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Thermal and economic performance evaluation of a novel sCO2 recompression Brayton–steam Rankine–absorption cooling system based on solar energy

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Abstract

A novel polygeneration system is designed to provide electricity, heating and cooling capacity on basis of solar energy. Two-stage power cycle of sCO2 Brayton and steam Rankine is propelled to generate electricity with residual heat transferred to drive an efficient heating device and an intercooled absorption cooling system. System performance is comprehensively analyzed from thermal efficiency in terms of energy and exergy, based on the quasi-steady numerical model. Results indicate that built system obtains electricity, heating and cooling capacity of 243.84, 42.05 and 10.746 MW with energy efficiency of 0.5304, 0.0915 and 0.0234 and exergy efficiency of 0.562, 0.0174 and 0.0024, respectively. Mass flows of working fluids and detailed specifications of solar collecting field are also included in this investigation. Parametric analysis exhibits that operating parameters exert remarkable influence on thermal efficiencies. Proposed system can save amounts of energy over three individual systems with identical products by means of a primary energy saving ratio analysis and energy saving performance is more sensitive to turbine inlet temperature of Brayton. Exergoeconomic evaluation reveals that designed system achieves inferior electricity performance and superior heating and cooling performance in comparison with current circumstance. In conclusion, this novel cogeneration system takes full advantage of solar energy to meet various energy consumptions.

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Abbreviations

COM:

Compressor

CON:

Condenser

CR:

Concentration ratio

EV:

Expansion valve

EVA:

Evaporator

LCOE:

Levelized cost of electricity

LiBr:

Lithium bromide

ORC:

Organic Rankine cycle

PESR:

Primary energy saving ratio

REC:

Recuperator

REP:

Recompressor

sCO2 :

Supercritical carbon dioxide

STP:

Solar thermal power

A:

Area (m2)

d:

Diameter (m)

E:

Electricity (W)

h:

Convective heat transfer coefficient (W m−2·K−1)

I:

Direct normal irradiance (W m−2)

m:

Mass flow (kg s−1)

n:

Number

Q:

Heat capacity (W)

T:

Temperature (oC)

W:

Work (W)

X:

Effective collection factor

α:

Absorption efficiency

ε:

Emissivity efficiency

ρ:

Reflection efficiency

σ:

Stefan–Boltzmann constant (5.67 × 10–8 W m−2 K−4)

ψ :

Flow exergy (W)

a:

Ambient

b:

Boiler

c:

Collector

C:

Convention

con:

Condensation

e:

Electricity

eva:

Evaporation

ex:

Exergy

f:

Forced

i:

Inlet

mix:

Mixture

n:

Natural

o:

Outlet

P:

Pump

r:

Refrigeration

R:

Radiation

s:

Isentropic

sep:

Separated system

T:

Total

th:

Thermal

U:

Useful

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 52006183 and 52108077) and the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province (No. BK20190860).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemical Engineering, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, 1050, Brussels, Belgium

    Zhaoli Zhang

  2. School of Mechanical Engineering, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu, 610031, China

    Nan Zhang & Yanping Yuan

  3. Zhenjiang Hydraulics Co., Ltd, Zhenjiang, 212021, China

    Wenrui Jiao

  4. School for Engineering of Matter, Transport and Energy, Arizona State University, Tempe, 85287-6106, USA

    Patrick E. Phelan

Authors
  1. Zhaoli Zhang
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  2. Nan Zhang
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  3. Yanping Yuan
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  4. Wenrui Jiao
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  5. Patrick E. Phelan
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection and analysis were performed by Zhaoli Zhang, Nan Zhang, Yanping Yuan, Wenrui Jiao and Patrick E. Phelan. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Zhaoli Zhang and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Zhaoli Zhang.

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Zhang, Z., Zhang, N., Yuan, Y. et al. Thermal and economic performance evaluation of a novel sCO2 recompression Brayton–steam Rankine–absorption cooling system based on solar energy. J Therm Anal Calorim 147, 8969–8984 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10973-021-11141-2

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