Development and Assessment of a Solar Based ORC-Ejector-Absorption Integrated System for Cogeneration of Power and Cooling

Solar based integrated system for cogeneration of power and cooling is one of the promising technology to resolve the key issues of fast depletion of fossil fuel reserves and serious environmental degradation. Development of this kind of cogeneration offers an effective way to sustainable production of electric power and cooling for hot and dry climatic regions. In the current proposal, a solar based cogeneration system, which combines the organic Rankine cycle with the ammonia-LiNO3 absorption cooling cycle is presented which could produce effective cooling with adequate power generation from single source of solar energy at hot climatic conditions. The proposed cycle is quite capable to meet out the energy requirements of some commercial units and industries which need more amount of cooling than power such as cold storages, university building, and shopping complex etc. This cycle employ the solar heliostat field using Duratherm 600 oil as a heat transfer fluid in the receiver which is integrated with the organic Rankine cycle which is superimposed to the vapor absorption refrigeration cycle. Hydrocarbons which are abundantly available in the Kingdom and are environment friendly and chemically stable will be used as working fluid for power generation in the organic Rankine cycle while ammonia-LiNO3 which can produce cooling below 0oC eco-friendly and effectively will be used as a working fluid in the absorption refrigeration cycle. A mathematical model based on mass, energy, and balances equations will be developed and applied to theoretically assess the performance of the proposed cogeneration cycle. The cycle will be further investigated from exergy point of view to identify the locations of thermodynamic losses and to quantify the loss of efficiency in a process that is due to the loss in energy quality. A conceptual design will be presented and analysis will be performed to investigate the effects of several operating parameters like; direct normal irradiation (DNI), type of working fluid in pure and mixed form, turbine inlet pressure, and evaporator temperature on energetic efficiency, exergetic efficiency, and cooling to power ratio of the cogeneration cycle. The optimum operating conditions will be established by maximizing the cycle exergy efficiency. The results obtained through current research will establish a set design criteria for the development of an integrated system which can harness the solar thermal potential of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia more effectively through cogeneration of cooling and power. The research findings also fill the gap of the open literature through excellent Journal publications from the work proposed.