Parabolic Trough Collector Solar Field Research Articles

Design of a Parabolic Trough Collector Solar Field for a Pilot CO2 Capture Plant from Natural Gas Combined Cycle Power Plant Flue Gas.

A parabolic trough collector solar field was designed to supply the heat needed to regenerate the CO2-rich monoethanolamine in a solar-assisted carbon capture system. Process design modeling was performed for 90% of the CO2 removal from 1% of the flue gas produced by a 255 MWe natural gas combined cycle power plant. Calculations with and without 24 h of thermal energy storage by increasing the solar collector size needed and providing a buffer vessel to store hot heat transfer fluid were performed. A dynamic analysis of the solar field using the hourly solar forecast was performed to investigate how heat transfer fluid mass flow changes during January and June to maintain the desired parabolic solar field outlet temperature needed for CO2 reboiler operation. The calculations provided here present an explicit method to calculate relevant solar field design parameters that can be scaled up and used in solar energy-assisted gas capture processes.

Thermo-economic assessment of hybrid Kalina cycle and organic Rankine cycle system using a parabolic trough collector solar field

This study presents a solar powered hybrid power system consisting the Kalina cycle (KC) and a bottoming organic Rankine cycle (ORC). LS-2 parabolic trough collector (PTC) is modeled in solar field with two different kinds of working fluid: Syltherm 800 and MXene/Syltherm 800 nanofluid. MXene particle (Ti3C2) is used with 0.1 wt% due to their outstanding thermal absorption properties. The use of MXene-based nanofluid has shown remarkable thermophysical properties, resulting in a significant increase in the useful heat generated by 11.10%. The hybrid system utilizing the MXene-based nanofluid demonstrates a substantial improvement in work utilization. Moreover, the maximum energetic and exergetic efficiency achieved with the MXene-based nanofluid are 6.095% and 6.55%, respectively, indicating its superior performance in converting solar energy into usable power with greater efficiency. When considering the overall cost of the MXene-based solar field, it was found to be approximately 7.63% higher compared to the Syltherm 800-based parabolic trough collector system. However, the Levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) for the Syltherm 800-based solar field was calculated as 0.1351 $/kW-hour, while for the MXene/Syltherm 800-based solar field, it was slightly lower at 0.1324 $/kW-hour. Additionally, the Payback period was reported as 5 years and 9 months for the Syltherm 800-based solar field, and 5 years and 7 months for the MXene/Syltherm 800-based solar field.

A Detailed Parametric Analysis of a Solar-Powered Cogeneration System for Electricity and Hydrogen Production

Hydrogen has received increased attention in the last decades as a green energy carrier and a promising future fuel. The integration of hydrogen, as well as the development of cogeneration plants, makes the energy sector more eco-friendly, and sustainable. The aim of this paper is the investigation of a solar-fed cogeneration system that can produce power and compressed green hydrogen. The examined unit contains a parabolic trough collector solar field, a thermal energy storage tank, an organic Rankine cycle, and a proton exchange membrane water electrolyzer. The installation also includes a hydrogen storage tank and a hydrogen compressor. The unit is analyzed parametrically in terms of thermodynamic performance and economic viability in steady-state conditions with a developed and accurate model. Taking into account the final results, the overall energy efficiency is calculated at 14.03%, the exergy efficiency at 14.94%, and the hydrogen production rate at 0.205 kg/h. Finally, the payback period and the net present value are determined at 9 years and 122 k€, respectively.

Design of Parabolic Trough Collector Solar Field for Pilot Co2 Capture Plant from Natural Gas Combined Cycle Power Plant Flue

Design of Parabolic Trough Collector Solar Field for Pilot Co2 Capture Plant from Natural Gas Combined Cycle Power Plant Flue

Performance analysis of 200 MW solar coal hybrid power generation system for transitioning to a low carbon energy future

Many researchers related to the power engineering have studied different innovative approaches to increase the operating performance of the power plants with regard to coal consumption and environmental impacts reduction. Solar coal hybrid power generation (SCHPG) system is one of the good approaches for improving operating performance and ecological indices in the short and midterm. The operating performance and ecological indices of 200 MW coal-fired thermal power plant could be improved by integrating a parabolic trough collector (PTC) solar field. The numerical simulation is performed using IPSEpro software based on the heat balance method in the design and off-design mode. In this paper, the first high-pressure heater (HPH-1) is replaced by PTC solar field with an aperture area of 35970 m2 in the aim of preheating the feedwater and achieving continuous and stable power generation. Simulated results show that the operating performance of SCHPG system achieved a design-point value in the summer season. Due to the DNI value and incidence angle, the low value of the operating performance occurred in the winter season. In the design-point condition, a decline in fuel consumption of 4.15 tons per hour and an increase in power output of 7.4 MW per hour are caused by fuel-saving and power-boosting operating modes. Moreover, specific equivalent coal consumption was reduced by 2.91% compared to the reference power plant. The annual reduction of coal consumption and CO2 emission was estimated at 9910 and 11,000 tons, respectively. This paper revealed that the SCHPG system can significantly contribute to the protection of the environment and the reduction of the mitigation of climate change.

Solar driven polygeneration system for power, desalination and cooling

This paper presents a thermodynamic study of a polygeneration system combining Solar Power System (SPS), Multi Effect Desalination (MED) system and Absorption Refrigeration System (ARS). The plant is powered by solar energy with a backup natural gas heater. SPS includes a parabolic Trough Collector (PTC) field with thermal oil working fluid and steam Rankine cycle. A detailed simulation of a plant that can serve 1000 residential houses is developed. The analysis is performed using MATLAB package and its graphical user interface (GUI) tool. A parametric study is carried out to investigate effects of the different design and operating parameters on the plant energetic and exergetic parameters. Moreover, an economic evaluation is conducted to evaluate CAPEX, OPEX and unit product water/cooling costs. Results reveal that the highest exergy loss was found to occur in PTC solar field with about 82.42% of the plant exergy destruction. Moreover, the minimum PTC area can be achieved through the selection of the units (ARS, MED and SPS) capacities depending on steam condenser flow rate. In addition, the highest OPEX and total costs percentage (87.68% and 54.83%) are due to the natural gas heater. The proposed integrated system provides the lowest unit water price (1.247 $/m3), unit cooling price (0.003 $/kW hr) and the highest exergetic efficiency (23.95%) compared to the single and dual-purpose ARS/MED systems.

Effect of short cloud shading on the performance of parabolic trough solar power plants: motorized vs manual valves

This paper uses a dynamic bio-inspired model to simulate cloud movement over a parabolic trough collector solar field. Time-stamped spatially varying solar radiation records resulting from that dynamic model are successively fed into an instantaneous flow distribution model of the same solar field. Two different flow control strategies are simulated to evaluate and compare their impact on plant performance. One strategy employs manual balancing valves resulting in an uneven exit temperature from each loop during cloud cover periods. The other strategy employs motorized balancing valves that constantly adjust to achieve a common desired exit temperature from each loop during cloud cover periods. Model output of both strategies under four different cloud shading conditions are compared. Simulation results showed that employing motorized balancing valves will result in a more efficient operation involving less pressure drop, higher outlet temperature and less pumping load; however, the rate of power generation was almost the same in both strategies.

EVALUATION OF THE PERFORMANCE AND ENERGY EFFICIENCY OF INTEGRATED SOLAR COMBINED CYCLE POWER PLANT

Abstract: An integrated solar combined cycle (ISCC) composed of a triple-pressure natural gas combined cycle and parabolic trough collector solar field is investigated in this paper. The purpose is to study and evaluate the performance of the cycle when the solar heat injected into the heat recovery steam generator of the steam cycle. Thus, a thermodynamic model of the proposed ISCC plant has been developed in Mathcad environment to simulate and analyze the cycle performance ate different seasons of the year. It has been found that the solar energy can generate steam that can be used to increase the power output of the steam cycle from 182 MWe to 237 MWe with an increase of 30% from reverence value. This can achieve an annual reduction in CO2 emission of 75000 tons/year.

Optical efficiency measurement of solar receiver tubes: A testbed and case studies

Knowledge of the parabolic-trough collector (PTC) solar receiver performance is essential in solar thermal power plants using this type of collector technology because it is the component responsible for collecting the solar radiation and transferring it in the form of thermal energy to the heat transfer fluid. Its performance depends on two parameters, heat loss and the optical efficiency of the solar receiver tubes. Therefore, the receiver optical efficiency must be known for correct sizing of a PTC solar field. This article presents an outdoor testbed developed to measure the optical efficiency of solar receiver tubes under real solar radiation conditions, including a detailed description of the system developed, working principle, test procedure, and performance results for two sample receiver tubes tested showing proper system functioning.

Parametric Trough Solar Collector With Commercial Evacuated Receiver: Performance Comparison at Plant Level

A new anidolic parametric trough solar collector (PmTC) having 8.12 m net width aperture has been recently proposed for a commercial evacuated receiver tube with an absorber diameter of 70 mm. Since the collector was designed ignoring transmission, absorption, and reflection optical losses, calculations of the optical efficiency and the incidence angle modifier (IAM) by means of Monte Carlo spectral raytracing simulations using real slope errors distributions and taking into account Fresnel reflection losses were done. Comparison with an Eurotrough parabolic trough collector (PTC) shows an optical penalization of 5.1% due to the reflectivity and additional soiling of the secondary mirror, to an increase in the end losses and to the Fresnel reflection losses. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) system advisor model (SAM) was used to perform annual simulations of two commercial 50 MWe oil power plants without thermal energy storage located in Seville. A PTC solar field consisting of 90 loops, each one having four Eurotrough solar collector assemblies (SCA) with 150 m length was first modeled resulting in a gross production of 386 kWh/(m2 yr). A PmTC solar field with the same module length and similar SCA net aperture area was also simulated. A final configuration of 94 loops and four SCAs with 100 m length per loop yields a gross production of 379 kWh/(m2 yr) showing no improvement compared to the reference PTC plant. The present study allows to advance in the understanding of the potential of the anidolic optic to produce optical geometries able to effectively improve the PTC technology in the short-term projecting results at a commercial plant level.

Exergetic and exergoeconomic analysis of a novel hybrid solar–geothermal polygeneration system producing energy and water

A dynamic simulation model of a novel solar–geothermal polygeneration system and the related exergetic and exergoeconomic analyses are presented in this paper. The plant is designed in order to supply electrical, thermal and cooling energy and fresh water for a small community, connected to a district heating and cooling network. The hybrid system is equipped with an Organic Rankine Cycle fueled by medium-enthalpy geothermal energy and by a Parabolic Trough Collector solar field. Geothermal brine is also used for space heating and cooling purposes. Finally, geothermal fluid supplies heat to a Multi-Effect Distillation unit, producing also desalinized water from seawater. Dynamic simulations were performed in order to design the system. The overall simulation model, implemented in TRNSYS environment, includes detailed algorithms for the simulation of system components. Detailed control strategies were included in the model in order to properly manage the system. An exergetic and exergoeconomic analysis is also implemented. The exergetic analysis allows to identify all the aspects that affect the global exergy efficiency, in order to suggest possible system enhancements. The accounting of exergoeconomic costs aims at establishing a monetary value to all material and energy flows, then providing a reasonable basis for price allocation. The analysis is applied to integral values of energy and a comparison of results between summer and winter season is performed. Results are analyzed on different time bases presenting energetic, exergetic, economic and exergoeconomic performance data. Results show that global exergy efficiency varies between 40% and 50% during the “Thermal Recovery Mode” operation and between 16% and 20% during the “Cooling mode” operation. It was also found that electricity, chilled water, cooling water and desalinated water exergoeconomic costs vary respectively in the ranges 0.1475–0.1722€/kWh, 0.1863–0.1888€/kWhex, 0.01612–0.01702€/kWhex and 0.5695–0.6023€/kWhex.

Dynamic Simulation and Exergo-Economic Optimization of a Hybrid Solar–Geothermal Cogeneration Plant

This paper presents a dynamic simulation model and a parametric analysis of a solar-geothermal hybrid cogeneration plant based on an Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) powered by a medium-enthalpy geothermal resource and a Parabolic Trough Collector solar field. The fluid temperature supplying heat to the ORC varies continuously as a function of the solar irradiation, affecting both the electrical and thermal energies produced by the system. Thus, a dynamic simulation was performed. The ORC model, developed in Engineering Equation Solver, is based on zero-dimensional energy and mass balances and includes specific algorithms to evaluate the off-design system performance. The overall simulation model of the solar-geothermal cogenerative plant was implemented in the TRNSYS environment. Here, the ORC model is imported, whereas the models of the other components of the system are developed on the basis of literature data. Results are analyzed on different time bases presenting energetic, economic and exergetic performance data. Finally, a rigorous optimization has been performed to determine the set of system design/control parameters minimizing simple payback period and exergy destruction rate. The system is profitable when a significant amount of the heat produced is consumed. The highest irreversibilities are due to the solar field and to the heat exchangers.

A comparison of solar aided power generation (SAPG) and stand-alone concentrating solar power (CSP): A South African case study

Solar aided power generation (SAPG) is the synergy of solar and fossil plant technology, namely combining the environmental benefits of the former and the scale, efficiency and reliability of the latter. Power plant simulations were performed using weather data for Lephalale, South Africa; home to the Matimba and, currently under construction, Medupi coal-fired power stations. A SAPG plant at Lephalale was compared to a stand-alone concentrating solar power (CSP) in a good solar resource area, namely Upington, South Africa. Parabolic trough collector solar fields of equal size were considered for both configurations. The annual electricity generated from solar thermal at the SAPG plant is more than 25% greater than the stand-alone CSP plant. If the cost of SAPG is taken as 72% of the cost of a stand-alone CSP, SAPG is 1.8 times more cost effective than the stand-alone CSP option.

Dimensioning a Small-Sized PTC Solar Field for Heating and Cooling of a Hotel in Almería (Spain)

This paper presents a solar field configuration to supply thermal energy to the heating and air conditioning system of a hotel located in Almería (Southern Spain). The solar collector technology selected for the solar field is parabolic trough collector (PTC) technology, in particular a small sized PTC prototype especially designed for industrial process heat and air-conditioning systems. Each PTC collector is 8m long and its aperture length is 1m. The heat transfer fluid in the solar field is pressurized hot water. Considering the space available for the solar collector field just close to the hotel and its thermal energy demand profile, the solar field configuration proposed consists of 8 parallel rows, north-south oriented, composed of 32 PTCs connected in series. With this solar field configuration, 25% of the cooling demand is covered the hottest day of the summer and 76% of the heating demand is covered the coldest day of the winter.