Energy and Exergy Analyses of Recompression Brayton Cycles Integrated with a Solar Power Tower through a Two-Tank Thermal Storage System
Publication: Journal of Energy Engineering
Volume 144, Issue 4
Abstract
Energy and exergy analyses of a recompression supercritical carbon dioxide Brayton cycle integrated with a solar tower through a two-tank thermal storage system were conducted. A complete mathematical model, where a heliostat field was deployed and annually optimized is presented. This optimized heliostat field was then integrated with the supercritical carbon dioxide () recompression Brayton cycle through a two-tank thermal storage system. Finally, exergy analysis was conducted for the entire integrated system. Molten salt was used as the medium in the storage tanks, and the analysis was performed for June 11, March 16, and December 10. The analysis was conducted for each complete day so that the storage system operated for 24 h without the need for any auxiliary heat source irrespective of the net power output of the integrated system. It was concluded that the highest and the lowest exergy destruction occurred in the central receiver system and the thermal storage system, respectively. For the month of June, the exergy destruction rate for the heliostat field and the solar tower is 1,295,605 and , respectively, which together constitute the total exergy destruction of the central receiver. In addition, the combined exergy destruction of all the components of supercritical carbon dioxide Brayton cycle is , and for thermal storage the exergy destruction rate is . Furthermore, the net energy efficiency of the whole system at solar noon for the month of June, March, and December is 6.93, 5.71, and 4.45%, respectively. Lastly, the electrical second law efficiency is 7.44, 6.14, and 5.04% for the months of June, March, and December, respectively. This analysis was conducted for Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, as an illustrative example of the developed model.
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Acknowledgments
The authors acknowledge the support of King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, for this work through Project No. SB121010 and the support provided by Center of Research Excellence in Renewable Energy, Research Institute, KFUPM. The authors also acknowledge the valuable suggestions of Amine Kouta and Furqan Tahir on the modeling of thermal storage.
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Published In
Journal of Energy Engineering
Volume 144 • Issue 4 • August 2018
Copyright
©2018 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jun 14, 2017
Accepted: Nov 14, 2017
Published online: Apr 27, 2018
Published in print: Aug 1, 2018
Discussion open until: Sep 27, 2018
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