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The ENERCO_LT (ENErgy ReCOvery from Low Temperature heat sources) project is a waste heat recovery project that aims to reduce energy consumption in industrial gas production sites by producing electricity through Organic Rankine Cycles supplied by exothermic process discharges at low and medium temperatures. Two promising thermal sources consisting of (i) almost dry gas flow at 165 °C and (ii) moist gas flow at 150 °C, were investigated.

The optimal recovery solution can be identified via an appropriate system design, an adequate working fluid and suitable operating conditions. Systemic optimization coupling exergy analysis and pinch minimization have been performed to assess the potential of various working fluids within various system designs, i.e. single stage system and double stage system.

The results indicate that the global exergy efficiency is strongly linked to the critical temperature of the …