Comparison of sub- and supercritical Organic Rankine Cycles for power generation from low-temperature/low-enthalpy geothermal wells, considering specific net power output and efficiency

2013 ◽  
Vol 51 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 871-879 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian Vetter ◽  
Hans-Joachim Wiemer ◽  
Dietmar Kuhn
Author(s):  
Jixiang Liao ◽  
Qun Zheng

The performances of the transcritical Rankine cycles using R41 and CO2 as working fluids for power generation with lower temperature renewable energy are analyzed respectively and presented in this paper. The results show that the R41 cycle displays better comprehensive performance than that of the CO2 cycle. Compared with the CO2 cycle under the same specified conditions, the average value of the maximum net power output increased by more than 52.6%, the optimum inlet pressure decreased by over 41.6% and the second law efficiency increased by 24.8%. Moreover, the system thermal efficiency of R41 cycle is slightly higher than that of the CO2 cycle.


2021 ◽  
Vol 143 (9) ◽  
Author(s):  
Wahiba Yaïci ◽  
Evgueniy Entchev ◽  
Pouyan Talebizadehsardari ◽  
Michela Longo

Abstract Overall, there are numerous sustainable sources of renewable, low-temperature heat, principally solar energy, geothermal energy, and energy produced from industrial wastes. Extended utilization of these low-temperature alternatives has a certain capacity of decreasing fossil fuel use with its associated very hazardous greenhouse gas emissions. Researchers have commonly recognized the organic Rankine cycle (ORC) as a feasible and suitable system to produce electrical power from renewable sources based on its advantageous use of volatile organic fluids as working fluids (WFs). Researchers have similarly shown an affinity to the exploitation of zeotropic mixtures as ORC WFs due to their capability to enhance the thermodynamic performance of ORC systems, an achievement supported by improved fits of the temperature profiles of the WF and the heat source/sink. This paper determines both the technical feasibility and the benefits of using zeotropic mixtures as WFs by means of a simulation study of an ORC system. This study analyzes the thermodynamic performance of ORC systems using zeotropic WF mixtures to produce electricity driven by low-temperature solar heat sources for use in buildings. A thermodynamic model is created with an ORC system with and without a regenerator. Five zeotropic mixtures with diverse compositions between 0 and 1 in 0.2 increments of R245fa/propane, R245fa/hexane, R245fa/heptane, pentane/hexane, and isopentane/hexane are assessed and compared with identify the best blends of mixtures that are able to produce superior efficiency in their system cycles. Results disclosed that R245fa/propane (0.4/0.6) with regenerator produces the highest net power output of 7.9 kW and cycle efficiency of 9.4% at the operating condition with a hot source temperature of 85 °C. The study also investigates the effects of the volume flow ratio, and evaporation and condensation temperature glide on the ORC’s thermodynamic performance. Following a thorough analysis of each mixture, R245fa/propane is chosen for a parametric study to examine the effects of operating factors on the system’s efficiency and sustainability index. It was found that the highest cycle efficiency and highest second law cycle efficiency of around 10.5% and 84.0%, respectively, were attained with a mass composition of 0.6/0.4 at the hot source temperature of 95 °C and cold source temperature of 20 °C with a net power output of 9.6 kW. Moreover, results revealed that for zeotropic mixtures, there is an optimal composition range within which binary mixtures are tending to work more efficiently than the component pure fluids. In addition, a significant increase in cycle efficiency can be achieved with a regenerative ORC, with cycle efficiency in the range 3.1–9.8% versus 8.6–17.4% for ORC both without and with regeneration, respectively. In conclusion, utilizing zeotropic mixtures may well expand the restriction faced in choosing WFs for solar-powered ORC-based micro-combined heat and power (CHP) systems.


Author(s):  
C. R. Baggley ◽  
◽  
M. G. Read ◽  

It is well known that large amounts of energy loss occurs at low temperature states in a wide range of industrial processes., The recovery and reuse of this energy is at the forefront of increasing the overall efficiencies of industrial systems. The aim of this paper is to investigate the effectiveness of using a Thermo-Fluidic Exchange (TFE) pump at low temperature conditions in both a SaturatedVapour Organic Rankine Cycle (SORC) and a Trilateral Flash Cycle (TFC). For some low temperature applications, TFCs have been shown to achieve higher net power output than conventional SORCs, due to their ability to extract more heat from the source fluid. This is the subject of current research as a result of advancements made in the design of positive displacement machines for operation as twophase expanders. Conventional turbines cannot be used for TFCs as they must operate in the vapour phase. One drawback of the TFC is the higher working fluid mass flow rate required. Depending on the scale of the system, this can potentially cause difficulties with pump selection. A TFE pump uses heat input to the system to increase the pressure and temperature of the working fluid, rather than the work input in a standard mechanical pump. This paper compares the net power output achievable using both mechanical and TFE pumps with SORC and TFC systems. The results suggest that the TFE pump could be a viable option for TFC systems


2000 ◽  
Vol 203 (2) ◽  
pp. 321-331 ◽  
Author(s):  
D.M. Swank ◽  
L.C. Rome

Ectothermal animals are able to locomote effectively over a wide range of temperatures despite low temperature reducing the power output of their muscles. It has been suggested that animals recruit more muscle fibres and faster fibre types to compensate for the reduced power output at low temperature, but it is not known how much low temperature actually reduces power output in vivo. ‘Optimized’ work-loop measurements, which are thought to approximate muscle function in vivo, give a Q(10) of approximately 2.3 for power output of scup (Stenotomus chrysops) red muscle between 10 degrees C and 20 degrees C. However, because of the slower muscle relaxation rate at low temperatures, ‘optimizing’ work loops requires stimulation duration to be reduced and oscillation frequency to be decreased to obtain maximal power output. Previous fish swimming experiments suggest that similar optimization may not occur in vivo, and this may have substantial consequences in terms of muscle power generation and swimming at low temperatures. To assess more precisely the effects of temperature on muscle performance and swimming, in the present study, we measured the length change, stimulation duration and stimulus phase of red muscle at various positions along scup swimming at several speeds at 10 degrees C and 20 degrees C. In a companion study, we determined the effects of temperature on in vivo power generation by driving muscle fibre bundles through these in vivo length changes and stimulation conditions, and measuring the resulting power output. The most significant finding from the present study is that, despite large differences in the in vivo parameters along the length of the fish (a decrease in stimulus duration, an increase in strain and a negative shift in phase) moving posteriorly, these parameters do not change with temperature. Thus, although the nervous system of fish could, in theory, compensate for slow muscle relaxation by greatly reducing muscle stimulation duration at low temperatures, it does not. This lack of compensation to low temperatures might reflect a potential limitation in neural control.


Author(s):  
Shengwei Huang ◽  
Chengzhou Li ◽  
Tianyu Tan ◽  
Peng Fu ◽  
Gang Xu ◽  
...  

In this paper, an improved system to efficiently utilize the low-temperature waste heat (WHUS) from the flue gas of coal-fired power plants is proposed based on heat cascade. The essence of the proposed system is that the waste heat of exhausted flue gas is not only used to preheat air for assisting coal combustion as usual but also to heat up feedwater and the low-pressure steam extraction. Preheated by both the exhaust flue gas in the boiler island and the low-pressure steam extraction in the turbine island, thereby part of the flue gas heat in the air preheater can be saved and introduced to heat the feedwater and the high-temperature condensed water. Consequently, part of the high-pressure steam is saved for further expansion in the steam turbine, which obtains additional net power output. Based on the design data of a typical 1000 MW ultra-supercritical coal-fired power plant in China, in-depth analysis of the energy-saving characteristics of the optimized WHUS and the conventional WHUS is conducted. When the optimized WHUS is adopted in a typical 1000 MW unit, net power output increases by 19.51 MW, exergy efficiency improves to 45.46%, and net annual revenue reaches 4.741 million USD. In terms of the conventional WHUS, these aforementioned performance parameters are only 5.83 MW, 44.80% and 1.244 million USD, respectively. The research of this paper can provide a feasible energy-saving option for coal-fired power plants.


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