1,720,985 research outputs found
Preliminary investigation of the influence of equations of state on the performance of CO2 + C6F6 as innovative working fluid in transcritical cycles
Full text linksCO2 power cycle is the most investigated and most promising technology for replacing conventional steam cycle in CSP plants. Nevertheless, the efficiency of sCO2 power cycle is strongly penalized by high ambient temperatures which are typical of favourable CSP locations. This paper focuses on a new working fluid for power cycles which consists of CO2 blended with C6F6. The addition of C6F6 increases the fluid critical temperature allowing for a condensing cycle for ambient temperatures up to 45 °C. The calculated gross mechanical efficiency of the innovative cycle is around 42% when adopting a typical Peng Robinson equation of state with van der Waals mixing rules for a maximum operating temperature of 550 °C and a minimum cycle temperature of 51 °C. This performance varies just of ±0.1% if the prediction of the binary interaction parameter of the Peng Robinson is over- or under-estimated by 50%, but more significantly if other equations of states are adopted (up to 1% points). Moreover, a detailed analysis on the operating conditions of the cycle components highlighted that components design is affected by the adopted EoS. A sensitivity analysis is then performed to identify where the largest differences in predicting the efficiency of the cycle occur
A Techno-economic comparison of micro-cogeneration systems based on polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell for residential applications
No full textExperimental isochoric apparatus for bubble points determination: Application to CO2 binary mixtures as advanced working fluids
Full text linkCarbon dioxide binary mixtures are increasingly considered as working fluids in transcritical power cycles, due to the capability to perform liquid-phase compression even at high environmental temperatures. However, a robust thermodynamic model is essential for optimal and reliable design conditions. It is widely recognised that fine-tuning the equation of state with experimental vapour-liquid equilibrium data of the mixture significantly enhances its reliability.In this work, a new apparatus dedicated to vapour-liquid equilibrium measurements of mixtures is presented. The proposed method consists of a constant-volume system, where bubble points are identified from the divergence of slope of the isochoric lines between the two-phase and liquid regions, in the temperature-pressure plane. The temperature and pressure limits of the apparatus are 503 K and 25 MPa.Bubble points of CO2 binary mixtures with hexafluorobenzene (C6F6) and n-pentane (C5H12) have been measured and compared with previous literature data for validation purposes. Then, the CO2 mixture with octafluorocyclobutane (c-C4F8) is experimentally studied, addressing a literature gap in bubble point data. The data are used to calibrate the thermodynamic model, leading to affordable design conditions of the power cycle compared to the non-optimised thermodynamics scenario, in a concentrated solar power tower plant
Silicon Tetrachloride as innovative working fluid for high temperature Rankine cycles: Thermal Stability, material compatibility, and energy analysis
Full text linkSilicon Tetrachloride (SiCl4) is proposed as a new potential working fluid for high-temperature Rankine Cycles. The capability to overcome the actual thermal stability limit of fluids commercially employed in the state-of-theart Organic Rankine Cycles (ORC) is demonstrated by static thermal stability and material compatibility tests. Experimental static test proves its thermo-chemical stability with a conventional stainless-steel alloy (AISI 316L) up to 650 degrees C. A preliminary material compatibility analysis performed with optical microscope on the AISI 316L cylinder, after exposure of 300 h to SiCl4 at temperature higher than 550 degrees C, confirms the potentiality of this fluid when coupled with high-grade heat sources. A thermodynamic analysis has been carried out accounting for the effect of operating conditions on the axial turbine efficiency. A comparison with fluids adopted in medium-high temperature ORCs is performed, evidencing that the proposed fluid could achieve more than + 10 % points as thermal efficiency gain compared to any commercial solutions when coupled with high-temperature sources such as solar, biomass, waste heat from industrial processes and prime movers. A 2 MW SiCl4 cycle operating fullelectric at 550 degrees C reaches a thermal efficiency of 38 %, exceeding values attainable by any other working fluid under similar conditions and power size
Membrane reactors for green hydrogen production from biogas and biomethane: A techno-economic assessment
Full text linkScarabeus: Supercritical carbon dioxide/alternative fluid blends for efficiency upgrade of solar power plants
Full text linkThe future of Concentrated Solar Power technology relies on significant cost reduction to be competitive against both fossil fuel power stations and renewable technologies as photovoltaics and wind. Most of the research activity on concentrated solar power focuses on supercritical CO2 cycles to increase the solar plant efficiency together with a cost reduction. Recently, several research groups have started investigating the blending of CO2 with small amounts of additives to boost the thermodynamic cycle performance. The SCARABEUS project aims at developing and demonstrating CO2 blends in concentrating solar power plant with maximum temperatures of 700°C, power cycle efficiency above 50% and cost of electricity below 96 €/MWh. The innovative fluid and newly developed components will be validated at a relevant scale (300 kWth) for 300 h in a CSP-like operating environment
Fluorobenzene as new working fluid for high-temperature heat pumps and organic Rankine cycles: Energy analysis and thermal stability test
Full text linkIndustrial high-temperature heat pumps and Organic Rankine Cycles play a pivotal role in reducing CO2 emissions of the industrial sector. While several eco-friendly refrigerants have been explored for subcritical heat pumps below 150 °C, above this threshold only a few fluids can be adopted. In this article, fluorobenzene (C6H5F) is proposed for the first time as a versatile working fluid suitable for both HTHP and ORC systems. Notably, it possesses a near-zero Global Warming Potential, null Ozone Depletion Potential, low cost, and low toxicity. The thermo-chemical stability of fluorobenzene is experimentally investigated with an advanced procedure, simulating the presence of the non-condensable-gases removal system in real plant operating conditions. The yearly rate of unimolecular decomposition is estimated less than 4 % at 350 °C, and even after 400 h of thermal stress no decomposition products have been detected in the liquid phase through Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy. In a direct heat exchange case study, coupled with exhaust gases at 390 °C, fluorobenzene achieves a net power production higher than other commercial fluids adopted in high-temperature units. In subcritical two-stage throttling heat pump condensing at 180 °C fluorobenzene shows a good Coefficient of Performance of 3.25 at 100 °C temperature lift
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