The aim of this paper is to investigate the thermodynamic performance of a novel small-scale power plant that employs a combined cycle for the energy generation from carbon-neutral biomass, such as pruning residues. The combined cycle is composed of an externally fired Joule Brayton cycle followed by a bottoming steam cycle. The topping cycle has the unique particularity of being composed of a cost-effective turbocharger taken from the automotive industry, in place of a more expensive commercial micro-turbine. The turbocharger can be either directly connected to the electric generator (after a few modifications) or coupled (without modifications) with a power turbine moving the generator. The use of solid biomass in the proposed plant is allowed by the presence of an external combustor and a gas-to-gas heat exchanger. The warm flue gases exhausted by the topping cycle are used in a bottoming cycle to produce steam, which can power a steam expander. This paper thermodynamically assesses the novel combined cycle in the configuration for the topping cycle that employs a turbocharger coupled with a power turbine capable of generating 30 kW of electrical power. Furthermore, the comparison between the performance obtained using the bottoming water Rankine cycle and a bottoming Organic Rankine Cycle is provided.

Thermodynamic analysis of a small scale combined cycle for energy generation from carbon neutral biomass / Amirante, R.; De Palma, P.; Distaso, E.; Pantaleo, A. M.; Tamburrano, P.. - In: ENERGY PROCEDIA. - ISSN 1876-6102. - 129:(2017), pp. 891-898. [10.1016/j.egypro.2017.09.213]

Thermodynamic analysis of a small scale combined cycle for energy generation from carbon neutral biomass

Amirante, R.;De Palma, P.;Distaso, E.;Tamburrano, P.
2017-01-01

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to investigate the thermodynamic performance of a novel small-scale power plant that employs a combined cycle for the energy generation from carbon-neutral biomass, such as pruning residues. The combined cycle is composed of an externally fired Joule Brayton cycle followed by a bottoming steam cycle. The topping cycle has the unique particularity of being composed of a cost-effective turbocharger taken from the automotive industry, in place of a more expensive commercial micro-turbine. The turbocharger can be either directly connected to the electric generator (after a few modifications) or coupled (without modifications) with a power turbine moving the generator. The use of solid biomass in the proposed plant is allowed by the presence of an external combustor and a gas-to-gas heat exchanger. The warm flue gases exhausted by the topping cycle are used in a bottoming cycle to produce steam, which can power a steam expander. This paper thermodynamically assesses the novel combined cycle in the configuration for the topping cycle that employs a turbocharger coupled with a power turbine capable of generating 30 kW of electrical power. Furthermore, the comparison between the performance obtained using the bottoming water Rankine cycle and a bottoming Organic Rankine Cycle is provided.
2017
Thermodynamic analysis of a small scale combined cycle for energy generation from carbon neutral biomass / Amirante, R.; De Palma, P.; Distaso, E.; Pantaleo, A. M.; Tamburrano, P.. - In: ENERGY PROCEDIA. - ISSN 1876-6102. - 129:(2017), pp. 891-898. [10.1016/j.egypro.2017.09.213]
File in questo prodotto:
File Dimensione Formato  
21_ORC2017_ThermAnalysisSmallScaleCombined-Biomass.pdf

accesso aperto

Tipologia: Versione editoriale
Licenza: Creative commons
Dimensione 685.52 kB
Formato Adobe PDF
685.52 kB Adobe PDF Visualizza/Apri

I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.

Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11589/118558
Citazioni
  • Scopus 11
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.isi??? 12
social impact