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Decarbonize Your Operations With our Turnkey Waste Heat to Power Solutions
Use waste heat to power to transform your industrial waste
heat into carbon-free energy to meet your ESG goals.
Waste Heat Recovery
Waste heat to power installations capture heat generated from industrial processes, which would otherwise be wasted, to produce electricity or thermal energy. By harnessing this untapped heat energy, waste heat to power systems not only generate additional power but also significantly enhance overall energy efficiency. By integrating waste heat to power solutions into your operations, you can effectively cut energy costs and improve your bottom line, all while advancing sustainability goals and contributing to a greener future.
Waste heat can be captured in almost every industry, with varying degrees of difficulty. Kanin’s role as a developer is to identify the challenges that exist and seek to find creative solutions to screen for viable projects as effectively as possible.
Waste Heat as a Resource
There are several methods of waste heat recovery, each suited to different industrial applications and waste heat sources. Waste heat can be reintegrated as heat into existing processes or converted into power using several different types of technology.
Waste Heat to Power Technology
- Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) Systems:
A Rankine cycle is a thermodynamic cycle that converts heat energy into mechanical work by the constant evaporation and condensation of a circulating working fluid. The Rankine cycle is composed of four main components, vapor-generator (evaporator), expansion device (turbine), condenser, and feed-pump. ORCs use an organic working fluid (such as pentane) which have favorable operating performance at lower source temperatures (as low as 150°C). However, they may require an intermediate thermal loop to transfer the heat from the waste heat source to the ORC evaporator. - Steam Rankine Cycle (SRC) Systems:
Composed of the same four main components as an ORC system, namely: vapor-generator (boiler and superheater), expansion device (turbine), condenser, and feed-pump. SRC systems use steam/water as the working fluid. Additionally, the steam needs to be superheated to prevent condensation and erosion of turbine blading. SRCs have higher cycle efficiencies than ORC systems at temperatures higher than 350°C. - Supercritical CO2 Systems:
Based on the Brayton cycle, which generates power without any phase change, supercritical CO2 systems operate by first compressing the working fluid (CO2), adding heat, expanding the resulting high-temperature and high-pressure fluid, and lastly exhausting heat to a lower temperature heat sink. These systems have the potential to have higher cycle efficiencies than Rankine cycles. Furthermore, due to the higher density of the supercritical CO2, they may have smaller equipment sizes and consequently a smaller plant footprint. - Kalina Cycle Systems:
The Kalina Cycle (KC) is a modified Rankine cycle that uses a binary mixture of two working fluids, usually water and ammonia. The ratio of these components can vary in different parts of the cycle, allowing for an increase in efficiency compared to a Rankine cycle with a single working fluid. The main components and thermodynamic principles are similar to those of the other Rankine cycle engines.
Looking for More Information on how Waste Heat to Power can Help Your Company?
Implementing Waste Heat to Power (WHP) systems may require us to navigate complex regulatory frameworks related to environmental permitting, emissions standards, boiler safety, and grid interconnection requirements. Compliance with these regulations is essential to ensure the successful implementation and operation of WHP projects while minimizing legal and financial risks.
WHP installations have no impact on day-to-day operations of equipment.
In the case where WHP is installed in a system exhaust, the backpressure associated with the waste heat recovery unit (WHRU) will be considered and can be mitigated if required by installing an ID fan.
Kanin will typically divert exhaust into a WHRU with a standalone stack, this ensures that in the case the WHP system is down, the exhaust can be diverted back to the original stack so operations are not impacted.
Generally the WHRU is the only piece of equipment that needs to be located close to the heat source. This reduces heat losses, pressure drop in the heat source stream, and the tie-in cost.
Once the waste heat has been captured by the WHRU, an intermediate closed loop (thermal oil or water/glycol) can be installed to transport the captured heat to a suitable location for the power generation system.
Some WHP systems, such as the ORC, are flexible on the variability and intermittency of the heat source. ORCs are fast to start up and to adjust their load based on the available waste heat. At Kanin, we will design the WHP system to be at an optimal nameplate to consider the variability and uptime of the heat source, and not just sizing the WHP for peak operations