Periodic Reporting for period 1 - DECAGONE (DEmonstrator of industrial CArbon-free power Generation from Orc-based waste-heat-to-Energy systems)
Reporting period: 2022-06-01 to 2023-11-30
The ambition of DECAGONE is to develop beyond state-of-the-art technological solutions to increase energy efficiency in industry and to reduce greenhouse gas and air pollutant emissions from industry by recovering excess industrial (waste) heat and converting it into electricity.
The technical solution, developed by a consortium of 16 partners from 10 countries, is based on Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) technology. It will achieve scalability to higher power levels, improve cost effectiveness, increase the input temperature ranges and a significant improvement in compactness, allowing wider application and more effective heat recovery from a wide range of industrial processes. The solution will be demonstrated in the TŘINECKÉ ŽELEZÁRNY steel Mill in Czech Republic with a 2 MW installation.
The ORC-based system will use enhanced heat recovery designs and disruptive turbomachinery developments. The proposed break-through architecture of the turbine is tailored for increased compactness, higher availability and safety, as well as cost reduction with near-zero maintenance. The project ensures an efficient and smart integration of advanced monitoring using innovative instrumentation and measuring devices, machine learning algorithms for real-time efficiency improvement. The potential of self-consumption in industrial plants at a large industrial scale will be assessed.
Within the scope of the project, the potential of this technology will be evaluated in six other energy-intensive industrial sectors. Market potential and Europe-wide transposability for potential use cases (steel, metals, glass, cement, oil & gas and refineries) will be evaluated. New financing and business models will also be explored, to support long-term operations of the erected assets, coping with long-lasting and resilient industrial processes. The use of the ESCO model to contract, finance and operate energy efficiency facilities will be part of the assessment, preparing for the future operation of the facility by a specialized company. Lastly, the dissemination of best practice across Europe by relying on the consortium’s European partners in coordination with regional energy agencies.
The technical solution, developed by a consortium of 16 partners from 10 countries, is based on Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) technology. It will achieve scalability to higher power levels, improve cost effectiveness, increase the input temperature ranges and a significant improvement in compactness, allowing wider application and more effective heat recovery from a wide range of industrial processes. The solution will be demonstrated in the TŘINECKÉ ŽELEZÁRNY steel Mill in Czech Republic with a 2 MW installation.
The ORC-based system will use enhanced heat recovery designs and disruptive turbomachinery developments. The proposed break-through architecture of the turbine is tailored for increased compactness, higher availability and safety, as well as cost reduction with near-zero maintenance. The project ensures an efficient and smart integration of advanced monitoring using innovative instrumentation and measuring devices, machine learning algorithms for real-time efficiency improvement. The potential of self-consumption in industrial plants at a large industrial scale will be assessed.
Within the scope of the project, the potential of this technology will be evaluated in six other energy-intensive industrial sectors. Market potential and Europe-wide transposability for potential use cases (steel, metals, glass, cement, oil & gas and refineries) will be evaluated. New financing and business models will also be explored, to support long-term operations of the erected assets, coping with long-lasting and resilient industrial processes. The use of the ESCO model to contract, finance and operate energy efficiency facilities will be part of the assessment, preparing for the future operation of the facility by a specialized company. Lastly, the dissemination of best practice across Europe by relying on the consortium’s European partners in coordination with regional energy agencies.
During the first part of the project, which includes the first 18 months, DECAGONE's activities were organised on multiple axes in order to set up the work for the achievement of the project's general objectives.
Without forgetting any objectives, at the beginning the main focus was placed on the engineering for the development of new component architectures, models and technologies.
Therefore, after an extensive site analysis, the basic design was realised, considering the practical site-specific conditions and limitations, such as variations in heat source conditions, heat sink availability, and size and space limitations for the ORC components. Various cycle configurations have been compared with a thermodynamic optimization model for maximizing the net power output subject to the process constraints. In parallel, research activities on the use of mixtures, material/fluid compatibility and active charge management were conducted.
The results from this activity provides a design that went through detailed engineering, with a focus on dynamic simulations, off-design analysis and demonstrator detailed engineering.
With regard to component development, during the first 18 months of the project, the specifications for the waste heat recovery unit, heat exchangers and condenser were defined, even going so far as to validate the solution proposed by the vendor. In addition, the concept of a large thermocline thermal energy storage unit was studied, which could reduce the thermal load fluctuation from industrial waste heat from the steel mill. Its integration within the system was analysed and the detailed engineering of the component was started. Finally, the concept of the hermetic turbogenerator supported on magnetic bearings is being engineered.
With regard to the ambition to raise awareness on waste-heat-to-power, work has been done to produce an analysis of the market and the regulatory landscape at European level.
Without forgetting any objectives, at the beginning the main focus was placed on the engineering for the development of new component architectures, models and technologies.
Therefore, after an extensive site analysis, the basic design was realised, considering the practical site-specific conditions and limitations, such as variations in heat source conditions, heat sink availability, and size and space limitations for the ORC components. Various cycle configurations have been compared with a thermodynamic optimization model for maximizing the net power output subject to the process constraints. In parallel, research activities on the use of mixtures, material/fluid compatibility and active charge management were conducted.
The results from this activity provides a design that went through detailed engineering, with a focus on dynamic simulations, off-design analysis and demonstrator detailed engineering.
With regard to component development, during the first 18 months of the project, the specifications for the waste heat recovery unit, heat exchangers and condenser were defined, even going so far as to validate the solution proposed by the vendor. In addition, the concept of a large thermocline thermal energy storage unit was studied, which could reduce the thermal load fluctuation from industrial waste heat from the steel mill. Its integration within the system was analysed and the detailed engineering of the component was started. Finally, the concept of the hermetic turbogenerator supported on magnetic bearings is being engineered.
With regard to the ambition to raise awareness on waste-heat-to-power, work has been done to produce an analysis of the market and the regulatory landscape at European level.
As the project is currently in its M18 phase, the outcomes exceeding the state-of-the-art are not firmly established at this point. Their maturation is anticipated in the concluding stages of the project. The activities essential for achieving this objective will be realized in subsequent stages, nearing the project's completion.