1. Environmental impact assessment of organic rankine cycle using waste heat from the aluminium industryMonika Dokl, Gaja Strajnar, Annamaria Vujanović, Jan Puhar, Zdravko Kravanja, Lidija Čuček, 2025, original scientific article Abstract: Waste heat recovery technologies play an important role in enhancing energy efficiency and supporting sustainable energy production. This study investigates the utilization of waste heat from aluminium production through an Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) system to generate electricity and heat simultaneously. Based on operational data from an aluminium plant, the system is firstly optimized from both the thermodynamic and economic perspectives. To maximize performance and to identify optimal configurations, a mathematical model is developed and solved using GAMS, capturing the complex interdependencies between the operational, economic and thermodynamic parameters. The environmental impact of the optimized scenarios is subsequently evaluated using a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), considering a broad range of impact categories. The results indicate a maximum power output of 830.9 kW and a maximum net present value (NPV) of 51.71 M€, confirming the system’s technical and economic viability. The environmental assessment demonstrates the potential of ORC systems as sustainable energy solutions, with significant environmental unburdening under optimized operating conditions (up to -606.0 kg CO2 eq./h). A sensitivity analysis indicates that the greatest environmental benefits occur under the optimal thermodynamic scenario, achieved through the utilization of higher-energy flue gas streams (up to -515.0 kg CO2 eq./h), and under the optimal economic scenario by balancing the electricity and heat prices optimally for simultaneous heat and power production (up to -696.7 kg CO2 eq./h). These findings highlight the importance of the thermal input quality and availability in maximizing ORC performance. With the ability to prioritize electricity, heat, or both, the optimized ORC systems support flexible energy solutions tailored to specific applications and environmental conditions, offering a promising pathway for unburdening the environment through the efficient utilization of industrial waste heat.
Keywords: waste heat recovery, aluminium production, organic rankine cycle, environmental impact, life cycle assessment, sustainable energy solutions
Published in DKUM: 13.06.2025; Views: 0; Downloads: 5
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2. Maximizing the power output and net present value of organic rankine cycle: application to aluminium industryMonika Dokl, Rok Gomilšek, Lidija Čuček, Ben Abikoye, Zdravko Kravanja, 2022, original scientific article Abstract: This study presents an integrated design and optimization of an Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) for the recovery of waste heat from aluminium production. Non-Linear Programming (NLP) models were developed, with the objectives of maximizing electricity production and the Net Present Value (NPV) of the system. The models account for optimizing the operating conditions and changes in thermodynamic features of the system. The developed models are applied to a case study of Slovenian aluminium company where the performance of three different working fluids (R245fa, R1234yf and R1234ze) are compared. The optimization is performed considering different temperatures and prices of produced hot water and electricity, minimum approach temperature (DTmin), concentration of CO2 in flue gas and temperature and flowrate of flue gas. Results show that the selected working fluids for the proposed waste heat-based ORC system have the potential to substitute up to about 830 kW of electricity in a sustainable and economic manner. Out of the three working fluids considered, R245fa showed up to 7.9% efficiency of the ORC cycle and was identified as the best performing working fluid considering both economic viability and the amount of electricity produced by the system, however the refrigerant inherently has higher GHG footprint.
Keywords: waste heat, waste heat utilization, aluminium industry, organic rankine cycle, power generation, optimization
Published in DKUM: 10.04.2025; Views: 0; Downloads: 1
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3. Synthesis of Rankine cycle systems with cascade and separate configurations utilising multiple heat sources at different temperature levelsMonika Dokl, Rok Gomilšek, Petar Varbanov, Yee Van Fan, Zdravko Kravanja, Lidija Čuček, 2023, original scientific article Keywords: multiple heat sources, Organic Rankine cycle, separate and cascade designs, Steam Rankine cycle, thermodynamic optimisation
Published in DKUM: 28.02.2025; Views: 0; Downloads: 2
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4. A review of the use of Rankine cycle systems for hydrogen productionUrška Novosel, Jurij Avsec, 2020, original scientific article Abstract: The vast majority of steam power plants in the world are based on the Rankine cycle. It is a wellknown, trustworthy process that uses water or water vapour as a working medium, which supplies heat from various primary energy sources: fossil fuels, renewable energy sources (solar energy, energy from wood biomass, etc.) or a combination of both. With the Rankine cycle, energy sources other than electricity can be produced, which can be used as the primary energy source for various applications. The present article focuses on the production of hydrogen in addition to electricity; therefore, two energy sources are obtained from the same system with a few modifications of the existing power plant for further exploitation. There are several processes for hydrogen production using the Rankine cycle; in the present article, two processes are focused on: using part of the electricity produced and obtaining hydrogen by electrolysis of water or using part of high quality steam (basically heat energy) in combination with electricity and obtaining hydrogen by a thermochemical copper-chlorine process. Each of these processes has its advantages and disadvantages, which are presented in the present article with an example model of a power plant.
Keywords: Rankine cycle, hydrogen production, electrolysis, thermochemical process
Published in DKUM: 01.12.2023; Views: 483; Downloads: 44
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5. Multi-purpose use and lifecycle analysis of solar panelsDušan Strušnik, Urška Novosel, Jurij Avsec, 2020, original scientific article Abstract: The combined use of renewable energy technologies and alternative energy technologies is a promising approach to reduce global warming effects throughout the world. In this paper, the solar panel is used in combination with a heat pump or with biomass sources to obtain heat, electricity, and hydrogen. Based on the Rankine thermodynamic cycle, hydrogen could be obtained from water with electrolysis and the CuCl thermochemical cycle. Furthermore, this study contains a life cycle analysis of solar panels.
Keywords: heat pump, life cycle analysis, Rankine cycle, solar panel, thermochemical cycle
Published in DKUM: 01.12.2023; Views: 393; Downloads: 106
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