Techno economic feasibility study of solar ORC in India
Ayona Biswas, Arindam Mandal, Aditya Bandopadhyay, Sourav Mitra, Sandeep Saha
TL;DR
The paper evaluates the techno-economic feasibility of a solar-assisted Organic Rankine Cycle (S-ORC) for India by screening seven organic fluids under Indian climate, conducting parametric studies across evaporator pressures ($9$–$30$ bar) and mass flow rates ($0.2$–$4.5$ kg/s), and assessing four power targets (2, 20, 50, 100 kW) at source temperatures of $423\ \text{K}$, $403\ \text{K}$, $383\ \text{K}$, and $363\ \text{K}$ with a sink at $298\ \text{K}$. The methodology combines ASHRAE safety and environmental criteria, cycle-design assumptions, and governing-energy-balance equations, implemented in a process-simulation framework, to yield heat-input, heat-rejection, efficiency, and collector-area data for each fluid. Results identify $\text{R-}1233zd(E)$ as the top performing fluid overall when considering efficiency, cost, and environmental impact, while $\text{R-}11$ delivers the highest efficiency in some cases but at higher flow rates; $\text{R-}113$ often minimizes system cost. The study concludes that S-ORC can be competitive with existing Indian renewable technologies, with cost reductions possible through expander and solar-collector optimization and enhanced TES design, offering a viable pathway for solar electricity in India.
Abstract
Solar energy has enormous potential because there is a worldwide need to meet energy demands. Depleting non-renewable energy resources, increasing carbon emissions, and other environmental effects concern the scientific community to develop an alternative approach to electricity production. In this article, we present the study of a solar-powered Organic Rankine cycle considering Indian climatic conditions. Initially, we scrutinized seven working fluids and assessed their performance in the ORC at an evaporator pressure range of 9-30 bar and a mass flow rate range of 0.2 kg/s to 4.5 kg/s. For a fixed sink temperature of 298 K, we evaluate the system using four different power ratings of 2, 20, 50, and 100 kW based on four different source temperatures of 423 K, 403 K, 383 K, and 363 K. We estimate the system cost for each working fluid in each scenario separately. Our findings suggest that R 1233zd(E) is the optimum performing working fluid based on cost, cost-effectiveness, and environmental friendliness. We also notice that the estimated system scale cost is very competitive and could be a great alternative to the technologies already on the Indian market.