Thermodynamic Analysis of a Parabolic Trough Solar Collector Power Generation Plant Coupled With an Organic Rankine Cycle

Abstract

In this paper, the performance of Parabolic Trough Solar Collector (PTSC)-based power generation plant is studied. The effect of adding an Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC), and a Thermal Energy Storage (TES) system on the performance and financial metrics of the PTSC-power plant is investigated. Moreover, multiple organic working fluids for the ORC are compared in terms of the thermal and exergetic efficiencies, as well as the pumping power, and the most efficient fluid is selected. Further, the TES system is characterized by two-tank storage system with a storage period of 7 hours/24 hours. A yearly, monthly, and daily performance analyses are presented based on the Typical Meteorological Year (TMY) values for the city of Abu Dhabi, to study the improvement caused by the ORC and TES system. The simulation results show that Benzene is the most efficient organic fluid, as it showed the highest thermal and exergetic efficiency, and the lowest pumping power when compared to other organic fluids. In addition, the presence of the ORC increased the annual energy output of the power plant by 4%, while the addition of the TES increased the annual energy output by 68% and decreased the LCE by 29%. In the case where both the ORC and TES are added, the annual energy output increased by 72%, while the LCE decreases by almost 31%.