The evaporated refrigerant drives a turbine to generate electricity.
Honeywell announced this week that its Genetron® 245fa refrigerant is helping to produce energy-efficient electricity at the Mon-Repos aquatic complex in Lausanne, Switzerland. The refrigerant is being used in an organic Rankine cycle (ORC), which generates electricity from waste heat.
The ORC is part of a micro-cogeneration system, manufactured by Eneftech Innovation, which generates electricity while simultaneously heating the swimming pools at the Mon-Repos complex. The waste heat is fed into the ORC system, which evaporates the refrigerant in a closed system. The evaporated refrigerant then drives a turbine to generate electricity.
Because no fuel is burned to create the electricity, the ORC unit does not produce any carbon dioxide emissions. The electricity is consumed locally and is equivalent to the annual consumption of about 20 households. “We needed a refrigerant to run our EnefcogenGreen system, and selected Genetron 245fa because of its unique combination of desirable attributes: high cycle efficiency and non-flammability,” says Antonio Mendes Nazare, vice president, Eneftech. “Our ORC technology uses highly effective scroll expanders to generate 15kW for this project. Genetron 245fa is the perfect choice for a working fluid to run our system,” Nazare says. “This is another example of Honeywell technology helping to make alternative, cleaner energy sources a reality,” adds Andrew Brown, marketing manager for Honeywell’s fluorine products business. “We’re helping our customers provide safe, environmentally-compliant and energy-efficient solutions.” Eneftech, based in Switzerland, markets new, sustainable energy technologies to supply combined heat and electricity using renewable energy sources such as biomass, solar thermal and geothermal, as well as other heat sources such as boilers, exhaust gases and industrial waste heat.
Eneftech develops patented micro-turbine systems, based on the ORC. Honeywell’s fluorine products business is a leader in the manufacture and supply of zero ozone-depleting refrigerants used by top air-conditioning and refrigeration makers worldwide, and blowing agents for energy-efficient foam insulation.