ORC Heat recovery from industrial processes

"For all the energy intensive industries EXERGY can deliver a product with a payback in the range from 3 to 5 years making them more competitive and sustainable in the market"

The industrial sector accounts for approximately 1/3 of the global total energy consumption.
Due to inefficiencies in power conversion processes, around 20 to 50% of this energy eventually becomes exhaust heat left unexploited and discharged into the atmosphere. This resource can be repurposed for clean power generation employing waste heat recovery systems. 

Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) is a technology ideally suited for industrial process heat recovery. As opposed to heat recovery systems based on traditional steam Rankine cycle, ORC can give better efficiency for lower temperature applications (from 90°C up to 350 °C), as well as eliminating the requirement for water treatment and make up.

Why choose WHR systems for industrial sector

THE BENEFITS AND THE IMPACT OF INDUSTRIAL HEAT RECOVERY ON YOUR BUSINESS CAN BE NUMEROUS:

  • 1. INCREASED EFFICIENCY OF THE PROCESS

    Waste heat recovery power plants help to achieve the highest efficiency of the industrial production process.

  • 2. REDUCE ENERGY COSTS

    Waste heat recovery systems generate additional electricity for your plant directly replacing purchased energy, thereby reducing energy costs

  • 3. REDUCED OPERATING/RUNNING COSTS

    Reduced energy costs contribute in reducing operating costs and, thus, increase competitiveness of the product.

  • 4. REDUCE ENERGY DEMAND AND FUEL CONSUPTION

    Waste heat recovery systems, utilizing a freely available resource, help to save conventional primary energy and fossil fuels.

  • 5. REDUCED CARBON FOOTPRINT

    Heat recovery power plants use waste heat to produce electricity instead of burning fossil fuels thus lowering the SOx, NOx and C02 emissions.

  • 6. FACILITATE ACCESS TO ELECTRICITY REDUCING DEPENDENCY ON THE ELECTRICAL GRID

    Waste heat recovery power plants produce electricity that can directly be employed for power needs in the industrial process representing an easier and reliable access to electricity for those remote or isolated sites with difficult access to the grid.
Heat recovery from industrial process

EXERGY’s use of the innovative and pioneering Radial Outflow Turbine (ROT) in the development of waste heat recovery power plants has brought all the advantages of ORC systems to a higher level offering:
a higher efficiency of the ORC (up to 30%), optimal match with the heat release curve,  better operation at partial loads.


This ensures a higher system efficiency and lower specific cost in addition to the traditional ORC characteristics and advantages:

SIMPLE PLANT DESIGN
SIMPLE PLANT DESIGN
  • Competitive capital cost leading to fast payback
COMPACT AND AUTOMATED SOLUTION
COMPACT AND AUTOMATED SOLUTION
  • No need of operators thus lower running cost
  • Few soil consumption
FLEXIBILIY OF PLACEMENT AWAY FROM THE HEAT SOURCE IF REQUIRED
FLEXIBILIY OF PLACEMENT AWAY FROM THE HEAT SOURCE IF REQUIRED
  • No limitations and constraints on placement, better fitting available soil and production process requirements
FAST START UP AND SHUT DOWN
FAST START UP AND SHUT DOWN
  • High operating hours
  • Easy maintenance
NO WATER TREATMENT PLANT OR MAKE UP WATER REQUIRED
NO WATER TREATMENT PLANT OR MAKE UP WATER REQUIRED
  • No need for water consumption 
  • Higher sustainability
  • Suitable for remote locations
HIGH EFFICENCY AT A VARIETY OF OPERATING TEMPERATURES AND LOADS
HIGH EFFICENCY AT A VARIETY OF OPERATING TEMPERATURES AND LOADS
  • Possibility to exploit the maximum possible energy from the process thus reducing energy costs

EXERGY’s ORC single units power size range between 1 MW to 20 MWe.

Want to learn if we can help your business become more efficient and sustainable?
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PORTFOLIO
PORTFOLIO
33,2 MW
PLANTS
PLANTS
10
AVERAGE PLANT SIZE
AVERAGE PLANT SIZE
3,1 MW
OIL SAVED toe/y
OIL SAVED toe/y
23500
CO2 SAVED t/y
CO2 SAVED t/y
73600
Applications:
CEMENTS PLANTS
CEMENTS PLANTS
STEEL MILLS
STEEL MILLS
GLASS FACTORIES
GLASS FACTORIES
INDUSTRIAL APPLICATIONS
INDUSTRIAL APPLICATIONS
"Regardless what is the load of the factory process EXERGY’s ORC system is always working to exploit the most possible energy"

A WASTE HEAT RECOVERY CYCLE EXPLAINED

A waste heat recovery system extracts the thermal power from the exhaust gas of the industrial plant to feed the ORC module via the intermediate fluid. The intermediate fluid, which is usually oil, pressurized water or steam, transfers heat to the organic fluid in the ORC evaporator, where the organic fluid vaporizes. The vaporized fluid then passes to the turbine. Here the vapour expands causing the turbine to spin and creating electricity into the generator. The vaporized organic fluid then continues through the cycle to the condenser where once again becomes a liquid. It then passes through the pump before beginning the cycle again.

ORC WASTE HEAT RECOVERY VS. TRADITIONAL STEAM RANKINE CYCLE TECHNOLOGY: HOW TO CHOOSE?

Regardless of the heat source temperature, the ORC is generally the best solution for small power output. The simplicity and compactness of the system, the higher efficiency of the turbine, the optimal match with the heat release curve and the better operation at partial loads, ensure a higher system efficiency and a lower specific cost compared to conventional Rankine cycles. In certain cases, they become the only practical solution. 
Conversely, at considerably high temperatures and large power output, traditional Rankine cycles using steam turbines prove to be the most suitable solution all round: in these conditions, the limited increase in performance for heat sources available over 350-400°C for a ORC implies lower conversion efficiency. 
Of course, if water is not available, then the steam solution is not an option. 
 

exergy heat industrial orc cycle
exergy heat industrial recovery graph