{"title":"Thermoeconomic evaluation of waste heat recovery system in aluminium smelters using a parallel two-stage organic Rankine cycle","authors":"Mohamed I. Hassan Ali , Mostafa M. Abdelsamie","doi":"10.1016/j.ecmx.2024.100648","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The primary aluminium industry stands as one of the most energy-consuming and, at times, the most inefficient, with approximately 50 % of energy being lost in the form of waste heat. The multiplicity of wasted heat sources in aluminium smelters presents a challenge in how to recover and integrate them, given their variations in both quantity and temperature levels. In this context, the study adopts the Parallel Two-stage Organic Rankine Cycle (PTORC) to separately integrate the wasted heat from the cathode sidewalls and the exhaust gases within a unified recovery system. The influence of primary and secondary evaporation temperatures, their pinch points, the number of integrated aluminium pots, and the working fluid on the thermodynamic performance and economic feasibility of PTORC are examined. At a given design condition, the findings indicate that decreasing the primary evaporation temperature while increasing the secondary evaporation temperature achieves the optimal operating condition of the system, resulting in a significant improvement in both output power and economic performance, while also reducing exergy destruction. At the primary evaporation temperature of 111.5 °C and the secondary evaporation temperature of 78.5 °C, the net output power reaches the optimal value of 3,840 kW. Furthermore, maintaining a lower pinch temperature difference in both evaporators proves advantageous for enhancing PTORC performance. Pentane, R236ea, and isopentane demonstrate outstanding maximum net power output at a constant secondary evaporation temperature, respectively. Meanwhile, R236ea and isobutane emerge as the most suitable working fluids for PTORC from an economic standpoint.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":37131,"journal":{"name":"Energy Conversion and Management-X","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":7.1000,"publicationDate":"2024-06-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590174524001260/pdfft?md5=50eb1874ea25aabf182bedbbf219a29c&pid=1-s2.0-S2590174524001260-main.pdf","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Energy Conversion and Management-X","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590174524001260","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"ENERGY & FUELS","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
The primary aluminium industry stands as one of the most energy-consuming and, at times, the most inefficient, with approximately 50 % of energy being lost in the form of waste heat. The multiplicity of wasted heat sources in aluminium smelters presents a challenge in how to recover and integrate them, given their variations in both quantity and temperature levels. In this context, the study adopts the Parallel Two-stage Organic Rankine Cycle (PTORC) to separately integrate the wasted heat from the cathode sidewalls and the exhaust gases within a unified recovery system. The influence of primary and secondary evaporation temperatures, their pinch points, the number of integrated aluminium pots, and the working fluid on the thermodynamic performance and economic feasibility of PTORC are examined. At a given design condition, the findings indicate that decreasing the primary evaporation temperature while increasing the secondary evaporation temperature achieves the optimal operating condition of the system, resulting in a significant improvement in both output power and economic performance, while also reducing exergy destruction. At the primary evaporation temperature of 111.5 °C and the secondary evaporation temperature of 78.5 °C, the net output power reaches the optimal value of 3,840 kW. Furthermore, maintaining a lower pinch temperature difference in both evaporators proves advantageous for enhancing PTORC performance. Pentane, R236ea, and isopentane demonstrate outstanding maximum net power output at a constant secondary evaporation temperature, respectively. Meanwhile, R236ea and isobutane emerge as the most suitable working fluids for PTORC from an economic standpoint.
期刊介绍:
Energy Conversion and Management: X is the open access extension of the reputable journal Energy Conversion and Management, serving as a platform for interdisciplinary research on a wide array of critical energy subjects. The journal is dedicated to publishing original contributions and in-depth technical review articles that present groundbreaking research on topics spanning energy generation, utilization, conversion, storage, transmission, conservation, management, and sustainability.
The scope of Energy Conversion and Management: X encompasses various forms of energy, including mechanical, thermal, nuclear, chemical, electromagnetic, magnetic, and electric energy. It addresses all known energy resources, highlighting both conventional sources like fossil fuels and nuclear power, as well as renewable resources such as solar, biomass, hydro, wind, geothermal, and ocean energy.