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Combined energetic and exergetic assessment of a biomass-based integrated power and refrigeration plant

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Abstract

In this study, an integrated power and refrigeration plant, based on biomass gasification, has been modeled and analyzed. The producer gas generated by gasification of solid biomass undergoes full combustion in a combustor-heat exchanger (CHX) and heats up compressed air for an indirectly heated gas turbine (GT) cycle. The waste heat of the CHX exhaust is further recovered in a recovery boiler to produce steam for the generator of an absorption refrigeration (VAR) unit. Energetic and exergetic assessments have been performed for this integrated plant. Major plant parameters, viz. GT cycle pressure ratio and turbine inlet temperature were varied to find optimized plant configuration. The results show that at a GT cycle pressure ratio 10, the plant yields highest electrical efficiency of 27% when the GT inlet air temperature is 1100 °C. At this point, the plant has the lowest cooling-to–power ratio (CTPR, value being 1.18), although this point also gives best exergetic performance; with a combined exergetic efficiency of 27.6%. The plant also gives lowest exergetic specific biomass consumption of 0.7 kg/kWh and highest fuel energy savings ratio of about 45% at the same point.

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Abbreviations

ABS:

Absorber

AHX:

Air heat exchanger

C:

Compressor

CHX:

Combustor-heat exchanger

COMB:

Combustor

CON:

Condenser

EVP:

Evaporator

FP:

Feed pump

GASF:

Gasifier

GEN:

Generator

GT:

Gas turbine

RB:

Recovery boiler

RCT:

Rectifier

REV:

Refrigerant expansion valve

RHX:

Refrigerant heat exchanger

SEV:

Solution expansion valve

SHX:

Solution heat exchanger

SP:

Solution pump

VAR:

Vapor absorption refrigeration

β :

Ratio of fuel exergy to the LHV

η :

Efficiency

λ :

Air–fuel equivalence ratio

c p :

Specific heat, kJ/kg-K

COP:

Coefficient of performance

CTPR:

Cooling-to–power ratio

ECOP:

Exergetic coefficient of performance

Ex:

Exergy rate, kW

ExD:

Exergy destruction rate, kW

ExSBC:

Exergetic specific biomass consumption, kg/kWh

FESR:

Fuel energy saving ratio,  %

LHV:

Lower heating value, kJ/kg

m :

Mass flow rate, kg/s

p :

Pressure, bar

PR:

Pressure ratio of gas turbine cycle

Q :

Rate of heat transfer, kW

s :

Specific entropy, kJ/kg-K

T :

Temperature,  °C

TIT:

Turbine inlet temperature,  °C

W :

Power, kW

a:

Air

b:

Biomass

B:

Boiler

C:

Compressor

e:

Electrical

ex:

Exergetic

fg:

Flue gas

FP:

Feed pump

G:

Electricity generator

i:

Isentropic

in:

Input

mc:

Mechanical

ov:

Overall

pg:

Producer gas

R:

Refrigeration

ref:

Reference

SP:

Solution pump

1, 2…:

Represent state points in Fig. 1

Fig. 1
figure 1

Schematic of the integrated power and refrigeration plant

Full size image
o:

Dead state

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Acknowledgements

The first author acknowledges the support provided by the Thermal Simulation and Computation (TSC) Lab at Mechanical Engineering Department of IIEST, Shibpur for carrying out the research work.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology, Shibpur, P.O. - B. Garden, Howrah, 711103, West Bengal, India

    Suman Chattopadhyay & Sudip Ghosh

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  1. Suman Chattopadhyay
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  2. Sudip Ghosh
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Correspondence to Sudip Ghosh.

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Technical Editor: Jose A. dos Reis Parise.

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Chattopadhyay, S., Ghosh, S. Combined energetic and exergetic assessment of a biomass-based integrated power and refrigeration plant. J Braz. Soc. Mech. Sci. Eng. 40, 134 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40430-018-1060-5

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