Feasibility analysis of a small-scale ORC energy recovery system for vehicular application

Capata, Roberto; Toro, Claudia

doi:10.1016/j.enconman.2014.06.024

Cited by 41 publications

(23 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…Vehicles [107] and micro-solar plants [108] are the most promising fields in which such a system could be applied in the near future. In this power range, numerous experimental studies are found in the literature offering a thorough understanding of the performance of different expander types.…”

Section: Orc Plants Of 1-20 Kwmentioning

confidence: 99%

Small Scale Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC): A Techno-Economic Review

et al. 2017

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Abstract:The Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) is widely considered as a promising technology to produce electrical power output from low-grade thermal sources. In the last decade, several power plants have been installed worldwide in the MW range. However, despite its market potential, the commercialization of ORC power plants in the kW range did not reach a high level of maturity, for several reasons. Firstly, the specific price is still too high to offer an attractive payback period, and secondly, potential costumers for small-scale ORCs are typically SMEs (Small-Medium Enterprises), generally less aware of the potential savings this technology could lead to. When it comes to small-scale plants, additional design issues arise that still limit the widespread availability of the technology. This review paper presents the state of the art of the technology, from a technical and economic perspective. Working fluid selection and expander design are illustrated in detail, as they represent the bottleneck of the ORC technology for small-scale power production. In addition, a European market analysis is presented, which constitutes a useful instrument to understand the future evolution of the technology.

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Section: Orc Plants Of 1-20 Kwmentioning

confidence: 99%

Small Scale Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC): A Techno-Economic Review

et al. 2017

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“…The most developed application for an ORC system is the so-called "waste heat recovery" [1,2,[4][5][6]8,9,11,13]. The term "waste heat recovery" may be used to describe the use of any heat generally rejected to the environment.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The benefit of ORC systems is the recovery of useful energy, often as electrical output, from low-energy sources such as the low-pressure steam associated with steam-driven turbines used for electricity generation [1][2][3][4][5]. The efficiency of an ORC is typically between 10% and 20%, depending on temperature levels and availability of a suitably matched fluid [1,3].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Appropriate thermodynamic properties can result in higher cycle performance and low costs. The ideal organic working fluid should have the following general characteristics [1,6,7]:  High molecular weight;  High critical pressure and temperature, to allow the engine operating temperature to absorb all the heat available up to that temperature;  Low operating pressure, to avoid explosion or rupture and avoid negative impact on the reliability of the cycle;  Small specific volume, in its gaseous state, to avoid the need for large and costly turbines, evaporators, and condensers;  Higher pressure inside condenser to prevent air inflow into the system;  Non-flammable, corrosive or toxic characteristics.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…There are different types: scroll, vane, piston, screw and turbine. Most ORC systems have been developed with scroll and vane type expanders, thanks to their better efficiency and low cost, but researchers are trying to improve the adoption of the turbo-expander [1,2,5,[8][9][10][11][12].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Preliminary Design and Simulation of a Turbo Expander for Small Rated Power Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC)

Capata

Hernandez

2014

Energies

Self Cite

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Nowadays, the Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) system, which operates with organic fluids, is one of the leading technologies for "waste energy recovery". It works as a conventional Rankine Cycle but, as mentioned, instead of steam/water, an organic fluid is used. This change allows it to convert low temperature heat into electric energy where required. Large numbers of studies have been carried out to identify the most suitable fluids, system parameters and the various configurations. In the present market, most ORC systems are designed and manufactured for the recovery of thermal energy from various sources operating at "large power rating" (exhaust gas turbines, internal combustion engines, geothermal sources, large melting furnaces, biomass, solar, etc.); from which it is possible to produce a large amount of electric energy (30 kW ÷ 300 kW). Such applications for small nominal power sources, as well as the exhaust gases of internal combustion engines (car sedan or town, ships, etc.) or small heat exchangers, are very limited. The few systems that have been designed and built for small scale applications, have, on the other hand, different types of expander (screw, scroll, etc.). These devices are not adapted for placement in small and restricted places like the interior of a conventional car. The aim of this work is to perform the preliminary design of a turbo-expander that meets diverse system requirements such as low pressure, small size and low mass flow rates. The expander must be adaptable to a small ORC system utilizing gas of a diesel engine or small gas turbine as thermal source to produce 2-10 kW of electricity. The temperature and OPEN ACCESSEnergies 2014, 7 7068 pressure of the exhaust gases, in this case study (400-600 °C and a pressure of 2 bar), imposes a limit on the use of an organic fluid and on the net power that can be produced. In addition to water, fluids such as CO2, R134a and R245fa have been considered. Once the operating fluids has been chosen, the turbine characteristics (dimensions, input and output temperature, pressure ratio, etc.) have been calculated and an attempt to find the "nearly-optimal" combination has been carried out. The detailed design of a radial expander is presented and discussed. A thermo-mechanical performance study was carry out to verify structural tension and possible displacement. On the other hand, preliminary CFD analyses have been performed to verify the effectiveness of the design procedure.

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Energy integration on multi‐periods for vehicle thermal powertrains

Dimitrova

Maréchal

2016

Can J Chem Eng

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Internal combustion engines are the most applied energy converters in passenger cars. In order to increase their efficiency, energy integration techniques are used to recover waste heat. An adapted methodology is required to design the organic Rankine cycle (ORC) as a waste heat recovery technology and to test the influence of the external temperature on its efficiency. The idea is to cluster the external temperature profile on typical external temperature multi‐periods. The energy system design is then tested on these typical multi‐periods. In this article the methodology is applied on a vehicle with a diesel engine, in order to define the energy integrated configuration of the vehicle and to estimate the cost of the additional equipment. The performance indicators of the energy integration technology of the internal combustion engine is done and discussed, according to the multi‐periods. The energy recovery potential of a single stage ORC for a diesel engine is assessed for different temperature profiles. The ORC equipment is simultaneously pre‐sized and its cost is estimated.

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Feasibility analysis of a small-scale ORC energy recovery system for vehicular application

Cited by 41 publications

References 20 publications

Small Scale Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC): A Techno-Economic Review

Small Scale Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC): A Techno-Economic Review

Preliminary Design and Simulation of a Turbo Expander for Small Rated Power Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC)

Energy integration on multi‐periods for vehicle thermal powertrains

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