Thermodynamic comparison of solar-based Organic Rankine and Kalina cycles in the amount of hydrogen production

In recent years, the concern caused by the end of non-renewable fuels and environmental pollution has made different countries of the world to look for alternative energy sources for these fuels. New energy or alternative energy refers to those types of energy that are used for their production from carbon-free sources; Such as solar energy, wind energy, marine energy, geothermal, hydro power plants and carbon neutral such as biomass. In this study the comparison between two low temperature cycles including solar-based ORC cycle and solar-based Kalina cycle is performed. EES software was applied to simulate the systems. The main aim of this study is the comparison from hydrogen production point of view. Different parameters were considered and analyzed to find their effects on the performance of the system. By applying the basic assumptions, the amount of the power produced by the solar-based ORC cycle is ۳۲.۲۸ kW while it is ۱۶.۴۳ kW for the solar-based Kalina cycle. Energy and exergy efficiencies of the solar-based ORC cycle is ۶۹.۷% and ۳۵.۴۸% respectively while this amount is ۲۱.۲۴% and ۱۱.۲% for the solar-based Kalina cycle. The amount of the hydrogen produced by the solar-based ORC cycle is ۱۲.۲۲ kg/day while ۷.۲۵ kg/day hydrogen is produced by the solar-based Kalina cycle. In general, it can be said that based on the simulation results, solar-based ORC system produces higher amount of hydrogen compared to solar-based Kalina cycle.

Keywords:

Solar system , ORC cycle , Kalina cycle , Hydrogen production rate , Comparison