On March 11, 2014, the radial inflow turbine Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) low-temperature waste heat power generation technology and its complete set of equipment, independently developed by Beijing Huahang Shengshi Energy Technology Co., Ltd., successfully passed the scientific and technological achievement appraisal organized by the Beijing Municipal Science and Technology Commission in Beijing. The attending experts unanimously agreed that this technology fills a domestic gap in the field of radial inflow turbine ORC power generation, has reached an internationally advanced level overall, with some key indicators reaching an internationally leading level.
The appraisal meeting was presided over by the Beijing Municipal Science and Technology Commission. An appraisal committee was formed, comprising industry experts from institutions such as the Chinese Academy of Engineering, Beihang University, the China Energy Conservation Association, Sinopec, and CECEP.
The expert panel carefully listened to the project's technical report, product testing report, and user application report. They reviewed relevant materials including patents and novelty search reports, and conducted on-site inspections of the demonstration unit's operational status. Following thorough discussion and inquiries, the appraisal committee unanimously agreed that the project had passed the scientific and technological achievement appraisal.
It is understood that Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) technology is currently at the forefront of recovering medium and low-temperature waste heat resources both domestically and internationally. The high-efficiency radial inflow turbine serves as its core critical component. For a long time, this component has been monopolized by foreign enterprises, resulting in expensive equipment prices that have constrained the large-scale, efficient utilization of low-temperature waste heat resources in China.
Leveraging its accumulated expertise in aerospace propulsion technology, Huahang Shengshi has achieved the first engineered application of aviation-grade radial inflow turbines in the field of ORC low-temperature power generation in China. The company has successfully developed the country's first complete set of radial inflow turbine ORC power generation units with fully independent intellectual property rights. The isentropic efficiency of the turbine in this product can reach 85%–93%. The entire unit adopts a skid-mounted modular design, featuring a small footprint, rapid installation, and fully automatic unattended operation. It can stably recover low-grade thermal energy from industrial waste heat above 80°C and geothermal sources, achieving zero-fuel, zero-emission clean power generation.
The appraisal opinion pointed out that this project has broken through foreign technical barriers in the design, manufacturing, and system integration of ORC radial inflow turbines, filling a domestic gap and demonstrating prominent technological innovation. The product price is 30%–40% lower than that of imported equivalent equipment, with a payback period generally not exceeding three years, yielding significant economic benefits. The project outcomes can be widely applied in industries such as petrochemicals, steel, metallurgy, textiles, chemicals, and geothermal energy. This holds great significance for promoting industrial energy conservation and consumption reduction in China, fostering green and low-carbon development, and boasts broad market application prospects.