Across the globe, engines see extensive use at landfills for their ability to make the most of waste and generate renewable power from available biogas. These engines typically run continuously, generating a considerable amount of heat. This heat is not only a waste of energy but a huge burden, stealing valuable power away from the engine for cooling.
In addition to the parasitic cooling load, engines typically lose around half of their energy in power generation as waste heat. Waste heat and the cooling load reduce efficiency and eat into profits. Plus, if the cooling is insufficient, an engine may face ongoing maintenance and derate issues – further eating away at revenue.
Enter the ElectraTherm Active Cooler, a net-zero cooling to power solution that generates additional electricity for profit from nothing more than the heat available. Utilizing the Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) along with proprietary technologies, the Active Cooler can provide 100% full load cooling, independent of power generation.
The ORC process used to convert waste heat into electricity has a significant cooling effect on the engine, reducing the jacket water cooling load 70-100%. Thanks to this, the highly efficient dry cooler integrated into the Active Cooler can cool both ElectraTherm’s system and yours – offsetting the parasitic cooling load while generating up to 75 kW (gross) of electricity. By upcycling heat into electricity at a landfill, you increase power output.
An engine’s parasitic cooling load typically steals anywhere from 5 to 35 kW on an engine whilst in operation. If a 1 MW genset experiences an average parasitic cooling load of 20 kW, that amounts to a loss of efficiency of 2%. If an Active Cooler were installed and displaced the cooling load while generating an average of 30 kW, the newly available electricity would be 50 kW. The result is an efficiency increase of 5%.*
The Active Cooler’s ability to utilize heat for cooling and additional power generation makes it the only cooler of its kind in the world. Thanks to a simple design, integration into existing systems is easy. As long as processes generate heat, they will always require cooling. The Active Cooler is not only a solution for now but a solution for the future.
*These numbers are conservative and purely speculative. They are not meant to be applied to project economics. Engines may produce more power, therefore producing more heat. Along with this, radiators consume varying amounts of power and may run more or less frequently than stated in the example above. The amount of electricity generated by the Active Cooler depends on the heat available, the cooling load, and other variables. To evaluate a specific project’s economics and return on investment, please reach out to a member of our team here.
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About ElectraTherm
ElectraTherm by BITZER Group provides world-class waste heat recovery solutions by utilizing the Organic Rankine Cycle along with proprietary technologies to convert low-temperature heat into clean power. ElectraTherm’s simple and effective solutions generate clean electricity, boost efficiency, reduce energy costs, and decrease emissions – with no additional fuel consumption.
The combined advantage of ElectraTherm’s engineering along with the value of being supported by BITZER, the world’s largest independent manufacturer of refrigeration compressors which boasts close to 3,500 global employees and average annual sales approaching $1 billion, allows the ElectraTherm team to dedicate all their energy to the advancement of waste heat recovery technology in the marketplace.
ElectraTherm’s Power+ Generator is a heat to power generator, converting waste heat into clean electricity and usable thermal while offsetting the cooling load. The Active Cooler acts as a cooling to power generator, using the same cycle to provide self-powered cooling while generating electricity. Both of ElectraTherm’s solutions reduce emissions and energy costs while providing a baseload power / cooling supply. Taking advantage of waste heat is not only profitable, but practical. Allowing companies to benefit from a more circular economy while achieving sustainability goals.
To learn more about ElectraTherm, click here.