Ting Pan
58475335700
Publications - 14
Equation-oriented thermodynamic optimisation of heat pump integration in industrial heat recovery systems: A system-level pathway to cost and emission reduction
Publication Name: Energy
Publication Date: 2025-10-30
Volume: 335
Issue: Unknown
Page Range: Unknown
Description:
Integrating heat pumps into large-scale electricity-to-heat industrial processes has proven highly successful in enhancing the utilisation of renewable energy and contributing to carbon emission reductions. However, most studies focus on overall system performance, overlooking the detailed thermal behaviour of the heat pump itself. This limits the adaptability of heat pumps in dynamic industrial settings. This work proposes an equation-oriented framework that enables flexible integration of thermodynamically detailed heat pump models into industrial heat recovery systems. A superstructure-based optimisation model is developed to minimise energy costs and enhance efficiency, considering process constraints, network layout, and heat pump performance. The model dynamically optimises heat pump operation and placement to enhance waste heat recovery and overall system integration. Moreover, the approach supports the integration of low-grade utilities to further improve the energy efficiency. The proposed framework is validated through an industrial-scale case study of a crude oil distillation process. Life cycle assessment is conducted to quantify potential environmental and economic benefits. Results show that integrating heat pumps into the system recovered 50.52 % of low-pressure steam, reducing the total operating cost and annual cost by 12.88 % and 12.42 %. Additionally, total net carbon emissions decreased by 28.70 %. Lower electricity prices increase heat pump use and economic benefits but also amplify rebound effects. Furthermore, although high-temperature heat pumps operating above 150 °C tend to increase capital expenditures, they unlock greater energy efficiency, thereby accelerating the industrial decarbonisation process.
Open Access: Yes
The potential impacts of Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) on China's high-carbon industries
Publication Name: Energy
Publication Date: 2025-10-01
Volume: 333
Issue: Unknown
Page Range: Unknown
Description:
The implementation of the EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) is expected to have complex impacts on the upstream industrial chain, including energy consumption and carbon emissions. China, being the largest trading partner of EU, has been proactively dealing with the potential impacts, however, few studies have been conducted on this topic, especially in the high-carbon industries. By employing the STIRPAT model and Ridge regression as the primary analytical tools, this study endeavors to explore the driving factors behind the potential impacts of CBAM on these industries. The STIRPAT model and Ridge regression were mainly used. Results show that: (1) the embodied carbon emissions in their exports from industries of iron and steel, and fertilizer of China would slowly increase until 2030; (2) energy structure, energy intensity and the share of exports to EU are significantly influence the embodied carbon emissions; (3) CBAM would have the greatest economic impacts on industries of iron and steel, and aluminium; (4) The carbon tariffs of all four industries would decline under the low-carbon scenario, with the aluminium industry decreasing the most. It is expected that if the CBAM covers both the upstream and downstream industries products, more carbon emissions would be included in the scope of CBAM levies, resulting in potential higher carbon tariffs to China's high-carbon industries.
Open Access: Yes
Future of Agrivoltaic projects: A review from the technological forecasting perspective
Publication Name: Cleaner Engineering and Technology
Publication Date: 2025-09-01
Volume: 28
Issue: Unknown
Page Range: Unknown
Description:
Agrivoltaic systems integrate photovoltaic (PV) energy generation with agricultural production, creating synergies that enhance land-use efficiency and environmental sustainability. This article reviews agrivoltaic technologies to identify key trends and the most promising future research and development directions. The method applied involves selecting and analysing relevant literature sources and filtering them with regard to the essential questions that need to be answered for the climates of Central Europe and China. These include global development, current applications, and technological progress. The analysis reveals growing attention to system design, performance optimisation, and crop compatibility. Innovations such as bifacial and spectrally selective PV modules boost energy yields while maintaining suitable conditions for shade-tolerant crops like leafy greens and berries. The analysis confirmed the high potential of sustainability benefits (societal, economic, and environmental) and revealed the need for systematic investigations of significant performance factors, including location and system design. A relatively underinvestigated factor is the protection of crops from excessive sunlight, which has become increasingly important. The modelling and optimisation of system operation is also necessary to provide decision-makers with robust tools for project assessment. A roadmap is proposed to guide future research and development.
Open Access: Yes
Multi-objective-period heat exchanger network synthesis and decarbonization for industrial-scale crude oil distillation system
Publication Name: Energy
Publication Date: 2025-07-01
Volume: 326
Issue: Unknown
Page Range: Unknown
Description:
Transitioning heat exchanger network (HEN) synthesis designs to industrial application involves operational, environmental, and cost considerations, posing computational challenges. This study proposes a systematic optimization approach integrating multi-objective, multi-period optimization HEN synthesis with waste heat recovery and multiple utilities. The proposed methodology incorporates a novel two-step unit reduction strategy to overcome the increase of model combinational complexities arisen from the multi-period features, thereby facilitating the solving of large-scale problems. Meanwhile, environmental impacts are concerned by using the technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution approach. A new optimization route, Enhanced Pinch-assisted Multi-Objective Optimization is proposed to obtain the final decision in this multi-objective problem time-efficiently. The case study includes a 15 streams problem, and a real industrial-scale crude oil distillation preheat system. The results showed that assigning carbon compensation to the waste heat recovery option can significantly reduce carbon emissions and change energy distribution.
Open Access: Yes
Optimisation of island integrated energy system based on marine renewable energy
Publication Name: Fundamental Research
Publication Date: 2025-09-01
Volume: 5
Issue: 5
Page Range: 2161-2179
Description:
Integrating marine renewable energy (MRE) with conventional energy sources and logically constructing island energy systems is crucial for alleviating island energy supply challenges and helping coastal energy systems achieve a sustainable, low-carbon transition. In this study, the status of marine energy utilisation technologies is reviewed, with a focus on advancements in energy conversion equipment, grid integration, and energy storage. The economic feasibility and environmental sustainability of marine energy systems are comparatively analysed to enhance the development and utilisation of marine energy technology while reducing the economic cost of power generation. Suitable equipment is highlighted for islands, with efficient energy generation strategies proposed to achieve cleaner, localised, and cost-effective island integrated energy system (IIES) design. Island energy facilities vary, and integrated development is crucial for building new energy systems. Based on the types and resources of island energy, IIESs are constructed for hierarchical energy utilisation and multi-energy coupling, coordinating resources to achieve source–grid–load–storage integration. The optimisation of IIESs is reviewed, with a focus on modelling methods, intelligent algorithm development, and system simulation. This study differs from previous research as it considers the integration of marine energy into existing systems to achieve comprehensive integration of multiple energy sources. Additionally, optimisation and solution methods for IIES models are summarised. To integrate complex, multivariable energy systems and create stable and predictable outputs, marine energy and load forecasting methods are explored. Overall, this study supports the advancement of marine energy utilisation, focusing on its progressive integration into island energy systems as the efficiency of marine energy improves. This work aims to inspire the development of new functions and modules based on existing system optimisation and forecasting techniques.
Open Access: Yes
Mechanism of directed technological investment on energy productivity and energy structure: A unified theoretical framework
Publication Name: Energy Economics
Publication Date: 2024-12-01
Volume: 140
Issue: Unknown
Page Range: Unknown
Description:
The mechanisms and effects of technological investment on energy productivity and energy structure in the petrochemical industry remain unclear due to the directional nature of technological progress. This study proposes a unified theoretical framework for the impact of directed technological investment on energy productivity and energy structure by incorporating energy factors into the theory of technological progress bias. The aim is to elucidate the impact of technological progress on energy productivity and energy structure, and to unravel the underlying effect mechanisms. A fixed effects model that includes moderating effects is also developed to support the assessment. The study found that the petrochemical industry's technological investment in China was initially biased towards enhancing labour-augmenting technological progress. The mechanism analysis revealed that technological investment, under the moderating effects of price and environmental governance, preferred a capital-energy bias, leading to insignificant improvements in energy productivity but a substantial increase in labour productivity. In addition, the technological investment, influenced by the moderating effect of environmental governance, led to some improvement in the energy structure during the sample period. This study integrates the mechanisms of directed technological investment on energy productivity and energy structure into a unified analytical framework, systematically investigating the reasons, effect mechanisms, and consequences of bias, while providing empirical evidence that supports low-carbon development in the petrochemical industry.
Open Access: Yes
Strategic integration of residential electricity: An optimisation model for solar energy utilisation and carbon reduction
Publication Name: Energy
Publication Date: 2024-11-30
Volume: 310
Issue: Unknown
Page Range: Unknown
Description:
The Solar Combined Cooling, Heating, and Power (S-CCHP) system, distinct from traditional centralised generation, provides clean energy solutions by installing user-side renewable energy capture facilities like solar panels to address the energy crisis and mitigate global warming. Previous research on the design of S-CCHP for buildings has often emphasised self-sufficiency, with less focus on the role of these systems as energy suppliers on the market. However, it is feasible to install scaled-up solar facilities that generate enough power to export to the grid, reducing grid pressure and enhancing the renewable energy mix. This study analyses the optimal design deployment for electricity within the S-CCHP system, based on the Renewable Energy System for Residential Building Heating and Electricity Production (RESHeat) system installed in Limanowa. It aims to optimise owner energy deployment by strategically integrating electricity generation, hybrid storage, and the electricity market to maximise owner benefits. A Life Cycle Assessment is also conducted to explore greenhouse gas emissions across scenarios with different storage facilities and reuse rates. Results show that the optimal deployment of 264 PV panels, each with a rated power of 440 W, generates 105 MWh annually, resulting in the surplus of 90.18 MWh with a selling price of 115 EUR/MWh. Vanadium redox flow batteries offer the highest revenue (4922.01 EUR) with the lowest storage costs, while lithium-ion batteries have the lowest carbon emissions (1.22 t CO2 eq/y). Sensitivity analysis and revenue break-even analysis are further conducted to assess the robustness and financial viability.
Open Access: Yes
Operational optimisation of integrated solar combined cooling, heating, and power systems in buildings considering demand response and carbon trading
Publication Name: Energy Conversion and Management
Publication Date: 2024-09-01
Volume: 315
Issue: Unknown
Page Range: Unknown
Description:
The Solar Combined Cooling, Heat, and Power (S-CCHP) system offers a promising solution to the energy crisis and environmental concerns. Its operation optimisation is essential due to intermittent solar irradiation. However, previous studies have concentrated on the “electricity-heating” subsystem and economic costs, with less emphasis on the integrated system's broader benefits and environmental impact. This study introduces an operational optimisation approach across “electricity-heating-cooling-gas” subsystems based on the design extension of the Residential Building Heating and Electricity Production (RESHeat) system. Specifically, the approach optimises operation from both the demand and supply sides, incorporating the demand response (DR) and Ladder Carbon Trading (LCT) on the demonstration in Limanowa, Poland, to balance economic and environmental impacts. The results show that the optimised electricity is reduced by 0.71 % per day while heating and cooling demands rise by 0.57% and 0.91%. PV/T panels provide 87.11% of electricity, with excess sold back to the grid in summer. DR combined with LCT in the extension design contributed to cutting costs by 16.15 % and CO2 by 57.79% compared with the initial design, underscoring the efficacy of collaborative operational in enhancing both economic and environmental performance.
Open Access: Yes
Energetic Analysis of Mixed-Flow Grain Dryers: a Case Study in Hungary
Publication Name: Chemical Engineering Transactions
Publication Date: 2024-01-01
Volume: 114
Issue: Unknown
Page Range: 847-852
Description:
Convective grain drying powered by natural gas is a highly energy-intensive process with a substantial impact on the secure storage of harvested grain. By improving energy efficiency and reducing natural gas consumption, it is possible to decrease the operation's ecological footprint by lowering CO2 emissions. However, previous studies often analyse the drying process as a whole, giving less attention to individual processes. For instance, uneven drying can lead to issues during storage, such as microbial growth and dust accumulation. This paper presents an energetic analysis of mixed-flow grain dryers based on a case study in Hungary for the long term. It examines the fundamental physical characteristics of each dryer and identifies key modifications to ensure proper operation. The paper also introduces a precision drying method that allows fine-tuning of process parameters (e.g., airflow, grain flow) to optimise grain moisture content to the desired level based on large-scale continuous temperature measurements. These measurements can also validate previous modifications, enabling ongoing monitoring of optimal operating conditions via heatmaps.
Open Access: Yes
DOI: 10.3303/CET24114142
The Integration of Building Information Modelling and Life Cycle Assessment: Progress, Challenges, Future Directions
Publication Name: Chemical Engineering Transactions
Publication Date: 2024-01-01
Volume: 114
Issue: Unknown
Page Range: 409-414
Description:
Building Information Modelling (BIM) plays a key role in the digitisation of the building sector, facilitating the design and construction of buildings. Environmental impacts have become an important factor to consider in building design and construction, often analysed through Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). The integration of BIM and LCA is crucial for supporting sustainable building design and construction. However, there is a lack of up-to-date reviews that consider the role of artificial intelligence (AI) in the integration of BIM and LCA. This paper addresses this gap by examining the recent progress, challenges, and future directions in building carbon emission accounting for buildings. The integration of the BIM-LCA for environmental impact accounting is explored, including goal and scope definition, life cycle inventory, impact assessment, interpretation, interoperability, and integration AI. The results identify gaps in BIM-LCA integration, including transparency issues and reliance on non-local databases. Future directions emphasise enhancing data quality, refining models, and developing AI methods for carbon emission predictions to explore decarbonisation strategy in the building sector. The review contributes to early-stage analysis, facilitating informed decision-making in sustainable building design and construction.
Open Access: Yes
DOI: 10.3303/CET24114069
Automated multi-stream spiral-wound heat exchanger design and optimization
Publication Name: Applied Thermal Engineering
Publication Date: 2026-01-30
Volume: 284
Issue: Unknown
Page Range: Unknown
Description:
Spiral-wound heat exchangers (SWHEs) offer high heat transfer efficiency and compact design advantages, making them well-suited for services in process industries. Accelerating the application of SWHEs demands design methodologies that avoid extensive user manipulations and complex solution procedures. This study develops a novel incremental-based heat transfer framework for the automated design of single-phase SWHEs, which simultaneously optimizes multi-stream allocation across activated tube layers and exchanger geometries. At each increment, energy balances are enforced for all streams using local heat transfer coefficients and areas. On the tube-side, flow distribution is optimized by permitting variable split heat capacities and mass flow rates within tube layers while ensuring pressure balance for each stream at the bundle outlet. New correlations for shell-side flow regimes are introduced into the proposed sizing model to link discrete tube-layer selections with their corresponding cross-sectional areas throughout the optimization process. The capability of the proposed framework is demonstrated through four case studies, including model validation, two-stream and multi-stream SWHE design, and application to an industrial-scale heat exchanger network (HEN). Rigorous Aspen EDR-CoilWound simulations validate the proposed model and design results, with the HEN case exhibiting only a 2.95 % deviation from the target duty. In Case Study 2, SWHE results in a 24.29 % reduction in required heat transfer area. Case Studies 3 and 4 demonstrate that SWHE configurations can achieve 31.8 %–40.7 % reductions in exchanger volume, attributable to their superior compactness relative to conventional shell-and-tube heat exchangers (STHEs). Benchmarking against detailed STHE designs further clarifies optimal deployment strategies and highlights residual limitations of SWHE technology.
Open Access: Yes
Investigation of the cascade utilization of LNG cold energy using total site heat integration method
Publication Name: Thermal Science and Engineering Progress
Publication Date: 2025-11-01
Volume: 67
Issue: Unknown
Page Range: Unknown
Description:
Liquefied natural gas (LNG) undergoes regasification before delivery to end users, releasing a large amount of cold energy that is significant for efficient utilization. Therefore, based on the principle of “temperature counterpart, cascade utilization”, this study integrates Pinch Analysis with Total Site Heat Integration (TSHI) to propose two new types of integrated systems for LNG cold energy cascade utilization. The first system, designed for rich-gas LNG, comprises light hydrocarbon separation, cryogenic comminution of rubber, electricity generation by organic rankine cycle, and heat management of data center by direct cooling (LHS-CCR-ORC-DC). The second system, designed for lean gas LNG, replaces the LHS unit with an air separation process (ASP) while retaining CCR, ORC, and DC. Through the synergistic optimization of the Grand Composite Curve (GCC) and total site composite curve (TSCC), the proposed system realizes the cascade and efficient utilization of the LNG cold energy in the whole temperature range (−160 °C to 10 °C). Thermodynamic analysis shows that the energy utilization efficiency of the LHS-CCR-ORC-DC and ASP-CCR-ORC-DC systems is improved by 50.06 % and 40.93 %, respectively, compared with the single cold energy utilization mode. Economic evaluation indicates net present values of 1.81 × 108 $ and 2.32 × 108 $ for the two systems, with levelized costs of energy of 0.062 $/kWh and 0.055 $/kWh, respectively. By replacing fossil‐fuel power generation and compression‐based refrigeration, the integrated systems achieve annual CO2 reductions of 261.84 kt and 238.20 kt, respectively. This study provides theoretical basis and technical support for the efficient utilization of LNG cold energy and for the synergistic optimization of its cascade utilization in industrial parks.
Open Access: Yes
Two-phase heat transfer modelling and coupled design approach for optimization and stability analysis of vertical thermosyphon reboilers
Publication Name: Applied Thermal Engineering
Publication Date: 2026-03-01
Volume: 288
Issue: Unknown
Page Range: Unknown
Description:
Vertical thermosyphon reboilers (VTRs) are widely used in distillation due to their high heat transfer efficiency and low fouling tendency. However, conventional design approaches and commercial tools often treat two-phase heat transfer, geometry, and pressure balance in isolation and depend on extensive manual tuning, which may yield low solution quality. To address this gap, a rigorous mixed integer nonlinear programming (MINLP) optimization framework is established for VTR design that couples thermodynamic, hydraulic, and geometric decisions simultaneously. A two-stage heat transfer modelling approach is proposed to capture the convective boiling transition by integrating sensible heating and boiling heat transfer mechanisms. Within this approach, a dynamic switching scheme selects heat transfer correlations according to the vapor fraction, which improves accuracy across different operating conditions. Moreover, a comprehensive pressure balance model is established that spans the external piping, the reboiler, and the column sump liquid level to ensure the resulting natural circulation is stable. Geometric and operating variables are optimized simultaneously to deliver coordinated design choices under duty and layout constraints. The optimization is implemented in GAMS/48 and solved using SCIP solver. To demonstrate engineering applicability, the thermodynamic modelling results are compared with Aspen EDR simulations, revealing relative errors ranging from 3.8 % to 15.6 %. The optimized design increases the overall heat transfer coefficient by 16.60 % and reduces the required area by 13.86 %. Furthermore, stability analysis under varying heat duties reveals clear operational boundaries, highlighting the importance of coordinating liquid level and skirt height to maintain feasible natural circulation.
Open Access: Yes
Thermal-hydraulic performance of heat exchanger mini- and micro-channels with single-phase flows. A comprehensive review and a comparative study
Publication Name: Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews
Publication Date: 2026-04-01
Volume: 230
Issue: Unknown
Page Range: Unknown
Description:
The efficient use of energy is a prerequisite for the sustainable development of modern society. It requires increasing heat recuperation in various energy-reliant systems, which is possible with heat transfer devices of intensive action, operating in conditions of limited space for installation and material availability for their production. This is achieved by heat exchangers with mini- and micro-channels, regarded as the next generation of heat transfer equipment. A survey of publications on heat transfer and pressure losses in mini- and microchannels is presented, with focus on their thermal-hydraulic performance. It includes straight channels of various cross-sectional forms, channels with enhanced heat transfer for electronic cooling, additively manufactured microchannels, crisscross flow channels of microturbine recuperators, and plate heat exchangers. A novel Micro Heat Factor for the comparison of mini- and microchannels thermal-hydraulic performance is derived. For the detailed estimation of channel performance in specified process conditions, accounting for the differences in hydraulic diameters, the equation for optimal fluid velocity is proposed. The comparison of thermal-hydraulic performance for different types of mini- and micro channels is performed, and the possibilities of their use in heat exchangers at specific applications are discussed, followed by directions of future studies.
Open Access: Yes
