Analysis of a Medium Temperature Organic Rankine Cycle for Various Mixtures of Organic Fluids

Abstract

Abstract

A blend of 70% alkane and 30% carbon dioxide (molar composition) possess low global warming potential, zero ozone depletion potential and are non-flammable. These mixtures are reported to be the potential working fluids for power generation in a transcritical condensing cycle. In this paper, detailed thermodynamic analysis is performed for the medium temperature organic Rankine cycle (ORC) with the mixtures of CO₂ with propane or isobutene or isopentane. Among all these pairs, propane + CO₂ mixture offers the highest optimum efficiency under identical source and sink temperature. Cycle efficiency and exergy destruction in the regenerator are found to be inter-linked. Regenerators of all the working fluids exhibit a pinch point whose location is a key variable in dictating the irreversibility generation in regenerator. In turn, its location is governed by the temperature glide along the condenser isobar.

Keywords: Thermodynamic analysis, organic Rankine cycle (ORC), cycle efficiency, exergy destruction

 Cite the Article

Ravi Kumar Sangewar. Analysis of a Medium Temperature Organic Rankine Cycle for Various Mixtures of Organic Fluids. Research & Reviews: Journal of Ecology. 2016; 5(2): 1–9p.