Thermodynamic analysis of high-temperature regenerative organic Rankine cycles using siloxanes as working fluids

A recent novel adjustment of the Span-Wagner equation of state for siloxanes, used as working fluids in high-temperature organic Rankine cycles, is applied in a mathematical model to solve cycles under several working conditions. The proposed scheme includes a thermo-oil intermediate heat circuit between the heat source and the organic Rankine cycle. Linear and cyclic siloxanes are assayed in saturated, superheated and supercritical cycles. The cycle includes an internal heat exchanger (regenerative cycle), although a non-regenerative scheme is also solved. In the first part of the study, a current of combustion gases cooled to close to their dew point temperature is taken as the reference heat source. In the second part, the outlet temperature of the heat source is varied over a wide range, determining appropriate fluids and schemes for each thermal level. Simple linear (MM, MDM) siloxanes in saturated regenerative schemes show good efficiencies and ensure thermal stability of the working fluid.     

Working fluids for low-temperature organic Rankine cycles

A thermodynamic screening of 31 pure component working fluids for organic Rankine cycles (ORC) is given using BACKONE equation of state. The fluids are alkanes, fluorinated alkanes, ethers and fluorinated ethers. The ORC cycles operate between 100 and 30 °C typical for geothermal power plants at pressures mostly limited to 20 bar, but in some cases supercritical pressures are also considered. Thermal efficiencies η_th are presented for cycles of different types. In case of subcritical pressure processes one has to distinguish (1) whether the shape of the saturated vapour line in the T,s-diagram is bell-shaped or overhanging, and (2) whether the vapour entering the turbine is saturated or superheated. Moreover, in case that the vapour leaving the turbine is superheated, an internal heat exchanger (IHE) may be used. The highest η_th-values are obtained for the high boiling substances with overhanging saturated vapour line in subcritical processes with an IHE, e.g., for n-butane η_th=0.130. On the other hand, a pinch analysis for the heat transfer from the heat carrier with maximum temperature of 120 °C to the working fluid shows that the largest amount of heat can be transferred to a supercritical fluid and the least to a high-boiling subcritical fluid.     

Comparison of trilateral cycles and organic Rankine cycles

A comparison of optimized trilateral cycle (TLC) - systems with water as working fluid and optimized organic Rankine cycle (ORC) – systems with pure organic working fluids is presented. The study includes the heat transfer to and from the cycles. The TLC - systems were optimized by the selection of the maximum water temperature, the ORC - systems by the selection of the working fluid and the process parameters. The optimization criterion is the exergy efficiency for power production being the ratio of the net power output to the incoming exergy flow of the heat carrier. Results will be presented for five different cases specified by the inlet temperature of the heat carrier and the inlet temperature of the cooling agent. The inlet temperature pairs are (350 °C, 62 °C), (280 °C, 62 °C), (280 °C, 15 °C), (220 °C, 15 °C) and (150 °C, 15 °C). It is found that the exergy efficiency for power production is larger by 14%–29% for the TLC than for the ORC. On the other hand, the outgoing volume flows from the expander are larger for the TLC than for the ORC by a factor ranging from 2.8 for the first case to 70 for the last case.     

Analysis of zeotropic mixtures used in low-temperature solar Rankine cycles for power generation

This paper presents the analysis of low-temperature solar Rankine cycles for power generation using zeotropic mixtures. Three typical mass fractions 0.9/0.1 (Ma) 0.65/0.35 (Mb), 0.45/0.55 (Mc) of R245fa/R152a are chosen. In the proposed temperature range from 25 °C to 85 °C, the three zeotropic mixtures are investigated as the working fluids of the low-temperature solar Rankine cycle. Because there is an obvious temperature glide during phase change for zeotropic mixtures, an internal heat exchanger (IHE) is introduced to the Rankine cycle. Investigation shows that different from the pure fluids, among the proposed zeotropic mixtures, the isentropic working fluid Mb possesses the lowest Rankine cycle efficiency. For zeotropic mixtures a significant increase of thermal efficiencies can be gained when superheating is combined with IHE. It is also indicated that utilizing zeotropic mixtures can extend the range of choosing working fluids for low-temperature solar Rankine cycles.     

Process integration of organic Rankine cycle

An organic Rankine cycle (ORC) uses an organic fluid as a working medium within a Rankine cycle power plant. ORC offers advantages over conventional Rankine cycle with water as the working medium, as ORC generates shaft-work from low to medium temperature heat sources with higher thermodynamic efficiency. The dry and the isentropic fluids are most preferred working fluid for the ORC. The basic ORC can be modified by incorporating both regeneration and turbine bleeding to improve its thermal efficiency. In this paper, 16 different organic fluids have been analyzed as a working medium for the basic as well as modified ORCs. A methodology is also proposed for appropriate integration and optimization of an ORC as a cogeneration process with the background process to generate shaft-work. It has been illustrated that the choice of cycle configuration for appropriate integration with the background process depends on the heat rejection profile of the background process (i.e., the shape of the below pinch portion of the process grand composite curve). The benefits of integrating ORC with the background process and the applicability of the proposed methodology have been demonstrated through illustrative examples.     

An examination of exergy destruction in organic Rankine cycles

The exergy topological method is used to present a quantitative estimation of the exergy destroyed in an organic Rankine cycle (ORC) operating on R113. A detailed roadmap of exergy flow is presented using an exergy wheel, and this visual representation clearly depicts the exergy accounting associated with each thermodynamic process. The analysis indicates that the evaporator accounts for maximum exergy destroyed in the ORC and the process responsible for this is the heat transfer across a finite temperature difference. In addition, the results confirm the thermodynamic superiority of the regenerative ORC over the basic ORC since regenerative heating helps offset a significant amount of exergy destroyed in the evaporator, thereby resulting in a thermodynamically more efficient process. Parameters such as thermodynamic influence coefficient and degree of thermodynamic perfection are identified as useful design metrics to assist exergy‐based design of devices. This paper also examines the impact of operating parameters such as evaporator pressure and inlet temperature of the hot gases entering the evaporator on ORC performance. It is shown that exergy destruction decreases with increasing evaporator pressure and decreasing turbine inlet temperatures. Finally, the analysis reveals the potential of the exergy topological methodology as a robust technique to identify the magnitude of irreversibilities associated with real thermodynamic processes in practical thermal systems. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Performance comparison and parametric optimization of subcritical Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) and transcritical power cycle system for low-temperature geothermal power generation

Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) is a promising technology for converting the low-grade energy to electricity. This paper presents an investigation on the parameter optimization and performance comparison of the fluids in subcritical ORC and transcritical power cycle in low-temperature (i.e. 80–100 °C) binary geothermal power system. The optimization procedure was conducted with a simulation program written in Matlab using five indicators: thermal efficiency, exergy efficiency, recovery efficiency, heat exchanger area per unit power output (APR) and the levelized energy cost (LEC). With the given heat source and heat sink conditions, performances of the working fluids were evaluated and compared under their optimized internal operation parameters. The optimum cycle design and the corresponding operation parameters were provided simultaneously. The results indicate that the choice of working fluid varies the objective function and the value of the optimized operation parameters are not all the same for different indicators. R123 in subcritical ORC system yields the highest thermal efficiency and exergy efficiency of 11.1% and 54.1%, respectively. Although the thermal efficiency and exergy efficiency of R125 in transcritical cycle is 46.4% and 20% lower than that of R123 in subcritical ORC, it provides 20.7% larger recovery efficiency. And the LEC value is relatively low. Moreover, 22032L petroleum is saved and 74,019 kg CO₂ is reduced per year when the LEC value is used as the objective function. In conclusion, R125 in transcritical power cycle shows excellent economic and environmental performance and can maximize utilization of the geothermal. It is preferable for the low-temperature geothermal ORC system. R41 also exhibits favorable performance except for its flammability.     

Energetic and exergetic analysis of CO2- and R32-based transcritical Rankine cycles for low-grade heat conversion

Transcritical Rankine cycles using refrigerant R32 (CH₂F₂) and carbon dioxide (CO₂) as the working fluids are studied for the conversion of low-grade heat into mechanical power. Compared to CO₂, R32 has higher thermal conductivity and condenses easily. The energy and exergy analyses of the cycle with these two fluids shows that the R32-based transcritical Rankine cycle can achieve 12.6–18.7% higher thermal efficiency and works at much lower pressures. An analysis of the exergy destruction and losses as well as the exergy efficiency optimization of the transcritical Rankine cycle is conducted. Based on the analysis, an “ideal” working fluid for the transcritical Rankine cycle is conceived, and ideas are proposed to design working fluids that can approach the properties of an “ideal” working fluid.     

Low-grade heat conversion into power using organic Rankine cycles – A review of various applications

An organic Rankine cycle (ORC) machine is similar to a conventional steam cycle energy conversion system, but uses an organic fluid such as refrigerants and hydrocarbons instead of water. In recent years, research was intensified on this device as it is being progressively adopted as premier technology to convert low-temperature heat resources into power. Available heat resources are: solar energy, geothermal energy, biomass products, surface seawater, and waste heat from various thermal processes. This paper presents existing applications and analyzes their maturity. Binary geothermal and binary biomass CHP are already mature. Provided the interest to recover waste heat rejected by thermal devices and industrial processes continue to grow, and favorable legislative conditions are adopted, waste heat recovery organic Rankine cycle systems in the near future will experience a rapid growth. Solar modular power plants are being intensely investigated at smaller scale for cogeneration applications in buildings but larger plants are also expected in tropical or Sahel regions with constant and low solar radiation intensity. OTEC power plants operating mainly on offshore installations at very low temperature have been advertised as total resource systems and interest on this technology is growing in large isolated islands.     

Performance analysis of an Organic Rankine Cycle with superheating under different heat source temperature conditions

This paper presents an analysis of non-regenerative Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC), based on the parametric optimization, using R-12, R-123, R-134a and R-717 as working fluids superheated at constant pressure. A computer programme has been developed to parametrically optimize and compare the system and second law efficiency, irreversibility of the system, availability ratio, work output, mass flow rate with increase in turbine inlet temperature (TIT) under different heat source temperature conditions. The calculated results reveal that R-123 produces the maximum efficiencies and turbine work output with minimum irreversibility for employed constant as well as variable heat source temperature conditions. Hence, selection of a non-regenerative ORC during superheating using R-123 as working fluid appears to be a choice system for converting low-grade heat to power.     

烟气驱动复叠式非共沸工质有机朗肯循环系统㶲分析

通过构建复叠式非共沸工质有机朗肯循环系统模型,并采用■分析方法,研究了系统■效率随工质摩尔组分的变化规律以及不同摩尔组分下,系统各部件■损失分布情况。研究结果表明:受蒸发器泡点温度与高温级蒸发器夹点位置影响,当高温级循环工质环戊烷摩尔分数为0.8,低温级循环工质异丁烷摩尔分数为0.1时,系统■效率取得最大值48.56%,比采用纯工质时相对提高了3.83%;且采用非共沸工质后,排烟损失、高温级蒸发器■损失、低温级冷凝器■损失均有显著降低。     

A supercritical Rankine cycle using zeotropic mixture working fluids for the conversion of low-grade heat into power

A supercritical Rankine cycle using zeotropic mixture working fluids for the conversion of low-grade heat into power is proposed and analyzed in this paper. Unlike a conventional organic Rankine cycle, a supercritical Rankine cycle does not go through the two-phase region during the heating process. By adopting zeotropic mixtures as the working fluids, the condensation process also happens non-isothermally. Both of these features create a potential for reducing the irreversibilities and improving the system efficiency. A comparative study between an organic Rankine cycle and the proposed supercritical Rankine cycle shows that the proposed cycle can achieve thermal efficiencies of 10.8-13.4% with the cycle high temperature of 393 K-473 K as compared to 9.7-10.1% for the organic Rankine cycle, which is an improvement of 10-30% over the organic Rankine cycle. When including the heating and condensation processes in the system, the system exergy efficiency is 38.6% for the proposed supercritical Rankine cycle as compared to 24.1% for the organic Rankine cycle.     

Analysis of a 50 kW organic Rankine cycle system

This study analyzes the system performance of a 50 kW ORC system subject to influence of various working fluids. A dimensionless “figure of merit” combining the Jakob number, condensing temperature, and evaporation temperature is proposed for quantitatively screening working fluid as far as thermal efficiency is concerned. The thermal efficiency normally decreases with the rise of figure of merit, and the predictive ability of the proposed figure of merit is not only applicable to the present eighteen working fluids but is also in line with some existing literatures. Analysis of the typical ORC heat exchangers indicates that the dominant thermal resistance in the shell-and-tube condenser is on the shell side. Similarly, the dominant resistance is also on the refrigerant side for the plate evaporator. However, there is a huge difference of thermal resistance amid working fluid and water side in the preheating zone. Conversely, only a minor difference exists in the evaporation region. The extremely uneven resistance distribution in the plate heat exchanger can be resolved via an additional preheater having significant augmentation in the working fluid.     

Exergy analysis of micro-organic Rankine power cycles for a small scale solar driven reverse osmosis desalination system

Exergy analysis of micro-organic Rankine heat engines is performed to identify the most suitable engine for driving a small scale reverse osmosis desalination system. Three modified engines derived from simple Rankine engine using regeneration (incorporation of regenerator or feedliquid heaters) are analyzed through a novel approach, called exergy-topological method based on the combination of exergy flow graphs, exergy loss graphs, and thermoeconomic graphs. For the investigations, three working fluids are considered: R134a, R245fa and R600. The incorporated devices produce different results with different fluids. Exergy destruction throughout the systems operating with R134a was quantified and illustrated using exergy diagrams. The sites with greater exergy destruction include turbine, evaporator and feedliquid heaters. The most critical components include evaporator, turbine and mixing units. A regenerative heat exchanger has positive effects only when the engine operates with dry fluids; feedliquid heaters improve the degree of thermodynamic perfection of the system but lead to loss in exergetic efficiency. Although, different modifications produce better energy conversion and less exergy destroyed, the improvements are not significant enough and subsequent modifications of the simple Rankine engine cannot be considered as economically profitable for heat source temperature below 100 °C. As illustration, a regenerator increases the system’s energy efficiency by 7%, the degree of thermodynamic perfection by 3.5% while the exergetic efficiency is unchanged in comparison with the simple Rankine cycle, with R600 as working fluid. The impacts of heat source temperature and pinch point temperature difference on engine’s performance are also examined. Finally, results demonstrate that energy analysis combined with the mathematical graph theory is a powerful tool in performance assessments of Rankine based power systems and permits meaningful comparison of different regenerative effects based on their contribution to systems improvements.     

R245fa作为有机朗肯循环工质的材料相容性研究

对于可再生能源和工业余热资源,有机朗肯循环技术(organic Rankine cycle,ORC)被认为是一种高效的能源回收利用技术。其中R245fa因为其自身良好的环保性以及热力性能,被认为是一种具有良好应用前景的ORC工质。对于ORC系统来说,工质的材料相容性是保证系统稳定运行的基础。针对ORC系统实际工况,确定部件、温度、材料等因素的对应关系,提出一套适用于ORC工质材料相容性研究的实验方法,并以R245fa为例开展了实验研究。实验结果表明,在高温条件下,304不锈钢与R245fa的相容性要优于铜材料;同时在橡胶密封材料的选择上,不建议使用氟橡胶,且三元乙丙橡胶的相容性要优于聚四氟乙烯。     

Wind effect on the performance of a solar organic Rankine cycle

The effects of wind, ambient temperature and solar radiation on the simultaneous productions of mechanical work and heat by a solar Rankine cycle are studied. The on site experimental study uses the pentafluorobutane R365mfc as working fluid in a system consisting of a small-scale single glazed flat plate collector, a micro turbine, a condenser and a pump. The theoretical study focuses on the prediction of the optimum operating temperature of the collector according to the solar radiation, the temperature of air and the wind speed. Then, the total production of mechanical and thermal energy is calculated during a sunny day for which various wind speeds are simulated. The results highlight the effect of wind on the corresponding production and they also establish the value of the recommended evaporating temperature according to weather conditions.     

Thermodynamic optimization of organic Rankine cycle using two-stage evaporation

Organic Rankine cycle (ORC) is a promising technology to recover low-grade heat, but it leads to a low efficiency due to the highest irreversible loss caused by the single-stage evaporation. The present work concerns the performance enhancement of a two-stage serial organic Rankine cycle (TSORC) for geothermal power generation. The heat source is divided into two separate temperature ranges. The main goal of the current simulation is to evaluate system performance of TSORC, as well as, to calculate the influence of two-stage evaporation on system performance. The ratio of the net power output to the total thermal conductance was chosen as the objective function. Results show that the system performance is coupled with geothermal water inlet temperature (GWIT), intermediate geothermal water temperature (IGWT), and evaporating temperatures. The two-stage evaporation significantly reduces the irreversible loss, thereby enhancing the net power output. The TSORC presents excellent systematic performances and deserves to be popularized in engineering applications.     

Exergy analysis of an integrated solid oxide fuel cell and organic Rankine cycle for cooling, heating and power production

The study examines a novel system that combined a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) and an organic Rankine cycle (ORC) for cooling, heating and power production (trigeneration) through exergy analysis. The system consists of an SOFC, an ORC, a heat exchanger and a single-effect absorption chiller. The system is modeled to produce a net electricity of around 500 kW. The study reveals that there is 3-25% gain on exergy efficiency when trigeneration is used compared with the power cycle only. Also, the study shows that as the current density of the SOFC increases, the exergy efficiencies of power cycle, cooling cogeneration, heating cogeneration and trigeneration decreases. In addition, it was shown that the effect of changing the turbine inlet pressure and ORC pump inlet temperature are insignificant on the exergy efficiencies of the power cycle, cooling cogeneration, heating cogeneration and trigeneration. Also, the study reveals that the significant sources of exergy destruction are the ORC evaporator, air heat exchanger at the SOFC inlet and heating process heat exchanger.     

The first and second law analysis on an organic Rankine cycle with ejector

In consideration of the low efficiency of the organic Rankine cycle (ORC) with low-grade heat source (LGHS), an organic Rankine cycle with ejector (EORC) and a double organic Rankine cycle (DORC) based on the ORC is introduced in this paper. The thermodynamic first law and second law analysis and comparison on the ORC, EORC and DORC cycles are conducted on the cycle’s power output, thermal efficiency, exergy loss and exergy efficiency. Water is chosen as the LGHS fluid, and the same temperature and mass flow rate of the water is the standard condition for the comparative analysis on the cycles. The emphasis is on the thermodynamic performance at the maximum net power output of the cycles. The results show the power output is higher in the EORC and DORC compared to the ORC. And the cycle’s exergy efficiency could be ranked from high to low: DORC > EORC > ORC.     

On site experimental evaluation of a low-temperature solar organic Rankine cycle system for RO desalination

The paper presents the on site experimental evaluation of the performance of a low-temperature solar organic Rankine cycle system (SORC) for reverse osmosis (RO) desalination. This work is a research step forward to the experimental evaluation of the SORC under laboratory conditions, where the system was tested using an electric brake as load and an electric thermal heater as heat supply. The difference is that solar collectors have been applied as heat supply and there has been a realistic investigation of the performance of the system under the conditions implied by solar energy. The thermal energy produced by the solar collectors’ array evaporates the refrigerant HFC-134a in the pre-heater-evaporator surfaces of the Rankine engine. The superheated vapour is then driven to the expander, where the generated mechanical work produced from expansion drives the high-pressure pump of the RO desalination unit. The superheated vapour at the expander’s outlet is directed to the condenser and condensates. Finally, the saturated liquid at the condenser outlet is pressurized by a positive displacement pump and the thermodynamic cycle is repeated. A special energy recovery system of Axial Pistons Pumps (APP) has been integrated into the RO unit to minimise the specific energy consumption. The results prove that the above concept is technically feasible and continuous operation is achieved under the intermittent availability of solar energy. However, considerably low efficiency has been observed, in comparison with the results taken under controlled thermal load. Nevertheless, it becomes apparent that further optimisation work is required to improve the system efficiency. The research work has been done within the framework of COOP-CT-2003-507997 contract, partly financed by EC.