Optimal control strategy of waste heat recovery organic rankine cycles

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Many industrial processes have a surprisingly low efficiency when considering their use of energy: often wasting nearly two thirds of the source energy as heat that is released to the atmosphere. The ability to capture this heat and use it to generate clean electrical power can provide a considerable boost to the economics of the host plant as well as reducing the environmental impact associated with the power usage, principally by offsetting electrical power generated from other sources such as coal. The present project is an examination of the waste-heat recovery process with a view to developing, configuring and optimizing the control systems involved. The specific focus of this work will be the control of Organic Rankine Cycle systems, such as those owned and operated by Genalta Power, as a means to generate electricity. In general, the goal of the overall system is to maximize the extracted energy as indicated by electricity generated, traded-off against associated costs including wear and use of the actuators. The proposed work on control system design will explore the application of advanced control strategies using linear and nonlinear methods and compare these against each other and against standard industrial control such as PID. The best performing control system will be identified based on meeting the objectives of maximal energy extraction, longest predicted life of the process, cheapest capital and operating costs, and safest operation. The inherent trade-offs and relative merits of the schemes will be explored and reported on. The end result will be a control system useful for Genalta and trained personnel able to contribute directly to waste-heat recovery systems design and operation.