Thermo-economic analysis an‎d optimization of a continuous solar-based power generation an‎d fresh water production system

1/1/1900 12:00:00 AM

The growing deman‎d for sustainable energy an‎d the need to reduce dependence on fossil fuels have highlighted the importance of developing multi-generation energy systems. In this study, a solar-based system capable of simultaneous electricity an‎d freshwater production is investigated, in which an adiabatic compressed air energy storage (CAES) unit is integrated to store surplus energy. Despite numerous studies on renewable-based systems, limited research has focused on the impact of hydrogen–biogas fuel blends in hybrid power an‎d energy storage cycles. Therefore, this research examines the combustion of hydrogen–biogas blended fuel an‎d its influence on the overall system performance, particularly on the operation of the CAES unit. The thermodynamic modeling of the system—including a solar heliostat field, a supercritical CO₂/organic Rankine cycle, a proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolyzer, an‎d a multi-effect distillation with thermal vapor compression (MED-TVC) desalination unit—was developed in MATLAB, while the anaerobic digester was simulated in Aspen Plus. The model was validated using reliable reference data, an‎d base-case results indicated a round-trip exergy efficiency of 30.71% an‎d a net daily power output of 257.43 MWh. A comprehensive parametric study was conducted to investigate the effects of key design parameters such as the number of heliostat mirrors, pressure ratios of the supercritical CO₂ an‎d CAES compressors, air flow rate, an‎d hydrogen–biogas mixing ratio on system performance. Furthermore, the impact of increasing feed concentration in the anaerobic digester on system power generation was eva‎luated. Finally, a three-objective optimization was performed using an artificial neural network (ANN) combined with the NSGA-II algorithm, aiming to maximize power output an‎d exergy efficiency while minimizing the total cost rate. The optimization results showed that the round-trip exergy efficiency increased to 34.81%.

انرژي خورشيدي، ذخيره‌سازي هواي فشرده، سوخت تركيبي هيدروژن و بيوگاز، آب‌شيرين‌كن تقطيري، سيكل كربن‌دي‌اكسيد فوق‌بحراني

Multi-generation system, Hydrogen–biogas blended fuel, Compressed air energy storage (CAES), Supercritical CO₂/ORC cycle

Seyed Hessam Mohseni nia

Mahdi Moghimi