A Study of the Kalina Cycle System 11 for the Recovery of Industrial Waste Heat with Heat Pump Augmentation

Abstract

The recovery of industrial waste heat is becoming an area of increased interest due to the ever climbing cost of energy. In the past, the low temperatures that most industrial waste heat is at have prevented the recovery and use of the waste heat stream. Through the application of the Kalina Cycle System 11 (KCS11) with heat pump/refrigeration augmentation, waste heat can be recovered from streams with a lower temperature than would normally be possible. This thesis investigates the theoretical viability of using a Kalina Cycle System 11 with vapor compression refrigeration cycle augmentation to convert industrial waste heat into useable power, and compares that to a non-augmented KCS11 and an organic Rankine cycle. It was found that with a source temperature of 200 °C, the KCS11 can achieve thermal efficiencies in excess of 30%. By utilizing the correct vapor compression refrigeration cycle to recover the waste heat and supply the waste heat to the KCS11, a portion of the waste heat can be recovered and utilized as a power source.