Steam Storage Rankine Cycle for Unutilized Applications in Distributed High-Temperature Waste Heat Recovery

In the light of increasingly valuable resources and a trend towards more efficient processes pushed by climate change, distributed Waste Heat Recovery (WHR) is an important element in the transformation of the energy supply. In recent years, however, WHR systems have often been optimized and implemented for steady-state applications. In this paper, dynamic system modeling and a Steam Rankine Cycle (SRC) pilot plant with 40 kWel are used to investigate applications unutilized thus far for the conversion of high-temperature waste heat into electricity using a shell boiler with 1.27 m3 of liquid water for short-term energy storage. In addition to experimental investigations of the storage system as an Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) and the input and output of +/-100% electrical power peaks for grid-assistive operation, a control concept for the use of volatile waste heat is developed from a model-based controller design up to a Model Predictive Control (MPC) with the help of a dynamic system simulation. Based on the validated model and experimental measurement data, outlooks for concrete applications with higher storage capacity and power are provided.