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Abstract:
Waste heat from the industrial sector can be recovered, but the process is dependent on its temperature, with considerations for the waste heat from data centers at 80˚C being different from those for waste heat from cement plants at 350oC. Most waste heat recovery systems utilize high global warming potential working fluids, which are hazardous to the environment. The objective of this research is to evaluate the thermodynamic and economic performance of power cycles utilizing low global warming potential working fluids for waste heat recovery in data centers and cement plants. Numerical models using theoretical waste heat data are utilized and a present worth analysis is conducted. In data centers, it was found that certain low global warming potential working fluids have better thermodynamic performance than conventional working fluids. In cement plants, it was determined that an inter-regenerative transcritical carbon dioxide power cycle had the highest thermodynamic and economic performance.