A waste heat powered computing system

Abstract

A waste heat powered computing system (1) comprising a waste heat source (62) or a waste fuel burner unit (2). The waste heat powered computing system (1) further comprising a heat engine (5) configured for converting thermal energy received from the waste heat source (62) or the waste fuel burner unit (2) to kinetic energy for moving and imparting rotational energy to an output shaft (6) of the heat engine (5), and a stand-alone electric generator (7) operatively connected to the output shaft (6) of the heat engine (5) and adapted for converting the rotational energy provided by said output shaft (6) to electrical energy The waste heat powered computing system (1) further comprises a battery (8) operatively connected to the electric generator (7) and adapted for storing the electrical energy produced by said electric generator (7), wherein the electric generator (7) and battery (8) are configured for island mode operation. Finally, the waste heat powered computing system (1) comprises a computer system (9) connected to the battery (8) and configured to be powered by the battery (8), wherein the computer system (9) provides an IT-service, an IT- functionality or an IT-system.

Description

[0001] A WASTE HEAT POWERED COMPUTING SYSTEM

[0002] TECHNICAL FIELD

[0003] The present disclosure relates to a waste heat powered computing system, as well as a method for operating a waste heat powered computing system.

[0004] The waste heat powered computing system and associated method according to the disclosure can be arranged in connection with various types of facilities that in some way or another may be deemed produce waste or residual material, such as biomass waste material, organic waste material, combustible waste materials, or noncombustible waste heat streams, that may be processed to produce a combustible material or gas for powering the computing system. The technology as such is driven from a heat source and utilizes the heat that anyway is wasted and turn it into useful IT-services and value.

[0005] BACKGROUND

[0006] In various industrial fields a lot of potentially useful waste materials is simply discarded, burnt off, disposed, dumped, or the like, often because it is difficult to commercially exploit said potentially useful waste materials. This occurs specifically often when the facility is located remotely where infrastructure necessary for commercially exploiting the waste material is missing or has insufficient capacity. This results for example in increased emissions of carbon dioxide and greenhouse gases.

[0007] Hence, there is a need for improved method and system that is using waste material resources in a commercially interesting manner, thereby enabling increased use of waste of material and thus reduced emissions of carbon dioxide and greenhouse gases.

[0008] SUMMARY An object of the present disclosure is to provide a waste heat powered computing system, as well as a method for operating a waste heat powered computing system, where the previously mentioned problems are avoided. This object is at least partly achieved by the features of the independent claims. The dependent claims contain further developments of the heat powered computing system and associated method.

[0009] According to a first aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a waste heat powered computing system comprising a waste heat source or a waste fuel burner unit. The waste heat powered computing system further comprises a heat engine configured for converting thermal energy from the waste heat source or the waste fuel burner unit to kinetic energy for moving and imparting rotational energy to an output shaft of the heat engine, and stand-alone electric generator operatively connected to the output shaft of the heat engine and adapted for converting the rotational energy provided by said output shaft to electrical energy. Finally, the waste heat powered computing system further comprises a battery operatively connected to the electric generator and adapted for storing the electrical energy produced by said electric generator, wherein the electric generator and battery are configured for island mode operation, and a computer system connected to the battery and configured to be powered by the battery, wherein the computer system provides an IT-service, an IT- functionality or an IT-system.

[0010] According to a second aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a method for operating a waste heat powered computing system. The method comprises: capturing waste heat from a waste heat source or burning waste fuel in a burner unit for converting the waste fuel to thermal energy; transferring thermal energy from the waste heat source or waste fuel burner unit to a heat engine and operating the heat engine for converting the thermal energy received from the waste heat source or waste fuel burner unit to kinetic energy for moving and imparting rotational energy to an output shaft of the heat engine; driving a stand-alone electric generator that is operatively connected to the output shaft of the heat engine for converting the rotational energy provided by said output shaft to electrical energy; storing electrical energy received from the electric generator in a battery operatively connected to the electric generator, wherein the electric generator and battery are configured for island mode operation; and operating a computer system based on electrical energy received from the battery for providing an IT-service, an IT-functionality or an IT- system by means of the computer system.

[0011] As a result, it becomes easier to commercially exploit waste materials.

[0012] For example, the combination of a burner unit with a heat engine provides a very robust and reliable converter for converting waste fuel to heat, and subsequently further to kinetic energy, because the exact composition of the waste fuel is not very important. It has been discovered that for example waste gas from industrial or petrochemical sites, or waste gas from petroleum refinery, natural gas processing plant, oil or gas extraction site, or from biogas production based on waste material, may have significantly varying composition over time, depending on various circumstances, such as operating conditions of the industrial or petrochemical sites, quality and type of oil and fossil gas that is currently produced, type and quality of biomass fuel, biogas reactor operating conditions, etc.

[0013] In other words, it is advantageous to employ a robust burner unit in combination with a heat engine, because the burner unit can easily handle changes is composition and quality of the waste fuel being delivered to the burner unit, without stopping production of heat by combustion of waste fuel. As a result, the heat engine can operate with high reliability for powering the electric generator.

[0014] This can be compared with for example a combustion engine (piston engine having internal combustion) running on waste gas. A combustion engine must generally be specifically tuned for operating on a specific fuel type and fuel quality. However, waste fuel or gas produced based on waste materials typically have large and natural variations in composition. Consequently, a combustion engine cannot provide the same level of operational reliability when being powered by waste fuel due to the natural variations in composition. Such variations will inevitably cause the combustion engine to stop, thereby causing reduced operational reliability.

[0015] Moreover, operation of the heat engine based on waste heat from a waste heat source enables efficient and flexible energy savings and utilisation of existing energy resources, thereby reducing waste and providing a waste-to-energy transition.

[0016] In addition, it becomes easier to commercially exploit waste materials at remote locations and / or locations having poor energy transport infrastructure, because often the particular location of operation of a computer system that provides a high-value IT-service, IT-functionality or IT-system, is of less relevance, as long as the computer system as such, including the electrical power supply, is reliable and stable. Moreover, the cost for data communication, in particular wireless data communication, including satellite data communication, is constantly decreasing and thereby rendering remote located computing system even more commercially relevant.

[0017] Furthermore, since the electric generator is a stand-alone electric generator, and since both the electric generator and battery are configured for island mode operation, i.e. configured for electrically powering the computer system by means of the electric generator and battery in isolation from the national or local electricity distribution network, also referred to as the “electrical grid”, costly grid connection fees, electrical equipment, investments in electrical grid infrastructure, can be largely avoided, thereby significantly reducing cost and effort associated with exploitation of the waste material.

[0018] Moreover, island mode operation also eliminates time consuming and costly bureaucratic hurdles, such as need for homologation, national rules governing minimum electrical power generation, power quality, grid stability and protection, voltage and frequency regulation, are generally be fully eliminated by the island mode operation of the present waste heat powered computing system, while the potentially valuable IT-service that is provided by the computer system may still commercially used or sold to other parties.

[0019] Further advantages are achieved by implementing one or several of the features of the dependent claims.

[0020] In some example embodiments, that may be combined with any one or more of the above-described embodiments, the waste fuel burner unit is configured for converting waste fuel to thermal energy by burning the waste fuel, wherein the waste fuel is flare gas, biomass waste material, biogas made from organic waste material, combustible waste material, ventilated Methane, leaked Methane, ventilated Hydrogen, or leaked Hydrogen.

[0021] In some example embodiments, that may be combined with any one or more of the above-described embodiments, the waste heat powered computing system further comprises a waste heat transfer arrangement configured to conveying waste heat from the waste heat source to the heat engine.

[0022] In some example embodiments, that may be combined with any one or more of the above-described embodiments, the waste heat source is an industrial process or exhaust gas from an internal combustion engine.

[0023] In some example embodiments, that may be combined with any one or more of the above-described embodiments, the computer system comprises an internet connection, wherein the computer system is configured to provide a cloud computing service over the internet. In this way, the accessibility of the IT-service, IT-functionality or IT-system to remotely located users or computers is increased.

[0024] In some example embodiments, that may be combined with any one or more of the above-described embodiments, the waste heat powered computing system further comprises a waste fuel source, wherein the waste fuel source is a petroleum refinery, a natural gas processing plant, an oil or gas extraction site, an industrial plant, wherein the waste fuel is flare gas. Flare gas is abundant in many industrial processes and is mostly burnt off as waste heat, but the waste heat powered computing system according to the present disclosure enables commercial exploitation of said waste gas.

[0025] In some example embodiments, that may be combined with any one or more of the above-described embodiments, the waste heat powered computing system further comprises a waste fuel source, wherein the waste fuel source is a storage facility storing biomass, biogas or combustible waste materials, wherein the waste fuel is biomass, biogas, combustible waste materials, ventilated Methane, leaked Methane, ventilated Hydrogen, or leaked Hydrogen.

[0026] Residual biomass, biogas or combustible waste materials is abundant in many industrial processes and is mostly not exploited or burnt off as waste heat, but the waste heat powered computing system according to the present disclosure enables commercial exploitation of said waste material or waste gas.

[0027] In some example embodiments, that may be combined with any one or more of the above-described embodiments, the biomass is any of: manure; bio waste, cellulosic materials, wood, flax, hemp, grass, or bamboo. In this way, commercial use of said waste material is possible, thereby providing a more environmental friendly solution.

[0028] In some example embodiments, that may be combined with any one or more of the above-described embodiments, the heat engine comprises a heating section configured to increase the temperature of a circulating or cyclic working fluid of the heat engine, a cooling section configured to decrease the temperature of said working medium.

[0029] In some example embodiments, that may be combined with any one or more of the above-described embodiments, the heat engine is configured such that the working fluid continuously moves from the heating section to the cooling section, and oppositely, during operation of the heat engine, wherein the working fluid expands when being located in the heating section, and contracts when the being in the cooling section, and wherein the working fluid exerts a mechanical work on the moveable work structure in connection with expansion of the working fluid, and wherein the moveable work structure is operatively connected to a rotatable output shaft of the heat engine.

[0030] In some example embodiments, that may be combined with any one or more of the above-described embodiments, the heat engine is a Stirling engine or a heat powered closed-cycle gas turbine or an ORC turbine. These machines enable efficient conversion of heat to kinetic energy.

[0031] In some example embodiments, that may be combined with any one or more of the above-described embodiments, a part of the heat engine, in particular a heating section of the heat engine, is located in a combustion chamber of the burner unit. In this way, high heat transfer efficiency from the burner unit to the heat engine is accomplished.

[0032] In some example embodiments, that may be combined with any one or more of the above-described embodiments, a part of the heat engine, in particular a heating section of the heat engine, is arranged in direct contact with an external surface of a combustion chamber of the burner unit for enabling heat transfer by thermal conduction from the external surface of the combustion chamber to the heat engine, in particular to the heating section of the heat engine. In this way, high heat transfer efficiency from the burner unit to the heat engine is accomplished while avoiding that the heat engine come in contact with the exhaust gases of the burner unit.

[0033] In some example embodiments, that may be combined with any one or more of the above-described embodiments, a part of the heat engine, in particular a heating section of the heat engine, is arranged close to an external surface of a combustion chamber of the burner unit for enabling heat transfer by thermal radiation from the external surface of the combustion chamber to the heat engine, in particular to the heating section of the heat engine. In this way, reasonably good heat transfer to the heat engine is provided without necessarily exposing the heat engine to the exhaust gases.

[0034] In some example embodiments, that may be combined with any one or more of the above-described embodiments, the heat engine further comprising a heat transfer arrangement for transferring heat from the burner unit to the heat engine, in particular to a heating section of the heat engine, wherein the heat transfer arrangement comprises a fluid-based heat exchanger, wherein the heat transfer arrangement is configured such that a heat transfer fluid of the heat exchanger transfers heat from the burner unit to the heat engine, in particular to a heating section of the heat engine. In this way, the heat transfer efficiency is increased, and the heat engine does not have to be located in the direct vicinity of the burner unit, thereby increasing the flexibility in terms of installation, and enabling improved cooling of the cooling section of the heat engine.

[0035] In some example embodiments, that may be combined with any one or more of the above-described embodiments, the waste heat powered computing system further comprises a thermal energy storage, wherein the waste heat powered computing system is configured to transfer heat from the burner unit to the thermal energy storage, and subsequently to transfer heat from the thermal energy storage to the heat engine, which is configured for converting thermal energy originating from the burner unit to kinetic energy. In this way, the heat transfer rate to the heat engine can be better controlled, because the thermal energy storage acts as a storage buffer between the burner unit and heat engine, thereby providing more stable operating conditions of the heat engine. In some example embodiments, that may be combined with any one or more of the above-described embodiments, wherein the waste heat powered computing system further comprises a thermal energy storage, wherein the burner unit, the thermal energy storage, and the heat engine are arranged such that heat from the burner unit is simultaneously transferred to both the thermal energy storage and the heat engine, such that the thermal energy storage is charged with thermal energy from the burner unit while the heat engine is operated by thermal energy received directly from the burner unit. In this way, the heat transfer rate to the heat engine can be better controlled, thereby providing a more stable operating conditions of the heat engine, and the losses associated with transfer of heat from burner unit to the heat engine via the thermal energy storage is partly reduced.

[0036] In some example embodiments, that may be combined with any one or more of the above-described embodiments, the burner unit is provided with oxygen supply inlet and a carbon capture arrangement located in the flue-gas flow path, wherein the burner unit is configured for oxygen enriched or oxy-fuel combustion of the fuel for improved carbon capture efficiency of the carbon capture arrangement. In this way, an IT-service, IT-functionality or IT-system is provided based on nearly 100% carbon dioxide free emissions.

[0037] In some example embodiments, that may be combined with any one or more of the above-described embodiments, the computer system comprises a processor architecture, a data memory, a data communication interface, and a data bus for transferring data between different components in a computer system.

[0038] In some example embodiments, that may be combined with any one or more of the above-described embodiments, a computer program comprising instructions is stored in the data memory, and wherein the computer system is configured to execute said computer program for causing the computer system to carry out said IT-service or said IT-functionality or form said IT-system.

[0039] In some example embodiments, that may be combined with any one or more of the above-described embodiments, the waste heat powered computing system further comprises an energy recovery system for heating the inlet air supplied to the burner unit by means of waste heat emitted from the waste heat powered computing system. In some example embodiments, that may be combined with any one or more of the above-described embodiments, the waste heat powered computing system is at least partly installed within one or more containers, in particular one or more containers.

[0040] In some example embodiments, that may be combined with any one or more of the above-described embodiments, the heat engine, the electric generator, the battery, the computer system, and optionally also the waste fuel burner unit, are installed within a common ISO container.

[0041] In some example embodiments, that may be combined with any one or more of the above-described embodiments, the heat engine, the electric generator, and optionally also the waste fuel burner unit, are installed within a common first ISO container, and the battery and the computer system are installed within a common second ISO container.

[0042] In some example embodiments, that may be combined with any one or more of the above-described embodiments, the waste heat powered computing system further comprises a waste heat transfer arrangement configured for conveying waste heat from the waste heat source to the heat engine, wherein the waste heat transfer arrangement comprises a circulating heat transfer medium, a flow line for enabling a circulating flow of the heat transfer medium, and a waste heat source heat-exchanger located at the waste heat source and / or a heat engine heat exchanger located at the heat engine for transmitting the waste heat from the heat transfer medium to the heat engine.

[0043] In some example embodiments, that may be combined with any one or more of the above-described embodiments, the waste heat powered computing system further comprises a controller configured for controlling one or more of the following operating parameters of the waste heat powered computing system: a pressure level of a working medium of the heat engine; a fuel inlet flow rate to the waste fuel burner unit; and a heat transfer rate from the heat source to the heat engine.

[0044] In some example embodiments, that may be combined with any one or more of the above-described embodiments, the step of providing an IT-service, an IT-functionality or an IT-system by means of the computer system involves providing a cloud computing service over the internet by means of an internet connection of the computer system. In this way, the an IT-service, an IT-functionality or an IT-system is more accessible to users or software processes globally.

[0045] Further features and advantages of the invention will become apparent when studying the appended claims and the following description. The skilled person in the art realizes that different features of the present disclosure may be combined to create embodiments other than those explicitly described hereinabove and below, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

[0046] BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0047] The waste heat powered computing system and associated method for operating a waste heat powered computing system according to the disclosure will be described in detail in the following, with reference to the attached drawings, in which

[0048] Fig. 1A shows schematically a first example embodiment of the waste heat powered computing system according to the disclosure, wherein the heat engine is powered by waste fuel,

[0049] Fig. 1 B shows schematically a second example embodiment of the waste heat powered computing system according to the disclosure, wherein the heat engine is powered by a waste heat source,

[0050] Fig. 1C shows schematically said waste heat powered computing system installed in a housing arrangement,

[0051] Fig. 1 D shows schematically said waste heat powered computing system divided into two modules,

[0052] Fig. 1 E shows schematically said waste heat powered computing system powered by gas flare as waste heat source,

[0053] Fig. 1 F shows schematically said waste heat powered computing system powered by gas flare as waste heat source and including a thermal energy storage, Fig. 2A shows schematically a more detailed example embodiment of the waste heat powered computing system according to the disclosure,

[0054] Fig. 2B shows schematically the system of figure 2A including a flare gas storage,

[0055] Fig. 3 shows schematically an alternative example embodiment of the waste heat powered computing system according to the disclosure,

[0056] Fig. 4 shows schematically an further alternative example embodiment of the waste heat powered computing system according to the disclosure,

[0057] Fig. 5-6 show schematically two example embodiments of the waste heat powered computing system including a thermal energy storage,

[0058] Fig. 7 shows schematically an example embodiment of the waste heat powered computing system including a controller and electric converters,

[0059] Fig. 8 shows schematically an example embodiment of the waste heat powered computing system including a carbon dioxide recovery arrangement,

[0060] Fig. 9-12 show schematically various example embodiments of the heat transfer arrangement from burner unit to heat engine,

[0061] Fig. 13-15 shows schematically various example embodiments of a heat engine,

[0062] Fig. 16 shows schematically a layout of the computer system, and

[0063] Fig. 17 shows schematically a flow chart describing the method for operating a waste heat powered computing system.

[0064] DESCRIPTION OF EXAMPLE EMBODIMENTS

[0065] Various aspects of the disclosure will hereinafter be described in conjunction with the appended drawings to illustrate and not to limit the disclosure, wherein like designations denote like elements, and variations of the described aspects are not restricted to the specifically shown embodiments, but are applicable on other variations of the disclosure.

[0066] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the steps, services and functions explained herein may be implemented using individual hardware circuitry, using software functioning in conjunction with a programmed microprocessor or general purpose computer, using one or more Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs) and / or using one or more Digital Signal Processors (DSPs). It will also be appreciated that when the present disclosure is described in terms of a method, it may also be embodied in one or more processors and one or more memories coupled to the one or more processors, wherein the one or more memories store one or more programs that perform the steps, services and functions disclosed herein when executed by the one or more processors.

[0067] Figure 1A schematically shows a first example embodiment of a waste heat powered computing system 1 according to the present disclosure. The waste heat powered computing system 1 comprises a waste fuel burner unit 2 comprising a fuel inlet 3 and a flue gas outlet 4, wherein the waste fuel burner unit 2 is configured for converting the waste fuel to thermal energy by burning or combusting the waste fuel, wherein the waste fuel is flare gas, biomass waste, biogas made from organic waste material, or combustible waste materials.

[0068] The burner unit 2 is thus a fuel-fired burner unit 2, and also referred to as fuel-burning heat source.

[0069] The burner unit 2 may have a form and design suitable for the intended waste fuel and thermal power level. The burner unit 2 may for example be gas burner unit, a manure burner unit, an incinerator burner unit, etc. The burner unit 2 typically also comprises an air and / or oxygen gas inlet 11 for enabling proposer combustion of the fuel within a burning or combustion chamber 12 of the burner unit 2. The flue gas outlet 4 is typically connected to some type of flue or pipe 13 that is configured for conveying exhaust gases from the burner unit 2 to the atmosphere.

[0070] With reference to figure 1A, the waste heat powered computing system further comprises a fuel source 19, i.e. a waste fuel source 19, which is configured to supply fuel to the burner unit 2 via the fuel inlet 3. With reference to figure 1A, the waste heat powered computing system 1 further comprises a heat engine 5 configured for converting thermal energy received or originating from the burner unit 2 to kinetic energy for moving and imparting rotational energy to an output shaft 6 of the heat engine 5.

[0071] The thermal energy may be transferred from the burner unit 2 to the heat engine 5 by various ways of heat transfer 18, such as thermal conduction, natural or forced thermal convection and / or thermal radiation.

[0072] The waste heat powered computing system 1 further comprises one or more standalone electric generator 7 operatively connected to the output shaft 6 of the heat engine 5 and adapted for converting the rotational energy provided by said output shaft 6 to electrical energy.

[0073] A stand-alone electric generator 7 refers to an off-the-grid electric generator, i.e. an electric generator that is not connected to the electrical grid of the country / region where the electric generator is installed. In other words, the national regulations governing electrical energy producers of that country / region does not apply to the same extent to a stand-alone electric generator. A stand-alone electric generator is for example particularly useful for locations that are not fitted with an electricity distribution system.

[0074] The electric generator 7 may for example be a 1 -phase or three-phase electric generator at a suitable power level. Computer systems providing an IT-service, an IT- functionality or an IT-system may depending on the size and processing capacity of the computer system, require a significant electric power level, in particular when providing processing-heavy IT-Services, such as Al-services or the like, and the waste heat powered computing system 1 must then be designed and equipped to meet this power requirement.

[0075] The waste heat powered computing system 1 further comprises a battery 8 operatively connected to the electric generator 7 and adapted for storing the electrical energy produced by said electric generator 7, wherein the electric generator and battery are configured for island mode operation.

[0076] The battery 8 serves to stabilize the power supply to the computer system 8, and for enabling variation in power generation level of the electric generator 7, which may increase / decrease as a function of available fuel supply rate, etc. The battery 8 may for example ensure electric power supply to the computer system 9 in periods of electric generator stillstand, for example due to small service work of any part of the waste heat powered computing system 1 , or due to other intermittent work flow associated with the fuel supply, or the like.

[0077] The battery 8 is an electric battery that including one or more electrochemical cells with external connections. The electric battery 8 serves as a source of electric power. The battery should have a storage capacity in kWh appropriate for the intended power requirement. The battery 8 may for example be a lithium-ion battery with an appropriate cathode material, such as for Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP), Lithium Manganese Oxide (LMO), Lithium Nickel Manganese Cobalt Oxide (NMC), and Lithium Nickel Cobalt Aluminium Oxide (NCA), etc. Alternatively, the battery may be lead battery, a lead-acid battery, a lithium-sulphur battery, a solid state battery, graphene battery, etc.

[0078] The voltage level of the battery 8 may be selected according to the circumstances. For example, the nominal voltage level of the battery 8 may be in the range of 12 - 1000 volt.

[0079] The electric generator 7 and battery 8 are configured for island mode operation. In other words, both the electric generator 7 and battery 8 are configured to be operated without connection to the electric grid of the country / region of the waste heat powered computing system 1. Island mode operation refers to an off-the-grid operation.

[0080] Island mode operation of the electric generator 7 and battery 8 is for example particularly useful for locations that are not fitted with an electricity distribution system.

[0081] The waste heat powered computing system 1 further comprises a computer system 9 connected to the battery 8 and configured to be powered by the battery 8, wherein the computer system 9 provides an IT-service, an IT-functionality or an IT-system to a requester 10.

[0082] The electric generator 7, the battery 8 and the computer system 9 may be operatively connected to each other via an appropriate electrical power cable 14. Moreover, one or more electric power converters may be required between the electric generator 7, the battery 8 and the computer system 9 for adapting the form, frequency and voltage level to each specific needs.

[0083] The computer system 9 is configured to provide an IT-service, an IT-functionality or an IT-system to a requester 10.

[0084] The IT-service, IT-functionality or IT-system is for example cloud computing service or system that supplies IT-service or IT-functionality over the internet or other type of network communication or other type of point to point data communication. Alternatively, the IT-service, IT-functionality or IT-system is for example supply of computer resources, mining of units of cryptocurrency that requires computer processing capacity, Al applications, general computing, etc.

[0085] Cloud computing refers to the delivery of computing services, storage, databases, networking, software, analytics, and intelligence from a remotely located data processing system. The cloud computing service is performed physically at a remote computer system, typically including one or more servers in combination with extensive data memory capacity. For example, the cloud server(s) manage data, run applications, and deliver content and services like streaming videos, web mail, and office productivity software over the internet, etc.

[0086] In case the IT-service, IT-functionality or IT-system provides a cloud computing service, it can be implemented as public cloud, a private cloud, or a hybrid cloud.

[0087] Still more alternatively, the computer system may have a “client-server architecture” including a client and a server. The server is here implemented by the computer system 9, while the client corresponds to computer or microcomputer of a cloud user.

[0088] The requester 10 is for example a user (person), an organisation, a machine or a computer process running on another computer or microcomputer.

[0089] Alternatively, the computer system may be configured to be operated in a so called “Island Mode”, i.e. fully stand alone and without data communication to remote computers, servers, users, mobile devices via data communication networks or channels.

[0090] Figure 1 B schematically shows a second example embodiment of a waste heat powered computing system 1 according to the present disclosure. According to this example embodiment, the waste heat powered computing system 1 comprises a waste heat source 62, wherein the heat engine 5 is configured for converting thermal energy received from the waste heat source 62 to kinetic energy for moving and imparting rotational energy to an output shaft 6 of the heat engine 5. In other words, in the example embodiment of figure 1 B, the burner unit 2 as heat source is replaced with a waste heat source 62. The other parts of the waste heat powered computing system 1 according to figure 1 B may largely or fully be same as described with reference to figure 1A.

[0091] The waste heat source 62 may for example be an industrial process, such as for example a furnace, a petroleum refinery, a petrochemical industry, a cement industry, a steel industry, a glass industry, a chemical industry, a paper industry, or the like.

[0092] For example, the waste heat source may be a gas flare of petroleum refinery, a chemical plant, a natural gas processing plant, oil or gas extraction site, a landfill, or the like.

[0093] Still more alternatively, the waste heat source may be exhaust gas from an internal combustion engine of any type and / or a gas turbine engine.

[0094] The waste heat source may be a non-combustible heat source or a non-combustible heat flow.

[0095] Depending on the type of waste heat source, the waste heat may have a temperature of about 100 - 1500 degC.

[0096] As schematically illustrated in figure 1 B, the waste heat powered computing system may further comprise a waste heat transfer arrangement 63 configured to conveying waste heat from the waste heat source 62 to the heat engine 5.

[0097] The waste heat transfer arrangement 63 may for example include a circulating heat transfer medium, such as an inert gas and / or liquid, an appropriate flow line for enabling a circulating flow of the heat transfer medium, and a waste heat source heatexchanger located close to the waste heat source 62.

[0098] The heat transfer medium is configured to absorb heat from the waste heat source 62 by means of the waste heat source heat exchanger, transfer the waste heat to the heat engine 5 via the flow line for the heat transfer medium, release the waste heat to the heat engine 5, and return to the waste heat source heat exchanger via the flow line.

[0099] The waste heat powered computing system 1 described with reference to figures 1A and 1 B may in some example embodiments be installed within a housing arrangement 17. With reference to figure 1 C, the housing arrangement 17 may in some example embodiment consist of a single intermodal ISO container or the like, such as 10-foot, 20-foot, 30-foot or 40-foot ISO container, or the like, thereby providing cost-efficient manufacturing and simplified transportation and installation on site. In fact, the housing arrangement 17 may alternatively be formed by one or more non-ISO dimensioned containers or modular housings having virtually any dimension.

[0100] In some example embodiments, a total length 64 of the housing arrangement 17 may be in the range of for example 3 to 15 metres. Moreover, a total height 65 of the housing arrangement 17 may be in the range of for example 2 to 4 metres.

[0101] Moreover, as schematically illustrated in figure 1 C, the burner unit 2, the heat engine 5 and the electric generator 7 may form an integrated unit, and the waste heat powered computing system 1 may include a plurality of such units installed within a common housing arrangement 17.

[0102] A further advantage of installing the waste heat powered computing system 1 in a container or housing module is that it enables convenient energy recovery of the waste heat generated by the components of the waste heat powered computing system 1 itself, such as in particular the hot exhaust gas from the burner unit 2, the heat required to cool a cooling section 31 of the heat engine 5, a waste heat from the computer system 9, but possibly also waste heat from the electric generator 7, the electric power converters, the battery 8, etc.

[0103] The waste fuel is combusted in the burner unit 2, and the resulting heat is partly converted to exhaust heat lost via the flue 13. Moreover, the heat engine 5 requires cooling for providing the required heat difference that powers the heat engine 5, and the computer system 9 generates a lot of heat that is ventilated out from the container or housing module via a ventilation outlet 70.

[0104] Hence, the waste heat powered computing system 1 may be provided with an energy recovery system for heating the inlet air supplied to the burner unit 2 by means of waste heat emitted from the waste heat powered computing system 1 , in particular waste heat from the exhaust gas from the burner unit 2, waste heat from a heat engine cooling arrangement 75, and / or waste heat from the computer system 9. Heated inlet air results in improved combustion efficiency of the waste fuel in the burner unit 2.

[0105] An example embodiment of an energy recovery system for heating the inlet air supplied to the burner unit 2 is schematically illustrated in figure 1C, wherein a first energy recovery heat exchanger 72 is configured to heat inlet air supplied from an air inlet 71 by means of heat energy from the ventilation air exiting the container or housing module. The ventilation air exiting the container or housing module includes waste heat from the computer system 9.

[0106] The heated inlet air is subsequently conveyed to a second energy recovery heat exchanger 73 that is configured to further heat the inlet air by means of heat energy from a heat engine cooling arrangement 75, which may be required to ensure sufficient cooling of the cooling section of the heat engine 2. The heat engine cooling arrangement 75 may for example include a circulating cooling liquid.

[0107] The heated inlet air is subsequently conveyed to a third energy recovery heat exchanger 74 that is configured to further heat the inlet air by means of heat energy from the exhaust gas exiting the container or housing module.

[0108] Thereafter, the heated inlet air is supplied to the air inlet 11 of the burner unit(s) 2.

[0109] In some examples, the energy recovery system for heating the inlet air supplied to the burner unit 2 may include less energy recovery heat exchangers, such as only the first 72 and second 73, or only the first 72 and third 74, or only the second 73 and third 74, or just one of the first 72, second 73 and third 74.

[0110] With reference to figure 1 D, in some example embodiments, the housing arrangement 17 may consist of a plurality of ISO or non-ISO containers, such as for example two, three or more ISO or non-ISO containers 20,21 , wherein the components of the waste heat powered computing system 1 is divided into separate containers 20,21. Specifically, one container may include the one or more burner units 2, the one or more heat engines 5 and the one or more electric generators 7, wherein a second container may include the battery 8, and a third container may include the computer system 9. Still more alternatively, the battery 8 and computer system 9 may be installed within a common container.

[0111] In some example embodiments, the one or more containers 20,21 may be replaced with one or more housing modules 20,21. The one or more housing modules 20,21 may be designed and built while taking into account the specific circumstances of the installation and / or content of the modules 20,21 .

[0112] The multiple container or housing module design concept of the waste heat powered computing system 1 according to figure 1 D provides many advantages, such as the possibility to design the build the various containers or modules 20,21 more dedicated to the purpose. For example, the requirements with respect to parameters such as temperature, fire resistance, dust, ash, and vibrations of a container or housing module 20 for a burner unit 2 and heat engine 5 installation may differ significantly from container or housing module 21 for a battery 8 and / or a computer system 9 installation.

[0113] Moreover, with reference to figure 1 D, considering that the electric power cable 14 is flexible with respect to installation and the length of the electric power cable 14 may easily be selected according to the circumstances, the installation location of a first container or housing module 20 for the burner unit 2 and heat engine 5 may be spaced apart from an installation location of a second container or housing module 21 for the battery 8 and / or a computer system 9. Consequently, the installation location of the first container or housing module 21 may be close to the fuel source 19, for example at a problematic, inaccessible or hazardous location, while the installation location of the second container or housing module 21 may be more easily accessible.

[0114] A maximal distance between any of the various containers or housing modules of a housing arrangement 17 for a waste heat powered computing system 1 according to the disclosure may for example be 1 km.

[0115] For large installations, a dedicated industrial facility may be required for providing the necessary housing space.

[0116] According to another example embodiment, as schematically illustrated in figure 1 E, the heat source 62 may be located outside of the housing arrangement 17, whereas the heat engine 5, electric generator 7, battery 8 and computer system 9 is installed within the housing arrangement 17. In the illustrated example of figure 1 E, the heat source is a gas flare of a flare stack 66, and the waste heat powered computing system 1 may include a waste heat transfer system 63 for transferring heat from the gas flare to the heat engine 2.

[0117] As mentioned above, the waste heat transfer arrangement 63 may for example include a circulating heat transfer medium, such as a gas and / or liquid, an appropriate flow line 67 for enabling a circulating flow of the heat transfer medium, a waste heat source heat-exchanger 68 located close to the waste heat source 62, and possibly also a heat engine heat exchanger 69 located close to the heat engine 5 for transmitting the waste heat from the heat transfer medium to the heat engine 5.

[0118] The heat transfer medium is configured to absorb heat from the waste heat source 62 by means of the waste heat source heat exchanger 68, transfer the waste heat to the heat engine 5 via the flow line 67 for the heat transfer medium, release the waste heat to the heat engine 5, and return to the waste heat source heat exchanger 68 via the flow line 67.

[0119] This arrangement enables simple and cost-efficient manufacturing, transportation and installation of the waste heat powered computing system 1 , while waste heat from the waste heat source 62 is used for powering the computer server 9.

[0120] According to still another example embodiment, as schematically illustrated in figure 1 F, the heat source 62 is a gas flare of a flare stack 66 located outside of the housing arrangement 17, and the heat engine 5, electric generator 7, battery 8 and computer system 9 is installed within the housing arrangement 17, similar to figure 1 E. However, in this example embodiment, the waste heat powered computing system 1 further comprises a thermal energy storage 22 installed in the waste heat transfer arrangement 63.

[0121] Waste heat from the gas flare is transferred to the heat transfer medium in the waste heat source heat-exchanger 68 located close to the waste heat source 62, and subsequently guided to, and stored in, thermal energy storage 22. Waste heat stored in the thermal energy storage 22 is subsequently routed to the heat engine heat exchanger 69 located close to the heat engine 5 for transmitting the waste heat from the heat transfer medium to the heat engine 5. In figure 1 F, the thermal energy storage 22 is depicted as being installed close to the heat source 62, but the location of the thermal energy storage 22 can be adapted to the circumstance. For example, the thermal energy storage 22 may alternatively be located within the housing arrangement 17.

[0122] The waste heat transfer arrangement 63 may be used for capturing heat from the heat source 62, transmitting the heat to the thermal energy storage 22 for charging the thermal energy storage 22, and for transmitting thermal energy from the thermal energy storage 22 to the heat engine 5.

[0123] This arrangement enables simple and cost-efficient manufacturing, transportation and installation of the waste heat powered computing system 1 , while waste heat from the waste heat source 62 is used for powering the computer server 9, and the thermal energy storage 22 enables improved energy-saving efficiency because the energy release rate of the gas flare is varies significantly over time, and the intermediate thermal energy storage 22 can be used for delivering a more stable waste heat flow to the heat engine 5.

[0124] According to still a further alternative non-illustrated example embodiment of the waste heat powered computing system 1 , the waste heat source heat-exchanger 68 may be omitted, and the thermal energy storage 22 may be located close the waste heat source 62, such that the thermal energy storage 22 may be charged with waste heat directly from the waste heat source 62. Waste heat stored in the thermal energy storage 22 is subsequently routed to the heat engine heat exchanger 69 located close to the heat engine 5 for transmitting the waste heat from the heat transfer medium to the heat engine 5.

[0125] In some example embodiments, the computer system 9 comprises an internet connection, and wherein the computer system is configured to provide a cloud computing service over the internet.

[0126] The computer system 9 may include a data communication interface for establishing the internet connection. The internet connection may for example be implemented by wireless communication 15, such as via satellite link connection or a cellular telecommunication network, such as 4G, 5G, etc. Alternatively, the internet connection may for example be implemented by wire or by fibre optics communication 16. By means of an internet connection, or similar type a data communication, the IT- Services of the computer system are more accessible for a remotely located requester, thereby further enhancing the commercial value of the waste heat powered computing system 1.

[0127] Figure 2A schematically illustrates an example embodiment of the waste heat powered computing system 1 , wherein the fuel source is a petroleum refinery, natural gas processing plant, oil or gas extraction site, industrial plant, such as for example a steel manufacturing plant or a chemical plant, and wherein the fuel is flare gas

[0128] Natural gas herein refers to fossil gas. An oil or gas extraction site typically includes an oil well, a gas well, an offshore oil and / or gas rig.

[0129] Flare gas refers to flammable unwanted gas, waste gas, unusable gas, or the like, that need to be removed or vented from a gas site, for acting as a pressure release at an industrial site and / or for safety reasons, wherein the flammable unwanted gas, waste gas, unusable gas is burnt off for avoiding release of toxic unburnt gas, or because it is not technically or economically feasible to provide other solutions, such as pipe lines for recovery of the waste gas.

[0130] Typical examples of flare gas are methane compositions having a concentration of 10 to 100% methane, Hydrogen, CO, natural gas, or other combinations of Hydrocarbons.

[0131] The flare gas may for example stem from an industrial site, a petroleum refinery, a chemical plant, a natural gas processing plant, an oil or gas extraction site, or the like.

[0132] In industrial plants, flare stacks are primarily used for burning off flammable gas released by safety valves during unplanned overpressure of plant equipment, or during planned plant start-up and shutdown.

[0133] At oil and gas extraction sites, gas flares are similarly used for a variety of start-up, maintenance, testing, safety, and emergency purposes. Oil and gas extraction sites often include some level of production flaring, which means more or less constant flaring of flare gas for disposing unwanted petroleum gas.

[0134] A flare stack is a cheap and robust way to combust residual gas with varying content, and to eliminate any explosive or poisonous gases included therein. A flare stack typically includes a relatively tall vertical pipe, to ensure that the flare is located at an elevated position to avoid high concentrated poisonous gases and heat radiation on ground also providing a small facility footprint.

[0135] Flare gas may for example be burn off at a ground flare or a flare stack.

[0136] The flare stack may be an elevated flare, i.e. a flare stack as schematically illustrated in figure 1A, or a ground flare (i.e. flaring closer to ground). An elevated stack has the advantage of emissions and radiation being located at a distance from personnel on the ground. A ground flare may on the other hand be less expensive to put in place. In order to prevent access to the flare, and also to reduce radiation and sound / light pollution in its vicinity, a ground flare may be enclosed by suitable walls.

[0137] In the example embodiment in which the fuel for powering the waste heat powered computing system 1 is flare gas, the flare gas may be supplied to the fuel inlet 3 of the burner unit 2. The burner unit 2 may for example be located on the ground in connection with a ground flare, or at an elected position in connection with a flare stack.

[0138] The waste fuel may alternatively be ventilated or leaked hydrogen. Some industrial process generates hydrogen gas that is ventilated to the atmosphere, and in some regions hydrogen gas is naturally leaking from the ground.

[0139] With reference to figure 2B, in some example embodiments, the waste heat powered computing system 1 may comprise a storage 61 of compressed flare gas located between a flare gas source 19 and the burner unit 2. The flare gas is received from a flare gas source 19, as described above with reference to figure 2A, and a conveyed to a compressor 60, which compresses the flare gas and conveys the compressed flare gas to the storage 61 of compressed flare gas. The flare gas storage 61 may for example include one or more gas cylinders that are configured to store the flare gas at a pressure of about 100-200 bar. The compressed flare is subsequently routed to the fuel inlet 3 of the burner unit 2 for combustion and heat generation. The flare gas storage 61 contributes to increased cost-efficiency, because flare gas can be collected and stored during times when the flare gas production is larger than the maximal flare gas consumption of the burner unit 2. Moreover, the flare gas storage 61 contributes to increased cost-efficiency because the burner unit 2 may be operated at an optimal operating point in terms of flare gas supply, which can be conveniently controlled by a valve in the flow path of the fuel inlet 3. Moreover, the burner unit 2 can be operated based on stored flare gas during time periods without flare gas production at the flare gas source 19, thereby providing a more continuous and reliable supply of heat to the heat engine, and thus a more reliable operation of the computer system 9.

[0140] With reference to figure 3, the fuel source 19 may alternatively be an organic waste material storage facility or a bio gas storage facility, wherein the fuel is biogas made from organic waste material.

[0141] Biogas is generally produced through the processing of various types of organic waste in a biogas reactor. Biogas can be produced from a vast variety of organic raw materials. Biogas production is based on microbes feeding on the biomass, wherein digestion and / or decomposition of the organic waste is carried out by said microorganisms under an anaerobic environment, thereby converting the biomass to primarily carbon dioxide and methane.

[0142] Alternatively, biogas such as ventilated Methane or leaked Methane may be captured at landfills. This may be performed by for example by covering the landfills and collecting the ventilated biogas, which typically contains methane and other mixtures, at an opening in the cover.

[0143] The methane-based biogas is subsequently collected and stored in a gas storage facility, until it is supplied to the fuel inlet 3 of the burner unit 2 for generating heat.

[0144] Materials suitable for biogas production include: biodegradable waste from enterprises and industrial facilities; spoiled food; bio waste generated by consumers; sludge from wastewater treatment plants; manure and field biomass from agriculture. Moreover, according to a further example embodiment, biomass waste, such as wood chops, grass, etc. may be converted to bio charcoal in a charcoal manufacturing facility, wherein waste gas resulting from said bio charcoal manufacturing may be used as fuel for the burner unit 2.

[0145] Processing of organic waste material to produce biogas enables use of the waste material for powering the waste heat powered computing system 1 according to the present disclosure. Figure 4 schematically illustrates an example embodiment of the waste heat powered computing system 1 , wherein the fuel source is a storage or storage facility for storing biomass or combustible waste or residue materials, and wherein the fuel is biomass or combustible waste materials.

[0146] For example, the biomass may be manure; bio waste, cellulosic materials such as for example wood, wood chops, flax, hemp, grass, bamboo, etc.

[0147] The burner unit 2 may be designed specifically for the intended fuel type. In other words, the burner unit 2 may for example be a dedicated manure burner configured to burn manure, an incinerator burner unit configured to burn combustible waste materials or sewage sludge or the like, or a wood chop burner unit configured to burn wood chop, etc.

[0148] With reference to figure 5, in some example embodiments, the waste heat powered computing system 1 according to the present disclosure may further comprise a thermal energy storage 22 (TES), wherein the waste heat powered computing system 1 is configured to transfer heat from the burner unit 2 to the thermal energy storage 22 via a first heat transfer path 56, and subsequently to transfer heat from the thermal energy storage 22 to the heat engine 5 via a second heat transfer path 57, wherein the heat engine 5 is configured for converting thermal energy from the burner unit to kinetic energy.

[0149] Consequently, the burner unit 2, the thermal energy storage 22, and the heat engine 5 are arranged such that heat from the burner unit 2 is transferred to the thermal energy storage 22, and operation of the heat engine 5 is only based on thermal energy received from the thermal energy storage 22. Since certain direct heat transfer from the burner unit 2 to the heat engine 5 cannot be excluded, the term “only” herein means that operation of the heat engine 5 is based at least to 95% on thermal energy received from the thermal energy storage 22.

[0150] In this example embodiment, the thermal energy storage 22 thus acts as an intermediate heat energy storage, or as an energy buffer unit. This arrangement enables a more even heat transfer to the heat engine in situation in which the heat production by the burner unit 2 is strongly variable or irregular, for example due to variations in fuel supply tot e burner unit 2. In other words, an intermediate thermal energy storage 22 between the burner unit 3 and heat engine 5 provides a smoothing effect on the thermal energy rate delivered to the heat engine, thereby enabling the heat engine to operate with increased efficiency due to more controlled operating conditions, particularly when the heat output of the burner unit 2 is strongly varying over time. Moreover, this embodiment also enables operation of the heating engine 5 based purely on thermal energy heat from the thermal energy storage 22 when the burner unit 2 is not operative for some reason.

[0151] The thermal energy storage 22 may be of any type, such as for example sensible heat thermal energy storage, latent heat thermal energy storage, or thermochemical thermal energy storage.

[0152] With reference to figure 6, according to some example embodiments of the waste heat powered computing system 1 , the burner unit 2, the thermal energy storage 22, and the heat engine 5 are arranged such that heat from the burner unit 2 is simultaneously transferred to both the thermal energy storage 22 and the heat engine 5, such that the thermal energy storage 22 is charged with thermal energy from the burner unit 2 while the heat engine 5 is operated by thermal energy received directly from the burner unit 2.

[0153] In other words, the heat generated by the burner unit 2 does not necessarily have to be transferred to the heat engine 5 via the first heat transfer path 56, thermal energy storage 22, and second heat transfer path 57, as described with reference to figure 5. Instead, the heat generated by the burner unit 2 can also be transferred to the heat engine 5 directly from the burner unit 2 via direct heat transfer 18. Hence, this example embodiment includes two heat transfer paths for the transferring heat from the burner unit 2 to the heat engine 5. This has the advantage of reducing losses associated with the thermal energy storage 22, while being able to benefit from the above-descried smoothing effect on the thermal energy rate generated by the burner unit 2, and being able to operate the heating engine 5 based purely on thermal energy heat from the thermal energy storage 22 when the burner unit 2 is not operative for some reason.

[0154] The form and voltage level of the of the electric generator 7, battery 8 and computer system 9 may be different. For example, the electric generator 7 may for example be a 1 -phase or three-phase electric generator at a suitable power level, or A DC generator. The battery is a DC battery and the power supply for the computer system 9 may for example supply 240 Volt AC or 120 Volt AC, or higher, to the computer system 9. In some examples, the power supply may provide a 380 or 480V three-phase AC supply to the computer system 9. Hence, some type of electrical converters may be required for connection of said parts. For example, with reference to figure 7, the waste heat powered computing system 1 may include a first electrical converter 23, such as a AC / DC or DC / DC converter, for connecting the electric generator 7 with the battery 8, and second electrical converter 24, such as a DC / AC converter, for connecting the battery 8 with the computer system 9.

[0155] The battery 8 may be configured to provide an UPS functionality, i.e. an uninterruptible power supply, for reliable and stable power supply to the computer system 9.

[0156] The electric generator 7 may be arranged to operate at variable operating speed, depending on the current power output of the heat engine 4. In other words, the heat engine 4 and the electric generator 7 may be operated at a more optimal and efficient operating condition in view of the current waste heat supply, instead of having a fixed generator speed over time.

[0157] With reference to figure 7, the waste heat powered computing system 1 may include a controller 25 for controlling various parts of the heat powered computing system 1 , such as the battery 8, the heat engine 5, burner unit 2, the fuel source 19, the computer system 9 and / or the first and second electrical converters 23, 24. The controller 25 may for example have communication with said parts via a data communication bus 26, or the like

[0158] For example, with respect to the heat engine 5, the controller 25 may be configured to control the pressure of the working medium of the heat engine 5, the thermal energy input rate to the heat engine may be controlled by controlling operating of the heating heat exchanger, and the thermal energy output rate from the heat engine may be controlled by controlling operating of the cooling heat exchanger.

[0159] With respect to the burner unit 2, the controller 25 may control the fuel inlet for controlling the thermal heat output of the burner unit 2. With respect to the battery 8, the controller 25 may control the charging level of the battery over time, for example by controlling the output voltage level of the first electrical converter 23.

[0160] The waste heat powered computing system 1 may also be configured such that the battery 8 may be used as a starting battery for the heat engine, and / or as power supply for all auxiliary electrical loads.

[0161] With respect to the fuel source 19, the controller 25 may receive input data relating to the amount of fuel is currently available, and / or a forecast for the amount of fuel will be available in the near future, such as during the coming hour, day, week, month, year, etc.

[0162] With respect to the computer system 9, the controller 25 may control the performance of the computer system 9 for controlling the power consumption rate (Watt), for the purpose of avoiding a computer system shutdown due to lack of electric power from the electric generator and / or battery 8.

[0163] The controller 25 can thus be programmed to provide high operating reliability, maximal energy efficiency or cost efficiency of the waste heat powered computing system 1 , etc.

[0164] The controller is an electronic processing controller having a processor, data memory, and a data communication interface module for communication with the data communication bus 26.

[0165] With reference to figure 8, in some example embodiments of the waste heat powered computing system 1 according to the present disclosure, the burner unit 2 may be provided with oxygen supply inlet 11 and a carbon capture arrangement 27 located in the flue-gas flow path, and wherein the burner unit 2 is configured for oxygen enriched or oxy-fuel combustion of the fuel for improved carbon capture efficiency of the carbon capture arrangement 27.

[0166] Specifically, the oxygen supply inlet 11 of the burner unit 2 may be connected to an oxygen tank 28 for supply of oxygen to the burner unit 2. Moreover, the carbon capture arrangement 27 may be connected to a carbon dioxide storage tank 29 for storage of carbon dioxide captured from the exhaust gas exiting the burner unit 2. The carbon capture arrangement 27 may be located outside of the housing arrangement 17.

[0167] In oxy-fuel combustion capture, the fuel is combusted in the presence of almost pure oxygen gas to ensure that the resulting exhaust gas contains almost only carbon dioxide and water, and possibly also minor amounts of other gases. This enables use of smaller, more compact and more cost-efficient carbon capture arrangement 27.

[0168] The resulting carbon dioxide and water vapour may be separated by condensation and the captured carbon dioxide may be stored in the carbon dioxide storage tank 29, and the result flue gas exiting the flue 13 is primarily or almost only water vapour.

[0169] As a result, an almost 100% carbon dioxide free IT-service is provided based on waste heat. In other words, this enables use of fossil fuel where a 100% carbon capture can be made and thus provide a 100% green IT service with zero climate gasses but based on fossil fuels.

[0170] As briefly mentioned above, the thermal energy may be transferred from the burner unit 2 to the heat engine 5 by various ways of heat transfer 18, such as thermal conduction, natural or forced thermal convection and / or thermal radiation. Figures 9 to 12 show schematically a few example embodiments of the burner unit 2 arranged in connection with heat engine 5 for providing a heat transfer from the burner unit 2 to the heat engine 5.

[0171] The burner unit 2 has a combustion chamber 33 enclosed by a side wall 34 for forming a closed combustion chamber 33. The fuel inlet 3 and the air or oxygen gas inlet 11 extend through the wall 34 and is open to the combustion chamber 33, and the shape and form of the fuel inlet 3 is adapted to the type of fuel intended to be used. Similarly, the flue gas outlet 4 also extends through the side wall 34 of the burner unit 2 and is configured to enable evacuation of exhaust gas from the combustion chamber 33.

[0172] In some example embodiments, the heat engine 5 comprises a heating section 30 configured to increase the temperature of a circulating or cyclic working fluid of the heat engine 5, and a cooling section 31 configured to decrease the temperature of said working medium. The heating section 30 is typically adapted for enabling high flow of thermal energy from burner unit 2 to heating section 30 of heat engine 5. At the same time, the cooling section 31 may be provided with cooling fins 32, a forced flow of cooling air, liquid cooling, or the like.

[0173] Both the heating section 30 and the cooling section 31 may be seen as heat exchangers, wherein a heating heat exchanger transfers heat (thermal energy) from a burner unit 2 to the circulating working medium of the heat machine 5, and wherein a cooling heat exchanger transfers heat (thermal energy) from the circulating working medium of the heat machine 5 to a heat sink, such as for example a liquid radiator with forced air ventilation.

[0174] With reference to figure 9, in some example embodiments of the waste heat powered computing system according to the present disclosure, a part of the heat engine 5, in particular the heating section 30 of the heat engine 5, is located within the combustion chamber 33 of the burner unit 2. In other words, the heating section 30 of the heat engine 5 may pass through a dedicated opening in the side wall 34 of the burner unit 2, and protrude into the combustion chamber 33 of the burner unit 2, or at least form part of the interior side surface of the combustion chamber 33. Thereby, the heat transfer efficiency from the burner unit 2 to the heat engine 5 is improved.

[0175] However, in other example embodiments of the waste heat powered computing system according to the present disclosure, the heating section 30 of the heat engine 5 is arranged close to, but spaced apart from, an external surface 35 of a combustion chamber 33 of the burner unit 2 for enabling heat transfer by thermal radiation from the external surface 35 of the combustion chamber 33 to the heating section 30 of the heat engine 5. The heat engine 5 may for example be arranged less than 100 cm, specifically less than 50 cm, from the external surface 35 of a combustion chamber 33 of the burner unit 2.

[0176] According to still further example embodiments of the waste heat powered computing system according to the present disclosure, a part of the heat engine 5, in particular a heating section 30 of the heat engine 5, may be arranged in direct contact with an external surface 35 of the combustion chamber 33 of the burner unit 2 for enabling heat transfer by thermal conduction from the external surface 35 of the combustion chamber 2 to the heat engine 5, in particular to the heating section 30 of the heat engine 5.

[0177] With reference to figure 10, in some example embodiments of the waste heat powered computing system according to the present disclosure, the heat engine 5 further comprising a heat transfer arrangement 36 for transferring heat from the burner unit 2 to the heat engine 2, in particular to the heating section 30 of the heat engine 5, wherein the heat transfer arrangement 36 comprises a fluid-based heat exchanger, wherein the heat transfer arrangement 36 is configured such that a heat transfer fluid of the heat exchanger transfers heat from the burner unit 2 to the heat engine 5, in particular to a heating section 30 of the heat engine 5.

[0178] For example, the fluid-based heat transfer arrangement 36 may include a tube-based fluid circuit comprising a first heat transfer coil 37 located in or adjacent the combustion chamber 33, and a second heat transfer coil 38 located at the heating section 30 of the heat engine 5. As a result, when the heat transfer fluid circulates through the tube of the circuit, for example by means of a fluid pump, heat from the burner unit 2 is absorbed by the heat transfer fluid when flowing through the first heat transfer coil 37, and emitted to the heating section 30 of the heat engine 5 when flowing through the second heat transfer coil 37.

[0179] With reference to figure 11 , in some example embodiments of the waste heat powered computing system, which are similar the embodiment described with reference to figure 5, heat is transferred from the burner unit 2 to an intermediate thermal energy storage 22 via a first heat transfer arrangement 58, and subsequently from thermal energy storage 22 to the heat engine 5 via a second heat transfer arrangement 59.

[0180] In the example embodiment of figure 11 , the first heat transfer arrangement 58 comprises a tube-based fluid circuit comprising a first heat transfer coil 37 located in or adjacent the combustion chamber 33, and a heat transfer coil 39 located in the thermal energy storage 22, such that heat transfer fluid circulating through the tube of the circuit may absorb heat from the burner unit 2 by the heat transfer fluid when flowing through the first heat transfer coil 37, and subsequently emit heat to the thermal energy storage 22 when flowing through heat transfer coil 39 located in the thermal energy storage 22. Moreover, the second heat transfer arrangement 59 may comprise a tube-based fluid circuit comprising a second heat transfer coil 38 located in or adjacent the heating section 30 of the heat engine, and a further heat transfer coil 40 (or same as transfer coil 39) located in the thermal energy storage 22, such that heat transfer fluid circulating through the tube of the circuit may absorb heat from the thermal energy storage 22 by the heat transfer fluid when flowing through the further heat transfer coil 40, and subsequently emit heat to the heating section 30 of the heat engine 5 when flowing through the second heat transfer coil 38 located in or at the heating section 30 of the heat engine 5.

[0181] With reference to figure 12, in some example embodiments of the waste heat powered computing system, which is similar to the embodiment of figure 6, heat is transferred from the burner unit 2 to an intermediate thermal energy storage 22 via a first heat transfer arrangement 58, and subsequently from thermal energy storage 22 to the heat engine 5 via a second heat transfer arrangement 59, as described with reference to figure 11 , but here in combination with a direct contact between the heat engine 5, specifically between the heating section 30 of the heat engine 5, and an external surface 35 of a combustion chamber 33 of the burner unit 2, for enabling heat transfer by thermal radiation from the external surface 35 of the combustion chamber 33 to the heating section 30 of the heat engine 5.

[0182] The fluid-based heat transfer arrangements 36, 58, 59 described above with reference to figure 10 to 12 may include for example compressed gas or thermal oil as heat-exchanger fluid.

[0183] The heat engine 5, also referred to as hot gas engine, may have various designs. For example, the heat engine 5 may be a Stirling engine, or a turbine based heat engine, or an ORC turbine. Common for most or all heat engines is that the heat engine 5 is configured such that the working fluid continuously moves from the heating section 30 to the cooling section 31 , and oppositely, during operation of the heat engine, wherein the working fluid expands when being located in the heating section, and contracts when the being in the cooling section, and wherein the working fluid exerts a mechanical work on the moveable work structure in connection with expansion of the working fluid, and wherein the moveable work structure is operatively connected to a rotatable output shaft of the heat engine. Figure 13 shows schematically a first example embodiment of a Stirling engine having a first and second pistons 41 , 42 moving individually in a first cylinder 43, wherein a working fluid (e.g. hydrogen gas) is moved back and forth between the heating section 30, also referred to a hot side, and the cooling section 31 , also referred to as the cold side 31 , of the Stirling engine. In the heating section 30, the working fluid expands, thus operating the first piston 41 in the first cylinder 43. On its path between the cooling section 31 and the heating section, and / or at the heating section, the working fluid is heated. On its path between the heating section 30 and the cooling section 31 , and / or at the cooling section 31 , the working fluid is cooled. Working fluid may pass from the heating section 30 to the cooling section 31 via a flow passage 44. Both the first and second pistons 41 ,42 are connected to the same crankshaft 45 via individual connection rods 44, 45 that are connected 90 degrees offset from each other. During operation of the Stirling engine, the working fluid pressure thus alternates between a high pressure (during the compression stage) and a low pressure (during the expansion stage). The output shaft 6 of the heat engine is operatively connected to the crankshaft 46.

[0184] Figure 14 shows schematically a second example embodiment of a Stirling engine, which differs from the embodiment of figure 13 in that the first piston 41 moved in a first cylinder and the second piston moves in a second cylinder. Otherwise the functionality and design is essentially the same as described with reference to figure 13.

[0185] Alternatively, the heat engine is a ORC (Organic Rankine Cycle) turbine. An ORC turbines operate without the need for water or vapour, relying instead on a circulating organic fluid with suitable thermodynamic properties. This unique feature of ORC systems enables the efficient utilization of low-to-medium temperature heat sources that would otherwise remain unused, thus contributing to increased energy efficiency and reduced environmental impact.

[0186] Figure 15 schematically shows a heat engine in form of a closed-cycle gas turbine arrangement operated with thermal cyclic working gas. The closed-cycle heat powered gas turbine arrangement generally comprises a compressor 48, a first heatexchanger 49 for heating the working gas, a gas turbine 50, and a second heatexchanger 51 for cooling the working gas. The heat-source for the first heatexchanger 49 is herein the burner unit 2 and / or the thermal energy storage 22, and the second heat-exchanger 51 may use for example be a passive or forced air-cooler arrangement or a liquid-based cooling arrangement, or the like, and configured for cooling the working gas.

[0187] The compressor 48 is drivingly connected to the gas turbine 50, such that the compressor 48 is driven by the gas turbine 50. Furthermore, the gas turbine 50 is also drivingly connected to the electric generator 7, such that the thermal energy from the burner unit 2 is converted to kinetic energy by the closed-cycle heat powered gas turbine, and subsequently to electrical energy by the electrical generator 7.

[0188] In continuous operation of the closed-cycle heat powered gas turbine arrangement, the working gas is compressed in the compressor 48. The compressed working gas is subsequently routed to the first heat-exchanger 49 and heated therein. The heated working gas is then routed to the gas turbine 50, which is caused to rotate by the hot working gas acting on the turbine blades or aerofoils of the gas turbine arrangement. In connection with the working gas flows over the turbine blades or aerofoils, the working gas is expanded and it is allowed to pass to the second heat-exchanger 51 to be cooled. After the working gas is cooled by the second heat-exchanger 51 it is routed back to the compressor 48, thereby forming a closed-cycle for the working gas.

[0189] In other words, the same working gas is circulated repeatedly. The working gas performs a thermodynamic cycle, which means working fluid is circulated and used continuously again and again without leaving the gas turbine.

[0190] The basis of operation of the closed-cycle heat powered gas turbine arrangement is a turbine 50 that is driven with the difference between hot and cold side of the gas turbine arrangement, similar to a basic Stirling technology, but using a turbine instead of reciprocating pistons. Consequently, both the heating capacity of the first heatexchanger 49 and the cooling capacity of the second heat-exchanger 51 are important for obtaining a high power output of the gas turbine arrangement.

[0191] The computer system 9 according to the present disclosure will be described below with reference to figure 16. The computer system 9 comprises a processor architecture 52, a data memory 53, a data communication interface module 54, and a data bus 55, such as CAN Links, Network gear, LAN, or other, for transferring data between different components in a computer system 9. The computer system 9 may also include a user interface for enabling a user to interact with the computer system locally, i.e. not via the internet or otherwise remotely.

[0192] The processor architecture may for example be implemented or performed with one or more general purpose processors, one or more GPU units, one or more CPU units, application specific integrated circuit(s), field programmable gate array(s), one or more microprocessors, controllers, microcontrollers, or the like.

[0193] The data memory 53 may be realized using any number of devices, components, or modules, as appropriate to the embodiment. Moreover, the data memory 53. The data memory include cache memory, primary memory and / or secondary memory.

[0194] The cache memory is typically located very close to the processor, often within the processor chip itself, reducing access time located in or close. The cache memory is typically not connected to the processor via a conventional data bus.

[0195] The primary memory is generally a volatile or temporary memory, i.e. the content of a primary memory is lost when shutting down the computer system 9. The primary memory may be implemented in form of RAM, ROM, PROM, EPROM, registers, semiconductor memory

[0196] The secondary memory is often used for storing data and programs that can be accessed or retrieved even after the computer is turned off, i.e. non-volatile data memory. Some examples of secondary memory include hard disk drives (HDDs), solid-state drives (SSDs), optical discs (such as CDs and DVDs), and flash memory (such as USB drives and memory cards), or the like.

[0197] In some example embodiments, the computer system 9 further comprises a data communication interface module 54. The data communication interface module 54 may be configured to communicate data between the computer system 9 and one or more remote users, requesters and / or servers. The data received and transmitted by the data communication interface module 54 may include, without limitation: software applications and associated data, GPS location data, music, film, user data, and other data compatible with the computer system 9. The data communication interface module 54 may communicate using various communication protocols, such as for example HyperText Transfer Protocol ( HTTP), File Transfer Protocol (FTP), Point-to-Point protocol (PPP), Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol TCP / IP, or the like.

[0198] Hence, the data communication interface module may be a network interface module.

[0199] The data communication may be implemented wirelessly through the internet. For example, the data communication interface module may comprise one or more of a satellite communication devices, cellular communication devices, or radio antenna communication devices.

[0200] In other words, the data communication interface module may provide a source of internet connection via a satellite communication device, cellular communication device, and / or radio communication device or other network communication equipment.

[0201] The computer system 9 may however provide an IT-service, or an IT-functionality or form said IT-system, without a data communication interface module 54. A user may for example manually transport a data carrier, such as disc drive or other type of data memory, to the computer system 9, wherein the data carrier includes data to be analysed and / or processed by the computer system 9.

[0202] The waste heat powered computing system 1 according to the present disclosure may include a computer program comprising instructions stored in the data memory, wherein the computer system is configured to execute said computer program for causing the computer system to carry out said IT-service, or said IT-functionality or form said IT-system.

[0203] The IT-service, IT-functionality or IT-system may be a cloud computing service, in particular a cloud server capacity. Cloud computing service can for example be combined with satellite communications for offering users improved coverage, redundancy, and reliability, ensuring a seamless and consistent communications experience across different environments.

[0204] With reference to figure 17, the present disclosure also includes a method for operating a waste heat powered computing system as described above. The method for operating a waste heat powered computing system 1 comprises a first step S1 of capturing waste heat from a waste heat source 62 or burning waste fuel in a burner unit 2 for converting the waste fuel to thermal energy.

[0205] The step of burning waste fuel in a burner unit 2 may additionally include supplying waste fuel to the burner unit having a fuel inlet and a flue gas outlet, and burning the waste fuel for converting the waste fuel to thermal energy, wherein the waste fuel is flare gas, biomass waste, biogas made from organic waste material, combustible waste materials, ventilated Methane, leaked Methane, ventilated Hydrogen, or leaked Hydrogen.

[0206] The method further comprises a second step S2 of transferring thermal energy from the waste heat source 62 or waste fuel burner unit to a heat engine and operating the heat engine for converting the thermal energy received from the waste heat source 62 or waste fuel burner unit to kinetic energy for moving and imparting rotational energy to an output shaft of the heat engine.

[0207] The method further comprises a third step S3 of driving a stand-alone electric generator that is operatively connected to the output shaft of the heat engine for converting the rotational energy provided by said output shaft to electrical energy.

[0208] The method further comprises a fourth step S4 of storing electrical energy received from the electric generator in a battery operatively connected to the electric generator, wherein the electric generator and battery are configured for island mode operation.

[0209] Finally, the method comprises a fifth step S5 of operating a computer system based on electrical energy received from the battery for providing an IT-service, an IT- functionality or an IT-system by means of the computer system.

[0210] In some example embodiments, the fifth step S5 of providing an IT-service, an IT- functionality or an IT-system by means of the computer system may involve providing a cloud computing service over the internet by means of an internet connection of the computer system.

[0211] The present disclosure has been presented above with reference to specific embodiments. However, other embodiments than the above described are possible and within the scope of the disclosure. Different method steps than those described above, performing the method by hardware or software, may be provided within the scope of the disclosure.

[0212] The methods disclosed herein may be implemented in a general purpose computer, a processor, or a processor core. Suitable processors include, by way of example, a general purpose processor, a special purpose processor, a conventional processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in association with a DSP core, a controller, a microcontroller, Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) circuits, any other type of integrated circuit (IC), and / or a state machine.

[0213] The methods or flow charts provided herein may be implemented in a computer program, software, or firmware incorporated in a computer-readable storage medium for execution by a general purpose computer or a processor. Examples of computer- readable storage mediums include a read only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a register, cache memory, semiconductor memory devices, magnetic media such as internal hard disks and removable disks, magneto-optical media, and optical media such as CD-ROM disks, and digital versatile disks (DVDs).

[0214] Thus, according to an exemplary embodiment, there is provided a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing one or more programs configured to be executed by one or more processors of waste heat powered computing system, the one or more programs comprising instructions for performing the method according to any one of the above-discussed embodiments. Alternatively, according to another exemplary embodiment a cloud computing system can be configured to perform any of the method aspects presented herein. The cloud computing system may comprise distributed cloud computing resources that jointly perform the method aspects presented herein under control of one or more computer program products. Moreover, the processor may be connected to one or more communication interfaces and / or sensor interfaces for receiving and / transmitting data with external entities such as e.g. sensors arranged on the vehicle surface, an off-site server, or a cloud-based server.

[0215] The processor(s) associated with waste heat powered computing system may be or include any number of hardware components for conducting data or signal processing or for executing computer code stored in memory. The system may have an associated memory, and the memory may be one or more devices for storing data and / or computer code for completing or facilitating the various methods described in the present description. The memory may include volatile memory or non-volatile memory. The memory may include database components, object code components, script components, or any other type of information structure for supporting the various activities of the present description. According to an exemplary embodiment, any distributed or local memory device may be utilized with the systems and methods of this description. According to an exemplary embodiment the memory is communicably connected to the processor (e.g., via a circuit or any other wired, wireless, or network connection) and includes computer code for executing one or more processes described herein.

[0216] It will be appreciated that the above description is merely exemplary in nature and is not intended to limit the present disclosure, its application or uses. While specific examples have been described in the specification and illustrated in the drawings, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that various changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted for elements thereof without departing from the scope of the present disclosure as defined in the claims. Furthermore, modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material to the teachings of the present disclosure without departing from the essential scope thereof.

[0217] The various example embodiments described in the detailed description, as well as with reference to figures 1A to 17, include various technical features, and all combinations of all features cannot be described and / illustrated herein due to the large amount of possible combination of features. However, all reasonable combinations of features are included herein. For example, the housing arrangement and / or the waste heat energy recovery system described with reference to figure 1C may be applied to any of the other embodiments described herein. Moreover, the modular design of the waste heat powered computing system described with reference to figure 1 D may be applied to any of the other embodiments described herein. The various fuel types and / or fuel sources and / or waste heat sources described with reference to figures 1A, 1 B, 1 E, 1 F, 2A, 2B, 3, 4 may be applied to any of the other embodiments described herein. The various implementations of a thermal energy storage described with reference to figures 5 to 6 may be applied to any of the other embodiments described herein. The electrical converters and / or the controller described with reference to figure 7 may be applied to any of the other embodiments described herein. The carbon capture arrangement described with reference to figure 8 may be applied to any of the other embodiments described herein. The various types of heat transfer arrangements between the burner unit and heat engine described with reference to figures 9 to 12 may be applied to any of the other embodiments described herein.

[0218] Therefore, it is intended that the present disclosure not be limited to the particular examples illustrated by the drawings and described in the specification as the best mode presently contemplated for carrying out the teachings of the present disclosure, but that the scope of the present disclosure will include any embodiments falling within the foregoing description and the appended claims. Reference signs mentioned in the claims should not be seen as limiting the extent of the matter protected by the claims, and their sole function is to make claims easier to understand.

[0219] REFERENCE SIGNS

[0220] 1. Waste heat powered computing 35 33. Combustion chamber system 34. Side wall

[0221] 2. Burner unit 35. External surface

[0222] 3. Fuel inlet 36. Heat transfer arrangement

[0223] 4. Flue gas outlet 37. First heat transfer coil

[0224] 5. Heat engine 40 38. Second heat transfer coil

[0225] 6. Output shaft 39. Heat transfer coil of TES

[0226] 7. Electric generator 40. Further heat transfer coil of TES

[0227] 8. Battery 41. First piston

[0228] 9. Computer system 42. Second piston

[0229] 10. Requester 45 43. First cylinder

[0230] 11. Air or oxygen gas inlet 44. First connection rod

[0231] 12. Combustion chamber 45. Second connection rod

[0232] 13. Flue 46. Crankshaft

[0233] 14. Electric power cable 47. Second cylinder

[0234] 15. Wireless communication 50 48. Compressor

[0235] 16. Wired or optical communication 49. First heat-exchanger

[0236] 17. Housing arrangement 50. Gas turbine

[0237] 18. Heat transfer 51. Second heat-exchanger

[0238] 19. Fuel source 52. Processor architecture

[0239] 20. First housing module 55 53. Data memory

[0240] 21. Second housing module 54. Data communication interface

[0241] 22. Thermal energy storage module

[0242] 23. First electrical converter 55. Data bus

[0243] 24. Second electrical converter 56. First heat transfer path

[0244] 25. Controller 60 57. Second heat transfer path

[0245] 26. Data communication bus 58. First heat transfer arrangement

[0246] 27. Carbon capture arrangement 59. Second heat transfer

[0247] 28. Oxygen tank arrangement

[0248] 29. Dioxide storage tank 60. Compressor

[0249] 30. Heating section 65 61. Gas storage

[0250] 31. Cooling section 62. Waste heat source

[0251] 32. Cooling fins 63. Waste heat transfer system 64. Length 10 72. First energy recovery heat

[0252] 65. Height exchanger

[0253] 66. Flare stack 73. Second energy recovery heat

[0254] 67. Flow line exchanger 68. Waste heat source heat74. Third energy recovery heat exchanger 15 exchanger

[0255] 69. Heat engine heat exchanger 75. Heat engine cooling

[0256] 70. Ventilation outlet arrangement

[0257] 71. Air inlet

Claims

43CLAIMS1 . A waste heat powered computing system (1) comprising: a waste heat source (62) or a waste fuel burner unit (2); a heat engine (5) configured for converting thermal energy received from the waste heat source (62) or the waste fuel burner unit (2) to kinetic energy for moving and imparting rotational energy to an output shaft (6) of the heat engine (5); a stand-alone electric generator (7) operatively connected to the output shaft (6) of the heat engine (5) and adapted for converting the rotational energy provided by said output shaft (6) to electrical energy; a battery (8) operatively connected to the electric generator (7) and adapted for storing the electrical energy produced by said electric generator (7), wherein the electric generator (7) and battery (8) are configured for island mode operation; a computer system (9) connected to the battery (8) and configured to be powered by the battery (8), wherein the computer system (9) provides an IT- service, an IT-functionality or an IT-system.

2. The waste heat powered computing system according to claim 1 , wherein the computer system (9) comprises an internet connection, and wherein the computer system (9) is configured to provide a cloud computing service over the internet.

3. The waste heat powered computing system according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the waste fuel burner unit (2) is configured for converting waste fuel to thermal energy by burning the waste fuel, wherein the waste fuel is flare gas, biomass waste material, biogas made from organic waste material, combustible waste material, ventilated Methane, leaked Methane, ventilated Hydrogen, or leaked Hydrogen.

4. The waste heat powered computing system according to any of the preceding claims, further comprises a waste fuel source (19), wherein the waste fuel source is any of:44 a petroleum refinery, natural gas processing plant, oil or gas extraction site, industrial plant, and wherein the waste fuel is flare gas; or a storage facility storing said biomass waste material, biogas, combustible waste materials, or combustible waste gas, wherein the waste fuel is biomass waste material, biogas or combustible waste materials, flare gas, ventilated Methane, leaked Methane, ventilated Hydrogen, or leaked Hydrogen.

5. The waste heat powered computing system according any of the preceding claims, wherein the biomass waste material is any of: manure; bio waste, cellulosic materials, wood, flax, hemp, grass, or bamboo.

6. The waste heat powered computing system according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the heat engine (5) comprises a heating section (30) configured to increase the temperature of a circulating or cyclic working fluid of the heat engine (5), a cooling section (31) configured to decrease the temperature of said working medium.

7. The waste heat powered computing system according to claim 6, wherein the heat engine (5) is configured such that the working fluid continuously moves from the heating section (30) to the cooling section (31), and oppositely, during operation of the heat engine (5), wherein the working fluid expands when being located in the heating section (30), and contracts when the being in the cooling section (31), and wherein the working fluid exerts a mechanical work on the moveable work structure in connection with expansion of the working fluid, and wherein the moveable work structure is operatively connected to a rotatable output shaft (6) of the heat engine (5).

8. The waste heat powered computing system according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the heat engine (5) is a Stirling engine or a heat powered closed- cycle gas turbine or an ORC turbine.

9. The waste heat powered computing system according to any of the preceding claims,45 wherein a part of the heat engine (5), in particular a heating section (30) of the heat engine (5), is located in a combustion chamber (33) of the burner unit (2); or wherein a part of the heat engine (5), in particular a heating section (30) of the heat engine (5), is arranged in direct contact with an external surface (35) of a combustion chamber (33) of the burner unit (2) for enabling heat transfer by thermal conduction from the external surface (35) of the combustion chamber to the heat engine (5), in particular to the heating section of the heat engine (5); or wherein a part of the heat engine (5), in particular a heating section (30) of the heat engine (5), is arranged close to an external surface (35) of a combustion chamber of the burner unit (2) for enabling heat transfer by thermal radiation from the external surface (35) of the combustion chamber to the heat engine (5), in particular to the heating section (30) of the heat engine (5); or wherein the heat engine (5) further comprising a heat transfer arrangement (36,58,59) for transferring heat from the burner unit (2) to the heat engine (5), in particular to a heating section (30) of the heat engine (5), wherein the heat transfer arrangement (36,58,59) comprises a fluid-based heat exchanger, wherein the heat transfer arrangement (36,58,59) is configured such that a heat transfer fluid of the heat exchanger transfers heat from the burner unit (2) to the heat engine (5), in particular to a heating section (30) of the heat engine (5).

10. The waste heat powered computing system according to any of the preceding claims, further comprising a thermal energy storage (22), wherein the waste heat powered computing system (1) is configured to transfer heat from the burner unit (2) to the thermal energy storage (22), and subsequently to transfer heat from the thermal energy storage (22) to the heat engine (5), which is configured for converting thermal energy originating from the burner unit (2) to kinetic energy.11 . The waste heat powered computing system according to any of the preceding claims, further comprising a thermal energy storage (22), wherein the burner unit (2), the thermal energy storage (22), and the heat engine (5) are arranged such that heat from the burner unit (2) is simultaneously transferred to both the thermal energy storage (22) and the heat engine (5), such that the thermal energy storage(22) is charged with thermal energy from the burner unit (2) while the heat engine (5) is operated by thermal energy received directly from the burner unit (2).

12. The waste heat powered computing system according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the burner unit (2) is provided with oxygen supply inlet (11) and a carbon capture arrangement (27) located in the flue-gas flow path, and wherein the burner unit (2) is configured for oxygen enriched or oxy-fuel combustion of the fuel for improved carbon capture efficiency of the carbon capture arrangement (27).

13. The waste heat powered computing system according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the computer system (9) comprises a processor architecture (52), a data memory (53), and a data bus (55) for transferring data between different components in the computer system (9).

14. The waste heat powered computing system according to any of the preceding claims, wherein a computer program comprising instructions is stored in the data memory, and wherein the computer system (9) is configured to execute said computer program for causing the computer system (9) to carry out said IT- service or said IT-functionality or form said IT-system.

15. The waste heat powered computing system according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the waste heat powered computing system (1) further comprises an energy recovery system for heating the inlet air supplied to the burner unit (2) by means of waste heat emitted from the waste heat powered computing system (1).

16. The waste heat powered computing system according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the waste heat powered computing system (1) is at least partly installed within one or more containers (17, 20, 21).

17. The waste heat powered computing system according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the heat engine (5), the electric generator (7), the battery (8) and the computer system (9), are installed within a common container (17, 20, 21).

18. The waste heat powered computing system according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the heat engine (5) and the electric generator (7) are installed within a common first container (20), and wherein the battery (8) and the computer system (9) are installed within a common second container (21).

19. The waste heat powered computing system according to any of the preceding claims, further comprising a waste heat transfer arrangement (63) configured for conveying waste heat from the waste heat source (62) to the heat engine (5), wherein the waste heat transfer arrangement (63) comprises a circulating heat transfer medium, a flow line for enabling a circulating flow of the heat transfer medium, and a waste heat source heat-exchanger (68) located close to the waste heat source (62) and / or a heat engine heat exchanger (69) located close to the hat engine 5 for transmitting the waste heat from the heat transfer medium to the heat engine (5).

20. The waste heat powered computing system according to any of the preceding claims, further comprising a controller (25) configured for controlling one or more of the following operating parameters of the waste heat powered computing system: a pressure level of a working medium of the heat engine (5); a fuel inlet flow rate to the waste fuel burner unit (2); a heat transfer rate from the heat source (62) to the heat engine (5).

21. A method for operating a waste heat powered computing system, comprising: capturing waste heat from a waste heat source (62) or burning waste fuel in a burner unit (2) for converting the waste fuel to thermal energy; transferring thermal energy from the waste heat source (62) or waste fuel burner unit (2) to a heat engine (5) and operating the heat engine (5) for converting the thermal energy received from the waste heat source (62) or waste fuel burner unit (2) to kinetic energy for moving and imparting rotational energy to an output shaft (6) of the heat engine (5);48 driving a stand-alone electric generator (7) that is operatively connected to the output shaft (6) of the heat engine (5) for converting the rotational energy provided by said output shaft (6) to electrical energy; storing electrical energy received from the electric generator (7) in a battery (8) operatively connected to the electric generator (7), wherein the electric generator (7) and battery (8) are configured for island mode operation; operating a computer system (9) based on electrical energy received from the battery (8) for providing an IT-service, an IT-functionality or an IT-system by means of the computer system (9).

22. The method for operating the waste heat powered computing system according to claim 21 , wherein the step of providing an IT-service, an IT-functionality or an IT-system by means of the computer system (9) involves providing a cloud computing service over the internet by means of an internet connection of the computer system (9).

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