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Projects: Projects for Investigator
Reference Number EP/P004709/1
Title Energy-Use Minimisation via High Performance Heat-Power-Cooling Conversion and Integration: A Holistic Molecules to Technologies to Systems Approach
Status Completed
Energy Categories Energy Efficiency(Industry) 100%;
Research Types Basic and strategic applied research 100%
Science and Technology Fields ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY (Chemical Engineering) 50%;
ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY (Mechanical, Aeronautical and Manufacturing Engineering) 50%;
UKERC Cross Cutting Characterisation Not Cross-cutting 100%
Principal Investigator Dr CN Markides
No email address given
Chemical Engineering
Imperial College London
Award Type Standard
Funding Source EPSRC
Start Date 15 December 2016
End Date 14 September 2021
Duration 57 months
Total Grant Value £1,573,522
Industrial Sectors Manufacturing
Region London
Programme Energy : Energy
 
Investigators Principal Investigator Dr CN Markides , Chemical Engineering, Imperial College London (99.994%)
  Other Investigator Dr L Torrente Murciano , Chemical Engineering, University of Bath (0.001%)
Dr AJ White , Engineering, University of Cambridge (0.001%)
Dr Y Ding , Inst of Particle Science & Engineering, University of Leeds (0.001%)
Professor N ( Nilay ) Shah , Chemical Engineering, Imperial College London (0.001%)
Professor S Macchietto , Chemical Engineering, Imperial College London (0.001%)
Professor T Karayiannis , Sch of Engineering and Design, Brunel University (0.001%)
  Industrial Collaborator Project Contact , EDF Energy (0.000%)
Project Contact , Baxi Group Ltd (0.000%)
Project Contact , J Sainsbury Plc (0.000%)
Project Contact , Synthomer Ltd (0.000%)
Project Contact , Entropea Labs Limited (0.000%)
Project Contact , Hubbard Products Limited (0.000%)
Project Contact , DRD Power Ltd (0.000%)
Project Contact , Solar-Polar Limited (0.000%)
Project Contact , Praxair Inc., USA (0.000%)
Project Contact , SABIC (Saudi Basic Industries Corporation), Saudi Arabia (0.000%)
Project Contact , British Glass (0.000%)
Project Contact , Ener-G (0.000%)
Project Contact , Heatcatcher Ltd (0.000%)
Project Contact , Libertine FPE Ltd (0.000%)
Project Contact , Dummy Organisation (0.000%)
Web Site
Objectives
Abstract A 4-year multidisciplinary project aimed at minimising primary-energy use in UK industry is proposed, concerned with next-generation technological solutions, identifying the challenges, and assessing the opportunities and benefits (to different stakeholders) resulting from their optimal implementation. Around 20 companies from component manufacturers to industrial end-users have expressed an interest in supporting this project. With this industrial support, the team has the necessary access and is in a prime position to deliver real impact, culminating in the practical demonstration of these solutions.The proposed project is concerned with specific advancements to two selected energy-conversion technologies with integrated energy-storage capabilities, one for each of: 1) heat-to-power with organic Rankine cycle (ORC) devices; and 2) heat-to-cooling with absorption refrigeration (AR) devices. These technological solutions are capable of recovering and utilising thermal energy from a diverse range of sources in industrial applications. The heat input can come from highly efficient distributed combined heat & power (CHP) units, conventional or renewable sources (solar, geothermal, biomass/gas), or be wasted from industrial processes. With regards to the latter, at least 17% of all UK industrial energy-use is estimated as being wasted as heat, of which only 17% is considered economically recoverable with currently available technology. The successful implementation of these technologies would increase the potential for waste-heat utilisation by a factor of 3.5, from 17% with current technologies to close to 60%.The in-built, by design, capacity for low-cost thermal storage acts to buffer energy or temperature fluctuations inherent to most real heat sources, allowing smaller conversion devices (for the same average input) and more efficient operation of those devices closer to their design points for longer periods. This will greatly improve the economic proposition of implementing these conversion solutions by simultaneously reducing capital and maintenance costs, and improving performance.The technologies of interest are promising but are not economically viable currently in the vast majority of applications with >5-20 year paybacks at best. The project involves targeting and resolving pre-identified 'bottleneck' aspects of each technology that can enable step-improvements in maximising performance per unit capital cost. The goal is to enable the widespread uptake of these technologies and their optimal integration with existing energy systems and energy-efficiency strategies, leading to drastic increases performance while lowering costs, thus reducing payback to 3-5 years. It is intended that technological step-changes will be attained by unlocking the synergistic potential of optimised, application-tailored fluids for high efficiency and power, and of innovative components including advanced heat-exchanger configurations and architectures in order to increase thermal transport while simultaneously reducing component size and cost. Important system-level components are included in the project, whose objective is to assess the impact of incorporating these systems in targeted industrial settings, examine technoeconomic feasibility, and identify opportunities relating to optimal integration, control and operation to maximise in-use performance. A dynamic, interactive whole-energy-integration design and assessment platform will be developed to accelerate the implementation of the technological advances, feeding into specific case-studies and facilitating direct recommendations to industry. Only two international research teams are capable of developing the necessary tools that combine multiscale state-of-the-art molecular thermodynamic theories for fluids, detailed energy-conversion ORC and AR models, and incorporating these into whole-energy-system optimisation platforms. This is truly a world-leading development
Publications (none)
Final Report (none)
Added to Database 13/11/18