Abstract
In the present study, a dual-pressure organic Rankine cycle (DORC) driven by geothermal hot water for electricity production is developed, investigated and optimized from the energy, exergy and exergoeconomic viewpoint. A parametric study is conducted to determine the effect of high-stage pressure and low-stage pressure variation on the system thermodynamic and exergoeconomic performance. The DORC is further optimized to obtain maximum exergy efficiency optimized design (EEOD case) and minimum product cost optimized design (PCOD case). The exergy efficiency and unit cost of power produced for the optimization of EEOD case and PCOD case are 33.03% and 3.059 cent/kWh, which are 0.3% and 17.4% improvement over base case, respectively. The PCOD case proved to be the best, with respect to minimum unit cost of power produced and net power output over the base case and EEOD case.
Highlights
The exergy efficiency and unit cost of power produced for the optimization of efficiency optimal design (EEOD) case and product cost optimal design (PCOD) case are 33.03% and 3.059 cent/kWh, which are 0.3% and 17.4% improvement over base case, respectively
Since several literatures [2] [11] have reported the advantages of dual-pressure organic Rankine cycle (DORC) over the simple organic Rankine (SORC) in terms of first and second law thermodynamic performance, this study focuses on the exergoeconomic analysis and optimization of DORC to determine the exergy cost rates at each stream and obtain an optimized design for minimum product costs
This study is important considering the complex configuration of DORC and the potential high investment costs associated with it
Summary
The utilization of low-grade heat sources such as geothermal, biomass, solar and power and industrial process waste heat, are becoming more and more attractive as a sustainable approach towards ameliorating environmental issues, such as air pollution, acid rain, global warming and ozone layer
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