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A 4E Analysis of a Solar Organic Rankine Cycle Applied to a Paint Shop in the Automotive Industry

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  • Ronaldo Nilo Miyagi Martire

    (Dürr Systems Inc., 26801 Northwestern Highway, Southfield, MI 48307, USA
    Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL 35401, USA)

  • Mustafa Erguvan

    (Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL 35401, USA)

  • Shahriar Amini

    (Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL 35401, USA)

Abstract

In a conventional automotive manufacturing plant, the paint shop alone can represent 36% of the total energy consumption, making it the most demanding area in terms of electricity and fossil fuel energy consumption. This study explores the possibility of decentralizing the production of electrical power and heat simultaneously, using an Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) system integrated with a Parabolic Trough Collector (PTC) in a paint shop. To date, no similar system has been explored or implemented by the automotive industry. To increase the efficiency of the integrated system, wasted heat generated during the paint manufacturing process is recovered and used to pre-heat the organic fluid in the ORC system. A 4E analysis (Energy, Exergy, Economic, and Environmental) is conducted to determine the practical viability of the proposed system. When applied to the southern region of the USA, this system’s installed capacity is projected to be 11 times higher than the two unique SORC pieces of equipment currently running in Louisiana and Florida. The goals are to reduce the reliance on external primary energy sources and decrease the carbon emission footprint from production activity. The system is evaluated for a location in Alabama, USA. The designed SORC, using toluene, can produce 712.2 kW el net and 13,132 kg/h of hot water, with an overall energy efficiency of 31.02%; exergy efficiency of 34.23; and ORC efficiency of 27.70%. This leads to an electrical energy saving of 5.9% for the manufacturing plant. The regenerative thermal oxidizer (RTO) heat exchanger, the secondary heat source of the system, has the highest exergy destruction—3583 kW. The system avoids the emission of 4521 tCO 2 per year. A payback period of 10.16 years for the proposed system is estimated. Considering a planning horizon of 10 years, the investment in the system is also justified by a benefit–cost analysis.

Suggested Citation

  • Ronaldo Nilo Miyagi Martire & Mustafa Erguvan & Shahriar Amini, 2024. "A 4E Analysis of a Solar Organic Rankine Cycle Applied to a Paint Shop in the Automotive Industry," Energies, MDPI, vol. 17(17), pages 1-23, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:17:y:2024:i:17:p:4291-:d:1465436
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    References listed on IDEAS

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