Organic Rankine Cycle System for Waste Heat Recovery in Crude Oil Hydrocracking

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Solution Overview

Problem

Industrial facilities, such as petroleum refineries, generate significant waste heat that is not efficiently reused, leading to energy loss and greenhouse gas emissions, which contributes to environmental pollution and increased operational costs.

Innovation Solution

Implementing an Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) system that consolidates low-grade waste heat from multiple sources using a common intermediate heat transfer medium, optimizing the power generation cycle and fluid selection to maximize energy recovery and efficiency, while minimizing capital costs and design alterations.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Loss of energy

If waste heat is not reused, then operational costs increase and energy is lost, but implementing heat recovery systems increases device complexity and capital costs

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvewaste heat recoveryVSAvoidheat recovery system

Core Design Contradiction:

Loss of energyVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent consolidates multiple low-grade waste heat sources into a single intermediate heat transfer medium that feeds the ORC system. This merging approach combines heat from various process streams (cooling water, process fluids, etc.) into one unified thermal resource, reducing the number of separate heat recovery systems needed and simplifying overall system complexity while maximizing energy recovery

Inventive Principle:

Principle #5Merging (Combining)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent introduces an intermediate heat transfer medium as a mediator between multiple waste heat sources and the ORC system. This intermediate fluid collects and transports thermal energy from various low-grade sources, enabling efficient heat transfer to the ORC cycle without requiring direct integration with each individual heat source, thus reducing system complexity

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Productivity

If ORC system is optimized for maximum power generation, then energy efficiency improves, but capital costs and design alterations increase

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvepower generationVSAvoidsystem implementation

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSEase of manufacture

Solution Approach 1:

The patent recovers only the portion of waste heat that is most economically viable and technically feasible, rather than attempting to capture 100% of available thermal energy. The system is designed to capture heat from selected process streams where the temperature and flow rate provide optimal balance between power generation potential and implementation cost, avoiding excessive capital investment in marginal cases

Inventive Principle:

Principle #16Partial or excessive action

Solution Approach 2:

The patent optimizes the ORC system by carefully selecting and adjusting key parameters including working fluid type, evaporator temperature, condenser pressure, and heat exchanger surface area. These parameter optimizations maximize power generation efficiency while controlling equipment size and capital costs, achieving the best balance between productivity and ease of manufacture

Inventive Principle:

Principle #35Parameter changes

Applied Scientific Principles

This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.

Function Achieved in This Case

This approach enables the generation of carbon-free power from waste heat, reducing pollution and costs, with potential power outputs of up to 80 MW and improved energy efficiency, without requiring significant changes to existing facility designs.

Implementation Method 1

Some of the wasted heat can be used to power an Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) machine

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectOrganic Rankine Cycle: Rankine Cycle

Implementation Method 2

consolidates low-grade waste heat from multiple sources using a common intermediate heat transfer medium

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectHeat transfer: Conduction (thermal)

Implementation Method 3

using a common intermediate heat transfer medium

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectConvection: Convection

Data Source

PatentUS9803506B2Power generation from waste heat in integrated crude oil hydrocracking and aromatics facilities

Publication Date: 2017.10.31 SAUDI ARABIAN OIL CO

AI summary

A power generation system includes two heating fluid circuits coupled to multiple heat sources from multiple sub-units of a petrochemical refining system. The sub-units include an integrated hydrocracking plant and aromatics plant. A first subset and a second subset of the heat sources includes diesel hydro-treating plant heat exchangers coupled to streams in the diesel hydro-treating plant and aromatics plant heat exchangers coupled to streams in the aromatics plant, respectively. A power generation system includes an organic Rankine cycle (ORC) including a working fluid that is thermally coupled to the two heating fluid circuits to heat the working fluid, and an expander to generate electrical power from the heated working fluid. The system includes a control system to activate a set of control valves to selectively thermally couple each heating fluid circuit to at least a portion of the heat sources.