scholarly journals Recovery of Low-Grade Heat (Heat Waste) from a Cogeneration Unit for Woodchips Drying: Energy and Economic Analyses

Energies ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 501 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tilia Dahou ◽  
Patrick Dutournié ◽  
Lionel Limousy ◽  
Simona Bennici ◽  
Nicolas Perea

The aim of this paper is to improve the operating share of a biomass cogeneration unit by using unavoidable heat waste heat recovered from a district network heating used for drying woody biomass’ return water (law-grade temperature heat). The optimal operating conditions of a drying unit added to the system were estimated from an energy and a financial point of view, applying four objective functions (drying time, energy consumption, energy balance, and financial performance of the cogeneration unit). An experimental design methodology used heat for the implementation of these functions and to obtain an operating chart. Numerical modelling was performed to develop a simulation tool able to illustrate the unsteady operations able to take into account the available waste heat. Surprisingly, the model shows that the right strategy to increase the financial gain is to produce more warm water than necessary and to consequently dispose higher quantities of unavoidable heat in the network’s return water, which heat up the drying air at a higher temperature. This result contrasts with the current approaches of setting-up cogeneration units that are based on the minimization of the heat production.

Author(s):  
M. Deligant ◽  
S. Braccio ◽  
T. Capurso ◽  
F. Fornarelli ◽  
M. Torresi ◽  
...  

Abstract The Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) allows the conversion of low-grade heat sources into electricity. Although this technology is not new, the increase in energy demand and the need to reduce CO2 emissions create new opportunities to harvest low grade heat sources such as waste heat. Radial turbines have a simple construction, they are robust and they are not very sensitive to geometry inaccuracies. Most of the radial inflow turbines used for ORC application feature a vaned nozzle ensuring the appropriate distribution angle at the rotor inlet. In this work, no nozzle is considered but only the vaneless gap (distributor). This configuration, without any vaned nozzle, is supposed to be more flexible under varying operating conditions with respect to fixed vanes and to maintain a good efficiency at off-design. This paper presents a performance analysis carried out by means of two approaches: a combination of meanline loss models enhanced with real gas fluid properties and 3D CFD computations, taking into account the entire turbomachine including the scroll housing, the vaneless gap, the turbine wheel and the axial discharge pipe. A detailed analysis of the flow field through the turbomachine is carried out, both under design and off design conditions, with a particular focus on the entropy field in order to evaluate the loss distribution between the scroll housing, the vaneless gap and the turbine wheel.


Author(s):  
Noman Yousuf ◽  
Timothy Anderson ◽  
Roy Nates

Abstract Despite being identified nearly a century ago, the diffusion absorption refrigeration (DAR) cycle has received relatively little attention. One of the strongest attractions of the DAR cycle lies in the fact that it is thermally driven and does not require high value work. This makes it a prime candidate for harnessing low grade heat from solar collectors, or the waste heat from stationary generators, to produce cooling. However, to realize the benefits of the DAR cycle, there is a need to develop an improved understanding of how design parameters influence its performance. In this vein, this work developed a new parametric model that can be used to examine the performance of the DAR cycle for a range of operating conditions. The results showed that the cycle's performance was particularly sensitive to several factors: the rate of heat added and the temperature of the generator, the effectiveness of the gas and solution heat exchangers, the mass flowrate of the refrigerant and the type of the working fluid. It was shown that can deliver good performance at low generator temperatures if the refrigerant mass fraction in the strong solution is made as high as possible. Moreover, it was shown that a H2O-LiBr working pair could be useful for achieving cooling at low generator temperatures.


Author(s):  
Enrico Corti

On-Board Diagnostics (OBD) regulations impose missing combustions detection within a wide portion of the engine operating range. Missing combustions can be caused either by ignition (misfire) or injection (misfuel) system failures. Missing combustions can damage the catalyst and cause abrupt pollutants increases (especially HC), but misfuels are not as detrimental as misfires, both from the emissions and the after treatment system life point of view. It would be important for the Electronic Control Unit (ECU) to be informed not only about the fault event, but also about its type, for the purpose of setting the right recovery strategy. The aim of this paper is to analyze missing combustion phenomena, in order to find out if a fault recognition strategy able to distinguish between misfire and misfuel can be setup. Different approaches can be found in the literature to diagnose missing combustions: many of them are based on the speed signal analysis, both in time and frequency domains, others use the knock accelerometer signal, or the exhaust manifold pressure information. A Universal Exhaust Gas Oxygen (UEGO) sensor can also be used. Usually diagnosis methodologies consist in observing signals perturbations subsequent to the malfunction event. Observable consequences of missing combustions are, for example, a sudden lack of indicated torque, causing vibrations and speed fluctuations, an increasing in exhaust gases Oxygen content, anomalous exhaust pressure ripples, etc. Many phenomena interact influencing in different ways the engine behavior, during and after the fault event: their effect can depend on the fault cause, thus helping the recognition. The first combustion taking place in the faulty cylinder after a misfire (post-misfiring cycle) usually leads to higher indicated pressure and torque levels if compared to standard values for the same operating conditions, while the same cannot be said for the post-misfueling combustion. On the other side, Air-Fuel Ratio (AFR) assumes different trends during the misfiring and post-misfiring cycles, with respect to misfueling and post-misfueling cycles. A 4 cylinders 1.2 liters spark ignition port injected engine, equipped with a programmable Electronic Control Unit (ECU) has been tested on the test bench, inducing both misfires and misfuels, over a wide engine operating range, while monitoring the engine faulty behavior. Misfire and misfuel-related phenomena have been analyzed showing their “signature” on indicated pressure and torque, engine speed and Air-Fuel Ratio measured signals, in order to define the most reliable recognition strategy.


2016 ◽  
Vol 57 ◽  
pp. 1090-1109 ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhammad Imran ◽  
Muhammad Usman ◽  
Byung-Sik Park ◽  
Dong-Hyun Lee

2016 ◽  
Vol 856 ◽  
pp. 297-302 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Tsynaeva ◽  
Katerina Tsynaeva

Systems of heat consumption of the building with heat pump that uses low-grade heat source are investigated. Effectiveness of heat consumption systems with heat pump is concluded effective for severe climatic conditions prevailing in Russia. Characteristics of heat consumption system with heat pump and the traditional heating system are compared. In this case the heat pump is used the warmth of the environment, that is why considered operating conditions for the autumn and spring. Low inertia of heat systems with heat pump compared to traditional ones during autumn and spring proved.


Author(s):  
S. Goshovskyi ◽  
O. Zurian

The article contains the results of scientific research and design work related to environmentally safe usage of hydropower potential of the small rivers of the Dnieper basin. The innovative design solutions for extraction of low-grade heat energy of water and systems for its transformation into energy convenient for consumption were offered. It was established that use of renewable low-grade energy of soil is widely used in environmentally safe and economically sound power systems. At the same time hydropower potential is not widely used in hydrothermal heat pump systems. It was proved that existing hydrothermal systems are not always adjusted to actual operating conditions and object location. The evidence was provided that the scientific approach to development of appropriate configuration of hydrothermal collector, to methodology of their optimal mounting and to efficiency determination depending on operating conditions is quite topical issue. The scientific novelty of the new process approach is use of special design of water collector that has modular configuration and consists of several functionally related water sondes. The efficiency of hydrothermal system was scientifically proved. The paper describes the results of experimental research of efficiency of hydrothermal heat pump system where the low-grade heat energy of water is used as a renewable primary heating energy source for functioning of the heat pump. The authors have developed experimental hydrothermal and geothermal heat pump systems to conduct the research. Both collector and ground section of the system have mounted sensors of temperature, pressure and coolant flow velocity. The software for archiving and visualization of obtained data was developed. The research procedure was developed. As part of study, observation data were received and performance efficiency of geothermal and hydrothermal systems was calculated. The comparative analysis of energy systems depending on used renewable energy source was carried out. The conclusion was made that use of hydrothermal heat pump systems is environmentally safe. The data obtained as part of study have great scientific and applied significance for engineering of heat pump energy systems using hydropower potential of the small rivers.


Author(s):  
Gowtham Kuntumalla ◽  
Yuquan Meng ◽  
Manjunath Rajagopal ◽  
Ricardo Toro ◽  
Hanyang Zhao ◽  
...  

Abstract In the United States, over 50% of the unrecovered energy from industrial processes is in the form of low-grade heat (< 220°C). Materials and maintenance costs of common heat exchangers are typically too high to justify their usage. Polymers, though more affordable, are usually unsuitable for HX applications due to their low thermal conductivity (∼0.2 W/mK). Here, we show that metal-polymer hybrids may be attractive from both performance and cost perspectives. The use of polymers further increases the resistance to corrosion by sulfuric and carbonic acids often present in flue gases. An ongoing work explores different configurations of layered polyimide-copper macroscale hybrids for heat exchanger applications using numerical simulations. This paper explores a manufacturing pathway for producing such layered hybrid tubes that involves directly rolling and bonding tapes made of polymer and copper foil into tubes. A critical problem in the fabrication process is the bonding of metal and polymers. We explore approaches involving adhesives (epoxy, acrylic and silicone) for metal/polymer interfaces and direct welding (ultrasonic) for metal/metal interfaces that can be integrated into the manufacturing process. We report characterizations of the thermomechanical properties of these joining processes. This work paves the way for realizing cost-effective manufacturing of heat exchangers for low grade waste heat recovery.


Author(s):  
P. J. Mago ◽  
L. M. Chamra ◽  
C. Somayaji

This paper presents an optimization of Organic Rankine Cycles "ORC" using dry organic fluids, to convert waste energy to power from low grade heat sources. The dry organic working fluids under investigation are R113, R245ca, R123, and Isobutene. Different configurations such as reheat ORC and regenerative ORC will be analyzed and compared with the basic ORC in order to determine the configuration that presents the best performance. The optimization for the different configurations will be performed using a combined first and second law analysis by varying some system operating parameters at various reference temperatures and pressures. Some of the results show that regenerative ORC produces higher efficiency compared with the basic ORC while also reducing the amount of waste heat needed to produce the same power with a less irreversibility.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-29
Author(s):  
Ali Alsagri

Abstract The experience of leading countries in distributed energy systems (e.g., Scandinavian countries) shows that district cooling systems are highly beneficial techno-economic-environmentally by facilitating the use of waste heat resources, solar energy, etc., for cold supply at large scales. This study proposes the optimal development of a novel district cooling design utilizing the exhaust waste heat of an energy plant in a case study in Saudi Arabia. The optimal configuration of the hybrid system, the sizing of its components, and operating conditions of them are found using multiobjective optimization techniques based on the genetic algorithm method and a creative performance assessment index. Then, the feasibility of this optimized proposal is investigated through comprehensive thermodynamic and economic analyses. The results show that a district cooling system can surely cope with the harsh climate condition of the case study and provide the required interior comfort conditions. The energy and exergy efficiencies of the system can be as high as 62% and 53% using an absorption chiller utilizing a power plant's waste heat along with a storage tank for peak shaving. The levelized cost of cooling of the system can be 28 USD/MWh, by which the payback period will be only 8 years.


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