Thermoeconomic analysis of a geothermal and solar assisted combined organic Rankine and absorption cycle

Abstract

In this paper, a geothermal and solar-assisted combined system is designed for the electricity and cooling of residences. The geothermal water from the geothermal resource and the heat transfer fluid heated in the parabolic trough collector is used as the heat source in the absorption cooling system. The organic Rankine cycle (ORC) generates power with geothermal water and heat transfer fluid from the absorption cooling cycle. The produced power is supported to the grid. Engineering Equation Solver (EES) and Aspen Plus program are used for thermodynamic and thermoeconomic analysis of the combined system. In these analyzes, the geothermal and solar energy values of Afyonkarahisar city are considered. Geothermal water at a temperature of 130 ºC and a mass flow rate of 85 kg/s and a solar source at 600 W/m2 radiation is used for the combined system. Parametric studies are performed to demonstrate the way unit electricity and cooling costs change according to the geothermal water temperature and solar radiation. The cooling capacity and the net power output of the system are 2720 kW and 2235 kW, respectively. The unit costs of cooling and electricity in the combined system are calculated 0.017 $/kWh and 0.074 $/kWh, respectively.