Capacity of waste heat recovery-based polygeneration to achieve sustainable development goals

The objective of this study is twofold. First, it aims to bridge a significant gap in the existing literature by reviewing the integration of waste heat recovery (WHR) into polygeneration systems. Thus, it scrutinizes the methods and challenges of WHR-based polygeneration systems and explores their energy and economic potential based on data gathered from the literature and using key indicators. Second, it addresses the scarcity of existing studies assessing the environmental impact of these systems. Therefore, an environmental analysis is conducted to evaluate the potential mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions achievable through their implementation. The findings of the study reveal significant energy and exergy efficiencies, varying in the ranges of 20.8 %–96.9 % and 24.1 %–63.6 %, respectively, proving high performance of WHR-based polygeneration systems. Economically, these systems exhibit competitiveness, with short payback periods ranging from 1.4 to 6.7 years, along with average levelized costs of electricity, cooling, and heating of 0.17, 0.37 and 0.13 $/kWh, sequentially. Moreover, the environmental assessment confirmed substantial reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, reaching on average 2.45 kt of carbon dioxide per MW of installed capacity, annually. The study could contribute to raising awareness regarding the energy, economic, and environmental benefits of WHR-based polygeneration systems, thereby fostering the widespread adoption of these sustainable systems.