Organic Rankine Cycles for the Petro-Chemical Industry

Under a cooperatively funded DOE/MTI program, a packaged organic Rankine power recovery system is being developed specifically to meet the needs of the petroleum refining and chemical industries. Program objectives include an actual in-plant demonstration in a process application. This paper will describe this program, the organic Rankine package, and the economics of its application in the petro-chemical process industry. Utilization of waste heat flows in the process industry has always been considered to the limits of economic feasibility. However, both economic and technical feasibility limit the use of waste heat flows with conventional approaches in the 250 F to 350 F range. A packaged organic Rankine power cycle can technically and economically convert this type of heat flow into useful power. The system under development by MTI is one based on a conventional fluorocarbon refrigerant to generate a nominal 1000 kW from typical liquid and vapor streams in the process plant. The 220 F nominal turbine inlet temperature of the unit is well suited to the 250 F to 350 F typical of these streams. The organic Rankine power package will be in operation at MTI's Energy Test Facility in late 1979. The first field test demonstration unit is scheduled to be shipped in late 1980