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Thermodynamic Optimization of Industrial Energy Systems

A special issue of Entropy (ISSN 1099-4300). This special issue belongs to the section "Thermodynamics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 March 2024 | Viewed by 7020

Special Issue Editors

Industrial Process and Energy Systems Engineering, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne EPFL, Sion, 1950 Valais, Switzerland
Interests: energy integration; process synthesis; optimization; environmental analysis; economic assessment
Industrial Process and Energy Systems Engineering, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne EPFL, Sion, 1950 Valais, Switzerland
Interests: biomass conversion; biofuel production; process simulation and integration; industrial symbiosis
Department of Energy Conversion and Storage Continuum Modelling and Testing, Technical University of Denmark DTU, 2800 Kongens Lyngby, Denmark
Interests: applied thermodynamics; exergy analysis; biogas; fuel cells; hydrogen

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The thermodynamic optimization of the industrial systems deals with the application of the thermodynamic principles to evaluate and improve the performance of those energy systems, from the component level up to the complete process synthesis and optimization of chemical plants. The energy integration (pinch method) and the exergy methods are among the most common thermodynamic methods used in the diagnosis and optimization of energy systems. Those methods help to identify the sources of thermodynamic inefficiency and allow proposing means for minimizing energy consumption, while reducing waste generation and, consequently, the environmental impact. Meanwhile, optimization methods aid in determining the best configuration among the vast number of options that satisfy the predefined objectives and restrictions using different mathematical and computational techniques. This Special Issue aims to bring together a comprehensive selection of recently developed techniques used to evaluate the performance of thermodynamic systems. It is also conceived to aim the spotlight at new approaches proposed to assess not only efficiency, but also sustainability and economic attractiveness as decision criteria for future energy systems.   

Dr. Daniel Flórez-Orrego
Dr. Meire Ellen Ribeiro Domingos
Dr. Rafael Nogueira Nakashima
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Entropy is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • technoeconomic assessment
  • sustainability
  • industrial processes
  • optimization
  • energy integration

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

24 pages, 6835 KiB  
Article
Techno–Economic Analysis of the Optimum Configuration for Supercritical Carbon Dioxide Cycles in Concentrating Solar Power Systems
by Rosa P. Merchán, Luis F. González-Portillo and Javier Muñoz-Antón
Entropy 2024, 26(2), 124; https://doi.org/10.3390/e26020124 - 31 Jan 2024
Viewed by 681
Abstract
There is a general agreement among researchers that supercritical carbon dioxide (sCO2) cycles will be part of the next generation of thermal power plants, especially in concentrating solar power (CSP) plants. While certain studies focus on maximizing the efficiency of these [...] Read more.
There is a general agreement among researchers that supercritical carbon dioxide (sCO2) cycles will be part of the next generation of thermal power plants, especially in concentrating solar power (CSP) plants. While certain studies focus on maximizing the efficiency of these cycles in the hope of achieving a reduction in electricity costs, it is important to note that this assumption does not always hold true. This work provides a comprehensive analysis of the differences between minimizing the cost and maximizing the efficiency for the most remarkable sCO2 cycles. The analysis considers the most important physical uncertainties surrounding CSP and sCO2 cycles, such as turbine inlet temperature, ambient temperature, pressure drop and turbomachinery efficiency. Moreover, the uncertainties related to cost are also analyzed, being divided into uncertainties of sCO2 component costs and uncertainties of heating costs. The CSP system with partial cooling (sometimes with reheating and sometimes without it) is the cheapest configuration in the analyzed cases. However, the differences in cost are generally below 5% (and sometimes neglectable), while the differences in efficiency are significantly larger and below 15%. Besides the much lower efficiency of systems with simple cycle, if the heating cost is low enough, their cost could be even lower than the cost of the system with partial cooling. Systems with recompression cycles could also achieve costs below systems with partial cooling if the design’s ambient temperature and the pressure drop are low. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Thermodynamic Optimization of Industrial Energy Systems)
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32 pages, 2619 KiB  
Article
Exergoeconomic Analysis of a Mechanical Compression Refrigeration Unit Run by an ORC
by Daniel Taban, Valentin Apostol, Lavinia Grosu, Mugur C. Balan, Horatiu Pop, Catalina Dobre and Alexandru Dobrovicescu
Entropy 2023, 25(11), 1531; https://doi.org/10.3390/e25111531 - 10 Nov 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 823
Abstract
To improve the efficiency of a diesel internal combustion engine (ICE), the waste heat carried out by the combustion gases can be recovered with an organic Rankine cycle (ORC) that further drives a vapor compression refrigeration cycle (VCRC). This work offers an exergoeconomic [...] Read more.
To improve the efficiency of a diesel internal combustion engine (ICE), the waste heat carried out by the combustion gases can be recovered with an organic Rankine cycle (ORC) that further drives a vapor compression refrigeration cycle (VCRC). This work offers an exergoeconomic optimization methodology of the VCRC-ORC group. The exergetic analysis highlights the changes that can be made to the system structure to reduce the exergy destruction associated with internal irreversibilities. Thus, the preheating of the ORC fluid with the help of an internal heat exchanger leads to a decrease in the share of exergy destruction in the ORC boiler by 4.19% and, finally, to an increase in the global exergetic yield by 2.03% and, implicitly, in the COP of the ORC-VCRC installation. Exergoeconomic correlations are built for each individual piece of equipment. The mathematical model for calculating the monetary costs for each flow of substance and energy in the system is presented. Following the evolution of the exergoeconomic performance parameters, the optimization strategy is developed to reduce the exergy consumption in the system by choosing larger or higher-performance equipment. When reducing the temperature differences in the system heat exchangers (ORC boiler, condenser, and VCRC evaporator), the unitary cost of the refrigeration drops by 44%. The increase in the isentropic efficiency of the ORC expander and VCRC compressor further reduces the unitary cost of refrigeration by another 15%. Following the optimization procedure, the cost of the cooling unit drops by half. The cost of diesel fuel has a major influence on the unit cost of cooling. A doubling of the cost of diesel fuel leads to an 80% increase in the cost of the cold unit. The original merit of the work is to present a detailed and comprehensive model of optimization based on exergoeconomic principles that can serve as an example for any thermal system optimization. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Thermodynamic Optimization of Industrial Energy Systems)
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23 pages, 5510 KiB  
Article
Comparative Exergy and Environmental Assessment of the Residual Biomass Gasification Routes for Hydrogen and Ammonia Production
by Gabriel Gomes Vargas, Daniel Alexander Flórez-Orrego and Silvio de Oliveira Junior
Entropy 2023, 25(7), 1098; https://doi.org/10.3390/e25071098 - 22 Jul 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1468
Abstract
The need to reduce the dependency of chemicals on fossil fuels has recently motivated the adoption of renewable energies in those sectors. In addition, due to a growing population, the treatment and disposition of residual biomass from agricultural processes, such as sugar cane [...] Read more.
The need to reduce the dependency of chemicals on fossil fuels has recently motivated the adoption of renewable energies in those sectors. In addition, due to a growing population, the treatment and disposition of residual biomass from agricultural processes, such as sugar cane and orange bagasse, or even from human waste, such as sewage sludge, will be a challenge for the next generation. These residual biomasses can be an attractive alternative for the production of environmentally friendly fuels and make the economy more circular and efficient. However, these raw materials have been hitherto widely used as fuel for boilers or disposed of in sanitary landfills, losing their capacity to generate other by-products in addition to contributing to the emissions of gases that promote global warming. For this reason, this work analyzes and optimizes the biomass-based routes of biochemical production (namely, hydrogen and ammonia) using the gasification of residual biomasses. Moreover, the capture of biogenic CO2 aims to reduce the environmental burden, leading to negative emissions in the overall energy system. In this context, the chemical plants were designed, modeled, and simulated using Aspen plus™ software. The energy integration and optimization were performed using the OSMOSE Lua Platform. The exergy destruction, exergy efficiency, and general balance of the CO2 emissions were evaluated. As a result, the irreversibility generated by the gasification unit has a relevant influence on the exergy efficiency of the entire plant. On the other hand, an overall negative emission balance of −5.95 kgCO2/kgH2 in the hydrogen production route and −1.615 kgCO2/kgNH3 in the ammonia production route can be achieved, thus removing from the atmosphere 0.901 tCO2/tbiomass and 1.096 tCO2/tbiomass, respectively. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Thermodynamic Optimization of Industrial Energy Systems)
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22 pages, 4579 KiB  
Article
Modeling and Optimization of Hydraulic and Thermal Performance of a Tesla Valve Using a Numerical Method and Artificial Neural Network
by Kourosh Vaferi, Mohammad Vajdi, Amir Shadian, Hamed Ahadnejad, Farhad Sadegh Moghanlou, Hossein Nami and Haleh Jafarzadeh
Entropy 2023, 25(7), 967; https://doi.org/10.3390/e25070967 - 22 Jun 2023
Cited by 15 | Viewed by 1463
Abstract
The Tesla valve is a non-moving check valve used in various industries to control fluid flow. It is a passive flow control device that does not require external power to operate. Due to its unique geometry, it causes more pressure drop in the [...] Read more.
The Tesla valve is a non-moving check valve used in various industries to control fluid flow. It is a passive flow control device that does not require external power to operate. Due to its unique geometry, it causes more pressure drop in the reverse direction than in the forward direction. This device’s optimal performance in heat transfer applications has led to the use of Tesla valve designs in heat sinks and heat exchangers. This study investigated a Tesla valve with unconventional geometry through numerical analysis. Two geometrical parameters and inlet velocity were selected as input variables. Also, the pressure drop ratio (PDR) and temperature difference ratio (TDR) parameters were chosen as the investigated responses. By leveraging numerical data, artificial neural networks were trained to construct precise prediction models for responses. The optimal designs of the Tesla valve for different conditions were then reported using the genetic algorithm method and prediction models. The results indicated that the coefficient of determination for both prediction models was above 0.99, demonstrating high accuracy. The most optimal PDR value was 4.581, indicating that the pressure drop in the reverse flow direction is 358.1% higher than in the forward flow direction. The best TDR response value was found to be 1.862. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Thermodynamic Optimization of Industrial Energy Systems)
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28 pages, 2251 KiB  
Article
Design and Performance Evaluation of Integrating the Waste Heat Recovery System (WHRS) for a Silicon Arc Furnace with Plasma Gasification for Medical Waste
by Yuehong Dong, Lai Wei, Sheng Wang, Peiyuan Pan and Heng Chen
Entropy 2023, 25(4), 595; https://doi.org/10.3390/e25040595 - 31 Mar 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1596
Abstract
A hybrid scheme integrating the current waste heat recovery system (WHRS) for a silicon arc furnace with plasma gasification for medical waste is proposed. Combustible syngas converted from medical waste is used to drive the gas turbine for power generation, and waste heat [...] Read more.
A hybrid scheme integrating the current waste heat recovery system (WHRS) for a silicon arc furnace with plasma gasification for medical waste is proposed. Combustible syngas converted from medical waste is used to drive the gas turbine for power generation, and waste heat is recovered from the raw syngas and exhaust gas from the gas turbine for auxiliary heating of steam and feed water in the WHRS. Meanwhile, the plasma gasifier can also achieve a harmless disposal of the hazardous fine silica particles generated in polysilicon production. The performance of the proposed design is investigated by energy, exergy, and economic analysis. The results indicate that after the integration, medical waste gave rise to 4.17 MW net power at an efficiency of up to 33.99%. Meanwhile, 4320 t of the silica powder can be disposed conveniently by the plasma gasifier every year, as well as 23,040 t of medical waste. The proposed design of upgrading the current WHRS to the hybrid system requires an initial investment of 18,843.65 K$ and has a short dynamic payback period of 3.94 years. Therefore, the hybrid scheme is feasible and promising for commercial application. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Thermodynamic Optimization of Industrial Energy Systems)
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