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Turning industrial aerobic fermentation plants into thermal power stations
Author(s) -
Lisičar Vukušić Josipa,
Kneer Aron,
Mösche Marek,
Barbe Stéphan
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
international journal of energy research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.808
H-Index - 95
eISSN - 1099-114X
pISSN - 0363-907X
DOI - 10.1002/er.4299
Subject(s) - bioreactor , environmental science , process engineering , work (physics) , heat pump , waste management , bioprocess , biomass (ecology) , carbon dioxide , environmental engineering , heat exchanger , engineering , chemistry , mechanical engineering , chemical engineering , oceanography , organic chemistry , geology
Summary The industrial aerobic bioprocess of baker's yeast production requires large amounts of water to cool down large bubble column bioreactors. As result, an appreciable quantity of low‐grade heat is generated. Because of the low temperature level of the water (~25°C) exiting the bioreactors cooling system, very little attention has been dedicated to heat recovery and conversion from this stream, which is usually released in rivers, streams, and canals. In this work, we simulated the generation of low‐grade heat (up to 14.4 MW) from an industrial baker's yeast production plant consisting of seven 150‐m 3 bioreactors. Subsequently, a dedicated transcritical carbon dioxide heat pump system for the conversion of this low‐grade heat into fourth generation district heat (~16.2 MW) was successfully designed. Fourth generation district heat employs low‐temperature water (30‐70°C) as heat carrier and is expected to play a major role in future sustainable energy system. Finally, an economic study confirmed the feasibility and the applicability of our approach and a concept for long‐term energy storage including state‐of‐the‐art phase change material (PCM)–units was discussed.