Low temperature organic rankine cycle for a european RO-PAX vessel

Abstract

In this study a method for determining a suitable working fluid for a potential ORC installation recovering waste heat from the high temperature cooling water system on board the RoPax vessel Stena Scandinavica is applied. This study is based on an exhaustive investigation into previous research in this area of thermodynamics and engineering. The working fluids are evaluated for their potential output, perfor­mance, safety and their economic and environmental performance. These evaluation criterias are matched with this study's intended application on board a european merchant marine vessel. The results of this study found that one such installation is substantially more profitable both from an economical and environmental per­spective. The study found that the newer fourth generation working fluids such as R1234ze(E) performed very well in the evaluation and are good candidates for a low temperature ORC plant at sea. One other conclusion drawn by this study is that working fluids with a high GWP value generally out perform the newer less environmentally impactful working fluids. The theory behind and application of this method is also in detail described in this study.