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Thermodynamic and economic analysis of a micro-combined polygeneration system coupled with solar energy and fuels for distributed applications

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Abstract

A novel micro-combined polygeneration system based on solar energy and fuels is designed with aim to simultaneously satisfy energy demands of electricity, heating and cooling in distributed areas. Integration solar radiation with conventional natural gas-fired power systems is conceived to eliminate existing disadvantages of low efficiency and high cost for fuel-only and solar-only plants. Thermodynamic and economic analyses are evaluated to explore performance of proposed systems with three working fluids. Energetic and exergic efficiencies are individually 0.839 and 0.4536, 0.8721 and 0.5852, and 0.8656 and 0.5825 for N2-, He- and Ar-based micro-combined systems under specified power capacity of 100 kW. Solar collector field, compressor, turbine and combustion chamber exhibit four largest exergy destruction, followed orderly by heat exchanger, generator, condenser, evaporator, throttling valve and pump. Preliminary economic analysis indicates that levelized electricity costs of N2-, He- and Ar-based micro-combined systems are 0.112, 0.103 and 0.101 $ kWh−1 with corresponding payback periods of 4.563, 5.090 and 5.138 years. Parametric analysis reveals that five operating parameters (compression ratio, turbine inlet temperature, solar collector field outlet temperature, generator outlet temperature and split ratio) exert noticeable influence on thermal efficiency of micro-combined systems. In conclusion, proposed micro-combined polygeneration system achieves efficient conversation of thermal energy into electricity, heating and cooling at a rational energy utilization for distributed areas.

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Abbreviations

ABS:

Absorber

CC:

Combustion chamber

COMP:

Compressor

COND:

Condenser

EVAP:

Evaporator

GEN:

Generator

HX:

Heat exchanger

LEC:

Levelized electricity cost

LHV:

Low heating value

MIX:

Mixer

PBP:

Payback period

PUMP:

Pump

SCF:

Solar collector field

SP:

Splitter

TES:

Thermal energy storage

TURB:

Turbine

TV:

Throttling valve

α :

Absorptivity

ε :

Emissivity

η :

Efficiency

ρ :

Reflectivity

σ :

Stefan–Boltzmann constant

ψ :

Flow exergy

ζ :

Chemical exergy index

0:

Dead state

a:

Ambient

c:

Cooling

C:

Convention

dest:

Destroyed

el:

Electricity

ex:

Exergy

h:

Heating

L:

Loss

NG:

Natural gas

R:

Radiation

T:

Total

U:

Useful

A :

Area

C :

Cost

E :

Power

f :

Fixed charge rate

m :

Mass flow rate

n :

Concentration

i :

Debt interest

I :

Incident intensity

Q :

Heat capacity

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 51808262 and 51806088) and the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province (Nos. BK20190860 and BK20170554).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Energy and Power Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, 212013, China

    Huibin Xu, Zhaoli Zhang, Zicheng Hu, Xiaoli Dai, Junfeng Wang & Wenrui Jiao

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

    Zhaoli Zhang & Wenrui Jiao

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

    Yanping Yuan

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

    Patrick E. Phelan

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  1. Huibin Xu
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Correspondence to Zhaoli Zhang.

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Xu, H., Zhang, Z., Hu, Z. et al. Thermodynamic and economic analysis of a micro-combined polygeneration system coupled with solar energy and fuels for distributed applications. J Therm Anal Calorim 145, 581–595 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10973-020-09799-1

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