Applications

Engines / Gensets

Most combustion engines are only 30-40% efficient thermally, meaning that of all the applied energy, only 30-40% of the energy becomes mechanical work while the remaining 60-70% leaves the engine as waste heat through the jacket water cooling circuit, the exhaust stack, and other cooling circuits. Capturing the heat from the jacket water circuit, the exhaust or combining the exhaust heat with the jacket water heat are easy options for converting the waste heat into clean electricity – providing a clean, reliable baseload supply of heat and power.

When fuel costs are high and the engine’s primary function is power generation, ElectraTherm’s solutions save fuel costs by allowing the engine to operate at a lower fuel rate to maintain the same electrical output. The amount of heat the radiator had to reject is also substantially reduced, this results in reduced electrical consumption – with significant savings for applications that experience 95% or more annual up-time. Not only will you be producing clean electricity from a previously overlooked resource, but the effective net output of the entire system increases because of the reduced electrical load on the radiator.

Industrial Waste Heat

Industrial processes consume large amounts of energy, with the majority of it being lost as waste heat. Large amounts of excess heat produced through the use of boilers, ovens, furnaces, and kilns in industrial processes are vented outside as flue or exhaust gases.

By incorporating an exhaust gas heat exchanger to capture this waste heat, ElectraTherm increases plant efficiency through increase power output, reduced fuel consumption, reduced cooling loads on gensets, and reduced emissions.

Any industry that produces heat greater than 70°C is a potential fit for ElectraTherm waste heat recovery. Additionally, many industrial processes operate 24/7, this maximizes the amount of clean power that can be produced and further improves your return on investment. Allow us to help you achieve your sustainability goals and benefit from a more circular economy.

Boiler Systems

Boiler systems – such as those used in biogas production, heating, or biomass applications – are well suited for power production using the Power+ Generator. Since our ORC solutions require hot water as fuel and boilers are already in place heating water, capital costs are significantly reduced.

With ElectraTherm, you can make a simple addition to your existing boiler system to generate emission-free combined heat and power, providing highly efficient thermal energy and clean electricity that can be used as a baseload power supply or even sold back to the grid. ElectraTherm’s solutions increase plant efficiency and reduce fossil fuel requirements.

Geothermal

Historically, sources of low temperature geothermal, such as hot springs and co-produced fluids, were considered uneconomical for power generation. However, thanks to advances in ORC technology these sources can now cost effectively generate renewable power – providing a baseload power supply independent of weather conditions.

Co-Produced Fluids

All oil wells produce hot water as a by-product along with oil, referred to as co-produced fluids.  The hot water is either re-injected after the heat is removed to maintain pressure levels or is disposed of – costing the oil and gas industry billions a year.

With the addition of a Power+ Generator or Active Cooler, operators can now use this resource to create clean electricity – providing a renewable, baseload power supply that can either be used to offset energy demand or sold for profit.

By using co-produced fluids to generate geothermal power, the oil and gas industry can realize several benefits such as repurposing abandoned oil and gas infrastructure, extending the economic viability of existing oil and gas wells, adding renewable power to energy portfolio, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Oil and Gas Heat Recovery

Refining processes, gas compression, and other industrial processes create a lot of waste heat. ElectraTherm’s ORC solutions are able to generate power while simultaneously providing usable thermal and reducing the cooling power load on the system. Essentially acting as a combined cooling, heating, and power generator.

With the Active Cooler you can also benefit from a highly efficient integrated radiator which allows for net-zero power cooling.

Flare Elimination

For industries dealing with natural gases – such as oil extraction, biogas production, wastewater treatment, or landfill gas (LFG) production – flaring is often an unavoidable part of the process. This results in wasted energy and the release of large amounts of greenhouse gases, with traditional systems meant to minimize emissions being very expensive with large footprints.

ElectraTherm’s simple and reliable ORC heat to power solutions can cost-effectively reduce these emissions while generating clean electricity. The best part is with the right system in place that flare can even be eliminated.

See the beneficial uses of flared gas, natural gas, and biogas by clicking here.

Solar Thermal

Solar thermal arrays will need thermal storage and if using a medium other than water-glycol mix, an additional heat exchanger loop will be needed. Solar applications tend to have limited hours of operation which effects the payback period.