heal.abstract |
In the present study, a techno-economical assessment of the impact of finned air-cooled condensers in the Organic Rankine systems is presented. The thesis aims to develop a unified sizing model of the air-cooled condenser, integrated into ORC systems, and conduct a parametric investigation in the key thermodynamic and economic parameters of the system.
For the sizing model of the air-cooled condenser (ACC), a comprehensive model has been developed in Matlab code where it was combined with an existing ORC model. To conduct the parametric investigation, the analysis focuses on four primary variables: two ORC design variables (the condenser pinch point and air temperature rise in the ACC) and two ACC geometric variables (the number of tube passes and the length of the ACC tubes). Various parameters are investigated by varying these design variables, including ACC heat transfer area, ACC fan power consumption and, ORC net power output.
The results of the parametric investigation highlight the trade-off between the ACC heat transfer area, the ACC fan power consumption, and the electrical efficiency of the ORC. Among the parameters examined, the specific cost of the air-cooled condenser was introduced to combine both the thermodynamic and economic factors in the analysis. Through the analysis, it emerged as an optimal design point of PP_ACC=14K,ΔT_αir=3,L_t=10m,and N_tp=6. with a C_(ACC,sp)=1459 USD/kWe, a relatively high cost compared to ORC investment costs |
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