Analysis and Optimization of Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) for Waste Heat Recovery
A special issue of Energies (ISSN 1996-1073). This special issue belongs to the section "J: Thermal Management".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 9 May 2025 | Viewed by 1915
Special Issue Editor
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
The fight against climate change requires our effort to improve the current landscape of energy production systems. More efficient and sustainable energy conversion technologies are needed to reduce the emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. In this context, waste heat recovery systems play a significant role by using lower-temperature sources to produce high-quality energy, increasing the overall efficiency of the processes. Among the available different technologies, organic Rankine cycle systems represent a proven and viable solution.
Its application in several fields has reached sufficient know-how to be commercially available in sizes from tens of kW to MW scales. Energy-intensive industries, characterized by the availability of stationary heat fluxes at higher temperature levels represent the most obvious candidates for ORC units. On the other hand, technological advancements are still needed to reach the same level of maturity when the temperature levels are very low, the hot source has a variable nature, or in small-scale applications where the efficiency of the components has a greater impact on the overall performances of the system. Improving performances in these situations would reduce the cost–benefit ratio, justify the capital cost and expand the potential applications of ORC units in newer fields. Technological enhancements of pumps and expanders are needed as well as new plant layouts with integrated components, new thermodynamic fluids, mixtures, and solutions that are resilient to wet fluids or off-design conditions of the hot sources in terms of temperature and flow rates.
This Special Issue aims to collect some of the most recent advancements in the mentioned aspects to favor the improvement of small ORC-based power units and make them profitable. Economic and financial aspects are also welcomed. Efficiency improvements of units having greater power are also in the interest of this Special Issue, outlining solutions that integrate different recovery streams.
Reviews, regular research papers, and communications are welcomed for publication, including but not limited to, the following:
- Modeling and characterization of innovative, sustainable and low-GWP working fluids and mixtures;
- Development and experimental validation of advanced modeling approaches in design and off-design conditions;
- Optimization of components and system performances;
- Design and evaluation of components;
- Innovative layouts;
- Volumetric and dynamic expander modeling and experimental characterization;
- Ultra-low temperature waste heat recovery applications;
- Optimization of unit control strategies;
- Integration with renewable energy;
- CHP applications;
- Micro and small-scale applications.
Dr. Marco Di Bartolomeo
Guest Editor
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Keywords
- organic Rankine cycle
- ORC
- waste heat recovery
- low-temperature
- volumetric expanders
- modeling
- optimization
- control
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