Sizing of an organic rankine cycle cogeneration plant fueled with woody biomass: Application to an integrated wood pellet production unit

The current problem revolves around the evaluation of the opportunity for a wood energy sector in Algeria. This in-depth analysis aims to identify the potential and define the essential criteria and indicators for the sustainable exploitation of resources.Our paper investigates the performance of an Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) using cyclopentane working fluid in an industrial combined heat and power (CHP) cogeneration system. The system supplies both electrical and thermal energy to a pellet production unit that runs on Eucalyptus residue with a moisture content of 50% from a forest in El Taref, Algeria. The results show that to maximize the global efficiency of the cogeneration unit, it is necessary to choose the highest possible vaporization temperature for the organic fluid and use correlations to find the optimum superheating temperature and pinch point. In addition, the results indicate that 4.86 tons/h of wood (50% moisture content) are required to produce 2.00 tons/h of pellets (10% moisture content) with a cogeneration efficiency of 47 % (electrical efficiency ɳel = 19 %, thermal efficiency ɳth = 28 %), and an ORC cycle efficiency of 29%. The obtained results highlight the potential of Algerian forest residues and the development opportunities for wood energy sectors.