Comprehensive Energy and Exergy Analysis of an Integrated Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) and Vapour Compression Cycle (VCC) with Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) Electrolyzer

Abstract

The present study focuses on the thermodynamic performance of a novel integrated Organic Rankine cycle-Vapor Compression cycle- Proton Exchange Membrane (ORC–VCC–PEM) system for simultaneous power production, cooling, and hydrogen generation. The rationale behind this study is to address the need for efficient utilization of low-grade heat sources and the scarcity of research work related to the integration of ORC, VCC, and PEM technologies using a unified framework of energy and exergy analysis. To achieve this, a fully integrated system is proposed with the internal heat exchanger designed as a cascade heat exchanger to couple the ORC and VCC. Furthermore, a detailed screening of 188 different working fluid pairs is carried out to determine the most thermodynamically compatible pair of fluids, for which Dimethylether-Toluene is found to be the most suitable. Parametric analyses are conducted to determine the impact of critical operating parameters. The study reveals that increasing the evaporator temperature significantly improves the performance of the system, resulting in a 17.1% enhancement in the overall net Coefficient of Performance (COP) of the system and a corresponding 11.2% decrease in total exergy destruction. Conversely, increasing the condensing temperature reduces the performance of the system substantially, resulting in a notable decrease in overall net COP and a large decrease of 32% in hydrogen production. Additionally, increasing the temperature difference in the internal heat exchanger leads to increased thermal irreversibility, resulting in increased exergy destruction and decreased system efficiency. Further analysis of the system reveals that the expansion valve and the compressor contribute most to exergy destruction in the system. The main contribution of the present work is the development of a proposed ORC–VCC–PEM system using a unified framework of thermodynamic performance analysis and a detailed assessment of working fluids.

Keywords

• Organic Rankine Cycle
• Vapor Compression Cycle
• Proton Exchange Membrane

Kapsamlı Enerji ve Ekserji Analizi: Entegre Organik Rankin Çevrimi (ORÇ) ve Buhar Sıkıştırmalı Çevrimi (BSÇ) ile Proton Değişim Membranlı (PDM) Elektrolizör Sistemi

Abstract

Bu çalışma, eş zamanlı güç üretimi, soğutma ve hidrojen üretimi sağlayan yeni bir entegre Organik Rankine Çevrimi–Buhar Sıkıştırmalı Çevrim–Proton Değişim Membranı (ORÇ–BSÇ–PDM) sisteminin termodinamik performansına odaklanmaktadır. Çalışmanın temel motivasyonu, düşük sıcaklıklı ısı kaynaklarının etkin kullanımına yönelik artan ihtiyaç ile ORÇ, BSÇ ve PDM teknolojilerinin enerji ve ekserji analizi açısından bütünleşik bir çerçevede ele alındığı çalışmaların sınırlı olmasıdır. Bu doğrultuda, ORÇ ve BSÇ alt sistemlerini birbirine bağlayan iç ısı değiştiricinin kaskad bir ısı değiştirici olarak tasarlandığı tam entegre bir sistem önerilmiştir. Ayrıca, termodinamik açıdan en uyumlu akışkan çiftini belirlemek amacıyla 188 farklı çalışma akışkanı çifti detaylı şekilde incelenmiş ve en uygun kombinasyonun Dimetil eter–Toluen olduğu belirlenmiştir. Kritik işletme parametrelerinin etkisini ortaya koymak amacıyla parametrik analizler gerçekleştirilmiştir. Elde edilen sonuçlar, evaporatör sıcaklığının artmasının sistem performansını önemli ölçüde iyileştirdiğini, toplam net soğutma performans katsayısında (STK) %17,1 artış ve toplam ekserji yıkımında %11,2 azalma sağladığını göstermektedir. Buna karşılık, yoğuşturucu sıcaklığındaki artış sistem performansını belirgin şekilde düşürmekte, net STK’Da azalmaya ve hidrojen üretiminde yaklaşık %32 oranında ciddi bir düşüşe yol açmaktadır. Ayrıca, iç ısı değiştiricisindeki sıcaklık farkının artması, termal tersinmezlikleri artırarak daha yüksek ekserji yıkımına ve sistem veriminde azalmaya neden olmaktadır. Sistem bileşenleri bazında yapılan analizler, ekserji yıkımına en fazla katkının genleşme vanası ve kompresörden kaynaklandığını ortaya koymaktadır. Bu çalışmanın temel katkısı, ORÇ–BSÇ–PDM sisteminin birleşik bir termodinamik ve ekserji analiz çerçevesi altında geliştirilmesi ve çalışma akışkanlarının kapsamlı bir şekilde değerlendirilmesidir.

Keywords

• Organik Rankine Çevrimi
• Buhar Sıkıştırmalı Çevrim
• Proton Değişim Membranı

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