PRCI

Recent Results

Small Scale Waste Heat Recovery

In a project jointly funded with the Gas Machinery Research Council, options to recover waste heat from the small sources typically found at compressor stations were identified.  This was not an evaluation of the heat recovery potential at stations containing large gas turbines that match well with organic rankine cycle boilers, which is an established application.  Instead, this study focused on applications that might match more typical 2000 HP (and larger) reciprocating engines and 5000+ HP gas turbines. 

Key Results

The result of this initial phase of the study was a list of more than 20 waste heat recovery concepts, divided into three application groups based on how the waste heat would be used: thermal, electrical, and mechanical.  Thermal indicates that the concept would be used for a heating or cooling application. The concepts in the electrical group will use the waste heat to generate electricity within the plant.  This project specifically excluded any presumption that power could be exported, and any power generated would only go to offset purchased power.  The final mechanical group has concepts that can convert waste heat into mechanical action.  Concepts were ranked according to a set of weighted criteria established by the pipeline project team.  The top ten concepts were each examined for their applicability, potential cost-effectiveness and whether they introduced additional risk into compressor station operations.  Three potential applications were identified that will be examined further in the next phase of the project.  These three are:  absorption cooling, stacked rankine cycle for either power generation or mechanical drive, and heat storage – which is a means of load shifting.  The next phase will provide a detailed analysis of these three. The Final Report is available for members on PRIME and at no cost on the GMRC website.

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