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Thermodynamic performance analysis of a coupled transcritical and subcritical organic Rankine cycle system for waste heat recovery

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Abstract

We present a novel coupled organic Rankine cycle (CORC) system driven by the low-grade waste heat, which couples a transcritical organic Rankine cycle with a subcritical organic Rankine cycle. Based on classical thermodynamic theory, a detailed performance analysis on the novel CORC system was performed. The results show that the pressure ratio of the expander is decreased in the CORC and the selection of the working fluids becomes more flexible and abundant. With the increase of the pinch point temperature difference of the internal heat exchanger, the net power output and thermal efficiency of the CORC all decrease. With the increase of the critical temperature of the working fluid, the system performance of the CORC is improved. The net power output and thermal efficiency of the CORC with isentropic working fluids are higher than those with dry working fluids.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering, Zhejiang Ocean University, Zhejian, 316022, China

    Xi-Wu Gong

  2. Key Laboratory of Low-grade Energy Utilization Technologies and Systems of Ministry of Education, College of Power Engineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing, 400044, China

    Xiao-Qiong Wang, You-Rong Li & Chun-Mei Wu

Authors
  1. Xi-Wu Gong
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  2. Xiao-Qiong Wang
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  3. You-Rong Li
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  4. Chun-Mei Wu
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to You-Rong Li.

Additional information

Recommended by Associate Editor Tong Seop Kim

Xi-Wu Gong received his M.S. from Anhui University of Science & Technology, Huainan, China, in 1996, obtained his Ph.D. in Engineering Thermophysics from Shanghai Jiaotong University in 2008. He is an associate professor at Zhejiang Ocean University. His major interests are heat transfer, thermodynamics, energy conversion and saving.

You-Rong Li received his Ph.D. from the College of Power Engineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing, China, in 1999, and worked as a Postdoctoral Fellow in Institute of Advanced Material Study, Kyushu University, Japan, during 2000- 2002. He is a professor at Chongqing University. His major interests are engineering thermodynamics, convective heat transfer, thermocapillary flow and stability.

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Gong, XW., Wang, XQ., Li, YR. et al. Thermodynamic performance analysis of a coupled transcritical and subcritical organic Rankine cycle system for waste heat recovery. J Mech Sci Technol 29, 3017–3029 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-015-0632-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-015-0632-x

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