Process Systems Engineering Evaluation of Prospective Working Fluids for Organic Rankine Cycles Facilitated by Biogas Combustion Flue Gases

Frontiers in Energy Research

Muhammad Yasin¹  Mohammad Rehan²  Wahid Ali³  Adnan Aslam Noon⁴  Moonyong Lee⁵  Muhammad Abdul Qyyum⁵  Ahmad Naquash⁵  Junaid Haider⁶  Abdul-Sattar Nizami⁷ 

[1] Bioenergy & Environmental Sustainable Technology (BEST) Research Group, Department of Chemical Engineering, COMSATS University Islamabad (CUI), Lahore, Pakistan;Center of Excellence in Environmental Studies, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia;Department of Chemical Engineering Technology, College of Applied Industrial Technology, Jazan University, Jazan, Saudi Arabia;Department of Mechanical Engineering, FET, International Islamic University, Islamabad, Islamabad, Pakistan;School of Chemical Engineering, Yeungnam University, Gyeongsan, South Korea;School of Energy and Chemical Engineering, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology, Ulsan, South Korea;Sustainable Development Study Center, Government College University Lahore, Lahore, Pakistan;

关键词: i;    n;    methylcyclohexane;    toluene;    Aspen HYSYS;    thermo-economic evaluation;    high temperature ORC;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fenrg.2021.663261

来源: Frontiers

【 摘 要 】

The organic Rankine cycle (ORC) has recently emerged as a practical approach for generating electricity from low-to-high-temperature waste industrial streams. Several ORC-based waste heat utilization plants are already operational; however, improving plant cost-effectiveness and competitiveness is challenging. The use of thermally efficient and cost-competitive working fluids (WFs) improves the overall efficiency and economics of ORC systems. This study evaluates ORC systems, facilitated by biogas combustion flue gases, using n-butanol, i-butanol, and methylcyclohexane, as WFs technically and economically, from a process system engineering perspective. Furthermore, the performance of the aforementioned WFs is compared with that of toluene, a well-known WF, and it is concluded that i-butanol and n-butanol are the most competitive alternatives in terms of work output, exergy efficiency, thermal efficiency, total annual cost, and annual profit. Moreover, the i-butanol and n-butanol-based ORC systems yielded 24.4 and 23.4% more power, respectively, than the toluene-based ORC system; in addition, they exhibited competitive thermal (18.4 and 18.3%, respectively) and exergy efficiencies (38 and 37.7%, respectively). Moreover, economically, i-butanol and n-butanol showed the potential of generating 48.7 and 46% more profit than that of toluene. Therefore, this study concludes that i-butanol and n-butanol are promising WFs for high-temperature ORC systems, and their technical and economic performance compares with that of toluene. The findings of this study will lead to energy efficient ORC systems for generating power.

【 授权许可】

CC BY