Abstract
The environmental performance of a combined cooling, heating, and power system is analyzed in this study at a component-level using a SPECO-based exergoenvironmental analysis. The engine consumes natural gas and produces 168.6 kW net power. The waste heat is recovered by a LiBr-H2O absorption chiller and a heat exchanger, which are used for cooling and heating purposes. The energy system is assisted by a solar field. An environmental Life Cycle Assessment quantifies the environmental impacts of the system, and these data are combined with exergy evaluations. The highest total environmental impact rate, 23,740.16 mPt/h, is related to the internal combustion engine, of which pollutant formation is the primary source of environmental impact. Compared with a non-renewable energy system, the solar-assisted trigeneration system decreased the environmental impact per exergy unit of chilled water by 10.99%. Exergoenvironmental performance can be further improved by enhancing the exergy efficiency of the solution pump and high-pressure generator (HG), and by employing a treatment to remove nitrogen oxides in the reciprocating engine.
Highlights
The growing environmental awareness in society has motivated the development of more efficient and integrated energy systems
Streams under dead state pressure could present negative physic exergies, which leads to a negative environmental impacts rating in the exergoenvironmental analysis, which is inconsistent
The system0 s environmental performance at a component level was evaluated by combining a life cycle assessment with the exergy model
Summary
The growing environmental awareness in society has motivated the development of more efficient and integrated energy systems. Examples of these energy systems include the cogeneration concept, in which the cascading use of energy enables the transfer of energy between subsystems, increasing cost and environmental efficiencies. Considering that the electricity consumption of the Brazilian residential sector amounts to 29.6% [1], and that a significant share is related to air conditioning, the trigeneration concept can be employed, coupling thermally activated absorption technologies that can harness waste heat to produce cooling. Solar thermal energy is an intelligent alternative to help meet rising electricity demands and to mitigate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of the industrial and residential sectors.
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