Energy, Exergy, Economic, and environmental assessment of a trigeneration system for combined power, cooling, and water desalination system driven by solar energy

Abstract

Energy efficiency, exergy efficiency & destruction, economic, environmental, and error analysis analyses have been presented for the proposed trigeneration system. The metrics have provided an inclusive understanding of the proposed system's ability to effectively convert energy inputs to useful outputs while minimizing losses and waste. The goal is to optimize the cycle performance and find the most efficient configuration for meeting the Middle East's energy, cooling, and freshwater needs using a sustainable, solar-driven trigeneration system. The study has observed a system's increased energy and exergy efficiencies by 60.34 to 63.27 % and 25.98 to 29.59 % for the direct normal Irradiance (DNI) values varied from 600 W/m2 to 1000 W/m2. The total energy saving accounted by the proposed configuration is 4,453,220 USD/year as compared to the commercial electricity which includes the net energy production, energy saving through ejector and absorption cooling, and cost of water purification (through Reverse Osmosis Plant) in one year. The payback period of the plant mentioned in this is evaluated by 6.66 years. The CO2 mitigation is evaluated by 22,185.24 MT/year and the other pollutants can also be mitigated like SO2 by 40.425 MT/year and NOx by 136.415 MT/year.