The energy and exergy analysis of a novel cogeneration organic Rankine power and two-stage compression refrigeration cycle

Abstract

The energy crisis in recent years has led to the use of thermodynamic cycles that work based on renewable energies. Low-temperature cycles—such as organic cycles—are suitable strategies for the application of renewable energies. The present study proposes a novel cycle through the integration of a two-stage compression refrigeration cycle with a combined Rankine power and ejector refrigeration cycle by using the cascade condenser method. The fundamental idea of this cycle is to obtain refrigeration production at lower temperatures, and to achieve higher thermal and exergy efficiencies. The results showed that the new cycle recorded an 11.67 percent improvement in thermal efficiency and a 16.89 percent improvement in exergy efficiency compared to the basic cycle. Even though the network output of the cycle is reduced, a significant increase in the refrigeration capacity of the cycle is observed.