L. Thorgeirsson, A.U.B. Ardal, R.L. Rosenbæk
Hydram Research,
Iceland
Keywords: Waste heat recovery, superheated steam, open oscillatory approach, cavitation
Summary:
Lost waste heat is global industry’s largest operational inefficiency, and its energy remains largely untapped in most part because of systemic unfavourable electricity-to-gas price ratio which has slowed adoption of waste heat recovery (WHR). The Icelandic engineering company Hydram Research has been developing and testing a novel large-scale WHR system, which leverages an open oscillatory approach where a multi-ton liquid piston is advantageously oscillated up and down to generate, compress and eject steam. The most important characteristic of the system is that the steam’s output energy is largely derived from the latent heat of the liquid piston itself and not from the mechanical energy employed to maintain its oscillation. Initial testing of Hydram Research’s WHR system has shown promising results with the first steam ejected from the system in July 2025. In those and subsequent tests the system demonstrated ability to generate, compress and heat steam up to temperatures reaching 122℃ (252°F) at 155kPa (22.5 psi abs.). Based on these positive results and proof-of-concept, work is ongoing to increase power-output, improve models and optimize the system’s operation for it to robustly and efficiently convert warmth to superheated steam on an industrial scale.