Supercritical Organic Rankine Cycle Research Articles

Thermodynamic Optimization of Trigeneration Power System

Worldwide, the growing demand for energy has been largely met through power cycles utilizing fossil fuels. Combined cycles, which integrate a gas turbine with a steam cycle, prove to be the best alternative due to their power generation capacity and high efficiencies. This efficiency is primarily attributed to the ability to harness exhaust gases to generate steam in the heat recovery boiler, allowing additional power generation through the steam turbine. Currently, there is a quest for the integration of low-temperature power cycles to maximize the utilization of residual thermal energy flows for power generation. Therefore, this work conducts an exergetic optimization of a power trigeneration system aimed at maximizing exergetic efficiency. This system includes a gas turbine and a steam cycle coupled with three different configurations of the Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC): a simple ORC, a supercritical ORC, and an ultracritical ORC. The ORC configurations are analyzed using eight organic working fluids, namely R1234yf, R290, R134a, R1234ze, R152a, R600a, R245fa, and R123. The results show that the maximum exergetic efficiency is achieved by using R152a in the ultracritical ORC configuration coupled with the combined cycle, achieving an exergetic efficiency of 55.79%. Furthermore, the maximum power generated is attained by the steam cycle with 85,600.63 kW and 3101.21 kW for the ultracritical ORC.

Review on the development of solar geothermal complementary power generation system

Nowadays, due to the burning of fossil energy has many negative impacts on the environment, people are looking for new sustainable energy sources that can replace fossil energy, and among them, geothermal energy and solar energy are more prominent, but the two energy sources alone have certain shortcomings, and since complementary solar geothermal energy systems compensate for some of the shortcomings of the two energy sources, much research has been done in this field. This essay summarizes the conclusion from those studies and identify the shortcomings. The largest losses in the system are always in the solar power system. The component with the highest losses may be the evaporator or the trough solar collectors with over 50%. In a solar-geothermal complementary power system, the two energy sources promote each other and the system is more efficient in the summer than in the winter. In a solar-geothermal Organic Rankine Cycle power generation system, Supercritical Organic Rankine Cycle can be a better option than subcritical Organic Rankine Cycle for solar geothermal hybrid power production and cost control. And hybrid power plants benefits will increase over time

Review of Organic Rankine Cycles for Internal Combustion Engine Waste Heat Recovery: Latest Decade in Review

The last decade (2013–2023) was the most prolific period of organic Rankine cycle (ORC) research in history in terms of both publications and citations. This article provides a detailed review of the broad and voluminous collection of recent internal combustion engine (ICE) waste heat recovery (WHR) studies, serving as a necessary follow-on to the author’s 2013 review. Research efforts have targeted diverse applications (e.g., vehicular, stationary, and building-based), and it spans the full gamut of engine sizes and fuels. Furthermore, cycle configurations extend far beyond basic ORC and regenerative ORC, particularly with supercritical, trilateral, and multi-loop ORCs. Significant attention has been garnered by fourth-generation refrigerants like HFOs (hydrofluoroolefins), HFEs (hydrofluoroethers), natural refrigerants, and zeotropic mixtures, as research has migrated away from the popular HFC-245fa (hydrofluorocarbon). Performance-wise, the period was marked by a growing recognition of the diminished performance of physical systems under dynamic source conditions, especially compared to steady-state simulations. Through advancements in system control, especially using improved model predictive controllers, dynamics-based losses have been significantly reduced. Regarding practically minded investigations, research efforts have ameliorated working fluid flammability risks, limited thermal degradation, and pursued cost savings. State-of-the-art system designs and operational targets have emerged through increasingly sophisticated optimization efforts, with some studies leveraging “big data” and artificial intelligence. Major programs like SuperTruck II have further established the ongoing challenges of simultaneously meeting cost, size, and performance goals; however, off-the-shelf organic Rankine cycle systems are available today for engine waste heat recovery, signaling initial market penetration. Continuing forward, next-generation engines can be designed specifically as topping cycles for an organic Rankine (bottoming) cycle, with both power sources integrated into advanced hybrid drivetrains.

Thermodynamic study of organic Rankine cycle based on extraction steam compression regeneration in the supercritical state

The regeneration process is a crucial factor in enhancing the thermal efficiency of an organic Rankine cycle (ORC). This study introduces a novel approach called the supercritical organic Rankine cycle (S-ORC), which utilizes extraction steam compression regeneration in the supercritical state. This breakthrough addresses the existing limitation of subcritical pressure regeneration in ORC research. The study involved the construction of two configurations: the S-ORC and the supercritical regeneration ORC (SR-ORC), which incorporates turbine exhaust regeneration. The working fluid employed for both cycles was R245fa. The thermal efficiency of the S-ORC increased from 17.86 % to 18.85 %, and its exergy efficiency increased from 46.23 % to 48.79 %. Similarly, the thermal efficiency of the SR-ORC increased from 22.66 % to 23.49 %, and its exergy efficiency increased from 58.65 % to 60.8 %. Using the thermal cycle splitting method, we analyzed the S-ORC and found that it can be considered a superposition of an ORC and a single-regeneration Brayton cycle. The equivalent cooling process of the Brayton cycle did not release heat into the environment but rather transferred it to the mainstream of the ORC through regenerative processes. This resulted in an efficiency increase, as the network of the Brayton cycle is equivalent to ± 1. When the network was greater than zero, the S-ORC was superimposed on top of the network of the ORC, thereby increasing overall efficiency. This explains the mechanism behind the enhanced efficiency of the S-ORC. Furthermore, by examining the essential parameters of the cycle and considering various working fluids, we further demonstrated the efficiency advantage of the S-ORC. This study explored the regeneration potential in the supercritical region and proposed an ORC based on compression regeneration in the supercritical state. The proposed approach significantly improves the thermal efficiency of the cycle and achieves structural optimization.

Comparative Thermodynamic Optimization of Organic Rankine Cycle Configurations for Geothermal Power Generation from an Abandoned Oil Well

This study was aimed at quantifying the net electrical power producible from an abandoned oil well in Nigeria using different organic Rankine cycle (ORC) configurations and working fluids. The geological features of a typical Nigerian oil well were employed in the study and a borehole heat exchanger was used for simulating the thermodynamic parameters of the heat source. Specifically, a subcritical ORC without a recuperator (SBC), a subcritical ORC with a recuperator (SBC-R), a supercritical ORC without a recuperator (SPC), and a supercritical ORC with a recuperator (SPC-R) were analyzed, using R115, R236fa, and R1234yf as working fluids. Results showed that between 272 kW and 875 kW of electrical power could be produced from the abandoned oil well using the most basic ORC configuration (SBC). Furthermore, it was obtained that the introduction of a recuperator would increase the ORC net power by about 13% for R236fa, 33% for R1234yf, and 107% for R115. Similarly, a switch from a subcritical ORC to a supercritical ORC configuration would increase net power for all the working fluids. Specifically, an increase in net power was estimated at 3.6% for R236fa, 46% for R1234yf, and 152% for R115 regarding a switch from the SBC to the SPC. Moreover, decreasing the condensation pressure of the ORC plants was observed to improve net power in all cases.

Thermodynamic Analyses of Sub- and Supercritical ORCs Using R1234yf, R236ea and Their Mixtures as Working Fluids for Geothermal Power Generation

Organic Rankine cycles (ORCs) have been widely used to convert medium-low-temperature geothermal energy to electricity. Proper cycle layout is generally determined by considering both the thermo-physical properties of the working fluid and the geothermal brine temperature. This work investigates saturated, superheated and supercritical ORCs using R1234yf/R236ea for brine temperatures of 383.15 K, 403.15 K and 423.15 K. The evaporation and condensation pressures were optimized to maximize the net power outputs. The thermodynamic characteristics of the cycles at the optimal conditions were analyzed. The saturated ORCs produced slightly more net power than superheated cycles for the R1234yf mole fraction less than 0.2 due to lower exergy losses in the evaporator and condenser; however, the limited evaporation pressure by the turning point at the higher R1234yf mole fraction led to excessive exergy losses in the evaporator. Two R1234yf mole fractions maximized the net power and exergy efficiency in a superheated cycle, with the maximum net power output occurring at the R1234yf mole fraction of 0.8 for brine temperatures of 383.15 K and 403.15 K. The exergy losses for evaporation were reduced by 6–12.7% due to the use of an IHE, while those for condensation were reduced up to 42% in a superheated cycle for a brine temperature of 423.15 K, resulting in a 1–17.8% increase in the exergy efficiency. A supercritical cycle with an IHE using R1234yf/R236ea (0.85/0.15) generated the maximum net power output for a brine temperature of 423.15 K, 8.2–17.5% higher than a superheated cycle with an IHE.

Power and efficiency optimizations of a simple irreversible supercritical organic Rankine cycle

Based on finite time thermodynamics, a simple irreversible supercritical organic Rankine cycle (SORC) model is set up. Subjected to the total heat conductance constraint of heat exchangers, the power output (PO) and thermal efficiency (TE) of the SORC are maximized firstly by varying the heat conductance distributions of heat exchangers and mass flow rate of organic working fluid. The results reveal that in the discussed variation ranges of the optimization variables, the PO and TE of the SORC after triple optimizations are augmented by 39.45% and 7.13%, respectively, and the optimization effects of the triple optimizations are remarkable. Moreover, the optimization results gained by the triple maximizations of the PO and TE, respectively, are evidently different. In the discussed working fluids, the order of the triple maximum POs of the SORCs is R143a > R218 > R125 > R41 > R245fa, thus the recommended working fluid corresponding to the largest PO is R143a. The multi-optimization of the PO and TE are secondly performed by using NSGA-II, the optimal parameters of the SORCs with R125 and R143a acquired by TOPSIS and Shannon Entropy decision-making methods are taken for the optimal design schemes, respectively. The gained results in this paper offer useful design guidelines for the practical SORCs.

OPTIMAL DESIGN OF ORGANIC RANKINE CYCLE POWER PLANTS FOR EFFICIENT UTILIZATION of BIOMASS ENERGY IN NIGERIA

This study investigated the optimal design choice among four organic Rankine cycle (ORC) configurations for efficient utilization of solid biomass energy in Nigeria. Although vast opportunities exist for large-scale biomass power plants in the country, there has been little or no practical implementation yet, due to the limitation of technical know-how regarding thermodynamic conversion technologies. To bridge this gap, a thermodynamic optimization technique was applied in this study to the ORC. Specifically, the subcritical ORC (SUBORC), the regenerative subcritical ORC (SUBORC-REGEN), the supercritical ORC (SUPERORC), and the regenerative supercritical ORC (SUPERORC-REGEN) configurations were compared using established zero-dimensional optimization models implemented in MATLAB. Results showed that the SUPERORC-REGEN would be the most preferred choice amongst the options compared. Specifically, a palm kernel expeller (PKE) biomass fuel considered could yield about 1.98 MW of power at a thermal efficiency of about 28%. Additionally, it was obtained that the supercritical ORC would always outperform the subcritical types technically, with or without a regenerator. For the regenerative configurations, results showed that the supercritical ORC would generate 113 kW and 429 kW more net power than the subcritical ORC, respectively for n-pentane and n-butane working fluids. Similarly, the study reiterated that adopting a regenerative configuration would improve ORC performance. For instance, the SUPERORC-REGEN yielded 63% and 73% more power than the SUPERORC, respectively for n-pentane and n-butane working fluids. The practical economic implications of the different ORC configurations should be examined in future studies, alongside the investigation of exergy-based optimization potentials on component basis.

Design and optimization of a radial-axial two-stage coaxial turbine for high-temperature supercritical organic Rankine cycle

High-temperature supercritical organic Rankin cycle (SORC) has great application potential but has not been fully studied. To achieve a large expansion ratio in the high-temperature SORC system, a radial-axial two-stage coaxial turbine with Siloxane MM as working medium is designed and optimized in this paper. This newly-structured turbine, which has simple and compact structure and relatively light weight, is more suitable for large commercial ORC system with medium–high temperature. The whole design flow of this turbine is described, including input, design, optimization, modeling and simulation processes. The turbine performances at both design and off-design conditions are discussed. The total-to-total isentropic efficiency of 86.55% is achieved at the expansion ratio of 15.37 and it can also maintain at a relatively high level within a wide range of expansion ratio and rotating speed. The results prove that the proposed methodology can be applied to designing the radial-axial turbine for SORC system. The turbine configuration and the design method proposed in this study can provide the reference for the research and development of high-power SORC turbine.

Thermodynamic Optimization of Subcritical and Supercritical Organic Rankine Cycle Power Plants for Waste Heat Recovery in Marine Vessels

Abstract This study was aimed at comparing the optimal thermodynamic performance of subcritical and supercritical organic Rankine cycle (ORC) plants for waste heat recovery from ship engines. The technical impacts of adopting a supercritical ORC scheme relative to the usual subcritical one have not been explicitly reported in the literature for heat recovery in ship engines, hence this study. The fluids R245fa, R134a, and R600a were employed for analysis due to their versatility in real systems. The ORC plants were modeled and optimized in matlab using established zero-dimensional models to satisfy the first law mass and energy balances. Results showed that introducing a recuperator would increase ORC performance. For the R600a which exhibited the best performance among the three working fluids, a net power output of 488.3 kW was obtained for the subcritical ORC without a recuperator (SYS A) and 543.7 kW for the one with a recuperator (SYS B). Furthermore, a switch to a supercritical ORC configuration increased the net power by about 29% for R134a and 10% for R600a, and increased the thermal efficiency by about 2.2 percentage points for R134a and 0.5 percentage points for R600a, referencing the supercritical configuration without a recuperator (SYS C) and SYS A.

Comparative exergetic sustainability analysis of subcritical and supercritical organic Rankine cycle plants for a waste heat recovery application

This study was aimed at comparing the exergetic sustainability and exergoenvironmental performance of subcritical (SUBORC) and supercritical (SUPERORC) organic Rankine cycle (ORC) plants for waste heat recovery from a marine vessel engine. A liquid-gas shell-and-tube heat exchanger was employed to recover the engine exhaust gases’ thermal energy. The hot exhaust gases flowing through the gas side heat the Therminol 66 heat transfer fluid employed on the liquid side, which in turn heats the ORC working fluid (R600a). Zero-dimensional mass, energy, and exergy balance equations defined by the Laws of Thermodynamics were implemented in MATLAB for the design of the two ORC configurations. Results showed that the evaporator and the preheater are the most sustainable components with exergetic sustainability index (ESI) values of 7.7 and 39.4 for the SUBORC and the SUPERORC, respectively. Additionally, the condenser was obtained in both cases with the worst environmental performance with exergoenvironmental impact of electricity (EIE) values of 12 and 13 eco-indicator points per 1 MW of electricity produced by the SUBORC and the SUPERORC, respectively. Moreover, results showed that a switch from the SUBORC to the SUPERORC would have an insignificant effect on the ESI at the system level; it would reduce the recoverability ratio by about 4%, from about 0.47 in the SUBORC to around 0.45 in the SUPERORC; and it would reduce the EIE by 1.4 Pt/MW. In sum, a supercritical ORC system would exhibit better exergetic environmental sustainability than a subcritical one for waste heat recovery from a marine vessel engine.

Experimental study on heat-transfer performance of supercritical-pressure R134a and predictions based on artificial neural network

The supercritical organic Rankine cycle is a critical technology for efficiently using medium- or low-temperature heat sources, where heat transfer by supercritical organic fluids is crucial. This study experimentally investigates the heat-transfer performance of supercritical-pressure R134a in a heated tube and predicts its heat transfer coefficient. The wall-temperature distributions and heat transfer coefficients are obtained. Moreover, the buoyancy effect on the heat transfer is discussed. The results show that the buoyancy effect is evident in low-enthalpy regimes, and it is more significant at lower mass and higher heat fluxes but is slightly affected by pressure. Furthermore, empirical correlations and an artificial neural network (ANN) model are adopted to predict the heat transfer coefficient, and their prediction performances are quantitatively evaluated. The results show that the ANN prediction performance is significantly improved over traditional correlations, demonstrating that ANN is an effective tool for predicting the heat-transfer performance of supercritical-pressure fluids.

Thermal decomposition and interaction mechanism of HFC-134a/HFC-32 mixture in Organic Rankine Cycle

Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) is an effective technology for the recovery of industrial waste heat and the utilization of renewable energy to produce electricity. Hydrofluorocarbon mixtures are more attractive used in ORC systems than pure working fluids due to the advantages of higher work outputs, higher cycle efficiencies, and lower exergy losses. For the supercritical ORC system, thermal stability is one of the main factors to screen the working fluids. In the present work, ReaxFF reactive molecular dynamic simulations and density functional theory calculations are performed to investigate the thermal decomposition and interaction mechanism of HFC-134a/HFC-32 mixture. The thermal decomposition process, the effects of temperature, and HFC-134a to HFC-32 ratio on the thermal decomposition of HFC-134a/HFC-32 mixture, and the interaction between HFC-134a and HFC-32 are investigated. The results showed that the hydrogen bond formed between HFC-134a and HFC-32 in HFC-134a/HFC-32 mixture, which inhibits the decomposition of HFC-134a. The HFC-134a/HFC-32 mixture used in ORC system has a better thermal stability than pure HFC-134a. The results of this study are beneficial to the screening of ORC working fluid and the safe operation of the ORC system.

Analysis of Organic Rankine Cycle efficiency and vapor generator heat transfer surface in function of the reduced pressure

In the paper presented is analysis of the influence of reduced pressure on efficiency and heat transfer area of vapor generator of Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) in case of subcritical and supercritical parameters of operation. Compared are two cases of subcritical and supercritical ORC featuring a similar arrangement of heat source supply and heat removal, that is featuring the same temperatures of working fluid before the turbine, and the same condensation temperature in the respective cycles. The analysis is helpful in selection of the appropriate pressure in the vapor generator. In accomplished analyses a selection of wet ORC working fluids are scrutinized for a given range of heat source temperatures with respect to influence on efficiency of thermodynamic cycle and vapor generator area of heat transfer on installation and operation costs to illustrate the issue. Investment cost of a vapor generator in the ORC cycle accounts for a main share of expenditure alongside the cost of the expanding machine. Results of calculations show that from the point of view of cycle efficiency and size of vapor generator the pressures close to critical fluid pressure are usually optimal. Some working fluids feature even an optimal pressure. For the region close to critical point authors elaborated own method for heat transfer coefficients elaboration, which is useful in more exact estimations of heat transfer process in vapor generator. In case of a heat source with a relatively high temperature, it is better to consider a thermodynamic cycle with supercritical parameters even if as a result the vapor generator is slightly larger than for the case of a subcritical cycle. There will always be a more pronounced gain in efficiency compared to the expense induced by the heat transfer surface area of vapor generator.

Experimental study of the heat transfer of supercritical R1234yf as a substitute for R134a in a horizontal micro-fin tube

R1234yf is regarded as an ideal substitute for R134a in supercritical organic Rankine cycles. This study experimentally analyzed the convective heat transfer coefficients of supercritical R1234yf in a micro-fin tube. The experiments show the influence of the system operating parameters including pressure, heat flux and mass flux on the heat transfer. Then, this paper compares the heat transfer rates for R1234yf and R134a at supercritical pressures and the ability of existing correlations to predict the heat transfer coefficients with R1234yf. The results show that as q/G increases, the buoyancy increases Nubottom, while the variations in Nutop are divided into two regions based on the bulk fluid enthalpy. The influence of pressure on the heat transfer is also related to the bulk fluid enthalpy. When the bulk fluid enthalpy is less than a critical value, Nubottom and Nutop both increase with decreasing pressure and then decrease above this critical enthalpy. The heat transfer coefficient is no longer enhanced at the top with large buoyancy forces. For low mass fluxes, the heat transfer coefficients of R134a and R1234yf are similar. For high mass fluxes, the heat transfer coefficients of R134a are higher than those of R1234yf. The Wang correlation, that was based on R134a data, more accurately predicts the heat transfer coefficients than other correlations for supercritical R1234yf in the horizontal micro-fin tube. Among all the 4050 experimental points, 90.17% of Nutop and 84.49% of Nubottom were predicted with errors of less than 30% by the Wang correlation.

Analysis and Performance Optimization of Supercritical CO2 Recompression Brayton Cycle Coupled Organic Rankine Cycle Based on Solar Tower

Abstract Supercritical carbon dioxide (SCO2) Brayton cycle has been proved to be an efficient power cycle to replace the traditional steam Rankine cycle. The thermal efficiency of SCO2 cycle can be further improved by coupling another type of cycle (the bottom cycle) at the waste heat end. A supercritical carbon dioxide recompression Brayton cycle (SCRBC) coupled organic Rankine cycle (ORC) based on solar tower is designed and established. According to the requirements of the waste heat temperature range of the top cycle, R600 is selected as the working medium of ORC. Under the design conditions, the effects of split ratio on the net power, the thermal efficiency, and the exergy loss of the combined cycle are studied. The variation of thermal efficiency of each part of the system with split ratio under different turbine inlet pressures and temperatures is further analyzed, and the influence of turbine inlet pressure and working fluid mass flow ratio ε (mass flow ratio of CO2 to R600) on the system performance is analyzed. Genetic algorithm-based multiobjective optimization is used to obtain the Pareto solution set for the thermal performance and unit investment cost of the system. The results show that the thermal efficiency of the combined cycle can be increased by more than 2% compared with that of a single top cycle. There is an optimal split ratio to maximize the thermal efficiency of the combined cycle, and the positions of the optimal split ratio are different for different turbine inlet pressures. Finally, through the multiobjective optimization method, several groups of Pareto solutions can be found, which can provide some reference for engineering design.

Performance investigation of the solar power tower driven combined cascade supercritical CO2 cycle and organic Rankine cycle using HFO fluids

ABSTRACT Current study examined the effect of solar power tower (SPT) design parameters (solar emittance, concentration ratio and heat transfer fluid velocity, solar irradiation) on SPT-integrated combined cascade sCO2 (CSCO2) cycle and organic Rankine cycle (ORC) using ultra-low global warming potential (GWP) hydro fluoro olefins (HFO) fluids. Exergy efficiency, thermal efficiency and net output power were considered as performance parameters. A computational technique was used for the analysis. It was investigated that thermal and exergy efficiencies of the standalone (SPT+ CSCO2) cycle improved by 2.36% and 2.41%, respectively, by the incorporation of the ORC as bottoming cycle. Highest exergy efficiency, thermal efficiency and net output power were increased with solar irradiation, concentration ratio, heat transfer fluid velocity while decreased with solar emittance. Highest performance were found with R1224yd(E) while lowest with R1234yf among other considered low GWP fluids at current input conditions.

A multi-generation system for hydrogen production through the high-temperature solid oxide electrolyzer integrated to 150 MW coal-fired steam boiler

A multi-generation system including power generation, domestic hot water, and H2 production was designed for the waste recovery of a 150 MW coal-fired power plant. A high-temperature electrolyzer was integrated into the present system to produce H2. The second product of O2 from the electrolyzer was used to enrich the combustion process. The required power for the electrolyzer was obtained from a bottoming organic Rankine cycle (ORC). In this regard, a supercritical ORC was designed in which cyclopentane was used as the working fluid. The required heat of the electrolyzer was obtained by a heat exchanger located in the combustion chamber to reach the required temperature level. The designed system was analyzed by the energy and exergy method for different temperatures and current densities. It is determined that it is available to produce H2 in an amount of 0.0739 to 0.0762 kmol/s for the optimal current densities at every single handled temperature. The energy efficiency of the overall system was determined in the range of 27.19% and 27.36%. The exergy efficiency of the overall system was determined in the range of 35.05% and 35.25%. An increase of 15.78–16.53% in energy efficiency was achieved. This increase was achieved as 20.43–21.16% in the exergy efficiency.

Measurement of supercritical heat transfer to R125 in horizontal flow

Supercritical heat transfer has already been studied extensively, however, the majority of these studies focused on water or CO2. Data on refrigerants, which are used in for example transcritical or supercritical organic Rankine cycles or heat pumps, is scarce. Nonetheless, this data is crucial in order to size the heat exchangers used in these systems without significant overdimensioning. Therefore it is necessary to gain insight into the complex nature of supercritical heat transfer. For that purpose, experimental data on supercritical heat transfer to the refrigerant R125 is discussed in this work. Measurements were performed on a previously built test rig, where the refrigerant flowed in a horizontal tube with an inner diameter of 24.77 mm. Pressure, mass flux and heat flux were varied, and their influence on supercritical heat transfer was investigated. In general, heat transfer is enhanced for an increase in mass flux or decrease in heat flux, and no distinct effect of pressure on the heat transfer is measured.

Performance Analysis of Solar Thermal Powered Supercritical Organic Rankine Cycle-Assisted Low-Temperature Multi-Effect Desalination Coupled With Mechanical Vapor Compression

Abstract Power and freshwater demand are increasing as populations around the world keep growing. Due to the environmental impact of using fossil fuels and limited resources, using solar thermal in desalination application is a valuable option. In this paper, an innovative new design of low-temperature multi-effect desalination coupled with mechanical vapor compression (LT-MED-MVC) powered by supercritical organic Rankine cycle (SORC) utilizing a low-grade solar heat source using evacuated tube collectors is analyzed. The proposed design has the potential to desalinate water of high salt concentrations or brine with high salinity more than 100,000 ppm or effluent streams from a power plant with low energy consumption and high efficiency when compared to other systems. The performance of the LT-MED-MVC was found to be better than similar systems found in the literature. The specific power consumption for the system is lower than 4 kW h/m3 for seawater feed salinity of 100,000 ppm, 14 forward feed effects, and a recovery rate of 50%. The overall system efficiency is about 14%. The impact of increasing the number of effects, motive steam temperature, pressure of SORC, and salt concentration on the specific power consumption, solar collector area, and the system efficiency are also analyzed.