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Thermodynamic Investigation and Economic Evaluation of a High-Temperature Triple Organic Rankine Cycle System

Author

Listed:
  • Pengcheng Li

    (School of Automotive and Transportation Engineering, Hefei University of Technology, 193 Tunxi Road, Hefei 230002, China
    Dongfang Boiler Co., Ltd., Dongfang Electric Group, Zigong 643001, China)

  • Chengxing Shu

    (School of Automotive and Transportation Engineering, Hefei University of Technology, 193 Tunxi Road, Hefei 230002, China)

  • Jing Li

    (Research Center for Sustainable Energy Technologies, Energy and Environment Institute, University of Hull, Hull HU6 7RX, UK)

  • Yandong Wang

    (Hefei General Machinery Research Institute, 888 Changjiang Road, Hefei 230031, China)

  • Yanxin Chen

    (School of Automotive and Transportation Engineering, Hefei University of Technology, 193 Tunxi Road, Hefei 230002, China)

  • Xiao Ren

    (School of New Energy, China University of Petroleum, Qingdao 266580, China)

  • Desuan Jie

    (School of Automotive and Transportation Engineering, Hefei University of Technology, 193 Tunxi Road, Hefei 230002, China)

  • Xunfen Liu

    (School of Automotive and Transportation Engineering, Hefei University of Technology, 193 Tunxi Road, Hefei 230002, China)

Abstract

Triple organic Rankine cycle (TORC) is gradually gaining interest, but the maximum thermal efficiencies (around 30%) are restricted by low critical temperatures of common working fluids (<320 °C). This paper proposes a high-temperature (up to 400 °C) TORC system to ramp up efficiency. A near-azeotropic mixture biphenyl/diphenyl oxide (BDO), which has a stellar track record in the high-temperature ORC applications, is innovatively adopted as the top and middle ORC fluid simultaneously. Four conventional organic fluids are chosen for the bottom ORC. A mixing heat exchanger connects the top and middle ORCs to reduce irreversible loss. Thermodynamic analysis hints that the optimal performance is achieved on the use of benzene as the bottom fluid. The maximum thermal and exergy efficiencies are respectively 40.86% and 74.14%. The largest exergy destruction occurs inside the heat exchanger coupling the middle and bottom ORCs, accounting for above 30% of the total entropy generation. The levelized energy cost (LEC) is 0.0368 USD/kWh. Given the same heat source condition, the TORC system can boost the efficiency by 1.02% and drive down LEC by 0.0032 USD/kWh compared with a BDO mixture-based cascade ORC. The proposed system is promising in solar thermal power generation and Carnot battery applications using phase change materials for storage.

Suggested Citation

  • Pengcheng Li & Chengxing Shu & Jing Li & Yandong Wang & Yanxin Chen & Xiao Ren & Desuan Jie & Xunfen Liu, 2023. "Thermodynamic Investigation and Economic Evaluation of a High-Temperature Triple Organic Rankine Cycle System," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(23), pages 1-25, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:16:y:2023:i:23:p:7818-:d:1289437
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Li, Jing & Alvi, Jahan Zeb & Pei, Gang & Su, Yuehong & Li, Pengcheng & Gao, Guangtao & Ji, Jie, 2016. "Modelling of organic Rankine cycle efficiency with respect to the equivalent hot side temperature," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 115(P1), pages 668-683.
    2. Cataldo, Filippo & Mastrullo, Rita & Mauro, Alfonso William & Vanoli, Giuseppe Peter, 2014. "Fluid selection of Organic Rankine Cycle for low-temperature waste heat recovery based on thermal optimization," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 159-167.
    3. Li, Pengcheng & Ye, Jing & Li, Jing & Wang, Yandong & Jiang, Xiaobin & Qian, Tongle & Pei, Gang & Liu, Xunfen, 2023. "Thermodynamic and techno-economic analysis of a direct thermal oil vaporization solar power system," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 282(C).
    4. Zhang, Cheng & Liu, Chao & Wang, Shukun & Xu, Xiaoxiao & Li, Qibin, 2017. "Thermo-economic comparison of subcritical organic Rankine cycle based on different heat exchanger configurations," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 123(C), pages 728-741.
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