Performance of Solar-Thermal Organic Rankine Cycle (STORC) Power Plant with a Parabolic Trough System

The present work is focused on the development of a simulation model for an existing cogeneration power plant, which utilizes a solar thermal field with parabolic trough solar collectors coupled to an Organic Rankine Cycle engine. The power plant is modeled in the trnsys v.17 software package and its performance has been validated with real operating conditions. The simulated system (concentrated solar power (CSP) field and ORC engine) is the main part of a hybrid power plant located near “Ziloti” village of the Municipality of Xanthi, in northeastern Greece. The construction of the hybrid power plant was funded by the Strategic Co-Funded Project of the European Territorial Cooperation Program Greece–Bulgaria 2007–2013 with the acronym ENERGEIA. The power plant simulated in this paper includes a 234 kWth solar parabolic trough collector (PTC) field, a 5 m3 thermal energy storage tank, and a 5 kWe ORC engine for the production of thermal and electrical energies. The results of the simulations present small deviation in contrast to the real operating data of the CSP power plant coupled with the ORC engine, therefore the simulation model is considered as reliable.

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Organic Rankine Cycle coupling with a Parabolic Trough Solar Power Plant for cogeneration and industrial processes

Renewable Energy ◽

10.1016/j.renene.2015.08.041 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 86 ◽

pp. 651-663 ◽

Cited By ~ 57

Author(s):

Mónica Borunda ◽

O.A. Jaramillo ◽

R. Dorantes ◽

Alberto Reyes

Keyword(s):

Power Plant ◽

Solar Power ◽

Organic Rankine Cycle ◽

Rankine Cycle ◽

Industrial Processes ◽

Solar Power Plant ◽

Parabolic Trough

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Development of a Small Solar Thermal Power Plant for Heat and Power Supply to Domestic and Small Business Buildings

Volume 1: Fuels, Combustion, and Material Handling; Combustion Turbines Combined Cycles; Boilers and Heat Recovery Steam Generators; Virtual Plant and Cyber-Physical Systems; Plant Development and Construction; Renewable Energy Systems ◽

10.1115/power2018-7336 ◽

2018 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Khamid Mahkamov ◽

Piero Pili ◽

Roberto Manca ◽

Arthur Leroux ◽

Andre Charles Mintsa ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Power Plant ◽

Latent Heat ◽

Thermal Power Plant ◽

Thermal Power ◽

Organic Rankine Cycle ◽

Rankine Cycle ◽

Thermal Storage ◽

Solar Thermal ◽

Solar Thermal Power ◽

Solar Field

The small solar thermal power plant is being developed with funding from EU Horizon 2020 Program. The plant is configured around a 2-kWel Organic Rankine Cycle turbine and solar field, made of Fresnel mirrors. The solar field is used to heat thermal oil to the temperature of about 240 °C. This thermal energy is used to run the Organic Rankine Cycle turbine and the heat rejected in its condenser (about 18-kWth) is utilized for hot water production and living space heating. The plant is equipped with a latent heat thermal storage to extend its operation by about 4 hours during the evening building occupancy period. The phase change material used is Solar salt with the melting/solidification point at about 220 °C. The total mass of the PCM is about 3,800 kg and the thermal storage capacity is about 100 kWh. The operation of the plant is monitored by a central controller unit. The main components of the plant are being manufactured and laboratory tested with the aim to assemble the plant at the demonstration site, located in Catalonia, Spain. At the first stage of investigations the ORC turbine will be directly integrated with the solar filed to evaluate their joint performance. During the second stage of tests, the Latent Heat Thermal Storage will be incorporated into the plant and its performance during the charging and discharging processes will be investigated. It is planned that the continuous filed tests of the whole plant will be performed during the 2018–2019 period.

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