Solar steam power plant is the dominant technology in the category of solar thermal power systems. In steam power cycles, there is usually a couple of steam lines, extracted from medium-pressure and low-pressure turbines, to preheat the working fluid before the boiler. This although leads to an increase in the energy efficiency of the cycle, reduces the contribution of the turbine proportionally. Therefore, finding an alternative method of preheating the working fluid would be effective in further enhancement of the efficiency of the system. In this study, the feasibility of using solar collectors for the preheating process in a solar steam power plant is investigated. For this, parabolic trough solar collectors and evacuated tube solar collectors based on a wide range of different scenarios and configurations are employed. The plant is designed, sized and thermodynamically analyzed for a case study in Saudi Arabia where there is a large solar irradiation potential over the year. The results of the simulations show that, among all the considered scenarios, a power cycle aided by a set of parabolic trough collectors as the preheating unit is the best choice technically. This configuration leads to about 23% increased power generation rate and 6.5% efficiency enhancement compared to the conventional design of the plant.
Compressed air energy storage, a well-known technique for energy storage purposes on a large scale, has recently attracted substantial interest due to the development and long-term viability of smart grids. The current research focus on the design and thorough examination of a compressed air energy storage system utilizing a constant pressure tank. Various aspects, including energy, exergy, economic, and exergoeconomic factors, have been extensively investigated in this study. The goal of the referenced design is to maximize the utilization of air's energy stored in the tank, minimize exergy destruction, enhance production capacity and energy storage density, optimize system performance, and recover waste heat efficiently. Additionally, through the utilization of artificial neural networks and genetic algorithms, this study provides an analysis of optimal operational conditions, taking into account both thermodynamic and economic performance considerations. The referenced system, which stores 209 MWh of excess power from the grid as compressed air and heat throughout off-peak times and utilizes it to produce 137 MWh of electrical power during peak demand periods, demonstrates remarkable performance compared to the conventional storage methods. The findings indicate that the total electrical efficiency, round trip efficiency, and exergy round trip efficiency of the referenced system are equal to 65.63 %, 68.28 %, and 66.01 %, respectively. The total cost of the products of the system is 21.15 $/GJ, while exhibiting a value of 190.4 $/MWh for its levelized cost of electricity. The system's payback period is approximately 5.11 years, and the ultimate profit amounts to around $40 million.
The main motivation of this study is to offer, develop, and optimize a novel solar combined technology to bring sustainability to the industrial sector via supplying 100 % green and cost-effective heating and cooling. The combination of a special type of parabolic trough collector designed to be inexpensive with low-concentration yet high-optical efficiency and a specially developed bio-driven boiler to compensate for the fluctuations of the solar energy is the heart of the proposed system. The article presents a thorough complex optimization and techno-economic-environmental analysis of the proposed solution and conducts a benchmarking analysis against cheap but unsustainable technologies of today's industries for a large case study in Northern Europe. The results prove the strong impacts of the technology in emission reduction and lower cost production of industrial heating and cooling. The solar component of the system fulfills nearly 50 % of the total demand, with the biomass heater, burning sugarcane bagasse, covering the additional demand. For the proposed system, a levelized cost of energy of 69.9 USD/MWh and an emission index of 267.7 tons/GWh are achieved, while the identical and alternative systems would necessitate 9,660, 11,600, and 3860 tons of coal, wood, or LPG, respectively, to fulfill the park's thermal requirements.
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