This article explores the patents of solar energy technologies in the organic Rankine cycle (ORC) applications. The conversion of low-quality thermal energy into electricity is one of the main characteristics of an ORC, making efficient and viable technologies available today. However, only a few and outdated articles that analyze patents that use solar energy technologies in ORC applications exist. This leads to a lack of updated information regarding the number of published patents, International Patent Classification (IPC) codes associated with them, technology life cycle status, and the most relevant patented developments. Thus, this article conducts a current investigation of patents published between January 2010 and May 2022 using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) methodology and keywords. One thousand two hundred ninety-nine patents were obtained as part of the study and classified in F and Y groups of the IPC. The time-lapse analyzed was between January 2010 and May 2022. In 2014 and 2015, a peak of published patents was observed. China (CN) was the country that published the most significant number of patents worldwide. However, the European Patent Office (EP), the World Intellectual Property Organization (WO), and the United States (US) publish the patents with the highest number of patent citations. Furthermore, the possible trend regarding the development of patents for each technology is presented. A high-performance theoretical ORC plant based on the patent information analyzed by this article is introduced. Finally, exploration of IPC revealed 17 codes related to solar energy technologies in ORC applications not indexed in the main search.

Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimates an average of 140, 300, and 589 kWh of electrical energy consumed to process fishmeal, fish, and shrimp, respectively, without adding the costs associated with freezing the finished product. Current research focuses on implementing an Energy Management System (EnMS) in a seafood processing plant that supports energy savings at low cost. This article presents, as a contribution from the qualitative point of view, the non-need for external financing to implement the EnMS under the ISO 50001 standard and the identification of the Energy Performance Indicators (EnPIs) of the case study plant. The energy awareness of the workers is evident when analyzing the results of the surveys carried out before and after the implementation of the EnMS. As part of the research, an Automated Reporting System (ARS) is developed; the performance enables energy information to be concentrated in a single file under a standard format approved by the energy commission and sent systematically. From a quantitative point of view, there is a 13.2% reduction in the total electricity consumption of the plant and a decrease in the cost of electricity needed per ton produced, from 9.40 USD to 7.30 USD. The emission of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere due to electricity consumption decreases by 13.78%.

A thermal efficiency analysis of an organic Rankine cycle (ORC) system enables its performance to be evaluated; for this purpose, critical system components, including the turbine and the boiler, must be scrutinized. ORC plants can operate under various regimes, such as simple, regeneration, and reheat work modes. Organic fluids such as R-245fa integrate low-temperature sources such as solar radiation. However, a literature review revealed limited research on the impact of a solar collection system on the overall thermal efficiency of an ORC system during the regeneration stage. In this study, we examined the thermal efficiency behavior of an ORC plant with a 1 kW generator operating in simple and regeneration modes with a solar collection stage. The results show that the thermal efficiency in simple mode was 35.27%, while in regeneration mode with solar collection it reached 51.30%. Improving the thermal efficiency of a thermodynamic cycle system can reduce CO₂ emissions. The operating temperature ranges facilitate the development of a methodology for industries to implement ORC systems in their manufacturing processes, thereby utilizing waste heat from industrial operations.