R&D PROJECTS

LOW-TEMPERATURE HEAT VALORISATION TOWARDS ELECTRICITY PRODUCTION

Acronym: LOVE

Time Period: From 01.10.2011 to 31.03.2014

Partners:

Total Budget: 5 061 351 €

Financing:  EU- FP7 Energy

Short description:

Low-temperature process waste heat is primarily valorized to provide heat to other applications and, more rarely, to provide cooling or to produce electricity, which is often perceived to be less attractive. However, generating electricity does represent a rational alternative, since it may circumvent drawbacks linked to demand seasonality and location. The LOVE project aims at developing innovative technological solutions to generate electricity from low-temperature (< 120°C) waste heat sources identified within various industrial processes, in general, and specifically in the cement industry which is among the more energy-intensive applications worldwide. Innovative thermodynamic cycles will be investigated while existing ones will be optimized. Advanced solutions for heat exchangers operating in hostile environments will be developed along with a particularly efficient turbine solution. A systemic approach will be implemented using a computer-aided tool providing for overall system optimization. Two small and mobile demonstration units will be built and tested in a partner laboratory and again installed and tested at two partner industrial sites. Further applications of the proposed technological solutions to other energy-hungry industrial sectors and to the waste heat recovery on CHP plants will also be evaluated. This project will result in important advances in applied cycle thermodynamics, as well as in industrial system modeling and optimization, thus allowing for significant technological developments which will be applied to the cement production sector. The constitution of the consortium partners ensures an excellent cross-fertilization towards the realization of the project objectives. The consortium combines the strengths of leading actors in the industrial sector of interest, of equipment manufacturers active in the segment, and of academic organizations with active research on-going in the field, along with two major European energy providers.

Website: http://love.epfl.ch/