Annual performance analysis of small scale industrial waste heat assisted solar tower power plant and application of nanofluid

Abstract

BackgroundConcentrated solar energy systems use mirrors to focus a lot of light in one receiver. When focused light is converted to heat can drive a steam turbine connected to a power generator and electricity is generated. The purpose of this research is to analyze a small-scale industrial waste heat assisted solar tower power plant. MethodThe thermal performance of the system has been modelled based on the transient heat transfer analysis of the storage tank and a boiling heat transfer modeling of steam generator. Performance parameters such as working fluid temperature at the exit of components, hourly power output, as well as thermal efficiency of steam cycle has been computed. Moreover, in order to increase the efficiency of the system a CFU U-tube heat exchanger was selected and cooled using nanofluid. FindingsA 16.6 kW constant power output was computed for 8760 hour of simulation time, and 19% thermal efficiency of the steam cycle is computed in this analysis. Moreover, using nanofluid in the condenser instead of water can improve heat transfer in the heat exchanger. The use of nanofluid also leads to lower temperature of liquid leaving the condenser, which increases the efficiency of the solar system.