Exploring Waste Heat Utilization in Refineries for Power Generation: Case Study

This study focuses on the utilization of low-grade waste heat for power generation in refineries. Refinery is an integral component of the petrochemical industry and is known for its significant waste heat discharge, offering an opportunity for energy recovery and efficiency improvement. Innovative strategies for harnessing waste heat for power generation within refinery operations are explored in this work. The application of Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) technology with a recuperator significantly enhances waste heat recovery, leading to an increase in thermal efficiency from 7.20 % to 8.74 %. Additionally, this technology saves an overall cooling utility of 4.94 MW and enables the turbine to generate an extra 1.83 MW.