Exergetic Analysis of a Refrigeration System with Mechanical Vapors Compression

The main purpose of this study is to improve the energy efficiency of a refrigerated facility by means of exergetic analysis. In order to achieve this goal, we have evaluated the input exergy flows of the whole system to deduce the exergetic yields, which are compared to the degree of irreversibility in order to have a qualitative measurement of energy losses. The concept of exergy is the part of energy that is virtually converted into work. The exergetic analysis was performed on a refrigeration unit ZR22K3E Copeland Scroll. The results of this analysis are consistent with the condition, that the exergetic performance, which is: 36.57% and it is approximately equal to the degree of irreversibility which is 37.50%. This approach provides a comprehensive, standard and rigorous framework for the analysis of energy systems, and thus for the understanding and systemic management of the energy challenge.

THE EXERGETIC EFFICIENCY OF MSF PROCESS AND THE CONDITIONS OF DESALINATION BY WASTE HEAT

The exergy losses and thermodynamic efficiency of MSF plant with brine recirculation are discussed bymeans of temperature difference functions proposed by the auther.In a MSF plant,the irreversible losses are found mainly in irreversible heat-transfer and flash evaporationprocesses.However,the basic variables are the temperature drop from stage to stage and the temperaturedifferences between flashed vapor and cooling water.In this paper,the flash temperature difference func-tion,the heat transfer temperature difference function and the total temperature difference function are sug-gested.The proposed temperature difference functions of MSF plant provide a convenient tool to analyse theirreversible behavior and evaluate the exergetic efficiency of this system,because without such improvement thecalculation of the exergetic efficiency of a MSF plant according to the classical formula will be not onlyinconvenient but also insignificant.As a result of present analysis,the reasonable parameters based on theenergy consumption are easily chosen.The above-mentioned principles are confirmed by commercial plants and a pilot plant in Tianjin.

Exergetic Efficiencies Evaluation of Flows and Operations on the Mechanical Extraction Process of <i>Jatropha curcas</i>Oil

Jatropha curcas oil is one of the most promising renewable energy sources for rural areas due to its ease of production, which can be used as an alternative to diesel and fuel oil. The development of sustainable energy has been the issue of the discussion about biofuel production given the considerable consumption amount of fossil fuel during the transformation process. And any production process that consumes a lot of energy records a significant destruction of useful energy, which leads to thermodynamic inefficiencies of the process. Besides, the focus on environmental safety is gradually shifting towards energy efficiency in industrial processing. Exergetic analysis is an effective tool for measuring the performance of a production process since exergy is a quantity that measures energy quality. This study assesses the scale of resource degradation in Jatropha oil mechanical extraction processes and finds improving possible pretreatments options for more efficient production. Data from experiments combined with existing databases have permitted to establish the exergy flow balance at each stage of production. The process exergetic yield varies from 29.85% to 35.41% according to the chosen pretreatment process. Mass exergy accounts for 67% of incoming flows and, for outgoing flows, more than 60% is associated with the mass exergy generated by the process waste. The uncertainties analysis on the results was used to validate model results, and to visualize the minimum values for the most unfavorable cases and the maximum values when all the parameters are at their optimum values.

Exergetic Comparative Analysis of Ammonia and Carbon Dioxide Two-Stage Cycles for Simultaneous Cooling and Heating

The paper deals with the comparative analysis of the performance of cooling and heating systems operating with NH3 （ammonia） or CO2 （carbon dioxide）, both natural refrigerants. The study is based on the exergetic analysis that points out the location and the magnitude of a system malfunction. Both systems, with NH3 or CO2 operate in two stages. The exergetic analysis gives the direction of the structural optimization. The exergetic analysis has shown that the best structural schematic is not the same for the two agents. The exergetic analysis points out that the largest exergy destruction in the CO2 cycle is due to the throttling process and offers solutions to diminish it.

Performance Study and Multi-Objective Optimization of a Two-Temperature CO_(2) Refrigeration System with Economizer Based on Energetic, Exergetic and Economic Analysis

A two temperature CO_(2) refrigeration system with economizer is proposed and compared with the traditional dual-temperature CO_(2) refrigeration system based on energy consumption,exergy and economic analysis.Using genetic algorithm multi-objective optimization method,taking the COP,exergy loss and total economic cost as the objective functions to find the best design conditions of the two systems.The Pareto fronts are obtained at different ambient temperatures.Technique for order preference by similarity to an ideal solution decision-making method is adopted to determine the optimum state points.The simulation results show that when operating at different ambient temperatures,the introduction of economizer can improve COP,reduce exergy loss and the overall economic cost rate of the two-temperature CO_(2) refrigeration system.In addition,economic analyses take the impact of carbon dioxide emission cost and electricity price into consideration.The results indicate that with the increase of CO_(2) emission cost and electricity price,the hourly economic cost of both systems increases,but the hourly economic cost of the two-temperature CO_(2) refrigeration system with economizer system is always lower than that of conventional two-temperature CO_(2) refrigeration system.

Performance analysis and improvement of geothermal binary cycle power plant in oilfield

In order to improve the efficiency of a geothermal power plant, oil wells in the high water cut stage were used as geothermal wells, thereby improving the recovery ratio and economic benefit. A new function that reflects both the technical and economic performances was put forward and used as the objective function. An organic Rankine cycle (ORC) was analyzed through the energetic and exergetic analyses, and the reasons for low efficiency were pinpointed. Results indicate that geothermal water directly transferring heat to the working fluid reduces energy dissipation and increases cycle efficiencies. The net power output with an internal heat exchanger (IHE) is averagely 5.3% higher than that without an IHE. R601a and R601 can be used to replace R123 for geothermal water below 110℃. Moreover, the modified ORC dramatically outperforms the actual one.

Influence of Zeotropic Mixtures' Temperature Gliding on the Performance of Heat Transfer in Condenser or Evaporator

Many zeotropic refrigerant mixtures are proposed as alternatives to some chlorofluorocar-bons (CFCs) and hydrochlorofluorocarbons ( HCFCs). An advantage of zeotropic mixtures is the possibility of reduction in entropy generation by matching the temperature glidings of refrigerant and heat-transfer fluid in both condenser and evaporator. Zeotropic mixtures are compared with pure re-frigerants to evaluate their exergetic losses. On the other hand, the special phenomena which result from temperature gliding are proved by experiments. A simple equation is obtained, to evaluate dif-ferent zeotropic mixtures' exergetic losses. The maximum flow rate of heat-transfer fluids is found in order that refrigerants phase change can be completed. Lastly, some examples of zeotropic mix-tures ( R407C, R405A and R414B) are given, and their exergetic losses and maximum flow rate of heat-transfer fluids in condenser are forecasted.

Industrial-scale Fixed-bed Coal Gasification: Modeling, Simulation and Thermodynamic Analysis

We have developed a process model to simulate the behavior of an industrial-scale pressurized Lurgi fixed-bed coal gasifier using Aspen Plus and General Algebraic Modeling System(GAMS). Reaction characteristics in the fixed-bed gasifier comprising four sequential reaction zones—drying, pyrolysis, combustion and gasification are respectively modeled. A non-linear programming(NLP) model is developed for the pyrolysis zone to estimate the products composition which includes char, coal gases and distillable liquids. A four-stage model with restricted equilibrium temperature is used to study the thermodynamic equilibrium characteristics and calculate the composition of syngas in the combustion and gasification zones. The thermodynamic analysis shows that the exergetic efficiency of the fixed-bed gasifier is mainly determined by the oxygen/coal ratio. The exergetic efficiency of the process will reach an optimum value of 78.3% when the oxygen/coal and steam/coal mass ratios are 0.14 and 0.80, respectively.

Energy and exergy analyses and optimizations for two-stage TEC driven by two-stage TEG with Thomson effect

Based on the non-equilibrium thermodynamics and energy and exergy analyses,a thermodynamic model of two-stage thermoelectric(TE)cooler(TTEC)driven by two-stage TE generator(TTEG)(TTEG-TTEC)combined TE device is established with involving Thomson effect by fitting method of variable physical parameters of TE materials.Taking total number of TE elements as constraint,influences of number distributions of TE elements on three device performance indictors,that is,cooling load,maximum COP and maximum exergetic efficiency,are analyzed.Three number distributions of TE elements are optimized with three maximum performance indictors as the objectives,respectively.Influences of hot-junction temperature of TTEG and coldjunction temperature of TTEC on optimization results are analyzed,and difference between optimization results corresponding to three performance indicators are studied.Optimal performance intervals and optimal variable intervals are provided.Influences of Thomson effect on three general performance indicators,three optimal performance indicators and optimal variables are comparatively discussed.Thomson effect reduces three general performance indicators and three optimal performance indicators of device.When hot-and cold-junction temperatures of TTEG and TTEC are 450,305,325 and 295 K,respectively,Thomson effect reduced maximum cooling load,maximum COP and maximum exergetic efficiency from 9.528 W,9.043×10^(-2)and2.552%to 6.651 W,6.286×10^(-2)and 1.752%,respectively.

Combustion Irreversibilities: Numerical Simulation and Analysis

An exergy analysis was performed considering the combustion of methane and agro-industrial residues produced in Portugal (forest residues and vines pruning). Regarding that the irreversibilities of a thermodynamic process are path dependent, the combustion process was considering as resulting from different hypothetical paths each one characterized by four main sub-processes: reactant mixing, fuel oxidation, internal thermal energy exchange (heat transfer), and product mixing. The exergetic efficiency was computed using a zero dimensional model developed by using a Visual Basic home code. It was concluded that the exergy losses were mainly due to the internal thermal energy exchange sub-process. The exergy losses from this sub-process are higher when the reactants are preheated up to the ignition temperature without previous fuel oxidation. On the other hand, the global exergy destruction can be minored increasing the pressure, the reactants temperature and the oxygen content on the oxidant stream. This methodology allows the identification of the phenomena and processes that have larger exergy losses, the understanding of why these losses occur and how the exergy changes with the parameters associated to each system which is crucial to implement the syngas combustion from biomass products as a competitive technology.