This course provides a broad conceptual and analytical understanding of the engineering opportunities for harvesting waste heat and using surplus electric power, typically during periods where fluctuating renewable energy generation exceeds load.

2 lectures per week.

None.

None.

100% Written Exam

This course aims to:

■ describe a wide range of energy engineering opportunities for harvesting waste heat and surplus electric power;

■ enable an informed comparison based on the technical, social, environmental and regulatory context;

■ introduce students to the strategic role that these opportunities can play within whole-systems.

By the end of this course students will be able to:

■ recall basic thermodynamics in the context of heat and electricity generation, conversion, transport and storage applications;

■ identify emerging technologies for harnessing low-, medium- and high-grade waste heat;

■ identify emerging Power-to-X opportunities vis-à-vis their overall efficiency;

■ describe the operation, design, performance and limitations of a range of waste heat recovery and Power-to-X processes;

■ critically compare these technologies on a per-project basis and as part of whole-systems, where the latter can be at local, regional, national or worldwide scale;

■ objectively assess the relative merits and arguments for and against specific technologies with respect to their Life-Cycle Assessment, from sourcing to decommissioning.

Students must submit at least 75% by weight of the components (including examinations) of the course's summative assessment.