Industrial applications of the air bottoming cycle

An air bottoming cycle (ABC) was proposed in the late 1980s as an alternative for the conventional steam bottoming cycle. Now this cycle is being considered as a compact and simple bottoming cycle in various applications: as an upgrading option for simple-cycle gas turbines in the offshore industry; as a hot-air cogeneration plant: or as a heat recovery installation at high-temperature furnaces. This paper evaluates the technical and economic feasibility of the ABC in the cogeneration scheme, where hot air from the air turbine is supplied to food processing industries (industrial bakeries and milk powder factories). Another application is the heat recovery unit of a glass-melting furnace. In this option the air turbine driven by waste heat also provides pre-heated air to the furnace. Based on the results of this study, two demonstration projects are scheduled for realization with support from a governmental agency and industrial partners. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.