Waste heat utilization in natural gas pipeline compression stations by an organic rankine cycle

YILMAZOĞLU M. Z., Amirabedin E., Shotorban B.

ENERGY EXPLORATION & EXPLOITATION, cilt.32, sa.2, ss.317-328, 2014 (SCI-Expanded) identifier identifier

  • Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
  • Cilt numarası: 32 Sayı: 2
  • Basım Tarihi: 2014
  • Doi Numarası: 10.1260/0144-5987.32.2.317
  • Dergi Adı: ENERGY EXPLORATION & EXPLOITATION
  • Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus
  • Sayfa Sayıları: ss.317-328
  • Anahtar Kelimeler: Natural gas transportation, Natural gas compression station, Organic Rankine Cycle, Waste heat recovery, Pipeline, WORKING FLUIDS, OPTIMIZATION, RECOVERY, ORC
  • Gazi Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

Utilizing compressors, natural gas compression stations (NGCS) supply the required pressure to transport the natural gas in pipelines. This study proposes to utilize the waste heat of gas turbines (GT), employed in these stations, to produce shaft power for compressors. A NGCS coupled to an Organic Ranlcine Cycle (ORC) is simulated by THERMOFLEX in this study. Ten different working fluids are compared against each other in the ORC to select a working fluid with the highest possible efficiency and obtainable power, and lowest possible environmental impacts. According to the results, n-Pentane is selected to be the working fluid, as compared to others, it better meets these criteria. The effects of the variation of the ambient temperature and the condenser pressure on the net power of the cycle working with n-Pentane are investigated in details. It was found that the utilization of waste heat in NGCS by an ORC can improve the energy efficiency and generates electricity for near rural areas.