Systematic Comparison of ORC and s-CO 2 Combined Heat and Power Plants for Energy Harvesting in Industrial Gas Turbines

Maria Alessandra Ancona, Michele Bianchi, Lisa Branchini, Andrea De Pascale, Francesco Melino, Antonio Peretto and Noemi Torricelli
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Maria Alessandra Ancona: Department of Industrial Engineering—DIN, University of Bologna, Viale del Risorgimento 2, 240136 Bologna, Italy
Michele Bianchi: Department of Industrial Engineering—DIN, University of Bologna, Viale del Risorgimento 2, 240136 Bologna, Italy
Lisa Branchini: Department of Industrial Engineering—DIN, University of Bologna, Viale del Risorgimento 2, 240136 Bologna, Italy
Andrea De Pascale: Department of Industrial Engineering—DIN, University of Bologna, Viale del Risorgimento 2, 240136 Bologna, Italy
Francesco Melino: Department of Industrial Engineering—DIN, University of Bologna, Viale del Risorgimento 2, 240136 Bologna, Italy
Antonio Peretto: Department of Industrial Engineering—DIN, University of Bologna, Viale del Risorgimento 2, 240136 Bologna, Italy
Noemi Torricelli: Department of Industrial Engineering—DIN, University of Bologna, Viale del Risorgimento 2, 240136 Bologna, Italy

Energies, 2021, vol. 14, issue 12, 1-22

Abstract: Gas turbine power plants are widely employed with constrained efficiency in the industrial field, where they often work under variable load conditions caused by variations in demand, leading to fluctuating exhaust gas temperatures. Suitable energy harvesting solutions can be identified in bottoming cycles, such as the conventional Organic Rankine Cycles (ORC) or the innovative supercritical CO 2 (s-CO 2 ) systems. This paper presents a detailed comparison of the potential of ORC and s-CO 2 as bottomers of industrial gas turbines in a Combined Heat and Power (CHP) configuration. Different gas turbine models, covering the typical industrial size range, are taken into account and both full- and part-load operations are considered. Performance, component dimensions, and operating costs are investigated, considering ORC and s-CO 2 systems specifics in line with the current state-of-the-art products, experience, and technological limits. Results of the study show that the s-CO 2 could be more appropriate for CHP applications. Both the electric and thermal efficiency of s-CO 2 bottoming cycle show higher values compared with ORC, also due to the fact that in the examined s-CO 2 solution, the cycle pressure ratio is not affected by the thermal user temperature. At part-load operation, the gas turbine regulation strategy affects the energy harvesting performance in a CHP arrangement. The estimated total plant investment cost results to be higher for the s-CO 2 , caused by the higher size of the heat recovery heat exchanger but also by the high specific investment cost still associated to this component. This point seems to make the s-CO 2 not profitable as the ORC solution for industrial gas turbine heat recovery applications. Nevertheless, a crucial parameter determining the feasibility of the investment is the prospective carbon tax application.

Keywords: supercritical CO 2; ORC; gas turbines; heat recovery; part-load; CHP; design; economic analysis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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