In this paper, the performance of an organic Rankine cycle with a zeotropic mixture as a working fluid was evaluated using exergy-based methods: exergy, exergoeconomic, and exergoenvironmental analyses. The effect of system operation parameters and mixtures on the organic Rankine cycle’s performance was evaluated as well. The considered performances were the following: exergy efficiency, specific cost, and specific environmental effect of the net power generation. A multi-objective optimization approach was applied for parametric optimization. The approach was based on the particle swarm algorithm to find a set of Pareto optimal solutions. One final optimal solution was selected using a decision-making method. The optimization results indicated that the zeotropic mixture of cyclohexane/toluene had a higher thermodynamic and economic performance, while the benzene/toluene zeotropic mixture had the highest environmental performance. Finally, a comparative analysis of zeotropic mixtures and pure fluids was conducted. The organic Rankine cycle with the mixtures as working fluids showed significant improvement in energetic, economic, and environmental performances.
Multi-effect distillation with thermal vapor compression (MED-TVC) is a highly energy-efficient desalination technology that can provide a reliable and sustainable source of high-quality water, particularly in areas with limited energy infrastructure and water resources. In this study, a numerical model based on exergoeconomic approach is developed to analyze the economic performance of a MED-TVC system for seawater desalination. A parallel/cross feed configuration is considered because of its high energy efficiency. In addition, a parametric study is performed to evaluate the effects of some operational parameters on the total water price, such as the top brine temperature, seawater temperature, motive steam flow rate, and number of effects. The obtained results indicate that the total water price is in the range of 1.73 USD/m3 for a distilled water production of 55.20 kg/s. Furthermore, the exergy destructions in the effects account for 45.8% of the total exergy destruction. The MED effects are also identified to be the most relevant component from an exergoeconomic viewpoint. Careful attention should be paid to these components. Of the total cost associated with the effects, 75.1% is due to its high thermodynamic inefficiency. Finally, the parametric study indicates that adjusting the top brine temperature, the cooling seawater temperature, the motive steam flow rate, and the number of effects has a significant impact on the TWP, which varies between 1.42 USD/m3 and 2.85 USD/m3.
In this paper, the potential application of an organic Rankine cycle (ORC) for cogeneration in a cement plant is presented. Two ORC system configurations are considered. The first configuration is based on the waste heat recovery from the exit gases of clinker burning system. An additional heat source which is the solar energy was used for the second configuration. Parametric studies are performed for the systems with three different working fluids. Both systems are optimized from the viewpoints of thermodynamic, exergoeconomic, and exergoenvironmental analyses.
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