Capturing Waste Heat to Generate Fuel-Free Power
ElectraTherm
Waste heat to power (WHP) is the process of capturing heat discarded by an existing process and using that heat to generate electricity. ElectraTherm generates fuel-free, emission-free power from low temperature waste heat using the Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) and patented technology. ElectraTherm’s Power+ Generator produces fuel-free, emission-free electricity from waste heat. Hot water is the fuel.
The Power+ Generator utilizes ORC and proprietary technologies to generate power from low temperature heat ranging from 170-252°F / 77-122°C. Hot water is the only fuel consumed by the Power+ Generator®. The machine uses a closed-loop ORC cycle with a BITZER twin screw expander, the power block, which drives a generator to produce electricity.
ElectraTherm has more than 70 machines in the field, operating in 10 countries. ElectraTherm’s fleet has generated more than one million hours of runtime to date. Typical applications include waste heat from the following: stationary engines & CHP, biomass, biogas, micro geothermal, oil & gas co-produced fluids, and flare elimination from oil and gas production, or at wastewater treatment plants and landfills.
In 2016, ElectraTherm was acquired by BITZER, the world’s largest independent manufacturer of refrigeration compressors. With its distributors and manufacturing sites for reciprocating, screw & scroll compressors as well as pressure vessels and now screw expanders, BITZER is represented all over the globe with approximately 3,400 employees and revenue approaching $1 Billion.
In 2010, the company was awarded approx. $1 Million from the Department of Energy to optimize technology for geothermal applications, including oil & gas wells. In 2011, then acting President Obama visited ElectraTherm to host a town hall meeting. The company completed three contracts with the U.S. Navy in 2013, 2015, and 2017. In 2018, ElectraTherm was selected by the U.S. Department of Energy for approximately $1.4 million towards a cooperative agreement to enhance reciprocating engine based CHP systems via integrated waste heat to power ORC technology.
Engine Waste Heat - ElectraTherm commissioned three Power+ Generators to produce fuel-free, emission-free electricity from diesel gensets at the Dutch Harbor power plant in the remote Aleutian islands of Alaska. ElectraTherm’s ORC generators capture the waste heat from the jacket water of two Wartsila W12V32 and one CAT C280-16 at temperatures as low as 165°F to generate approximately 75kWe net for the site. The power generated is sent to the grid, where residential costs of power are some of the highest in North America at $.45/kW. Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BROGPlQUK6o
Flare Elimination – In 2015, ElectraTherm partnered with Hess Corporation to commission a Power+ Generator at a North Dakota oil well. The Power+ captured the natural gas that would otherwise be flared to generate electricity and reduce or eliminate onsite flaring. Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4IJEZ1e-PRA&feature=youtu.be
