricity.Thepopulationnearlyreaches2billionpeople.
HeatfromSolar,biomassandgeothermalenergyorwasteheatsinsmallscalescanhelpinprovidingcleanand
costeffectiveelectricityinremoteareas.UsingORCinthisconceptwillbeaturningpoint.
Moreover,goalstoreducegreenhousegasemissiontll2020,hasmotvatedlargeinvestmentinnewcleaner
sourcesofenergies.BuildingsasoneofmainenergyconsumerscanalsobenefitfromORC.Electricityfrom
solarenergyisonesolution.Photovoltaicsystemswhichhavethegreatestshareofcurrentmarketarerather
costlytobeused.Besides,moreflexibilityandavailabilityofpowersourcepersuadeothersolarbased
technologies:
Onenovelideaistousegasandsolarhybridcombinedheatandpowercyclesinverysmallscalesfordomestic
andevenremotehousesorinoffices.Thissystemmainenergysourceissolarenergywhichisabundantin
manyplaces.SinceORCunitinputisheat,whensolarenergyisnotavailableagasburnerorotherheatsource
canbeaddedtoincreasetheavailabilityofsystem.ItisacheapersolutionthanPVbasedelectricitygeneration.
CostandperformanceofsolarbasedORCwillbecomparedwithsolarPVinchapter9andmoredetailsare
giveninSection,2.
ToclarifythemicroORCadvantagesitisworthwhiletomentionthatsquarerootofoptimumpowerforORCis
proportionaltoinverseofORCspeedwhichisturbinepumprotationalspeed.Weighttopowerratiowillbe
moreincaseofhigherpowerssincetheORCspeedwillbeless.Inotherword,itisbeneficialtooptimize
numberofinstalledORCsunitsratherthanusingsingleunittoreachinterestedpowerwhilethecostof
additionalunitandadditionalproducedpowerisconsidered.
Allinall,Abilitytofulfillundevelopedandremoteareasneedsofheatandelectricity,incorporatingwasteheat
utilizationinoverallsystemandlesslossesandcostsforelectricitytransmissionlineswillmotivatetheuseof
microscaleORCswhichcanbedrivenbyheatfromsolarenergy,smallamountofgas,biomass,wasteheat,etc.
InFigure9,onesetofdesignedmicrocombinedheatandpowerisdepicted.ORCisthecoreofsystem.
Moreover,InFigure24,anotherCHPplantwhichusesmicroORCassupplementarypowergenerationsystemis
shown,howeveronthatsystemboilerisnotusingsolarenergydirectly.

20

Figure9:HybridsolarandgasdrivencombinedheatandpowercyclewithORC
Source:AppliedThermalEngineering
12

IllustratedsysteminFigure8canberunbyaheatsourcedownto25kW.Whentheenergyfromsunsuffices,
thesystemusesonlysolarenergy.Thealternativeheatsourcewhichmightbeagasburnerincreasesthe
availabilityofthesystemwhilesolarenergyisnotsufficient.Itcanreplacethesolarenergyandproduceupto
100%heatinput(25kW).
Evacuatedglasstubesolarcollectorisconnectedtocompactbrazedheatexchangerwhichisusedas
evaporatorofORCunit.AheatpumpisaddedtosolarcollectortouseitswasteheatwhichisnotusedinORC
evaporator.Thepumpofthisunitneedstobeaccurate;asaresultadoublediaphragmpumpischosen.
Turbinespeedis60000rpmhere.TheORCworkingfluidinthispowerrangeandlowtemperaturesofabout
90CischosentobeHFE301.Thisuidhaslowboilingtemperaturein34barsas75C,isnotammableas

12
W.Yagoub,P.Doherty,S.B.Riffat.SolarenergygasdrivenmicroCHPsystemforanofficebuilding.AppliedThermal
Engineering2006;26:16041610.
21

otherequivalentfluidsandisrelativelydryafterexpansion.Thisfluidisnotlistedasvolatileorganic
compoundswhichinfluenceclimatesignificantlyandhasnoozonedepletionpotential(gpo.gov,2002).ORC
evaporatorwillgeneratevaporof34barsandthenrunthemicroturbineratherefficiently.
13

Normally10%ofinputheat(typically2.5kW)canberecoveredincondenserandbeusedforheatingpurposes
sameasspaceheatng.Thisgivestotalcycleeciencyof17%andelectricaleciencyofsystemisabout7.5%.
MoredetailsaboutthissystemisgiveninSection,2.
11
32Costofthesystem
Resultsfromaneconomicalanalysis

(A.Schuster,S.Karellas,E.Kakaras,H.Spliethoff,2009)onratherthesame
microCHPunitwith5kWelectricityproductonandeciencyof8%areshownineconomicalperformance
curveinFigure10.Theherebellowgraphshowselectricityproductionpricebasedonheatpriceand
operationalhours.InthisFigure,verticallinedepictsoperationalhours,horizontallineshowsheatprice.(Heat
price/revenueshowsthepriceofheat,sincethissystemconsumesheatandsomeamountofitswasteheat
(typically10%)isusedforheatngpurposes,thisnumberaectsitstotalrevenue).Priceofproducedpoweris
showninCt(1Ctmeans0.01/KWh).Usingthesystemforabout7500hourswillyieldabout0.105/KWhfor
electricityproductonwhiletypicalheatpriceisassumedtobe0.09/KWh.
12

Figure10:Electricitypricefora5kWmicroORCsystem(1Ctmeans0.01/KWh)
Source:AppliedThermalEngineering.
14

13
gpo.gov;availableat:http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR20020322/html/026848.htm;asaccessed:01.10.2010.
14
A.Schuster,S.Karellas,E.Kakaras,H.Spliethoff.EnergeticandeconomicinvestigationofOrganicRankineCycle
applicatons.AppliedThermalEngineering2009;29:1816.
22

MicroORCCHPunitapplicationsinremoteareaswhichusessolarorbiomassenergyasheatsourcewill
decreasetheelectricitypricedowntoabout0.14$/KWhthatisquietlowerthandieselbasedelectricityprice
of0.3$/KWh.Theycanbeasolutiontoheatandelectricitydemandsandwillsignificantlyhelpindecreasing
theC0
2
emission.Thisisanotheradvantageofsystemwhichdecreasesthetaxofsystemandcanhave
revenuesforcleanelectricitygenerationwithlowemission(Innityturbine2010).
OneothergreatimprovementinmicroORCtechnologyis10KWORCpowerboxes.Theyarecompact,safely
operationalsystemsandcommerciallyavailabletechnology.Theycanbejoinedtomanyheatsourcessameas
wasteheatrecoveryinindustries,solarcollectororsmallbiomassboilers.Asystemwithitsspecificationsand
costisshowedinTable3(Innityturbine,2010).

Technology

Produced
power
range

Heatsource
temperature
range

Turbines

Heat
Exchangers

Working
fluid

Size
Companyor
institute
workingon

Cost

MicroORC

10KW

Around
100C

Lysholm
Turbine
60%ofcost

Compact
brazedheat
exchangers

R134a,
R245fa,R22,
Other
refrigerants

0.6*1.5*1.5
(m
3
)

Infinity
turbine

25000$
2500$/KW

Table3:A10kWORCboxinformation
Source:Infinityturbine.
15

15
Infinityturbine.Availableat:htp://www.innityturbine.com/pdf/IT10_brochure.pdf.Asaccessed:17.05.2010.
23

33SmallscaleORCforsolardesalinationunits

Greatprogressonmembranetechnologyhasmadereverseosmosisaspioneeroptionindesalinationsystems.
Inthistechnology,aselectivemembraneremoveslargemoleculesfromthepressurizedsolution.Toapply
pressureonsolution,apumpisused.ThispumpsrequirespowertoberunandthiscanbesuppliedbyanORC
unit.
16

OnegoodincentivetouseORCasdriverofdesalinationunitisthathighpressurepumpofsalinewaterto
membraneunitcanbecoupledwithORCturbinedirectly(EXiscoupledtoHPPinFigure11)andthisreduces
thelossesinconversionsystemswhichconvertelectricitytorotationalspeedandviceversa.Toclarifythis,in
PVbaseddesalinationunitelectricityisproducedandthiswillrunthepump,however,insystemofFigure11
sinceturbineiscoupledwithturbinedirectly,generatorisnotusedandrotationalspeedisinsertedtopump
directlyandthisisamoreefficientway.

Sofarusingparabolictroughsystemandscrewexpanderasdriverhasbeenbesteconomicaloptionevenmore
appropriatethanPVdrivensystems(Canbe4060%lessexpensivethanPVbasedsystem).
55

TohaveasolarORCdesalinationunitasinFigure11,acollectorsystem,ORCanddesalinationunitshallbe
connected.Theheattransfermediumincollectorsystemispumpedwaterwhichwilldelivertheheatfrom
collector(ETC)toORCevaporator(EV).TheturbineinORCsubsystem(EX)willdriveahighpressurepump
(HPP)fromdesalinationsubsystemandthispumpwillprovidewatertomembrane(RO).Ahydraulicturbine
(HT)willuseremainedpressureofuidcomingfromthemembranetorunasmallpump(P3).
14

Figure11:SmallscalesolarORCdesalinationunit
Source:AppliedEnergy
16

Performinganexergyanalysisanddefiningatermcalledthermodynamicperformancewillhelpinanalyzing
differentconfigurationandfluidsforthesystem.Thermodynamicperformancewillbedefinedasexergyof
outgoingflowtoenergyinputofeachsubsystem.Thiswillshowimportanceofevaporatorandprovesthat

16
B.F.Tchanche,Gr.Lambrinos,A.Frangoudakis,G.Papadakis.ExergyanalysisofmicroorganicRankinepowercyclesfora
smallscalesolardrivenreverseosmosisdesalinatonsystem.AppliedEnergy2010;87:12951306.
24

biggestexergylossoccursinexpanderduetothermalandradialleakagelosses.Besides,itisshownthat(B.F.
Tchanche,Gr.Lambrinos,A.Frangoudakis,G.Papadakis,2010)regenerator(devicewhichtransfersheatfrom
vaporfluidafterexpandertoliquidfluidgoingtoevaporator)especiallyinisentropicuidslikeR134awillnot
addtobetterperformanceofsystem;because,itisseenthatinsomeperformedexperimentthefluid
temperatureafterregeneratorwillbelessthanfluidtemperatureinpumpoutlet.

34ORCasbottomingcycleofmicrogasturbines

Environmentalandenergydemandconcernsespeciallyinnoninterruptibleapplicationssameasinhospitalsor
remoteareashascausedanunprecedentedinterestinmicroturbinesapplicationforpowergeneration.Micro
gasturbinesasrivalforinternalcombustionenginesareonepotentialoption.Lowerefficienciesofabout30%
havemotivatedmoreresearchontheissue.OnegeniussolutioniscombiningthemicrogasturbinewithORC
toreachhigherefficienciesofabout40%.Thisiseventrueforsmallpowergeneratonsofabout100KWfor
microgasturbinesandabout35kWforORC.
15
Inmoregeneralview,microgasturbinesgaspowercanbeupto
150kW.ORCpowerwillincreaseaccordinglysincethewasteheatfrommicrogasturbinewillincreasewithits
power.
InFigure12itisshownthatexhaustgasfromgasturbinewhichhastemperatureofabout250300Cis
combinedwithanORCunittoproduceextrapower.TheheattransferfromgasturbinetoORCevaporator
occursatheatrecoveryvaporgenerator(Redarea).

Figure12:ORCasbottomingcycleofamicrogasturbine
Source:Alureiter;Wikipedia
60
Forthistechnologychoosingofworkingfluidandbestturbinearethekeypoints.Exceptthansomephysical
propertiesoffluid,normallythefluidselectionisdonebasedonturbineexhaustgastemperature.In
25

evaporatorpressure,themoretheboilingtemperatureoffluidisclosertoexhaustgastemperaturethebetter
poweroutputwillbetheresult(CostanteInvernizzi,PaoloIora,PaoloSilva,2007).
Withrespecttoturbineefficiency,normallytwofactorsareconsidered.Ratiobetweenvolumetricflowrateof
outgoingandincomingfluidinadditiontosizefactorarekeyparametersinchoosingtherightturbine.Thiswill
bediscussedinchapter1.SomecandidateworkingfluidsforthisapplicationcanbefoundinCostante
Invernizzi,PaoloIora,PaoloSilva,(2007)
17
.Forgasturbineexhausttemperaturesof300C,esa-methyl-
disiloxane is suggested by authors.
BasedonnormalORCcostofabout3500$/KWin50100KWpowerrangeandmicrogasturbinecostofabout
1500$/KW,totalsystemcostwillbeabout2100$/KW.Bythisinvestmenteciencyofthesystemwillbe
increasedfrom30%toabout40.
17

35Oceanthermalenergyconversiontechnology

OceanthermalenergycanbeutilizedtodriveanORC.Warmseewatercanbeusedinevaporatorwhilecolder
waterindeeperpartsofseacanbeusedincondenser.SmallscaleORCswithpossibilityforlowthermalheat
sourceusagesaresuitableforthisoption.
18

Temperaturedifferencesinevaporatorandcondenserarenormallylowandinorderof20C.Workingfluids
canberefrigerantsandbenzeneseriesfluids.Thistechnologyisindemonstrationphaseandisnothighly
commerciallyattractiveyet(S.K.Wang,T.C.Hung,2010).
19

17
CostanteInvernizzi,PaoloIora,PaoloSilva.BottomingmicroRankinecyclesformicrogasturbines.Applied
ThermalEngineering2007;27:100110.
18
T.C.Hung,S.K.Wang,C.H.Kuo,B.S.Pei,K.F.Tsai,AstudyoforganicworkingfluidsonsystemefficiencyofanORCusing
lowgrade,Energy2009;35:14031411.

19
S.K.Wang,T.C.Hung,availableat:
htp://esd2010.ueuo.com/esd2010cd/papers/S%2003/S%2003.4_Renewable%20Energy%20from%20the%20Sea.pdf;as
accessed:23.10.2010.
26

4 Geothermalapplications

41Lowenthalpygeothermalapplications:

Geothermalenergyasstoredenergyinearthisassumedtobearenewablesourcetoproducecleanelectricity
especiallyinremoteandproneareas.Normallythegeothermalwellshavetemperaturesofbetween50350
C.
Togainhighertemperaturesinearth,deeperwellsarerequiredandthismakestheoverallcosthigher.High
temperaturewellsareusedinflashsteampowerplants.Inthismethod,waterisinjectedintogeothermalwells
andthiswatergainsheatfromtheearth.Asaresult,steamisproducedandwillrunasteamcycle.These
resourcescanbeusedincombinedheatandpowercycleiftemperatureishigherthan150C.
ORCtechnologyhaswidenedtheuseoflowertemperaturewells.Nowadays,mostlymediumtemperature
resourcesof100220Cusingbinarytechnologyhavebeenutilized.Inbinarysystem,electricityproductionunit
worksinaseparatecyclewhichisinheattransferwiththewells.AsdepictedinFigure13,hotwaterfrom
geothermalwellsgoesintohotsideofevaporatorandwillheattheORCfluid.ThenORCunitwillproduce
powerfromthisgainedheat.Sincethewaterfromthewelldoesnotcirculateinpowerunitthismethodhas
leastpollution(Thepollutionisduetoexistenceoftoxicmaterialsinwaterofgeothermalwells)

Figure13:TypicalbinarygeothermalplantanditsORCunit
Sources:Boyle,G,2004and
1
StephanUhlig,Geotec,2010.

27

Utlizatonoflowergeothermalwellsofabout70100Cisunderintensiveinvestgaton.Wellswiththese
temperaturesareavailableinmanyplacesoftheworld;hence,progressinusingthemwillprovidevast
potentialforgeothermalbasedORCunitstoproducepower.Toachievethis,effectiveandefficientheat
exchangersshouldbeusedtominimizetheheatlosses.
Littletemperaturedifferenceoflessthan10Cbetweenforwardandreturnlinesinlowtemperaturewells
necessitateslargeheatexchangersareaandhighmassflowrates.Theserequirementsmakethesystemrather
toughtobeeconomicallydesigned.
Sinceheatextractionfromlowtemperaturewellneedshighheatexchangerarea,itwouldnotbewrongto
assumethatmostofthecostsfromlowtemperaturebinarypowerplantsareduetoheatexchangers.Having
systemswithefficientandoptimumheatexchangerswouldbegiantstepforwardinimprovingthecost
effectivenessofsystem.Titaniumflatplateheatexchangerswhichhavegoodheattransferandarecompact
andcanbesuggested(KontoleontosE.,MendrinosD.,KarytsasC,2010).
20
,
21
Regardingtheworkingfluids,
Isobutane(R600a)andR134aarerecommendedbyKontoleontosE.,MendrinosD.,KarytsasC,(2010).
DuetorecentprogressesinORCtechnology,geothermalORCinlowtemperatures(about70100C)is
economicalnowadays.Howeversomespecialtechniqueswillhelpinmakingthesystemmoreeconomically
viable.Onenovelideaistouseanabsorptionchillerincontactwithcyclecondenser.TheideaistousetheORC
condenseraschillerevaporator.Thiswilldecreasethecondensertemperature.Havinglesscondenser
temperaturewillgivemoretemperaturesdifferencebetweenheatsourceandheatsinkwhichresultsinbetter
CarnotefficiencyforORCunit.Thisiseasilyproven:IfCarnotefficiencyisdefinedastemperaturedifferenceof
heatsourceandheatsinkdividedbyheatsourcetemperature,itisclearthatbyfixedheatsourcetemperature;
lessheatsinktemperatureconnectedtocondenserwillgivebetterCarnotefficiencies.
OtherideassameasusingNanostructuredmetalorganicheatcarrierscanbehelpfultoenhancetheORC
overallperformanceandreducetheORCcost.Thisisagreatareaforresearchanddevelopmentpurposes.
(NathanaelBaker,2009).
22

42Geothermalpowerfromwasteheatofoilandgaswells

Introducinglowenergyutilizationpowercycleswillmakeitpossibletoproducegeothermalpowerfromoiland
gaswellswasteheat.
NationalRenewableEnergyLaboratoryinUSAbelievesthatthesegeopressuredresourcescanbepotentially
usedtoproduce70000MWofelectricitywhichaccountsfor10%electricityconsumptonofwholecountry.
SouthernMethodistUniversityisworkingonusingproducedhotwaterfromoilandgaswellsinunitedstates
tomeetdemandsofsomemillionshouseholds.

20
StephanUhlig,GeotecConsult;availableat:htp://geoheat.oit.edu/bulletn/bull231/art6.pdf;asaccessed:27.04.2010.
21
KontoleontosE.,MendrinosD.,KarytsasC;availableat:http://www.lowbin.eu/public/CRES
Optmized%20geothermal%20binary%20power%20cycles.pdf;asaccessed:07.10.2010.
22
NathanaelBaker;availableat:http://www.energyboom.com/category/tags/mohcs;asaccessed:01.06.2010.
28

Usingavailableoilandgasinfrastructuremakethisoptionextremelyinteresting.Wellswhicharedrilledfor
petroleumextractionnormallyhavetemperaturesofabove100C.Largeamountofproducedhotwaterfrom
thesewellswhichreachmillionsoflitersarecurrentlydeemedwaste.ORCunitscanproduceelectricityfrom
wasteheatinthesehotwatersfromoilwells.Producedelectricitycanbeusedonsiteorbefedtogrid.
Normallythetransmissioninfrastructureisalreadyavailablenearthewellsandelectricitycanbetransmitted
easily.
Oneothersourceisdepletedoilwellswhicharenowabandoned.Asacaseinpointitisestimatedthatoiland
gaseldsinTexashavepotentalwasteheattoproduceupto2200MWofgeothermalpower.Some
demonstrationprojectshavebeenrunusinggeopressuredresourcesfromoilandgasfieldsinTexasandthisis
stronglybelievedthatthetechnologywillbewellcommercializedduringnextyears.Moreresearchisongoing
onthesubject.
23

23
GlobalenergyandInfinityturbine,availableat:http://www.infinityturbine.com/ORC/Oil_and_Gas.html,asaccessed
27.04.2009.
29

5 WasteheatrecoveryapplicationsofORC

OnenewmethodofrecoveringwasteheatinindustriesistouselowmaintenanceandsafeORCtechnology.It
isknownthatmostofprocesseshavewasteheatoflessthan400500Cwhichgivesanabundantpotentialfor
ORCusage.
Supplyofheatforabsorptionchillersinadditiontoelectricityproductionwithnomorefuelconsumptionisthe
advantagesofthispowergenerationmethod.AsaresultallproducedelectricityfromORCwasteheatrecovery
willcontributetoreducesomeemissionssameasCO
2
,SO
x
,etc,inanindirectway.
Trendsforhavingmorewasteheatrecoveryunitswillbeenhancedwhenmoreenergypricesareinthescene.
Moreover,costevaluationofwasteheatrecoverysystemsarebettertobeinvestigatedthroughtheirlifecycle
ratherthantheirinitialcost.
Inthissectionwasteheatrecoveryinsteel,ceramic,andcementindustriesandalsovehicleswillbe
investigated.Wasteheatrecoveryfromexhaustgasesofdieselengineshavebeenstudiedindetailsbyauthor
inanotherproject.
24
Asummaryisbroughthere:
Thereexistmanyoptionsforobtainingbetterperformanceandmoreefficiencyforenginebasedpower
generation.Wartsilaisaleadingmanufacturingofinternalcombustionengines(ICE)usedforpowergeneration
andisseekingvarioussystemoptionsforincreasingefficiencyoutoftheirplants.ProjectGroupDofthe
AppliedEnergyCourseSpring2010atKTHistaskedwithexploringthistopicforWartsila.Thecompanyhas
alreadyinvestigatedintoafewalternativesandtheuseofanOrganicRankineCycle(ORC)isbeendeemedone
suchoption.ThissubgroupofprojectgroupDistaskedwiththeoptimizationofanORCcycletobeusedasa
bottomingcycleinaWartsilasICEpowerplantdesign.
OrganicRankineCyclesareusedforawidevarietyofapplicationsandvariousdesignoptionscanbetailoredto
bestoptimizeacertainscenario.Adesignandcycleoptimizationwascarriedouttofitthespecificationsgiven
bytheindustryclient.First,aresearchandliteraturesurveywascarriedtoexplorevariouspossibilitiesin
designinganORC.Withthisbackgroundandcomprehension,variousproposedlayoutsgivenbytheclientwere
thenanalyzedandmodeledwiththesoftwareEngineeringEquationSolver(EES).Aftercomingtoconclusions
aboutoperatingconditionsandconfigurationfortheseproposedlayouts,recommendationsandsuggestions
weremadeinandtoimprovetheoverallORCdesign.
WehavefoundthatalthoughtheOrganicRankineCyclehasthesameprincipleofoperationtothesteam
RankineCycle,ithasmanydifferentconsiderationsduetothespecialapplicationofwasteheatrecovery.Our

24
GordonDenbow,RezaRowshanzadeh,AndrewTabije,AndreaPlaRubio,MariaChuvashova,SaraGhaem,AmirSohani,
AdelMikanik;availableat:
htp://docs.google.com/leview?id=0B5svs7AVkUW4NTk5M2UyMWYtZjk3NS00MzAxLWI4NzItODZlOTJjM2YxMjNl&hl=en
&authkey=CLOMwEI;asaccessed:07.07.2010.

30

researchrevealedthatthemostsuitablechoicefortheORClayoutwasthefirstlayoutoperatingatsaturated
conditionswithoutaregeneratorwithanevaporatortemperatureof140C.Alsoitwasfoundthatusing
additionalwasteheatfromenginecoolingwasmorebeneficialtothedesiredperformancethan,forexample,
incorporatingaregeneratororchangingsystemperformancebytheadditionofsuperheat.

Alsotheworkingfluidinthecycleisveryimportantandthereareafewalternativeswhichactuallyhavea
higherthermodynamicefficiencyforthesameoperatingconditions,howevermaynotbesuitableforreasons
ofpracticality;cost,toxicityandcorrosivenesstocomponentsamongotherthings.Sincethepoweroutputof
ourORCisintherangeof1MW(smallscale),thebestoptonswithregardtoturbineselectionaredifferentfor
largescaleapplications.Thebestcurrentoptionforourcapacityrangewasfoundtobetheradialinflow
turbinebecauseofitshighisentropicefficiencyandflexibilityatdifferentoperatingconditions.Howeverthe
Eulerturbineshowsgreatpromiseforfutureapplicationsbecauseofitslowercostofconstructionand
robustnessespeciallyinvapourflowswheremoistureorcontaminantsmaybepresent.AlsotheEuler
turbineoperatesatlowerspeedsthantheRadialInflowturbinewhichdecreasesitssizeandthelosses
associatedwithoperation;howevertheEulerturbineisstillmostlyatanexperimentalstagewhereits
advantageshavenotyetbeenproveninpractice.TheORCcontinuestobeunderinvestigationtoday
sinceitutilizeswasteheatthatwouldnormallyjustbedumpedtotheenvironment,thiswillcontinuetobe
importantastheglobalsituationwithregardtoenergyandclimatechangeintensifies.(GordonDenbow,Reza
Rowshanzadeh,AndrewTabije,..(2010).

31

51WasteheatfromSteelindustry

InsomecountriessameasKorea,upto10%oftotalenergyconsumptonsgoestoIronandsteelindustries.
Nearly40%50%ofthisamountiswasteheatandonly15%ofthiswasteheatisnormallyrecovered.
InSweden,theenergyconsumptionperproducedtonofsteelis17GJ/t,.Itisbelievedthatthisconsumption
canbedecreasedby2050%.
25

Availablewasteheatintemperaturesoflessthan400CmakesORCthemosteconomicaloptionproduce
powerfromthisratherlowgradeheat.Properefficiency,compactnessandbeingeconomicalaremeritsofORC
inthisissue.
Tocategorizewasteheatsourcesfromsteelindustry,wasteheatcanbedividedintotwocategoriesofclean
anduncleanwasteheats.Cleansourcesarenormallyfromburningofmethaneandhavelowdustcontents.
Thesewasteheatscanberecoveredbyrecoveryheatexchangersandarenormallyfromrollingandforging
preheaterfurnaces.Thesecondtypeofheatsourcesaresovolatileinquantityandhavehightemperatureand
dustcontents.Thismakesabout60%oftotalamount.WasteHeatrecoveryfromthemisunderresearchand
development.Thesecondtypecanbefoundfromfumesofblastandelectricarcfurnaces.
26

25
SvenEketorp,Energyconsiderationsofclassicalandnewironandsteelmakingtechnology,Energy,2003;12:1153
1168.
26
RiccardoVescovo,Availableat
http://www.powergenworldwide.com/index/display/artcledisplay/361545/artcles/cogeneratonandonsitepower
production/volume10/issue2/features/orcrecoveringindustrialheatpowergenerationfromwasteenergy
streams.html,asaccessed29.04.2010.
32

511Exergyanalysis

Before1970senergyanalysiswasbestmethodtoanalyzeathermodynamicprocess.Aferthatandatrendto
reduceimpactandlossesofenergyconversionmethodstoenvironment,minimizationofentropyorexergy
analysishascomeseriouslyintoplay.Aswanted,thishashelpedresearcherstoreduceinternalirreversibilityof
processesandtheirlossestoenvironment.
Moreover,Firstlawofthermodynamicsdealswithquantitieswhilequalityofenergyisnotconsideredbythat;
hence,exergyanalysisisofenormousimportancenowadays.Thiswillhelprecognizingthepotentialforwork
extractionfromaheatsourcetothepointitreachesequilibriumwiththeambient.Thismethodwillgivebetter
viewonefficiencyofeachthermodynamicprocessandprovideinformationonbothqualityandquantityofa
heatsource.
Forconstantpressuresolidorliquidwithknownheatflowtheexergytermisdefinedas:
= (1 -
10
1-10
ln
1
10
)

T
0
standsforminimumcycletemperaturewheretheheatcanbedumpedthereandTisprocesstemperature.
24
TypicalwasteheatofIronandsteelproductionsiteisshownasFigure14.

Figure14:Steelindustrytypicalwasteheatsourcesandtheirpotential
Source:S.Malmstrm
27

Asdepicted,somecasessameascoolingwaterhavehighamountofenergy,butsincethetemperatureislow
thequalitywillbelowaswellandthisheatcannotbesousefulforORCapplications.Surfacelossesarenot
focusedinsomelocationsanditishardtoharnessthemduringoperationwithoutinterruptingtheprocess.

27
S.Malmstrm,availableat:htp://epubl.luth.se/14021617/2009/110/LTUEX09110SE.pdf,asaccessed:27.05.2010.
33

AmongthementionedwasteheatsourcesintheFigure15,wasteheatfromslaghavehighpotentialforORC
applications.Powercanbeextractedfromthissourcewithoutinterruptionsoftheprocess.However,touse
thissource,heattransferfromsolidmaterialshallbeconsideredandcollectingandmanagingthewasteisalso
importantanddifficult.Itisacasewhichisunderresearch.
Steamfromhotcokecoolingisalsoadifficultsourcetodealwith.Alternativecoolingmethodsmightmakea
properheatsourcefromhotcokecoolingmedium.Assumingthatcorrosionproblemsduringfluegas
condensationcanbesolvedbyappropriatechoiceofmaterialanddesign,thenthewasteheatfromfluegasis
anotherpromisingoption.Flaregascanbeusedifthegasisnotneededforanyotherapplications(S.
Malmstrm,2009).
23

34

52Ceramicindustry

Ceramicindustryasnothighlyefficienttechnologyhasabundantofwasteheat.ORCcangenerateelectricity
fromthesesourcesandtheproducedpowercanbeusedinexhaustfansandtocirculateair.

ThemostpronespotintheindustryisthefluegassesofKiln.TheefficiencyofinstalledORCdependson
exhaustgastemperatureandvariesbetween8to11%.

Basedon7000and8000operatonhoursinternalrateofreturnwillbeabout0.18%andpaybacktmewillbe
about34years.

53Cementindustry

Oneofhighendothermicprocessescalleddecarbonizationincementindustryrequireshotheatsupplies.ORC
canusewasteheatofheatthisreaction,combustiongasusedforpreheatingofrawmaterialorcoolerair
streamusedtocoolclinker.
Normalcementindustriesuse35GJofheatpertonofclinker.Fromwasteheatofprocesses,nearly1MW
electricityper1000tonclinkercanbeproduced.20008000tonclinkercanbenormallyproducedperdayfrom
acementplantandthisindicatesthegreatpotentialofORCbasedpowergenerationinthisindustry.Upto20
%electricityconsumptionofthisindustrycanbegeneratedviaORCapplicationusingitsownwasteheatas
heatsource(RiccardoVescovo,2009).
28

InFigure15(Turboden,2009)acostandperformancestudyisusedtogiveanoverviewoneffectivenessof
ORCinwasteheatrecoveryoptionsforthreecasesofsteel,cementandfloatglassindustries.Sometermshave
beendefinedinsectionA2.Asitisseeninthefigure,forallthreeplants,internalrateofreturnisabove20%
andpaybacktmeislessthan5years.Theseandgreatlypositivenetpresentvalueshowthatalloptionare
economicallyinterestng.Inadditontothat,itiscalculatedthatforeachindustry,about10000tonsofC0
2
per
yearcanbeavoidedandthisenvironmentalbenefitisaddedtoitseconomicalprofits.

28
RiccardoVescovo,Availableat:
htp://www.powergenworldwide.com/index/display/artcledisplay/361545/articles/cogenerationandonsite
powerproduction/volume10/issue2/features/orcrecoveringindustrialheatpowergenerationfromwaste
energystreams.html,asaccessed29.04.2010.
35

Figure15:CosteffectiveapplicationofORCinthreewasteheatrecoveryapplications
Source:Turboden,Brescia,Italy
29

29
RiccardoVescovo,Availableat
http://www.powergenworldwide.com/index/display/articledisplay/361545/artcles/cogeneratonandonsitepower
production/volume10/issue2/features/orcrecoveringindustrialheatpowergenerationfromwasteenergy
streams.html,asaccesed29.04.2010.
36

54ORCinvehicles

ExhaustgasandcoolantsofvehiclescanbeusedtogeneratepowerbyORC.Fornormalcarsincruisingspeed
thiswillproduce10%morepowerandcanbeusedtorechargebateriesofahybridcarandimproveitsoverall
efficiency.Inlightdutycarsdependingontypethiscancausebetween530%reductonsinfuelconsumpton.
BMW,HondaandResearchersatLoughboroughUniversityandtheUniversityofSussex,UKareexamplesof
researchersinthisfield.
30
Theirtestresultswerepresentedin2008.Itshowsthat62miles/hspeedofdriving;
usingORCwillimprovedthethermaleciencyoftheengineby3.8%.(greencarcongress,2009).
AsdepictedinFigure16,ORCunitwithevaporator,expander,condenser,andpumpsareusedtoproduceextra
amountofpowerincars.Evaporatorgainsheatfromwasteheatofenginewhilethecondenserisconnectedto
itsradiator.Expanderandgeneratorwillproduceelectricity.Thenthepowerisstoredinbatteries.Thiswill
helptheenginetoworkinmoreefficientwaysbyusingextraamountofproducedpower.

Figure16:ORCinvehicles
Source:motorauthority(2010)
31
.
OpconinSwedenisalsoinstallingORCboxesusingLysholmturbineonships.Itisclaimedthatitwillcausefuel
savingofabout46%.Shippingaccountsfor5%C0
2
emissionandproducesMWsofpowerwhichafractionis
deemedwaste.
32

30
Greencarcongress;availableat:htp://www.greencarcongress.com/2009/05/bmwrankine20090503.htm;asaccessed:
01.10.2010.
31
Motorauthority;availableat:htp://www.motorauthority.com/image/100216031_hondainvestigating039rankine
cycle039topowerhybrids;asaccessed:29.09.2010.
32
J.Ringler,M.Seifert,V.GuyototandW.Hbner.(2009)RankineCycleforWasteHeatRecoveryofICEngines(SAE2009
010174)
37

6 ORCasbottomingcycleincombinedpowercycles

Inthissection,ORCasbottomingcycleofgasturbinewithlowerexhausttemperaturethanusualwillbe
discussed.Thegasturbineastopcyclecanberecuperativegasturbineoragasturbinewithlargepressure
ratiosandlowtemperatureexhaust.
NormallythebottomingcycleofgasturbineisRankinecycle.Thiscyclehavegoodcombinationwithgas
turbine,highefficiencyandwellknownequipmentandprocesses.
Ifthegasturbineexhausttemperatureisratherlow,ORCandKalinacyclewillbeselected.SinceKalinaisnot
economicallyviablenow,ORCwillbethefirstselectionsincetheyarecurrentlycommerciallyobtainable.
OnesignificantadvantagesofORCandgasturbineisthattheycancompetewithhightemperatureexhaustgas
turbineevenifthetemperatureislower,hencethiswillgivetheopportunitytohavegasturbineswithlower
turbineinlettemperature,lesscombustiontemperatureandconsequentlylessNOxproduction,manufacturing
andoperationalcost.Gasturbinewillbecheapersincelessresistantmaterialandcoolingmethodswillbe
necessary.
Regardingtheworkingfluid,itshouldbeadryone(SeesectionA2fordenitonofdryuid),stableatrelated
temperaturerangeandmeetthelimitationsofminimumandmaximumcyclepressures.Tolueneand
CyclohexaneareamongbestoptionsinthisspecialapplicationofORCsincetheygiveratherproperefficiency.
Toluenewillgivebetterheatrecoveryineconomizerduetoclosertemperaturelinewithheatsourceandgains
alittlemoreefficiency.Cyclohexaneislesssensitivetotopcycletemperatures,butisabitmoreexpensiveand
needslargerheatrecoveryvaporgeneratorwhichisthemostexpensivepartinthecycle.Securitytocontrol
theflammabilityandtoxicityoftheseworkingfluidsshallbeconsideredcarefullyalthoughbottomcycles
maximumtemperatureshouldbefarfromignitionpointofthesefluids(R.Chacartegui,.Snchez,J.M.Muoz,
T.Snchez,2009).
Consideringlessthan500$/KWforgasturbineand2000$/KWeforORC,electricitypriceof100$/MWandfuel
costof38$/MWthepaybacktmewillbelessthan7yearsandinternalrateofreturnismorethan0.15which
makesthesystemeconomicallyfeasible.Thecalculatedvaluesarerelatedtoarecuperatedgasturbinewith
topcycleandbotomcyclepowerratosofabout3andinlettemperatureofabout1000Cforgasturbine.
MoreORCorgasturbinepriceswillleadtolongerpaybacktimeandlessinternalrateofreturn,asaresult,
producedelectricitypricecannotcompetewithconventionalcycles.
33

InTable4resultsfromastudy
30
(R.Chacartegui,.Snchez,J.M.Muoz,T.Snchez,2009)arebroughttoshow
inwhichcommercialgasturbinesORCcombinationwillgiveacceptableefficienciesandperformance.Here,
powerratioistheratiobetweenbottomingcycleandthewholecyclepowerandispresentedinpercentage.It

33
R.Chacartegui,.Snchez,J.M.Muoz,T.Snchez.AlternativeORCbottomingcyclesFORcombinedcyclepowerplants.
AppliedEnergy2009;86:21622170.
38

isshownthatforlowertemperaturegasturbinesORCcanwellcompetewithsteamcycle,evenifmultiple
pressuresheatrecoverysteamgeneratorisused.Thecomparedworkingfluidswithwaterwere,
CHEX(=cyclohexane),R113,andToluene.ItisconcludedthatCELM6000dry,RollsRoyceWR21andSolar
MercurymodelsgasturbinemodelswithlessexhaustgastemperaturearesuitableforORCapplication(R.
Chacartegui,.Snchez,J.M.Muoz,T.Snchez
,
2009).

Table4:ORCincomparisonwithsteamcycleforgasturbinebottomingcycle
Source:AppliedEnergy(R.Chacartegui,.Snchez,J.M.Muoz,T.Snchez
,
2009)
30
ItisalsoworthwhilethatORCasbotomingcycleformicroturbinesoflessthan500KWisdiscussedinMicro
scaleapplicatonsofORCdownto1kWsection.

39

7 Wasteheatrecoveryinfuelcells

Thisistruethatfuelcellshavelargerinitialinvestmentthanconventionalinternalcombustionengines,gas
turbinesandsteamcycles,butitcanprovidecleanerenergyconversioninsomeapplicationsandinlongtermis
abletocompetewiththosetechnologiesifnetpresentvalueofthesystemisconsidered.(Formore
informationaboutfuelcellpleaserefertoappendixA2).
Inmanyratherhightemperaturefuelcells,considerableshareofinputenergyisconvertedtounusedheat.
Thisheatleavesthefuelcellviacoolingmediumorexhaustgas.Thereareseveralmethodswhichthiswaste
heatcanberecoveredandconsequentlybetteredefficienciesandelectricitypricewillbeachieved.
FuelcellcanhaveabottomingcyclesameasBraytongas,thermoelectric,andorganicRankinecycle.Moreover,
fuelcellswasteheatcanbeusedinfuelreformingprocesses,combinedheatandpowerorTrigeneration
plants.

40

71Gasturbinesasbottomingcycle

GasturbinesareoneofoptionsforutilizingnotburnedfuelandwasteheatfromSolidOxidefuelcells.The
systemnormallyconsistsofSolidOxidefuelcellinternalgasreformingstack,compressors,recuperator,a
combustorandgasturbines.Infigure16alayoutofsystemhasbeenshown.Asdepictedinthefigure17,
exhaustgassesofSOFCwillbeaddedtogasturbinecombustionchamber.Afterproducinghightemperature
gasses,turbineswillbeusedtoproduceextraamountofpower.EvenRecuperatorswhichpreheatthe
enteringairofcompressorscanbeaddedtothesystemtoutilizemuchmorewasteheatfromSOFC.

Figure17:Gasturbineasbottomingcycleoffuelcell
Source:JournalofPowerSources
34

Ifaheatrecoverysystemforcogeneratonisadded,upto80%eciencywillbegained,otherwise,around60%
efficiencywillbetheresult.ThecostofatypicalmicrogasturbineinconjunctionwithSolidOxidefuelcellwill
bearound2500$/kWewithabout50%eciency.Moreecientsystemswillcostmore.Somemodicatons
sameaswaterinjectiontocombustionchamberwillhelpinincreasingtheefficiency.
35,

36

34
Chan,S.H.,Ho,H.K.,Tian,Y.,ModelingofsimplehybridSolidOxidefuelcellandgasturbinepowerplant,JournalofPowerSources2009;109:111
120.

35
WameiLin,Wasteheatrecoverysystemforfuelcellsystem,FuelCellTechnology2009;TRRF05.
41

72ORCasbottomingcycleofSolidoxidefuelcell

InMoltenCarbonateFuelCells,largeamountofheatisgenerated.Sensibleheatfromthiswasteheatcanonly
potentallyproduce25%moreelectricity.Theamountofthiswasteheatismorethan30%ofinputenergy.
EvenmoreamountofwasteheatisavailableforSolidOxidefuelcells.
Exploringsomebottomingcycles,itisknownthatsteamcyclesareonlyeconomicallyviableatlargescales.An
alternativewouldbeORC.ByapplyingORC,asanexample,SolidOxidefuelcelltotalefficiencywillincreaseby
amountofabout15%.EvenasingleeectabsorptonchillercanbeconnectedtoSolidOxidefuelcellandORC
whilethewasteheatofORCisusedforheatingpurposesandtherestfordrivingthechillers.Thiswillhelpin
another20percentincreasewhileheat,coolingandelectricityareproduced(FahadA.AlSulaimana,Ibrahim
Dincerb,FeridunHamdullahpurc,2010).
Infigure18apossiblelayoutofthesystemisshown.Inthisfigure,wasteheatofSOFCwhichhastemperatures
ofabout400CwillbetransferredtoORCevaporatortoheattheORCfluid.EvaporatedfluidwillruntheORC
turbinetoproduceextraamountofpower.EciencyofSOFCisabout60%andproducedpowerfromeach
SOFCunitcanbeabout100KW.ByaddingORC,morepowerandbetereciencieswillbeachieved.Waste
heatofORCcondensercanbeusedinabsorberchillertoproducecoolingandaddtototalsystemefficiencyas
well(FahadA.AlSulaimana,IbrahimDincerb,FeridunHamdullahpurc,2010).

36
N.Autissier,F.Palazzi,F.Marechal,J.vanHerle,D.Favrat;availableat:
http://infoscience.ep.ch/record/87988/les/Autssier_FCT000123.pdf;asaccessed:12.06.2010.
42

Figure18:SolidOxidefuelcell,ORCTrigenerationsystempossiblelayout
Source:JournalofPowerSources
35

ItisassumedthatcostofproducedelectricityafteraddingORCisabout2500$/kWandcanbelessinlarger
plants.UsingORCwillreducethetotalcostperkWandinthesametimewillimproveefficiency.Therewillbe
moremotivationforORCinlowerexhausttemperaturesoffuelcellincomparisonwithgasturbine
applications.ThisismainlytrueforMoltenCarbonateFuelcells.MixtureoffluidsespeciallySiloxanesseemto
bebestoptionsforworkingfluids(WameiLin,2010).
Simplicity,ratherproperefficiencyintemperaturerangeofabout100400ChasmadeORConeofbest
optionsformoltencarbonatefuelcellsbottomingcycle.Condenserpressureoflessthan1barandupto10
barshelpsinselectingtheturbinesizecosteffectively.Moreover,ORCcyclecanbeoptimizeddependingon
heatsourceandbychangingbestworkingmedium.Thismeansflexibilitywhichisanotheradvantageofusing
ORC.

43

73Thermoelectricpowergeneration

Insolidoxidefuelcellsanothermethodcalledthermoelectriccanbeusedaswasteheatrecoveryoption.This
technologycanbringdownthecostofproducedelectricitytoabout400$/KWwhichisaninterestngamount
andwellclosetotargetsforfuelcelltechnology.Theeciencyofsystemcanbeover60%inthisconguraton.
Thesystemislowmaintenance,haslownoiselevelandisamodularoptiontobecombinedwithSolidOxide
fuelcellswith400800Cwasteheat.Thissystemissocosteectveandcoalcanbeusedasafuelforthis
systeminarathercleanway.
37

74Fuelreformingbywasteheat

Polymerelectrolytemembranefuelcells(PEMFC)havebeenrecentlywelldevelopedandaresointerestingfor
transportationapplications.Itishardtopreparehydrogenwhichistheirmainfuel.Onemethodistoutilize
wasteheatofSolidOxidefuelcellstoreformsomefuelstobeusedinPEMFC.
AlayoutofsystemhasbeenshowninFigure19.Asdepictedinthefigure,wasteheatofsolidoxidefuelcellwill
beusedinshifterinpresentofacatalysttoproduceH
2
fromaddedwaterandO
2
toSOFCexhaustgasses.This
producedH
2
canbeusedinPEMFCforproducingextraamountofelectricity.EvenafterPEMFC,smallfraction
ofwasteheatwillgeneratesomeamountofsteamforfurtheruse(WameiLin,2010).

Figure19:WasteheatrecoveryfromSolidOxidefuelcelltoreformfuelforPolymerelectrolytemembranefuel
cells.
Source:Infoscience
38
[7]

37
JifengZhangandJeanYamanis;availableat:
htp://www.netl.doe.gov/technologies/coalpower/fuelcells/seca/projects/adv_research/V.11%20Techno
Economic%20Feasibility%20of%20Highly.pdf;asaccess:14.06.2010.
38
Source:WameiLin,Wasteheatrecoverysystemforfuelcellsystem,FuelCellTechnology2009;TRRF05N.Autssier,F.Palazzi,F.Marechal,J.van
Herle,D.Favrat;availableat:htp://infoscience.ep.ch/record/87988/les/Autssier_FCT000123.pdf;asaccessed:12.06.2010.
44

Somewaterwillbeaddedinreformationprocess;hencethiswillhelpinproducingmoreH
2
.Normally
hydrogencomesfromfuelandherefromwateraswell.Thecombinesystemhas20%lesscostthanSolidOxide
fuelcelland30%lesscostthanPEMFCs.TheeciencyofPEMFCwillalsobeimprovedfromabout40%to60%.
75Cogenerationarrangementoffuelcell

UsinglowtemperaturewasteheatofsomefuelcellssameasPhosphoricAcidFuelCellscanbeusedforheating
purposes.ThiswasteheatisnotappropriateforgasturbineorORCapplicationstoproducepower.
Tosumup,dependingonfuelcelltechnologywasteheatrecoverysystemcanbeopted.IncaseofSolidOxide
fuelcellgasturbineormicrogasturbinecanbeaddedasbottomingcycle.IfPEMFCsareinterestedSolidOxide
fuelcellwasteheatcanbeusedtoreformfuelforthem.CosteffectiveThermoelectricsystemsor
TrigenerationplantbasedonORCandSolidOxidefuelcellscanalsobeconsidered.Thiswillhelptogethigh
efficienciesandtoproduceelectricity,heatandcoolingsimultaneously.Thisiswhilethat,incaseofMolten
OxidefuelcellsORCisveryinterestingoption.Lowtemperaturefuelcellswasteheatcanonlybeusedtomeet
coolingorheatdemand.Costofaddedtechnologyisnormallylessthanthefuelcellitselfandefficiencywillbe
improvedbythisextrasystem.ThisistrueforfuelcellbasedORCsasanoption.
AforementionedconclusionissummarizedinTable:
Fuelcelltype Heatrecoveryoptions Estimatedcostof
producedelectricityafter
heatrecovery
Bestrecommended
option
SOFC Gasturbine,ORC,TEas
bottomingcycle,
ReformingfuelforPEMFC
Claimedtobeabout
400$/kW
Thermalelectricor
Trigenerationsystem
basedonORC
MOFC ORC 2500$/kW ORC
PEMFC Nosignificantheat
recoveryoption

Table5:Heatrecoveryoptionsfromfuelcells

45

8 GascoolednuclearpowerplantwithclosedBraytoncyclecombinedwith
ORC

Nowadays,moreinterestforcosteffective,fuelefficientandsaferreactorshascausedinvestigationonhelium
coolednuclearreactors.Thegasturbinemodularheliumreactor(GTMHR)isonetypeofheliumcooled
nuclearreactors(MortazaYari,S.M.S.Mahmoudi,2010).Thesereactorsaredesignedtobeconnectedtoa
closedBraytoncycle.
AsdepictedinFigure20,afterthatheliumworksasacoolantofreactorcore,itposesenoughtemperature
(point1)torunagasturbinecycleinordertoproduceelectricity.Thisgasturbinecyclehasturbine(process1
2),alowpressure(process56)andhighpressurecompressor(process89).Thecompressionoccursintwo
stagesinordertodecreaseinputpowertocompressors.
Heliumafterintercoolerbetweenlowpressureandhighpressurecompressors(Point8)shallbecooleddown
to26C(betweentwostagesofcompressioninthecycle).Thiscoolingprocesshasabout300MW
th
waste
heatsprovided100150Ctemperatureatinletofintercooler.Moreover,precoolerofhelium(Process56)
beforelowpressurecompressorhasanamountofwasteheat.Intercoolerandprecoolerwasteheatmake
enoughjustificationsfortheORCusageinthecycle.InFigure19ithasbeenshownhowtwoORCunitswillfitin
thecycle.OneORCevaporatorwilluseintercoolerandtheotheruseprecoolerwasteheattoproduceextra
amountofpower.AddingORCtothesystemwilldecreasetheexergylossofsystemabout5%andwillimprove
theeciencybyabout3%(MortazaYari,S.M.S.Mahmoudi,2010).
39

39
MortazaYari,S.M.S.Mahmoudi.UtilizationofwasteheatfromGTMHRforpowergenerationinorganicRankinecycles.
AppliedThermalEngineering2010;30:366375.
46

Figure20:ORCusageinGascoolednuclearpowerplantwithclosedBraytoncycle.
Source:MortazaYari,S.M.S.Mahmoudi,2010.

47

9 Solarthermalelectricitygeneration

During last 20 years, solar thermal based electricity generation has been significantly increased
globally. Nowadays, just 1% of market share of ORC is related to this technology. In here bellow part,
benefitsandhugepotentialofthistechnologyforORCapplicationswillbeintroduced.

Itisgenerallybelievedthathighertemperatureandheatforpowercycleyieldsbetterperformance,as
a result steam cycle using water is normally used in solar thermal electricity production systems and
attemptshavebeendonetoachievehighertemperaturesfromsolarcollectors.However,lookingmore
preciselytothesystemwillshowseveraljustificationsforusingORC.First,turbomachineriesforsteam
cycle are not so efficient in related rather low temperatures of solar systems in comparison with
conventional systems. More importantly, to avoid condensation during expansion in steam turbine
superheatngtotemperaturesof600Cisnecessary.Thesetemperaturesforsolarthermalsystemsare
soexpensivetobeachieved.Thermalenergystorageisnotevencommercializedinthesetemperatures
andsolardetectorsandhighconcentratorequipmentsareexpensiveinthesecases.Thisiswhileusing
ORCinsteadofsteamRankinecycledoesnothavethesedrawbacks.

NofreezingofworkingfluidduringcoldweatherthreatensORCfluidwhilethisproblemexistsinsteam
cycle which uses water. Since in ORC less heat source temperature in comparison with steam cycle is
used, less costly material for solar collector and concentrators is not needed and this will reduce the
totalcostofsystemincomparisonwithsteamcycle(PeiGang,LiJing,JiJie,2010).Thissystemcanbe
combinedwithphasechange material (PCM)storagesysteminrelativelyreasonablecosts toincrease
theperiodofpowergeneration.Innextpart,briefdescriptionfromasampleORCbasedsolarthermal
systemisgiven.



91SolarthermalelectricproductionsystemwithPCMstorage


Inthissystem(SeeFigure21),solarcollectorswillreceiveenergyfromsun.Thegatheredheatis
transferredtoevaporatorofORCunitoritwillbestoredinphasechangematerialstoragesystem.
OveralllayoutofthesystemisillustratedinFigure20.Therearethreemodeofoperationforsystem:
1 Whensunenergyisavailableanddemandforelectricityishigh:Nostoragewillbedoneand
collectorheatwillbeusedinORCevaporatortoevaporatetheORCfluidandruntheturbine,
consequently,electricitywillbeproducedinORCunit.
2 Whenenergyfromsunisavailablebutdemandisnothigh:Inthiscaseheatfromsolarcollectoris
storedinPCMstorage.
3 Whenenergyfromsunisnotavailableandelectricitydemandexists:StoredenergyinPCMstorage
isused(Inthisstoragesystem,storagematerialwillchangephasebygainingheatandwhen
necessaryitwillgivetheheatbackbyreturningtoinitialphase.)

48

Figure21:SolarbasedORCgeneralsketch.
Source:(PeiGang,LiJing,JiJie,2010).
40

Incase(1)valveswithnumbersof1,4,5,6(V1,V4,V5andV6)willbeopentoproduceelectricityinORC
unitandstorageisnotdone.


Incase2,byclosingpumps1,2andopening2,4,5valves,theheatwillbestoredinPCMstorage
system.

Incase3,theheatfromstoragesystemwillbeusedbyopeningvalves1and3.

OneothergreatpotentialapplicationofsolarORCsisinsmallscaleremotepowersystems.Thisnew
technologyisdiscussedinMicroscaleapplicationofORCdownto1KWsection.Moreover,solarbasedORCin
smallscalescanbecoupledwithreverseosmosisdesalinationunitwhichwillbediscussedinthatsectionas
well.

40
Pei Gang, Li Jing, Ji Jie. Analysis of low temperature solar thermal electric generation using regenerative Organic Rankine Cycle. Applied
Thermal Engineering 2010; 30: 998-1004.

49

92CostofSolarbasedORC

Costofthissystemisquietlowerthanphotovoltaiccells.LeastpriceforPVtechnologyhasbeenassumedtobe
8000$/KW(Solarbuzz,2010)
41
whilethestorageisnoteasilydone.ThisiswhilethatinsolarbasedORC
systems,onaverage2000$/KW
55
shouldbeconsideredforORCandadding200$persquaremeterofsolar
fieldwillyieldinquietlesspricethanothersolarbasedtechnologiessameasPV.Here,itisconservatively
assumedthatonaverageeach8m
2
ofsolarcollectorwillbecapableof1kWelectricitygeneration(J.Bruno,J.
Villada,E.Letelier,S.Romera,A.Coronas,2007).
55

DevelopmentofORCbasedconcentratedsolarpowertechnologyinthemarketsuffersfromlackofawareness
whilemoreattentionisonphotovoltaiccells.
42
Basedonastudy(J.Bruno,J.Villada,E.Letelier,S.Romera,
A.Coronas,2007)costofasolarbasedORCanddesalinatonunitis4060%lessincomparisonwithPVand
desalinationunit.
55
OptimizationofsolarbasedORCwillbediscussedinOptimizationofMicroORCasCHPorCCHPsystembased
onsolarenergychapter.

41
Solarbuzz;availableat:http://www.solarbuzz.com/StatsCosts.htm;asaccessed:10.10.2010.
42
UriyelFisher,ArikRing;availableat:htp://www.scribd.com/doc/24545680/4255SolarOperatedORC;asaccessed:
14.06.2010.
50

Indepthstudy:
1 MoredetailedcasestudiesCostreductionandperformance
improvementofORC

Inthissection,itisaimedtooptimizeORCsforthermalefficiency,netoutputpower,exergeticefficiency,total
necessaryheattransferareaandcost.Asaresultthissectiondealswithmoredetailswhilepreviousparts
includedmoregeneralaspectofORCapplications.
Toreachaforementionedgoal,equipmentofORCshallbeselectedproperly.Theworkingfluid,ORCturbo
machineriesspeed,degreeofsuperheat,workingminimumandmaximumtemperaturesandpressuresshallbe
selectedproperly.
Amodelforthermalandexergyefficiencies,heattransfersfactorandturbinesizehasbeenbuiltinEES.The
outputsgiveinformationonefficiencyandcostofcycleassomenumbers.Then,effectofselectingcomponents
withdifferentcharacteristicsandORCfeatureshasbeenstudiedonthem.Toassuretheaccuracyofthemodel,
someresultshavebeencheckedwithavailableinformationinliteraturewhichwillbementionedinnext
sections.
Beforestartingtostudythesystemindetails,itisinterestingtocalculatethenormalORCCarnotefficiency.
Thiswillgiveusagoodestimateonmaximumtheoreticalefficiencywhichthecyclecangainandtocompare
thegainedthermalefficiencieswiththat.
Carnotefficiencyisthetemperaturedifferencebetweenheatsourceandheatsinkdividedbyheatsource
temperature(inKelvin).ForanORCcyclewithheatSourcetemperatureof400Kandheatsinktemperatureof
300K,theCarnotefficiencywillbeabout25%.ItisquietlowerthanCarnotecienciesforanormalsteam
cycle.Asaresult,thisfigureshouldbekeptinmindtoprohibitdowngradingtheORCperformancewhileits
thermalefficiencyisconsidered.

51

11EffectofsuperheatingonORCperformance

Normallyitistruethathavingmoreinletturbinetemperaturemeansmorecycleefficiency.Insomecycleswith
wetfluid(RefertoA2definitionofterms),superheatingisessentialinordertokeeptheexpansioninvapor
phaseandtopreventwetexpansionanderosioninturbine.SincemostORCsusedryfluids,havingexcessive
superheatingisproventohavenegativeeffectonmaximumworkingpressure,saturationtemperatureand
performanceofthecycle.ThisisshowninYipingDai,JiangfengWang,LinGao(2009).
43
Toreassesstheir
findingsandtocheckconsistencyofestablishedEESmodelwithpreviousfindings,resultofinvestigationis
plottedandshowninFigure22.Thisfigureisingoodconsistencywithpreviousfindingsandindicatesthat
excessivesuperheatinghavenegativeeffectontotalefficiencyofORC.(Pleaserefertoappendixfordefinition
ofDry,wet,isentropicfluidsandpinchpointtemperature).
Forcalculatingtotalefficiency(thermalefficiency)inthemodel,equation1isused.W
net
means

netproduced
powerfromcycleandQ
eva
standsforheatinputfromheatsourcetoevaporator.
Equation1:q
tuta|
=
W
net
Qeua

Figure22:Superheatingeffectontotalefficiencyandworkoutput

43
YipingDai,JiangfengWang,LinGao.ParametricoptimizationandcomparativestudyoforganicRankinecycle(ORC)for
lowgradewasteheatrecovery.Energyconversionmanagement2009;50:576582.
52

InadditiontoreasonsprovidedinmentionedarticlesandthegivendatafromEES,regardingsuperheatit
shouldbenotedthat:availableheatsourceforORCcanbeusedinbothevaporatorandsuperheater.Ifmore
fractionofheatisusedinevaporator,highertemperatureandpressureinevaporatorwillbeachieved(More
heatmeansmoreheattransferandthisincreaseevaporatortemperatureandpressure).Sinceevaporator
pressureabove20barsandhightemperatureswillraisethecostofmaterialandsafetymeasuresinthisheat
exchanger,ifhighpressureandtemperatureisreachedinevaporator,morefractionofinputheatwillbeused
insuperheater.Otherwise,itisinterestingtolimitthesuperheattoincreaseORCefficiency(asmentionedby
andYipingDai,JiangfengWang,LinGao,2009andgainedbyEESmodel).Thiscanbedonebygivingtheright
amountofheatfromheatsourcetoeitherevaporatororsuperheaterandalsochoosingtherightpressure
increasebypump.Foradjustingpumppressureseechapters16.
Innextstep,advantagesofusingrathernosuperheatwhichispossibleforORCcycleswillbediscussed.Dueto
usingdryorIsentropicfluidinORC,dryexpansioninturbineispossibleandnoorlowsuperheatcaseis
practical.InTable5somebenefitsofusingnosuperheatandevenadmissionofwetfluidissummarized.Wet
fluidadmissionispossibleinhermeticexpandersandEulerturbineswhichwillbediscussedinTurbine
selecton,104,secton.(DefinitionoftermsTurbineandExpanderaregiveninsectionA2).
Items to
be
benefited
Turbine Boilers Other heat
exchangers





Reasons
for cost
reduction
Lubrication Improved power out put

-Separator and
external circulation
line is not needed

- Boilers with
cheaper type of
plate fin

- Most importantly,
no superheat means
higher evaporator
temperature with
the same heat
source and this will
increase the total
efficiency


No need for
superheating
before turbine
and de-
superheat
after that




No need for separate
lubrication system
including oil
separator, pump,
storage tank, timing
gear and shaft seal.
Possibility for mixing
oil with working fluid
and an extraction line
after feed pump to
turbine bearings (Fluid
will be used for
lubrication)
Removal of
superheat,
Less heat is
needed
no need
for de-
superheat
means
Means
better
efficiency
for dry and
isentropic
fluids
41
more
enthalpy
drop
potential
after
turbine
and this
means
more
power

Table5:Benefitsofwetfluidadmissiontoturbine
Source:ASME,H.Leibowitz,I.K.Smith,NStosic,2006.
52
Toclarifyitemsoftable5,itisevidentthatifsuperheatingisomitted,lessinputheatinthecycleisneeded
sincelesstemperatureafterevaporatorisneeded.Desuperheatafterexpansionwillberemoved,sinceno
53

superheatingisdoneandfluidafterexpansionisclosertosaturationvaporstate.Asalreadymentioned,
accordingtoYipingDai,JiangfengWang,LinGao(2009),andprovidedmodel,withdryandisentropicfluidsless
superheatsmeansbetterefficiencies.OtheritemsinTable5relatedtoboilersandheatexchangerswillbe
discussedintheirrespectivesectionof18.
Astudy(H.Leibowitz,I.K.Smith,NStosic,2006)
51
showsthattypical24kWelectricityORCwithR245fawould
bebestecientwhenadmiteduidtoturbineis88%inqualityandthisispossiblewithhermetcexpanders.
Normalaircompressorwith4600rpmand102mmmalediameterinreversemodeofrotatoncanbeusedas
expanderwithabout90Ctogivebesteciency.

12Exergylossesandefficiency

FordevelopingthecomputermodelinEES,exergylossesofcomponentsandexergyefficiencyisadded.For
thisreason,equatons2,3and4areused.Exergyofeachstateincycleisdenotedbye,enthalpybyhand
standardconditonwhichis25Ctemperatureand1barpressureisshowedby0subscripts:
Equation 2: e = h - h

-T

(S - S

)
ExergyfordifferentstatesofORCcycleiscalculated.Exergylossineachcomponentisdenedasequaton3.In
thisequation,exelossstandsforexergylossincomponent,e
in
ande
out
showtheinletandoutletexergyofeach
component.Wshowstheworkwhichisdonebythatcomponent(Forheatexchangersitisassumedtobe
zero).Inequaton4,exergyefficiencyisshownby
exe
.Thisefficiencyshowstheusedexergyintotalcycle
dividedbyinputexergyofthecycle.Totalheremeanssummationforallcomponentsofcycle.
Equation 3: exe|uxx = e
|n
-e
uut
-W
Equation 4: q
exe
= 1 -
exe|uxx
tuta|
e.|n
tuta|

Inthegeneratedcomputermodelandcomingtables,exeloss1meansexergylossinevaporator.Exeloss2
meansexergylossinturbineandexeloss3standsforexergylossincondenser.
ByusingaforementionedequationsinthemodelandrunningthatforORCcycle,resultsasinTable6shows
thatbyaddingthepinchpointtemperaturetheexergylossintheevaporator(exeloss1)willincrease.

54

Table6:Eectofpinchpointtemperatureonexergylossinevaporator(exeloss1)
ByhavingdifferentsetupsinEESmodel,itwasconcludedthatforORCplantswithmoreoutputpowerand
higherinputtemperature,mostofexergylossoccursinevaporator.Thatiswhilethatforsmallerplantswith
lessheatsourcetemperatureexergylossofturbinewillbethemostdominantone(exergyloss3).These
resultsareconcludedfromTable7witharatherhighpowercycleandTable7withratherlowerheatsource
ORC.
Bycomparingseveralarticles(e.g.:Wang
44
,Tchanche
45
)theseresultscanbeconfirmedaswell.Comparing
situationsinthesearticlesshows,insolardesalinationunitwithlowpowersmostofexergylosscomesfrom
turbine,butincementindustrywithmoreORCpower,evaporatorsarethespotswithmostofexergylosses.
Furthermore,itisknownthatforsmallscaleapplicatonsabout90%ecientheatexchangers
46
andforlarger
scaleORCs,efficientturbinesareinthemarketnow.Thisconfirmstheaboveresultsaswell.

Table7:LowheatsourcetemperatureORC(ORCcycleswithheatsourcetemperatureofmostlylessthan150C).

InTable9,itisalsoshownthatbyincreasingthepinchpointtemperature,evaporatorexergyloss(exeloss1)
willbeincreasedandthiswillmakeitsexergylossevenhigherthaninturbine.
Itisalsoconcludedthatsametrendasthermalefficiencyforexergyefficiencyexists.Withmoredegreeof
superheatbothefficiencieswillgodown.ThisisconcludedfromTable9.

Table8:Exergyefficiencychangeswithdegreeofsuperheat

44
JiangfengWang,YipingDai,LinGao,Exergyanalysesandparametricoptimizationsfordifferentcogeneration
powerplantsincementindustry,AppliedEnergy2009;86:946.
45
B.F.Tchanche,Gr.Lambrinos,A.Frangoudakis,G.Papadakis,ExergyanalysisofmicroorganicRankinepower
cyclesforasmallscalesolardrivenreverseosmosisdesalinatonsystem.AppliedEnergy2010;87:1303.
46
AIREC;availableat:http://www.airec.se/;asaccessed:17.06.2009.
55

13ORCspeed

InordertokeepORCsmallinsize,safeinoperationandefficient,rightspeedforORCshallbeselected.Insome
casestheturbine,pumpandgeneratorareonthesameshaftandtheyrotateinsamespeed.Inthiscase,ORC
speedmeanspump,turbineandgeneratorrotationalspeed.
NotoptimizingthespeedinanORCmayleadtodamagestosealsofturbine,limitationsforusageofhermetic
typeofexpandersandnecessityforgearboxes.Thiswillalladdtomaintenancecostandcomplexityofthe
system.
Dependingonapplication,therewillbeanoptimumpowertoachievesmallersizesandcostforORC.Square
rootofthisoptmumpowerisproportonaltoinverseofspeed.Asanexample,fora250kWORC,speedof400
roundpersecondwouldbetheoption.Thiscanhelptochoosespeedforotherpowersaswell.Selectingright
powerandspeedwillcausegoodefficienciesandlowcostforbothmechanicalandelectricalequipment.
UsingoptimumspeedsinORCwillomitthenecessitytousevacuumandoilpumps,shaftsealsandgearbox
whichwillmakethesystemsocosteffective.
Itshouldbenotedthatworkingatnotoptimumspeedswillnecessitateusageofgearbox.Gearboxescannot
belubricatedwithlowviscositylubricantslikeworkingmediums,hence,optimumspeedwillhelpinremoving
thegearboxanditslubricationconsequently.Sinceremovingoilcanhelptheshaftsealstoworkproperly;
systemswithnoshaftoutletsorhermeticdesignwillbeanappropriateoptiontoachievebestcomponent
performancewithusageofoptimumspeed.
Inordertoeasilycompensatethethrustloadonthrustbearingsviapressuredistribution,andtohave
minimumstartingtorqueonradialbearings,verticalshaftsforrotorscanbeselected.Thebearingscanbe
lubricatedwithfluidinliquidorvaporstates.ThiswillhelpinmorecompactdesignsforORCunitifrightspeed
hasalsobeenchosenandnogearboxisneeded.
Applyingthehermeticdesignwillonlyneedsafewlabyrinthsealsandtheleakageswillpasstocondenser,
whileshaftoutletsareremovedandnotightsealing,lubricationorvacuumpumpsarenecessary.Thismakes
thesystemsolowmaintenance.Allinall,choosingtherightspeedforORCwillreducethesizeofunit,
complexityandcostofthesystem.
Astudy
47
suggeststhatmostefficienthighspeedORCunitsare250kWones.Sincetheyaremodularunits,they
canbecombinedtoproducemorepowersefficiently.

47
J.Larjola,ElectricityfromindustrialwasteheatusinghighspeedorganicRankinecycle(ORC),Int.J.
ProductonEconomic1995;41:227235.

56

14Turbineselection

TurbineorexpanderinORCisnormallythemostcostlypart.Thisequipmentcanbeuptoabout60%oftotal
costofthesystem;asaresult,selectionofrightturbinedependingonapplicationandthesystemspecifications
isanimportanttask.
Inthissection,briefitemsaboutselectionofdifferenttypesofturbinesorexpandersarementioned.(Formore
detailsondifferencesbetweenturbinesandexpandersandtheirtypesrefertoappendix,sectionA2).
BasedonpreferredpowerrangeandORCspeed,degreeofsuperheatorqualityofinletfluidofturbine,
lubricationandsealingtype,expanderorturbineofORCcanbeselected.InFigure23itisshownhowthe
turbinecanbechosenbasedonpowerrangeandrotationalspeed.Inthisfigure,linesshowthatexpanders
havemoreoperationalspeedwithmorepowers.Evenexpanderswith10kWoutputandlessthan5000round
perminuterotationalspeedarepossible.Incontrastforturbines,lessrotationalspeedmeansmorepower.
46

57

Figure23:Turbineandexpanderselectionbasedonpowerrange
Source:Appliedenergy
48

Inlowpowerranges,screwexpanderswithlowrotationalspeedsandpossibilityforadmissionofwetfluidcan
beused.Thiscanbecompressorsthatarerotatedinotherdirection.Theycanbelubricatedbytheirownfluids.
Onetypeofscrewexpandersisonewhichhasamaleandfemalepart.Maleparthasnormally4lobesand
femalehas6lobes.Duringrotaton,trappedvolumebetweenthesetwosideswillbeexpandedandcan
produceshaftwork.Lysholmturbinewhichisahelicalscrewexpanderisonetypeoftheseexpanders.Dueto
lowspeedofrotation,hermetictypeofexpanderscanbecoupledtogeneratorseasilywithoutneedfor
gearbox.

48
1O.Badr,P.W.O'Callaghan,M.HusseinandS.D.Probert,MultiVaneExpandersasPrimeMoversforLow
GradeEnergyOrganicRankineCycleEngines,AppliedEnergy1984;16:129146.

58

AnewturbinetypecalledEulerturbinecanalsobeaddedtothelist,especiallyformediumpowerranges,e.g.:
250kW.Thisturbinehaslessspeedthanradialinflowturbinesofabouthalfofthatandcanadmitgasseswith
moisture,duetoitscentrifugalforcewhichforcethemoistureoutofturbineandsincetheturbineistosome
extenterosionresistant.Thisturbineisradialoutflowtypeandcanbeusedwithoutgearbox.
3

Inratherhigherpowerrangesradialinflowturbinescanbechosen.Theyhaveseveraladvantageousoveraxial
turbines.Theykeephighefficienciesinsmallsizesandtheyareabletoworkinhighpressureratios.Sincethey
havevariableinletnozzles,theycanbewelloperatedinvariableloadsituationssameasgeothermalplants.Dry
gassealwithabilityofrecoveringleakagescanalsobeaddedtothesystem.Thistypeofturbinecannotadmit
wetfluidduetosignificantdecreaseinturbineefficiencyanderosionproblemsinturbine.
ForgaininghigherpowersinMWscales,axialturbinescanalsobeselected;however,inORCapplicationsof
lessthan1MWtheyarenotefficientenoughasaxialturbinesaredesignedforhigherpowersapplications.
21

15 Turbinesizefactor
TurbinesizefactorisdefinedasEquation5.
Equation5:Turbtne stze Iatur (SF
Turbtne
) =
v
.5
H
.25
(m)
InEquaton1,while: standsforvolumetricflowinturbinesanditsunitis:(m
3
/s),Histheisentropicenthalpy
differencethroughouttheturbinein(KJ/Kg).TurbinesizefactorisshownbySF
Turbine
hereandtheunitismeter.
Thiscanbeusedtocomparedifferentturbinessizesandisaproperindicatorofitsrelativecost.Moresize
factormeansbulkierandmoreexpensiveturbines.
Pinchpointtemperatureisthetemperaturedifferencebetweenheatsourcetemperatureandevaporator
temperature.Ifheatsourcetemperatureisassumedfixed,morepinchpointtemperaturewillresultinless
evaporatortemperatureandthenwithsameheatinputmoresuperheatisdoneinORC.InTable9,fromEES
model,itisshownthathigherpinchpointtemperaturewhichmeanslesssaturationtemperatureinevaporator
andmoresuperheat,willresultinlargerturbineswhichwillincreasetheturbinecost.

Table9:Turbinesizefactorvariationwithevaporatorsaturationtemperatureanddegreeofsuperheat(T
pp
ispinchpoint
temperatureinevaporatorand6
T
isdegreeofsuperheat)

59

Anotherparameterwhichcanbeintroducedtocomparedifferentsetupsinfluenceonturbineistheisentropic
volumeflowratio.Thisistheratiobetweenisentropicoutgoingandincomingvolumetricflowswithunitof
m
3
/s.Thisisshownbyisentropicflowratiohereorsimply(Isentropic.flow).Sincethisparametershowsthe
changeinthevolumeoffluid,itindicatestheamountofcompressibilityofthefluidintheTurbine.
InTable10showsthatmorepinchpointtemperatureanddegreeofsupperheatmeansmoreisentropicflow
ratioandconsequentlymorecompressibilityeffectfromturbineissensed.Isentropicflowratioisanimportant
factorsinceitisrelatedtoturbineefficiency.Isentropicowratosofabove0.5arenotinterestedbecausein
thiscasetheTurbineeciencywillbelessthan80%.Thisismainlytrueforaxialsinglestageturbines;
accordingtoG.Angelino,C.Invernizzi,E.Macchi,(1991).
49

Table10:Isentropicflowratiochangewithpinchpointanddegreeofsuperheatmodifications

49
G.Angelino,C.Invernizzi,E.Macchi,Organicworkingfluidoptimizationforspacepowercycles,in:G.
Angelino,L.DeLuca,W.A.Sirignano(Eds.),ModernResearchTopicsinAerospacePropulsion,SpringerVerlag,
NewYork,1991.

60

16Pumpefficiency

PumpefficiencycaninfluencetheORCperformancetoanimportantextent.Morepumpefficiencymeansthat
thepumpisabletoincreasethefluidpressurebeforeevaporatortohigherdegreesandlessoutputpowerof
ORCwillbeusedforpumpwork.Higherpressureincreasefrompumpmeanslargerevaporatorpressurethatis
connectedtothepumpandthisisusuallyinteresting(asalreadydiscussed).Asaresultitisimportantto
choosearightpumpforthesystemtogaindesiredamountofpressureafterthepump.
Somespecialpumpssameasveryaccuratedoublediaphragmpumpsminimizetheleakage.Hence,incaseof
flammableortoxicfluidstheyareusedtominimizetheleakageandcorrespondingrisk.Centrifugalpumpsare
usedforhighcapacities.
ToscrutinizehowthepumpefficiencyaffectstheORCperformance,differentvaluesforthatistestedinthe
generatedcomputermodel.Equations1,6and7areusedtogetthevaluesforPumpwork,andsystemnet
outputworkdependingonpumpefficiency.Thesedataareneededtocompletethecyclecalculations.m
standsformassflowrateoffluidincycle,h
2
isfluidenthalpyafterpumpandh
1
isfluidenthalpybeforepump.

pump
ispumpefficiency,W
turbine
showsthegainedpowerfromturbineandW
net
istotalnetworkoutput.

Equation6:Pump wurk = m- (h
2
-h
1
) - q
pump

Equation7W
net
= W
turh|ne
-Pump wurk
ThenORCthermaleciencyisachievedfromequaton1.Table11fromEESprogramshowsthatpump
efficiencyhasinfluenceontotalORCefficiencyandoutputpower.Betterpumpefficiencygiveshigherwork
outputandORCthermalefficiency.

Table11:Effectofpumpefficiencyonevaporatorpressureandtotalcycleefficiency
61

17ORCfluidmassflow

Eachpumphasitsowncharacteristicsandaspecificrelationbetweenitsefficiencyandvolume/massflow
rates.Anexampleofpumpefficiencyrelationwithmassowrateisshowninequaton8and9.misthefluid
massflowrate(Kg/s)andisrelatedtovolumeflowrateQ(m
3
/s)anddensity(inverseofspecificvolumeat
point1whichdenotesdensityatpumpinlet;seeequaton9).
Efficiencyequationofpumpwhichisasecondorderequationshowsthat,efficiencypeaksatcertainmassflow
rates(Thefunctionhasonepeakvalue,seeequaton8).Asaresult,ifvariationoffluidmassflowinORCresults
inbetterpumpefficiency,theoverallcycletotalefficiencywillbeimproved.Table12isanexampleofthis,
sinceintheexaminedmassflowranges,thechosenpumphasbetterefficiencyinhighermassflowrates(the
efficiencyfunctiongetshighervalueswithhighermassflowrates),ORCperformanceisimprovedwithhigher
massflowrates.
Therestrictiononhighestfavorablemassflowratewillbe:
1 Pinchpointtemperatureofevaporatorcriticaltemperatureoffluid:Evaporatorpressure(whichis
relatedtopumpmassflowrateanditpressureincrease)andaccordinglyitstemperaturecannot
increaseabovecriticaltemperatureofORCworkingfluid.Moreover,itisknownthatpinchpoint
temperatureisheatsourceandevaporatortemperaturedifference.Ifevaporatortemperature
increasesalot,pinchpointtemperatureisdecreased.Thisisincontrarywithevaporatordesign;hence
evaporatortemperatureandpressurecannotincreaseaftercertainvalues.
2 Maximumefficiencyofpump:Pumpefficiencywilldecreasewithhighermassflowratesafterithas
reacheditsmaximumvalue(Thisisobviousfrompumpefficiencycurvesderivedfromequation8).
Equation8:


Equation9:

Table12:VariationofORCthermalefficiencywithmassflow

pump
= 0.0714 + 17.973 Q 0.8862 Q
2
Q = m specific.volume
1
62

Normallyinheatsourceside,thereisafluidwhichcarriesheat.Thiscanbeahighpressurewater,oroil,etc.
Moreheatsourcefluidmassflow(mw)meansmoreavailableheatandthiswillincreasetheORCefficiencyand
outputpower(Accordingtotable13).Thisisalsonotablethatthiswillincreasetheturbinesizewhichwillto
someextentoffsetthereducedcost(AccordingtoTable13).Itshouldbenotedthatforeachapplicationof
ORC,massflowrateofthesystemshallbeoptimizedbasedonthatapplication.Forexampleincaseofsolar
collectorandORCsystemwithsingleworkingfluid,massflowrateshallbeoptimizedtogivebestsystem
efficiencynotonlyORCbestefficiency.Thisincludesthecollectorefficiencyaswell.

Table13:HeatsourcefluidmassflowvariationeffectonORCefficiencyandoutputpower

63

18Heatexchangers

Heatexchangerscanuseupto30%oftotalORCcost.Theyconsistofevaporator,regeneratorandcondenser.
22

Accordingtoastudy
50
higherevaporatorpressureresultsinlessoverallheatexchangerareainORC.This
includesthetotalheattransferareainevaporator,condenser,desupperheater(explainedinappendix,
section:A2),andpreheater.Toincreaseevaporatorpressure,pumpshouldbeadjustedinordertogive
higherpressuresinevaporatorinlet.Moreover,asalreadymentioned,reasonablehigherevaporatorpressure
isinteresting,sinceoverallturbinesizewillbedecreasedandthiswillbringdownthecost.However,excessive
highpressuresinheatexchangersresultinmoreexpensivematerialsforitsmanufacturing.Hence,abalance
onchosenpressureshouldbegained.Insomeapplications,itisrecommendedtokeepthispressurebellow20
barstoprohibitexpensivematerialsforheatexchangermanufacturing(UlliDrescher,DieterBruggemann,
2007).

19Boilersevaporators

Boilersarenormallydividedintotwosectionswhicharebothshellandtubeheatexchangers.Oneis
responsibleforpreheatingtheliquidworkingfluidtoboilingtemperature,whiletheothersectionwill
evaporateit.NormallyexhaustgasisintheshellwhiletheORCworkingfluidmovesintubeside.Toavoid
corrosionthetubepartisfromcopperorstainlesssteelandshellpartiscylindricaltoincreasetheheattransfer
area.
22

Vaporandliquidseparationisdonebetweenboilershellandcasinginoutsidepart.Sinceonlydryvaporis
admittedtoturbine,asignalfromafloatcontrolvalvewillbeneeded.Thiswilladjustfeedpumpspeedormass
flowrecirculationfrompumpexittopumpinletinordertocontroltheflowintotoboilerandreceivedryvapor
afterboiler.

Ifvaporcanbeadmittedtoturbine,asinglepasssystemwillbeusedtogivedesiredwetnessofvaporand
externalrecirculationwillnotbeneededanymore.Inthiscase,acheapertypeofplatefincanbeused.Avapor
fractioncontrolsystemhowevershallbeadded.

Normallythiscontrolsystemusesareferencedatafromfluidafterturbine.Asmallfractionofflowfromboiler
outletisthrottledtocondenserinlet.Thissamplemustbesupperheatedwhenreachingcondenserpressure.
Byknowingthesamplepressureandtemperatureatcondenserinletitsenthalpyismeasured.Byequatingthis

50
A.A.Lakew,O.Bolland,Workingfluidsforlowtemperatureheatsource,AppliedThermal
Engineering(2010),doi:10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2010.02.009:Page:33.
64

enthalpywiththeenthalpyafterturbineandknowingboilerdischargepressure,moisturecontentofmedium
afterboilerwillbecalculated.Amicroprocessorisforeseentodothesesimplecontrolmeasures.NormalORC
boilersalongwithboilersofORCswithwetadmissionabilityinturbinearedepictedinFigure24.
50

Figure24:ANormalboilersystemBBoilersystemwithpossibilityofwetvaporoutlet
Source:ASMEInternationalMechanicalEngineeringCongressandExposition
51

110Regenerator

MainresponsibilityofthissectionistoimprovethecycleefficiencybypreheatingtheORCworkingfluidexiting
thepump.Thisisdonebyextractingheatfromsuperheatedfluidaftertheexpander.
Forregeneratorusageseveralissuesshallbeconsidered.Firstofall,ifORCfluidisdrythenusingregeneratoris
reasonable.Secondly,itshouldbenotedthatforapplicationswherefinalexhausttemperatureinheatsource
sideisfixedusingregeneratorisconsiderable.Imaginethatexhaustmediumofheatsourcewillbeusedin
districtheatingsystemandneedstobeinacertaintemperature.Inthiscaseregeneratorcanbeconsidered.
Otherwise,regeneratorwillyieldinmoreevaporatorinlettemperatureforORCfluidandthiswillresultsinless
heatrecoveryfromheatsource.
Thisistruethatusingregeneratorwillcauselessirreversibilityinevaporatorandgivesbetterheattransfer,but
onthewhole,withvariableheatsource,lessheatisextractedfromheatsourcesincehighertemperatureORC

51
H.Leibowitz,I.K.Smith,NStosic,CosteffectivesmallscaleORCsystemsforpowerrecoveryfromlowgradeheat
sources,ASMEInternatonalMechanicalEngineeringCongressandExpositon2006;Pages56.
65

fluidhasbeenenteredinevaporatorandcanabsorblessheat.ThisisimportantespeciallyinORCascooling
systemorwheremoreheatrecoveryratherthanfixedheatsourceisinteresting.Evenifregeneratorgives
betterefficiency,asmentioned,itmightnotextractheatinbestwayandwillnotgivehigherpowergeneration
always.Hence,usingthiscostlyequipmentshallbewelljustifiedtocompensateitsprice.
Itisnotablethatunlikeregeneratorandevaporator,incondensersuperheatedORCworkingfluidpasses
throughshellandthecoolingfluidisintubesidewhileshellandtubeheatexchangersareused.
22

111Workingfluid

Regardingtheworkingfluidseveralcriteriaasherebellowshallbeconsidered:
ItshouldcausehighefficiencyandpoweroutputforORC
Notsomuchpumpwork
Highstabilityandlowflammability
Lowcostandbeingavailable
Lowglobalwarmingandozonedepletionpotential
Lowtoxicity
Lowcorrosion
Ratherhighboilingtemperatureandmeltingpoint
Ratherhighlatentheatbutnothighspecificheat,firstonetoincreaseheatrecovery,latteroneto
decreasethecostofcondenserduetodecreaseofload.
Highthermalconductivityandbettermatchwithheatsourcetemperaturetohavebetterheattransfer
WetandisentropicfluidswillhavemostareaunderTSdiagram,however,dryfluidshavelessvapor
formationduringexpansionandbyusingtheminternalheatexchangerwillbemoreusefulfor
efficiencyimprovement.Wetfluidsshallbeusednormallywithhighsuperheatstopreventliquid
formationwhichisnotinteresting(Wet,isentropicanddryfluidsareexplainedinappendix,sectionA
2).
Highcriticaltemperaturedependingonworkingtemperatures.
52
,
53

52
T.C.Hung,S.K.Wang,C.H.Kuo,B.S.Pei,K.F.Tsai,Astudyoforganicworkingfluidsonsystemefficiencyofan
ORCusinglowgrade,Energy2009;35:14031411.
53
SylvainQuoilinandVincentLemort;availableat:
htp://www.labothap.ulg.ac.be/cmsms/uploads/File/ECEMEI_PaperULg_SQVL090407.pdf;asaccessed:01.05.2010.
66

2 OptimizationofMicroORCasCHPorCCHPsystemmainlybased
onsolarenergy

UsingtheoptimizedORCsystemwillprovidelowcostheat,electricityandcoolingwhileCO
2
andother
emissionsareminimizedinthesystemandfuelconsumptionisreduced.ThisORCcanbecombinedtoaCHPor
CCHPinordertouseitswasteheatandproducemorepowerorcanbethestandalonepowerproducerofthe
system.
ThesystemofcombinedsolarcollectorandORCwhichisaCHPsystemcanbeoptimizedforbestpoweroutput
bychoosingpropercollectorwaterandORCfluidmassflowrates,ORCcomponentspropertiesandfluidtype.
Inchapter2biomassbasedCHPandORCsystemwithratherhightemperaturesandhighproducedpoweris
studied.InthissectionitisaimedtoinvestigatecriteriaofORCinsmallerscaleandlowertemperature
applications.Togainthis,thegeneratedcomputermodelismodifiedforlowergradeheatsource.Alternative
fluids,differentcondenserandevaporatortemperatures,etchasbeencheckedandsomeresultsare
introducedhereafter.
21SystemdetailsandalternativesforORCCHPsystem

ThesystemunderstudyisasolarbasedORCthatcanbeconnectedtoaheatpumpwhichcanbeusedfor
coolingorheatingpurposes.Asknown,theproducedpowercanbeappliedforelectricitygeneration,irrigation
especiallyinremoteareas,pumping,waterdesalinationorcooling,etc.AtypicalsystemisshowninFigure9.
Additionalburnercanbeaddedtoincreaseavailabilityofsystem.InFigure24anothersmallCHPsystemusing
ORCasadditionalpowergenerationsystemisdepictedtoillustratealternativesformicroORCusageinCHP
plantsespeciallyincommercialandsmallscales.Powergenerationunit(PGU)iscompletedbyORC.Heating
system,hotwatersectionandvaporcompressionsystem(VCS)isalsopresentedintheFigure25.
53
DepictedsysteminFigure9isasmallCHPsystemwhichusesORCasonlypowerproducerwhileforthesystem
inFigure25mainpowerproducer(PGU)iscompletedbyORCtorecoverwasteheatandproducemore
electricity.Bothsystemsareinsmallscalesandhavecommercialusagestoprovidecooling,heatandelectricity
forbuildings.

67

Figure25:ORCinCHPsystem
Source:EnergyandBuildings
54

Toclarifyfigure25,thesystemposesapowergenerationunit(PGU).Wasteheatfromthisunitcanbeeither
usedinORCordirectlyheatingsystemofbuildings.HeatinginbuildingsareinformsofHotwaterorheating
coil.ElectricityfromORCandPGUwillbefedtogrid.

22Workingfluids

Forsolarapplications,differentsetupsofmodelandavailableresultsfromastudybyJoanCarlesBruno,Jesus
LopezVillada,EduardoLetelier,SilviaRomera,andAlbertoCoronas,(2008)showsthatBenzeneseriessameas
n-propilbenzene willgivebetterefficienciesforORC;howevercostandsafetyissuesshallbeconsideredaswell.
Ingeneral,isentropicfluidsandespeciallywetfluidsgivemoreworkingareainTSdiagramandbetter
efficienciesratherthandryfluids.However,wetexpansionofwetfluidslimittheiruse,soisentropicanddry
fluidsaremoreapplied(T.C.Hunga,S.K.Wanga,C.H.Kuob,B.S.Peic,K.F.Tsai,2010).

54
PedroJ.Mago,AnnaHueffed,LouayM.Chamra,AnalysisandoptimizationoftheuseofCHPORCsystems
forsmallcommercialbuildings,EnergyandBuildings2010;42:14911498.
68

23Heattransferarea
ForsolarbasedORCitistwopossibilitiestotransferheatintoORC.OnemethodistouseORCfluidindirect
connectionwithcollector,andtheotheristouseanotherfluidtotransferheatfromcollectortoORCfluid.In
rstcasetotalneededheattransferareaisabout20m
2
/kWhandforsecondcaseitisabout25m
2
/kWh.
55

24OptimizedtemperaturebasedonCollectorandORCefficiencies
SystemunderstudyisfairlysimilartosysteminChapter3.Here,anintermediatefluidcanworksbetween
ORCevaporatorandsolarcollector(InsomeapplicationsthisfluidisORCfluiditself).Thecollectorheatis
transferredtoORCboiler(evaporator)bytheintermediatefluidandpowerisgeneratedinORC.Evenwaste
heatofsystemcanbeusedinaheatpumptomeetthethermalload.Sinceinthisstudy,thesystemis
investigatedforitsORCperformance,followingelectricityloadismuchinterestingoptionratherthanfocusing
onthermalload.However,ORCcanonlybeinoperationwhileavailablerecoveredthermalenergyismorethan
thermalloadofsystem.

Figure26:SolarORC
Source:Source:AppliedThermalEngineering,W.Yagoub,P.Doherty,S.B.Riat,2006.

55
Delgado-Torres AM, Garca-Rodrguez L. Analysis and optimization of the low-temperature solar organic Rankine cycle
(ORC). Energy Convers Manage (2010), doi:10.1016/j.enconman.2010.06.022

69

Itisknowthatbyincreasingmaximumworkingtemperature,ORCefficiencywillincrease.Thisiswhilethat
solarcollectorefficiencywilldecreasebyincreasingthetemperature.Asaresult,insolarbasedORCwitha
collectorsystem,atradeoffbetweenbestcollectorandORCefficienciesshallbefound.
Inthegeneratedcomputermodel,ORCthermalefficiencyhasbeencalculated.Inordertoaddsolarcollector
efficiency(etta
c
),Equation12isused.Constantsofthisequationdependoncollectortype.AsacaseInpoint,
foracompactparabolicthroughcollectorconstantsare:e0:0.75,a:0.11232andb:0.00128.(Bruno,2008).In
equaton12,T
int
iscollectortemperature(equaltoTwater1ingure26),T
0
isambienttemperature,andI
whichissolarglobalradiationassumedtobe1000(W/m2).

Equation10:etta
c
= e

-a. [
T
|nt
-T

I
-h. I. (
T
|nt
-T

I
)
2

Intable14,valuesforothertypeofcollectorsaregivenaswell.
Flatplatecollector Evacuatedtube
collector
Compactparabolictrough
collector

eff
0

0.768 0.665 0.75

a
2.9 0.59 0.11232
b
0.0108 0.0019 0.00128
Collectorarea
2.307 1.088 2.00
Table14:SolarCollectordata
Source:Bruno,2008.
MoredataforothercollectorscanbefoundinliteraturesameasastudybyJoanCarlesBruno,JesusLopez
Villada,EduardoLetelier,SilviaRomeraandAlbertoCoronas,(2008).
InTable15,effectofintermediatefluidtemperatureatcollectorexit(Twater1asshowninfigure26)onsystem
performanceisdepicted.Asknown,moreevaporatorinlettemperatureswillyieldbetterORCefficiencies.This
iswhilethatmorecollectortemperaturewilldecreasethecollectorefficiencyduetoincreaseofthermallosses.
Onthewhole,overallsystemefficiencywhichisfrommultiplicationofcollectorandORCefficienciescanbe
optimizedforbestintermediatefluidtemperatureandcollectortemperatureasinFigure27.
T
water3
(Seefigure26)isdefinedasintermediatefluidtemperatureatoutletofORCevaporator(boiler);and
hereitisassumedtobeabout90C.Thisfluidwiththisorhighertemperaturescanbeusedinabsorption
chillers(Heatpump)ordistrictheatingsystem.Theotheroptionistouseintermediatefluidbeforeentranceto
ORCevaporatorinadistrictheatingsystem.
70

Table15:Effectofintermediatefluidtemperatureoncollector,ORCandtotalsystemperformance

Figure27:Effectofcollectortemperatureonsystemperformance

71

25Effectofdegreeofsuperheat

Anothersetupoftheprogramshowedthatifdegreeofsuperheatinevaporatoriskeptconstantwhilemore
heatisgiventothesystemitwillbemoreefficient.ThiseectisshowninTable16.Tokeepthedegreeof
superheatconstant,moremassflowrateinORCisusedandthiswillincreasethepumpworkandevaporator
pressure.

Table16:Effectofconstantsuperheatonturbinesizefactor(SF)andHeatexchangersfactor(HEF)

26CondensertemperatureandPressure

SinceusingwasteheatofORCfromcondensernecessitatesmorethannormaltemperaturesincondenser,
effectofcondensertemperatureandpressureonORCperformanceischeckedbythecomputermodel.
AsinTable17isshown,havingmorecondensertemperatures(Tconwat2asshowningure25)meansless
ORCefficiencyandoutputpower.Ontheotherhand,morecondensertemperaturewillgivemorepotentialfor
connectionofaheatpumptoanORCcondenserandtoproduceadditionalheat.Asaresult,itisanimportant
issuetocheckifaddedheatcapacitycancompensatethelossinelectricitypowerwhenlocalelectricityand
heatpricesareconcerned.
72

Table17:EffectofcondensertemperatureonORCefficiencyandoutputpower

73

3 OptimizationofORCforcoolingpurposes

ORCcanbeusedforcoolingpurposes.Oneexampleiscoolingofelectricaldevicesduringoperation.
AsinFigure28isshown,anintermediatefluidtakestheheatfromthedevice(=Technicalequipment)which
needstobecooledtoORCunit.Then,ORCevaporator(51)andpreheater(45)willgaintheheatfromcooling
circuit.ORCproducespowerfromthegainedheatfromthedeviceandthedeviceiscooled.Ifneeded,
additonalcoolingbyextrasourcein0304isintroducedtogainlowertemperatureinpoint04.

Figure28:ORCforcoolingdevices
Source:AppliedEnergy,W.Nowak,A.BorsukiewiczGozdur,A.A.Stachel

,2008.
56

ByassumingfixedamountofcoolingofdevicebyORCevaporator(51),lessenthalpychangeinevaporator
requiresmoremassflowrate(m)offluidtoextractthesameamountofheatandcoolthedevicein
evaporator(Q
Evaporator
=m*h
Evaporator
=cte).Toachievehighermassflowrates,pumpwillbeadjustedtoincrease
themassflowrate.Ontheotherhand,moreenthalpychangeinpreheatermeansbetterheatextractionfrom
heatsourceinpreheater(45),since(Q
Preheater
=m*h
preheater
).Moremassflowrateandmoregainedheatin
ORCmeansmorepoweroutputfromORCunit(W=m*h
turbine
).Duetogivenreasons,ifenthalpychangein
evaporatorisbecomeslessandthatinpreheaterbecomeshigher,bettercooling,lessneedforadditional
coolingdeviceandmorepowerfromORCareexpected(W.Nowak,A.BGozdur,A.A.Stachel,2008).

Toinvestgateeectofdierentfactorsoncycle,anumbercalledcoolingfactor(CF)isdenedasequaton13.
Thisfactoristheratioofenthalpychangeinpreheater(45)toenthalpychangeinevaporator(51).As
mentioned,higherenthalpychangeinpreheaterandlowerenthalpychangeinevaporatorisinterestingand
thismeanshigherCFnumber.

56
W.Nowak,A.BorsukiewiczGozdur,A.A.Stachel,UsingthelowtemperatureClausiusRankinecycletocool
technicalequipment,AppliedEnergy2008;85:582588.

74

Equation11:CF =
h
pre-heater
h
euapuratur

InFigure29evaporationprocessisshownbyredlinewhilepreheatingisingreencolor.

Figure29:Evaporationandpreheatingprocesses

InTable18effectofevaporatorpressureonCFisdepicted.Itshowsthatmoreevaporatorpressuremeans
morecoolingfactorwhichismoreinteresting.AsinTable18isobvious,moreCFmeanslowerTwater2
(Twater2standsforintermediatefluidexhausttemperatureatevaporatoroutletatpoint02).Thelowerthis
temperature,itmeansmorecoolinghasbeenoccurred.Onerestrictionforevaporatorpressureincreaseis
pinchpinttemperature(Tpp)whichshallbekeptabovezero(Refertosection,1).
75

Table18:EffectofevaporatorpressureonCF

SomedifferentworkingfluidsforORC,i.e.:R227ea,R134aandR254fa(withacceptableGWP)havebeen
tastedtocomparetheirCF,ORCefficienciesandperformancehere.
InTable19,constantheatsourceinevaporatorhasbeenassumed(Q
Evaporator
inKWassumedtobeconstant).As
tableshows,moremassflowofORCfluidmeansmoreORCpower(W=m*h
turbine
),betterCFandbetter
performancefromORC.

Table19:MassflowrateeffectonCFandORCperformance

Inanothersetupofprogram,amountofheatgenerationinTechnicalequipment(device)isassumedconstant.
Thenbyrunningthemodelfordifferentfluids,itisconcludedthatincomparisonwithR134aandR245fa;
R227eacancausemorecoolinginthedeviceandproducemorepowerinORC.ThisisshowninTable20as
76

Twater3(exhaustintermediateuidtemperaturefrompreheateratpoint03)forR227eaislessthanvaluesin
Table21forR134a,Table22forR254fa.SecondandthirdranksgoforR134aandR245fa.
ItisclearthatR227eaandR134aareamongthoseuidswhichcanextractmoreheatinpreheaterratherthan
evaporatorsincetheycanachieveCFofofmorethan1.ForR134athisresultisinconsistentwithaprevious
studybyTchanche
57
.

Table20:R227eaORCperformanceforcooling

Table21:R134aORCperformanceforcooling

57
BertrandFankamTchanche,GeorgePapadakis,GregoryLambrinos,AntoniosFrangoudakis,Fluidselectionfor
alowtemperaturesolarorganicRankinecycle,AppliedThermalEngineering2009;29:2475.
77

Table212:R245faORCperformanceforcooling
CONCLUSIONS

Basedonperformedinvestigationandmarketevaluation,ORCcanbeappliedinseveralareascosteffectively.
BiomassCHPandbiomassdigestionwasteheatrecoveryapplications,microscaleCHPsystemincludingsolar
CHPunit,solardesalinationunit,ORCasmicrogasturbinebottomingcycletoimproveitsefciencyfrom30%
to40%andgeothermalapplicatonsaresomeareas.Inadditontothat,wasteheatrecoveryfromsteel,
ceramic,andcementindustries,ICengines,lightandheavydutyvehiclessameasshipscanalsobeaddedto
thelist.
ORCisalsoabletobeusedasbottomingcycleofrecuperativeorhighpressureratiogasturbinesandMOFCs
costeffectivelyincomparisonwithotheravailabletechnologies.
SolarbasedORCseemstobeimplementedmorecosteffectivelythanPVpowergenerationsystemwithability
ofenergystorageinPCMstorage.EvenORCcanbeusedingascoolednuclearreactorstoimproveboth
thermalandexergyefficiencies.ORCcanbeusedforcoolingdevices.Inthisapplication,optimizationisdone
basedonanumberwhichisratioofheatadditioninpreheatertoheatadditioninevaporator.Thebiggerthe
numberbetterORCperformanceisachieved.
ToimproveORCsystemandtoreducethecost,trendofthermalandexergyefficienciesandturbinesize
showedmeaningfulrelationswithdegreeofsuperheat,massflowratesoffluids,workingfluidandexpanderor
turbinetypes.Someofresultswereinvestigatedtomatchwithavailableinformationinliterature.
ProperORCspeedwillmakethesystemtobecompactandsimple.Thiswilleliminatetheneedforgearbox
andlubricationsystemwhilethepump,turbineandgeneratorcanbeonasingleshaft.PuttingORC
componentsinverticalpositioncompensatesthethrustloadonthrustbearingsviapressuredistribution,and
causesminimumstartingtorqueonradialbearings.
78

Itwasnotedthatregeneratorusageisinterestingindryfluidsandwherefixedheatsourceisintroduced.
However,eveninthesecases,betterefficiencymaynotcompensatethecostofregenerator.
Moreevaporatorpressuregivesbetterefficiencies.Pinchpointtemperatures,heatexchangerscost,critical
temperatureofworkingfluidwouldbearestrictionformaximumworkingpressureofcycle.Consequently,
optimumworkingpressureforcycleshouldbechosen.
ORCasinCHPorTrigenerationunitsareoptionstoimprovetotalefficiencyandreducethecost.ForeachORC
application,powerandtemperaturerange,bestfluidcanbechosen.ForsmallscalesolarCHP,Benzeneseries
givesbestresults.
OptimizationofORCforcoolingpurposesshowedthatamongvedierentuids,R227eagivemostcooling
andORCpower.Moreworkingpressurewasinterestingwhilepinchpointtemperatureiswellkeptabovezero.
Futurework

EachdiscussedapplicationofORCcanbeoptimizedbasedonsameprocedurewhichhasbeenusedinthis
projectandtheresultcanhaveagreatimpactonperformanceimprovementandcostreductionofthatspecific
application.Thiswillgivegreatpotentialsforasophisticatedpowergenerationsmethodwithminimal
environmentalnegativeimpacts.
ThereareopportunitiestoinvestigateeachofaforementionedORCapplicationsinmuchmoredetailedand
appliedmannerinfurtherresearchactivities.Tonameafew,heatrecoveryfromslaginsteelindustryor
internalcombustionengines,Nanostructuredmetalorganicworkingfluids,geothermalorsolarbasedcost
effectiveORCplants,efficientbiomassbasedORCs,microORCs.etc,arecandidatesformoreresearchactivities.

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82

A APPENDIX

A1Computermodel

ThegeneratedcomputermodelinEESisasfollows:
83

84

85

86

87

88

89

90

A2Definitionofterms

Herebellowtermshavebeenusedinsomepartsofthisreportforeconomicalcomparisonbetween
differentoptionsandtechnologies.
NPV:Netpresentvalue
Inordertoevaluatetheprojectwhileconsideringlongtermvalueofmoney,termnetpresentvalueis
considered.Itissumofpresentvalueswhichaccountsforincomesminuscostsforeachperiod.The
morepositivethenetpresentvalueismorevaluetheprojectwouldaddtotheinvestment.
TocalculateNPVtheterminEquaton6isused:
Equation12:
R
(1+t)
t

Rstandsfornetbenefitamountinacertaintimeandiistheinterestrate.tisthetimewhichthis
termiscalculatedin.Thiscanbezerobeforerstyear,1forrstyear,2forsecondyear,etc.NPVcanbe
gainedbycalculatingthistermandaddingthemupforlifeofproject.
58

IRR:Internalrateofreturn
ToevaluateprofitabilityofaprojectInternalrateofreturnisused.Thisistheinterestratewhich
makesthenetpresentvaluetobezero.ThemoreIRR,theprojectwillreturntheinvestmentfrom
benefitsfaster.
Tocalculatethis,theterminEquaton6isconsideredforeachyear,andthenthetermsaresumupand
areequatedtozero.iistheunknownhere,andonceitiscalculated,thiswillgivetheIRR.
59

PBT:Paybacktime
Paybacktimeisthedurationwhichtheinvestmentreturnsfrombenefitofproject.Itisinterestedthat
paybacktimebeaslowaspossible.Itistheratiobetweeninitialinvestmentandannualrevenue.

58
Investopedia;availableat:http://www.investopedia.com/terms/n/npv.asp;asaccessed:27.07.2010.

59
Investopedia;availableathttp://www.investopedia.com/terms/i/irr.asp;asaccessed:27.07.2010.

91

DryIsentropicandwetFluids
Working fluids are classified into three main categories, based on the slope of their saturation curves.
They can be regarded to as wet with negative slope, dry with positive slope and isentropic close to
infiniteslope.Inherebellowfigureswet,isentropicanddryfluidsareshownrespectively.
60

59
Wikipedia;availableat:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saturation_vapor_curve;asaccessed:27.07.2010.
92

Figure30:2Wet,Isentropicanddryfluid
Source:Wikipedia
59
Pinchpointtemperature
Herebypinchpointtemperatureitismeant:Minimumallowabletemperaturedifferencebetweentwo
streamsindifferentsidesofaheatexchanger.
Gasification
Gasification(directoxidation,starvedoxygencombustion)isaprocessthatutilizelessthanthe
stoichiometricamountsofoxygenneededforcompletecombustion.Inthisprocess,solidfuelscanbe
convertedtoaformthatcanbeusedmoreeasily.Bygasification,biomassisconvertedtoSyngas(CO
andH
2
)ingasifierwhichcanthenbeburnedinfurnaces,internalcombustionengineorgasturbine
(RezaFakhraie,2009)
61
.

TurbineandExpander
Bothareusedtoextractpowerfromfluidenergy.Turbines in high inlet-pressure applications are
sometimes called expanders. The terms turbine and expander can be used interchangeably for most
applications, but expander is not used when referring to kinetic energy applications, as the fluid does not go
through significant expansion (Daniel Hinch, 2010).
62

ForORCapplicationsthreemaintypesofturbinesareused:Radialinflowturbines,Eulerturbinesand
axialturbines:

61
RezaFakhraie,Renewableenergylecturenotes,KTH,2009.
62
Daniel Hinch;Availableat:
htp://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/print/artcle/2010/01/turbomachineryingreenenergy
systems;asaccessed:1.10.2010.
93

Radialinflowturbines:
Inthistypeofturbineflowenterstheturbineinradialdirectionandafterpassingthebladeswillexitin
axialdirection.TheyareproneforKWandMWapplicationsofORC.

Figure31:Bladeshapeofradialinflowturbine
Source:ADT,2010.
63

Eulerturbines:RadialOutflowturbine
ThisisanewtypeofturbinewhichiscalledEulerturbine.AsdepictedinFigure36;owwillenteraxially
andwillexitinradialdirection.Theoptimumrotationalspeedofthistypeishalfofradialinflow
turbines.Theyarerobustanderosionresistant(Energent,2010).Theyarecurrentlyperfectforabout
lessthan500KWeapplicatons.

Figure32:Radialoutflowturbine
Source:Energent,2010.
64

63
ADT,Availableat:http://www.adtechnology.co.uk/applications/?page=radial_turbine_impeller;asaccessed:
7.10.2010.
94

Axialturbines:
Inthistypeofturbine,nozzlesacceleratethefluidanddirectfluidtowardrotor.Theflowpassesinaxial
direction.Theyaresuitableforhigherpowerrangesincomparisonwithradialtypes.
HistoricallyaxialturbineswhereusedforgeothermalORCapplications.Butincaseofsinglestageaxial
turbinetheylimitthepressureratio(Ratiobetweeninletfluidpressureandoutletfluidpressure).This
problemisnotencounteredinradialinflowturbines.Inradialtype,workingfluidisabletobeoperated
closetoitscriticalpressure(Marcuccilli&Zouaghi,2007).

Figure33:Axialturbine
Source:Pointwise.
65

Expanders:
MaintypeofexpandersinORCapplicationsisscrewexpander.Screwexpandersarepairofhelical
rotorsinacasing.Duringrotation,thetrappedvolumeisincreasedandthiscausesexpansion.Ifthey
rotateinotherdirection,theyworkascompressors.Ifliquidispresent,therewillnotbesomuch
drawbacksonperformanceandefficiencyofthemachine.So,theycanevenadmitwetfluid.

64
Energent,Availableat:htp://www.energent.net/documents/Geothermal_Resources_Council_2009_Poster.pdf;
asaccessed:2.11.2010.
65
Pointwise.Availableat:http://www.pointwise.com/apps/turbo.shtml;asaccessed:7.11.2010.
95

Figure34:Screwexpanders
Source:IanKSmith,NikolaStosicandAhmedKovacevic
66

Turbinelossesandmassflowrate:
Highermassflowrateinturbinewillgivebettermatchbetweenfluidvelocityatturbinenozzleandrotor
tipspeed.Moreover,lowboilingtemperaturewillgivelowdiscfrictionlosses.Theseallresultinless
lossesinORCturbinewithcomparisontosteamturbine.PleaserefertoS.K.RAYandG.Moss(1965),
formoreinformation.

Desuperheater:
ORCfluidafterexpansioninturbineorexpanderisnormallyinvaporphase.Beforeitentersthe
condenser,desuperheaterisusedtoproducesaturatedvaporworkingfluid.

66
IanKSmith,NikolaStosicandAhmedKovacevic.Availableat:
htp://www.sta.city.ac.uk/~ra601/grc2005.pdf;asaccessed:17.11.2010.

96

Fuelcell:
Itisanelectrochemicaldevicewhichconvertschemicalenergyintoelectricity(Wikipedia,2010).Main
partsareAnode,cathodeandelectrolyte.Attheanodeacatalystoxidizesthefuel,theionstravel
throughtheelectrolyteandatcathode,andtheionsarereunitedwiththeelectrons.Theproduced
electronsinanodesmakeanelectricalcircuit.AbasiccelltypeisshowninFigure34.

Figure35:Abasicfuelcell
Source:Americanhistory,2008
67
.

Maintypesoffuelcellsare(Americanhistory,2008):
PEMfuelcell:ProtonExchangeMembranefuelcellshaveapolymerelectrolyte.Efficiencyrangeofthis
typeoffuelcellis4050%,operatngtemperatureisabout80C.Sincethistypeoffuelcellworksatlow
temperatures,theyaresuitableforhomesandvehiclesusage.Theirfuelsneedtobepurified,andthe
catalystwhichisplatinumincreasesthecost.
Moltenoxidefuelcell:applysaltcomponentssameassodiumormagnesium,andcarbonatesforits
electrolyte.Efficiencyisabout6080%,andworkingtemperatureisabout600700C.Unitswithoutput
upto2(MW)isbuilt.Increaseintemperatureislimitedsinceitcausescarbonmonoxide"poisoning"
andthishaltstheoperation.

67
Americanhistory;availableat:http://americanhistory.si.edu/fuelcells/basics.htm;asaccessed:19.10.2010.
97

Solidoxidefuelcell: SolidOxidefuelcellsapplyceramiccompoundofmetalsameascalciumoroxides
aselectrolyte.Efficiencyisnearly60percent,withoperatingtemperaturesof1000C.
Fuelcellsarethecleanestenergyconversionsystems,however,investmentcostofthemarefairlyhigh
incomparisonwithconventionalgasturbines,internalcombustionengines,etc.But,theyhavehigh
conversionefficiencyandthismakesthemcompetitiveandattractivewhenlongtermoperationof
systemisconsidered.Inotherword,Ifsystemisconsideredinlongrun,netpresentvalueoftypicalsolid
oxidefuelcellandmoltenoxidefuelcell,ishigherthancompetitivetechnologiessameasgasturbines,
Internalcombustionengines.Moreover,environmentalbenefitscanbeaddedtothis(RobertoBove,
PieroLunghi,2006).
68

68
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andinnovativetechnologies,Energy Conversion and Management, 2006; 47: 1391-1401.