Thermodynamic and Thermoeconomic Analysis of a Multigeneration System Based on Solar Energy Using Nanofluid for Power, Fresh Water, Hydrogen, Heating and Cooling Production

Abstract

In this study, the thermodynamic and thermoeconomic analysis of a multigeneration system which produces power, cooling, domestic heating, hydrogen and freshwater has been carried out. The main source of energy for this system is a solar parabolic trough collector (PTC). The working fluid applied for this solar collector is Al2O3-Therminol VP1 nanofluid. The subsystems of this multigeneration system are a steam Rankine cycle for power production, an organic Rankine cycle for power production, a double-effect absorption refrigeration system for cooling production, a domestic water heater for hot water production, a PEM electrolyzer for hydrogen production and a RO desalination unit for freshwater production. In the ORC cycle a TEG unit is applied instead of the condenser for extra power production. The system is analyzed by using the EES software. The effects of different parameters as well as the effects of nanoparticles on the performance of the proposed system were investigated. According to the results, the energy and exergy efficiency of the system are 33.81 % and 23.59 %, respectively. Among the studied working fluids in the ORC cycle, n-pentane shows the best performance. The energy and exergy efficiency of the system increases by the nanoparticle volume concentration and the solar radiation increase. Moreover, the collector inlet temperature has a negative effect on the hydrogen and freshwater production rates. Finally, it is proved that the PTC collector has the highest amount of exergy destruction rate in the studied system.

Keywords

• energy
• multigeneration system
• nanofluid
• solar parabolic trough collector
• thermoeconomic analysis