An organic Rankine cycle (ORC) machine is similar to a conventional steam cycle energy conversion system, but uses an organic fluid such as refrigerants and hydrocarbons instead of water. In recent years, research was intensified on this device as it is being progressively adopted as premier technology to convert low-temperature heat resources into power. Available heat resources are: solar energy, geothermal energy, biomass products, surface seawater, and waste heat from various thermal processes. This paper presents existing applications and analyzes their maturity. Binary geothermal and binary biomass CHP are already mature. Provided the interest to recover waste heat rejected by thermal devices and industrial processes continue to grow, and favorable legislative conditions are adopted, waste heat recovery organic Rankine cycle systems in the near future will experience a rapid growth. Solar modular power plants are being intensely investigated at smaller scale for cogeneration applications in buildings but larger plants are also expected in tropical or Sahel regions with constant and low solar radiation intensity. OTEC power plants operating mainly on offshore installations at very low temperature have been advertised as total resource systems and interest on this technology is growing in large isolated islands.

Low­grade heat conversion into power using organic Rankine cycles - A review of various applications

The process chain of energy conversion from primary energy carriers to final energy use is subject to several losses. Especially in end use, vast amounts of converted energy occur as waste heat, which is often released to the environment. In terms of raising energy efficiency and reducing the energy consumption, such waste heat needs to be used. To date, some studies or investigations about industrial waste heat of selected countries have been carried out, but other sectors like commerce were not considered. Therefore, this work presents a novel top-down approach for the estimation of waste heat potential of the most common sectors of end use (transportation, industrial, commercial and residential) including electricity generation on a global scale. It also deals with the temperature distribution of this unused energy. The evaluation reveals that 72% of the global primary energy consumption is lost after conversion. In further detail, 63% of the considered waste heat streams arise at a temperature below 100 °C in which electricity generation has the largest share followed by transportation and industry.

Estimating the global waste heat potential

District heating and cooling: Review of technology and potential enhancements

WHO Guidelines for Indoor Air Quality: Selected pollutants.

Industrial waste heat recovery technologies: An economic analysis of heat transformation technologies

Implications of the modelling of stratified hot water storage tanks in the simulation of CHP plants

Technological recovery potential of waste heat in the industry of the Basque Country

Thermoeconomic analysis of a micro-CHP installation in a tertiary sector building through dynamic simulation

A Fickian model for calculating wine losses from oak casks depending on conditions in ageing facilities

Design of a Finned Plate Latent Heat Thermal Energy Storage System for Domestic Applications

José María Sala

Papers

Implications of the modelling of stratified hot water storage tanks in the simulation of CHP plants

Technological recovery potential of waste heat in the industry of the Basque Country

Thermoeconomic analysis of a micro-CHP installation in a tertiary sector building through dynamic simulation

A Fickian model for calculating wine losses from oak casks depending on conditions in ageing facilities

Design of a Finned Plate Latent Heat Thermal Energy Storage System for Domestic Applications