Techno-Economic and Environmental Assessment of an ORC-Based Waste Heat Recovery and Cold Ironing System for an Offshore Platform Supply Vessel
Journal of Eta Maritime Science, vol.14, no.2, pp.249-263, 2026 (ESCI, Scopus, TRDizin)
- Publication Type: Article / Article
- Volume: 14 Issue: 2
- Publication Date: 2026
- Doi Number: 10.4274/jems.2026.01346
- Journal Name: Journal of Eta Maritime Science
- Journal Indexes: Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI), Scopus, Applied Science & Technology Source, Central & Eastern European Academic Source (CEEAS), Directory of Open Access Journals, TR DİZİN (ULAKBİM)
- Page Numbers: pp.249-263
- Keywords: cold ironing, Organic rankine cycle, platform supply vessel, techno-economic analysis, waste heat recovery
- Open Archive Collection: AVESIS Open Access Collection
- Dokuz Eylül University Affiliated: Yes
Abstract
The maritime industry is under increasing pressure to comply with International Maritime Organization (IMO) regulations targeting net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. This study evaluates an Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC)-based waste heat recovery system integrated into an offshore platform supply vessel, explicitly considering four distinct operating modes: cruising, dynamic positioning, standby, and port. A steady-state thermodynamic ORC model developed in MATLAB is employed to represent average operating conditions in each mode. Among the ten candidate working fluids, R1233zd(E) is identified as optimal, delivering a net power output of 192.74 kW at full engine load. Four energy management scenarios are examined: a conventional baseline, integration of an ORC, an ORC-battery hybrid system, and an ORC system combined with cold ironing during port operations. The results indicate that the ORC-cold ironing configuration achieves the highest environmental benefit, reducing total cycle-level CO2-eq emissions by approximately 26.7% relative to the baseline case. From an economic perspective, direct ORC integration yields the lowest levelized cost of energy of 0.1481/kWh and a discounted payback period of 6.27 years, while the ORC-cold ironing configuration has a payback period of 7.70 years. Sensitivity analysis demonstrates that fuel price escalation and carbon taxation are the dominant drivers affecting economic feasibility.