5E (energy, exergy, energy level, exergoeconomic, and exergetic sustainability) analysis on a carbon dioxide binary mixture based compressed gas energy storage system: A comprehensive research and feasibility validation

Abstract

Recently, the application of carbon dioxide binary working fluids in compressed carbon dioxide energy storage systems has been proposed to improve the system characteristics, especially for the condensation problem of carbon dioxide. Based on the previous research, a more comprehensive 5E (energy, exergy, energy level, exergoeconomic, and exergetic sustainability) analysis on a typical transcritical compressed carbon dioxide energy storage system using carbon dioxide binary working fluid is carried out. Propane, propylene, R32, R161, R1234ze, and R1234yf are chosen to compose the binary working fluid with carbon dioxide, respectively. The effect of changing parameters, including pump pressure ratio, compressor isentropic efficiency, and heat exahcnger1 outlet temperature on system performance, is also analyzed. In addition, the feasibility of applying carbon dioxide binary working fluid at high ambient temperature is investigated. According to the results, the performance of heat exchanger1, heat exchanger2, and pump decreases while the performance of the turbine is improved with a higher refrigerant mass fraction from the point of energy level. The compressor, pump, and turbine show potential for optimization according to their higher process energy level difference. The pump power and system operating pressure is reduced at the cost of reducing round trip efficiency when using carbon dioxide binary working fluid. A 1% improvement in compressor isentropic efficiency leads to an increase of nearly 0.4% in round trip efficiency, albeit with reduced turbine power. Increasing the heat exchanger1 outlet temperature from 305 K to 315 K results in a 1% increase in round trip efficiency but with a decrease in the performance of heat exchanger1. Both increasing compressor isentropic efficiency and heat exchanger1 outlet temperature benefit the system economy and exergetic sustainability. A noticeable decrease in system performance is observed when the ambient temperature shifts from 293 K to 303 K. However, this deterioration can be mitigated by raising the pressure of saturated working fluid gas at the compressor inlet. Propylene, R32, and R1234yf are suitable candidates to address the condensation issue, considering the system performance at high ambient temperatures. This paper extends research on the compressed carbon dioxide energy storage system based on carbon dioxide mixtures and provides a reference for the working fluid selection and system optimization for related research.