Thermal-economic performance evaluation and bi-objective optimization of organic Rankine cycles using pure and mixed working fluids for waste heat recovery

Abstract

To further enhance the recovery rate of low temperature waste heat, the low temperature flue gas in the sinter annular cooler is chosen as the heat source of organic Rankine cycle (ORC) system in the current study, and the system thermal-economic performance evaluation are conducted. The thermal-economic performance models of ORC system are established firstly, and the butane and isopentane are selected to constitute the mixed working fluid. Then the changes of system performance with the mass fraction of isopentane (MR601a) and ORC crucial parameters are evaluated comprehensively, and the bi-objective optimization is applied to ascertain the optimal ORC crucial parameters under various MR601a. The results indicate that the MR601a of 0.6 can obtain the maximum glide temperature. The higher the evaporating temperature is, and the lower the condensing temperature is, the larger the exergy efficiency is, while the smaller the levelized energy cost is. There is an optimal superheat degree to make the ORC system achieve the better overall performance under various MR601a. The exergy efficiency of butane is the maximum with a respectable waste heat recovery rate of 64.18 %, while the levelized energy cost of isopentane in the whole conditions is the minimum with the better economic performance.

Keywords

• Sinter
• Waste heat recovery
• Organic Rankine cycle
• Mixed working fluid
• Thermal-economic performance
• Bi-objective optimization