Thermodynamic Analysis of Small Scale Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) System Based on Dry, Wet and Dry/Wet (Hybrid) Cooling Towers Under Six Climatic Zones of India

Saurabh Pathak^1,2 and SK Shukla^1,2*

¹Center for Energy, Resources and Development (CERD), India
²Mechanical Engineering Department, Indian Institute of Technology (BHU), Varanasi, India

*Corresponding Author: SK Shukla, Center for Energy, Resources and Development (CERD) and Mechanical Engineering Department, Indian Institute of Technology (BHU), Varanasi, India.

Received: September 16, 2021; Published: November 25, 2021

Abstract

  This paper presents the thermodynamic analysis of small scale Organic Rankine Cycle under six climatic zones of India namely hot and dry (Jodhpur), hot and humid (Mumbai), moderate (Bangalore), composite (Varanasi), cold and cloudy (Srinagar) and cold and sunny (Leh). The Dry, Wet, and Dry/Wet (Hybrid) cooling towers were selected to predict the power output and thermal efficiency of ORC system. A mathematical model was developed in Engineering Equation Solver (EES) environment to analyze the effect of monthly averaged temperature (T_amb) and Relative humidity (RH) on the expander power and thermal efficiency of the ORC system. The expander output of the Organic Rankine cycle (ORC) was 3 kW and the source temperature was fixed at 100 Numerical investigation finds that with the increase in ambient temperature (T_amb) and relative humidity (RH), the expander power and thermal efficiency of the ORC cycle degrades. Results show that the ORC performance was observed maximum in the cold and sunny zone (Leh). For the RH variation the maximum expander power output and efficiency were 3.722 kW and 9.40% with wet cooling tower. Also, with ambient temperature variation the maximum expander power output and efficiency was 3.83 kW and 9.683% with dry mode. The lowest performance of ORC was in the hot and dry zone (Jodhpur). The maximum expander power and efficiency were 2.775 kW and 6.909% with wet mode for the ambient temperature variation. Further the maximum power and efficiency was 2.805 kW and 6.98% with the wet cooling mode as relative humidity varies. The power output and thermal efficiency varies drastically throughout year for Composite zone (Varanasi).

Keywords: Organic Rankine Cycle; Dry; Wet; Hybrid Cooling Tower; Climate Zone

References

1. JF Wang., et al. “Thermodynamic analysis and optimization of an ORC (organic Rankine cycle) using low-grade heat source”. Energy 49 (2013): 356-365.
2. S Quoilin., et al. “Study of an organic Rankine cycle associated to a biomass-fuelled boiler for cogeneration application”. Applied Energy 40 (2006): 2015-2023.
3. S Clemente., et al. “Energy efficiency analysis of organic Rankine cycles with scroll expanders for cogenerative applications”. Applied Energy 97 (2012): 792-801.
4. JF Wang., et al. “Parametric analysis, and optimization of a building cooling heating power system driven by solar energy based on organic working fluid”. International Journal of Energy Research12 (2013): 1465-1474.
5. Declaye S., et al. “Experimental study on an open drive scroll expander integrated into an ORC (organic Rankine cycle) system with R245fa as working fluid”. Energy 55 (2013): 173-183.
6. Yang H., et al. “Coupling effect of evaporation and condensation processes of organic Rankine cycle for geothermal power generation improvement”. Journal of Central South University 26 (2019): 3372-3387.
7. Zhang J., et al. “Improvement Research of Condensing Equipment in Organic Rankine Cycle Power Generation Systems, Proceedings World Geothermal Congress 2020”. Reykjavik, Iceland (2020).
8. Bianchi M., et al. “Experimental analysis of a micro-ORC driven by piston expander for lowgrade heat recovery”. Applied Thermal Engineering 148 (2019): 1278-1291.
9. Pili R., et al. “Effect of cold source conditions on the design and control of organic rankine cycles for waste heat recovery from industrial processes”. Proceedings of ecos 2019-the 32^nd international conference on efficiency, cost, optimization, simulation, and environmental impact of energy systems wroclaw, Poland (2019): 23-28.
10. E Galloni., et al. “Design and experimental analysis of a mini-ORC (organic Rankine cycle) power plant based on R245fa working fluid”. Energy 90 (2015): 768-775.
11. Liu Q., et al. “Performance analyses of geothermal organic Rankine cycles with selected hydrocarbon working fluids”. Energy 63 (2013): 123-132.
12. Walraven D., et al. “Economic system optimization of air-cooled organic Rankine cycles powered by low-temperature geothermal heat sources”. Energy 80 (2015): 104-113.
13. Ghasemi H., et al. “Modeling and optimization of a binary geothermal power plant”. Energy 50 (2013): 412-428.
14. Walraven D., et al. “Minimizing the levelized cost of electricity production from low-temperature geothermal heat sources with ORCs: water or air cooled?” Applied Energy 142 (2015): 144-153.
15. Korolija I and Greenough R. “Modelling of the influence of climate on the performance of the 612 organic Rankine cycle for industrial waste heat recovery”. Energies335 (2016): 1-20.
16. Muhammad Usman., et al. “Thermo-economic comparison of air-cooled and cooling tower based Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) with R245fa and R1233zde as candidate working fluids for different geographical climate conditions”. Energy 123 (2017): 353-366.
17. Zheng Miao., et al. “Experimental and modeling investigation of an organic Rankine cycle system based on the scroll expander”. Energy1 (2017): 35-49.
18. Jahar Sarkar and Souvik Bhattacharyya. “Potential of organic Rankine cycle technology in India: Working fluid selection and feasibility study”. Energy 90 (2015): 1618-1625.
19. Imran M., et al. “Comparative assessment of Organic Rankine Cycle integration for low temperature geothermal heat source applications”. Energy 102 (2016): 473-490.
20. Tian Hua., et al. “Fluids and parameter optimization for the organic Rankine cycles (ORCs) used in exhaust heat recovery of the Internal combustion engine (ICE)”. Energy 47 (2012):125-136.
21. AVL Powertrain Engineering. A quantum leap for heavy-duty truck engine efficiency-hybrid power system of diesel and WHR-ORC engines. The 12th Diesel Engine-Efficiency and Emissions Research Conference.
22. Gequn Shu., et al. “Experimental comparison of R123 and R245fa as working fluids for waste heat recovery from heavy-duty diesel engine”. Energy 115 (2016): 756-769.
23. Shih-Cheng Yang., et al. “Experimental investigation on a 3-kW organic Rankine cycle for low grade waste heat under different operation parameters”. Applied Thermal Engineering 113 (2017): 756-764.
24. Bansal N K and Minke G. “Climatic Zones and Rural Housing in India”. (Scientific series of the International Bureau/Forschugszentrum Julich GmbH) 35 (1988).
25. Tyagi A P. “Solar radiant energy over India, India meteorological department”. Ministry of earth sciences, New Delhi (2009).
26. M Kuansathan. “Performance Evaluation of Hybrid (Wet/Dry) Cooling Tower in Thailand (Master Thesis of Mechanical Engineering)”. King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi, Bangkok, Thailand (2014).
27. Hasan A and Siren K. “Performance investigation of plain circular and oval tube evaporatively cooled heat exchangers”. Applied Thermal Engineering 5-6 (2014): 777-790.
28. O PR and E TR. “The heat and mass transfer characteristics of evaporative coolers”. Chemical Engineering Progress Symposium32 (1961): 138-149.
29. T M., et al. “Experimental study of an evaporative cooler”. International Chemical 618 Engineering4 (1967): 727-732.
30. A Streng. “Combined wet/dry cooling towers of cell type construction”. Energy Engineering 124 (1998): 104-121.
31. Asvapoositkul W and Kuansathan M. “Comparative evaluation of hybrid (dry/wet) cooling tower performance”. Applied Thermal Engineering 71 (2014): 83-93.
32. Hall S. 6 - Fans, Blowers, and Compressors. Branan's. “Rules of Thumb for Chemical Engineers” (Fifth Edition). Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann (2012): 118-133.

Citation

Citation: Saurabh Pathak and SK Shukla.“Thermodynamic Analysis of Small Scale Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) System Based on Dry, Wet and Dry/Wet (Hybrid) Cooling Towers Under Six Climatic Zones of India". Acta Scientific Agriculture 5.12 (2021): 17-30.

Copyright

Copyright: © 2021 Saurabh Pathak and SK Shukla. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.