Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry, cilt.149, sa.3, ss.1125-1139, 2024 (SCI-Expanded)
A partial cooling supercritical carbon dioxide cycle is used in this study for the application of a solar power tower. Additionally, the organic Rankine cycle (ORC) is considered as a bottoming cycle in the process of recovering wasted heat. Moreover, fluids with zero ozone depletion potential and low global warming potential are considered as operating fluids for bottoming ORC. Exergy, energy and exergoenvironmental analyses were performed in order to evaluate the usefulness of the proposed system to generate electrical power and driven by solar energy. The effect of various independent parameters on system performance is investigated. It is concluded that as direct normal irradiation (DNI) changes from 0.4 to 0.95 kW m−2, the combined cycle’s thermal efficiency, exergy efficiency, and power output increase from 35.16% to 55.43%, 37.73% to 59.42%, and 188 kW to 298.5 kW, respectively for R1224yd(Z) fluid. However, exergoenvironmental impact index falls by 58.79% as DNI rises, while the exergetic stability factor rises by 57.79%. The system’s optimized thermal efficiency is found to be 53.45%. Furthermore, the performance of the combined system can be improved by decreasing the incidence angle of the sun while simultaneously increasing the concentration ratio. The fluid R1224yd(Z) is recommended as the best-performing fluid as compared to the other fluids due to its superior thermal performance.