Organic rankine cycle modelling and the ORCmKit library: analysis of R1234ze(Z) as drop-in replacement of R245fa for low-grade waste heat recovery

摘要

Due to the wide interest in organic Rankine cycles (ORCs) as a sustainable technology and the importance of numerical analyses and optimization procedures while considering such systems, we created a dedicated open-source library named “ORC modelling Kit” (ORCmKit). The comprehensive library includes single com-ponents and overall models for subcritical, transcritical and supercritical ORCs. Three main programming environments are currently supported: Matlab, Python and EES (Engineering Equation Solver). A detailed steady-state cycle model of a small-scale regenerative ORC with a single-screw expander is used to evalu-ate the performance influence of R1234ze(Z) as a drop-in replacement of R245fa currently used in the installation. The ORC system is used to recover low-grade waste heat with a temperature range between 90°C and 120°C. A thermal oil heater is used to simulate the heat source. A parametric study is carried out to in-vestigate the performance of the system throughout the range of interest in order to optimize the ORC with R1234ze(Z).