Energy Conversion and Management 198 (2019) 111812

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Energy Conversion and Management

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/enconman

A novel solar and geothermal-based trigeneration system for electricity T

generation, hydrogen production and cooling
Osamah Siddiqui, Haris Ishaq, Ibrahim Dincer
Clean Energy Research Laboratory, Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science, University of Ontario Institute of Technology, 2000 Simcoe Street North, Oshawa, Ontario
L1H 7K4, Canada

ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT

Keywords: In this study, a novel renewable energy based trigeneration system is developed based on the utilization of solar
Solar energy and geothermal resources in a combined manner. The present system includes the following useful outputs,
Geothermal namely electricity, hydrogen and cooling. A flash-steam geothermal power plant is used for producing elec-
Trigeneration tricity. The CuCl cycle is used for hydrogen production and an additional heat from the CuCl cycle is used in the
Electricity
absorption chiller for cooling. The energy efficiency of the trigeneration system is evaluated to be 19.6% while
Hydrogen
Cooling
the exergy efficiency is found to be 19.1%. Furthermore, the CuCl hydrogen production cycle is determined to
Efficiency have an energy efficiency of 35.3% and an exergy efficiency of 35.9%. In addition, the energetic coefficient of
performance of the absorption cooling system is evaluated as 0.54 and the exergetic coefficient of performance is
0.32. Moreover, several parametric studies are conducted to study the effects of varying operating conditions
and system parameters on system performance.

1. Introduction
Energy demands have increased rapidly across the globe. In order to
meet such a sharp rise in energy demand, the increased energy pro-
duction has depended primarily on fossil fuels. The usage of fossil fuels
causes greenhouse gas emissions, which cause environmental pollution.
Renewable energy has received much attraction because of the solu-
tions it provides to the problems faced due to fossil fuels [1–4]. Fur-
thermore, hydrogen has received substantial attention in the recent past
considering it to be a promising non-carbon fuel that can be used for
energy production in an environmentally benign way. Several water
splitting techniques for hydrogen production are under research
[5–10]. As electrolysis requires high electrical input, the methodology
adopted in this study for hydrogen production is thermochemical
copper-chlorine cycle. The thermochemical and hybrid thermochemical
cycles are considered as one of the most promising methods for clean
hydrogen production. Numerous research studies have been conducted
in past to establish the hydrogen production via thermochemical cycles
[11–13]. Some studies also considered renewable energy and heat re-
covery based thermochemical hydrogen production. This study pro-
poses a novel integration of the thermochemical CuCl cycle with solar
and geothermal based energy resources for multigeneration of hy-
drogen, cooling and power production [18]. Some relevant studies are
found in the literature that aimed at developing similar systems.
Luqman et al. [14] developed a hybrid wind and solar based energy
system for multigeneration of hydrogen, power, fresh water, oxygen
and heating. They utilized parabolic trough solar collectors and wind
turbines as primary energy resources. In addition, they considered a
thermal energy storage system. Furthermore, a proton exchange
membrane (PEM) water electrolyzer was utilized for hydrogen pro-
duction. They reported that the developed system entailed an energy
efficiency of 50% and the overall system exergy efficiency was de-
termined to be 34%. However, the energetic efficiency in case of only
power generation was reported to be 15% and the exergetic efficiency
was found to be 16%. However, the system utilized a vapor compres-
sion based refrigeration system that utilizes useful electricity and also a
PEM electrolyzer was used for hydrogen production that entails a large
power input.
Kyriakarakos et al. [15] studied a multigeneration system for hy-
drogen production, portable water and electricity generation. They also
employed solar and wind energy resources. Further, they utilized a PEM
electrolyzer for hydrogen production. In addition, a reverse osmosis
desalination system was used to produce fresh water. Both hydrogen
and desalinated water were considered as energy storage mediums. The
desalinated water produced was used as the input of the electrolyzer
and utilized to produce hydrogen during periods of excess energy. The
developed system was analysed techno-economically and the optimi-
zation of system components was performed. However, the

E-mail addresses: osamah.siddiqui@uoit.net (O. Siddiqui), haris.ishaq@uoit.net (H. Ishaq), Ibrahim.dincer@uoit.ca (I. Dincer).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enconman.2019.111812
Received 28 March 2019; Received in revised form 9 July 2019; Accepted 10 July 2019
0196-8904/ © 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
O. Siddiqui, et al. Energy Conversion and Management 198 (2019) 111812

Nomenclature e exit
el electrical
A area (m2) en energy
ex specific exergy (kJ/kg) ex exergy
Ex exergy rate (kW) EV evaporator
g gravitational constant (9.81 m/s2) FR flash chamber
h specific enthalpy (kJ/kg) G grid
I irradiance (W/m2) gen generator
LHV lower heating value (kJ/kg) he heliostat
m mass flow rate (kg/s) i inlet
N number of heliostats ov overall
Q heat rate (kW) P pump
T temperature (°C) sep separator
V velocity (m/s) S# stream name
W work rate (kW) T turbine
Z elevation (m) TV throttle valve
0 reference
Greek letters
Acronyms
energy efficiency
exergy efficiency ABS absorption cooling system
ANN artificial neural network
Subscripts COP coefficient of performance
Cu-Cl copper chlorine
ABS absorption cooling system EES engineering equation solver
b beam FR flash chamber
B# block name HEX heat exchanger
con condenser SHF solar heliostat field
dest destroyed

thermodynamic performance of the developed system was not studied
comprehensively and the exergetic analysis of system components was
not performed.
Siddiqui and Dincer [16] conducted a performance analysis of a
novel solar-based integrated system including ammonia fuel cell, ab-
sorption chiller and solid oxide fuel cell in order to generate hydrogen
and electricity. The designed model was analysed thermodynamically
to evaluate the system performance. Their system resulted in an in-
crease of 19.3% in the energy efficiency and 17.8% in the exergy effi-
ciency as compared to single generation system with only electrical
output.
Becker et al. [17] developed and analysed a multigeneration system
for producing electricity, hydrogen and heating. A 1 MW methane
fueled solid oxide fuel cell was considered. They found that the effi-
ciency of the solid oxide fuel cell considering electrical power output
was 48.8% and the overall efficiency of the multigeneration system was
85.2%. Hence, the developed system was found to enhance the effi-
ciency by 36.4%. However, the developed system utilized methane fuel
that can result in carbon emissions, which are environmentally detri-
mental.
Naterer et al. [3] published a comprehensive book on nuclear based
hydrogen production adopting the different techniques and methodol-
ogies. They proposed simultaneous nuclear-based production of both
hydrogen and electricity as one of the most promising attraction for
future. In this book, an overview was also conducted to explore all the
latest methodologies and developments such as thermochemical cycles
and electrolysis in nuclear based production of hydrogen. However, the
integration of thermochemical cycles with solar and geothermal based
energy resources was not considered.
Ishaq et al. [19] developed a multi-generation system considering
the thermal management of industrial heat, integrated with several sub-
systems for producing different commodities. The flue gas from the
glass industry was employed as a heat source in this study and the waste
heat was integrated with the thermochemical CuCl cycle for hydrogen
production. The designed system resulted into the fresh water 17.4 kg/s
and 12 g/s of H2 production. The system energy efficiency was reported
to be 47.7% and the exergy efficiency was found to be 37.9%. However,
the developed system was designed for integration with waste heat
resources and relied on high temperature flue gas industries
Wang et al. [20] studied a geothermal energy based power plant and
performed economic assessment. A new carbon capture system and
storage was linked with geothermal energy in order to decrease the
energy consumption. Geothermal energy was employed at moderate
temperature to offer the required heat for regeneration. The overall
plant efficiency was increased by 4.42% and 5.56% in hot sedimentary
aquifer and geothermal system, respectively. The integration of geo-
thermal energy resources with other renewable sources was not con-
sidered that could aid in achieving higher system efficiencies and
multiple useful system outputs.
Missimer et al. [21] conducted a study of the geothermal based
system employed for desalination and electricity production. The idea
included the maximization of the harvested heat utilization into a
multi-effect distillation and further into adsorption desalination system.
The system was designed to harvest electricity, fresh water, and geo-
thermal extraction through make-up water and the operational effi-
ciency is improved. Also, Elminshawy et al. [22] employed a geo-
thermal system linked with solar humidification-dehumidification
desalination unit. This study investigated the economic and technical
feasibility of the designed system. The temperature of 60–80 °C was
employed in geothermal water tank, which replicates a low-quality
geothermal energy and utilized for supplying heat to humidification
chamber. The daytime productivity was achieved to 104 L/m2 and
gained output daily average ratio was found from 1.2 to 1.58 utilizing
desalination unit. These solar and geothermal based studies were fo-
cused on producing power and desalinated water. However, hydrogen
production through these energy resources was not considered.
Xu and Wang [23] showed a comparison of solar driven absorption
cooling systems based on different configurations. A compound

2
O. Siddiqui, et al.
parabolic concentrator was employed in this system with both sta-
tionary and concentrating features. This study employed single-effect,
double-effect and a unique variable-effect absorption chiller simulated
in TRNSYS. Model of the variable effect absorption chiller was first
derived from MATLAB artificial neural network (ANN) toolbox based
on experimental data, and then built in TRNSYS and compared the
performance of all three configurations. This study was focused on
solar-based absorption cooling system, however, a promising method of
utilizing waste heat is entailed when waste heat is used to operate the
absorption cooling systems. This was not considered in the above study.
Arslan and Kose [24] studied a geothermal based integrated system
and conducted the exergoeconomic optimization. This study targeted
the Kutahya-Simav region to investigate the geothermal resources with
integrated options. A multiple complex was proposed to utilize the
geothermal energy for electricity production. The geothermal energy
utilization for multiple uses was resulted as an attractive option for
Simav region. They studied both energetic and exergetic performance
metrics of the developed system, however, the integration of geo-
thermal resources with other renewable sources such as solar energy
was not considered.
Hall et al. [25] studied the reaction kinetics of the electrolysis step
employed in CuCl cycle. In this paper, the verified methods for the
kinetic properties examination of the electrolysis step was applied in
order to expressively lessen the catalyst loading requirements to ac-
complish 0.5 A/cm2 of current density at 0.7 V. This study resulted in
improved economic feasibility of cycle by dropping the loading re-
quired for platinum to establish higher current densities. This study
provided important information about power requirements and reac-
tion conditions required for the simulation of the CuCl cycle that are
utilized in the present study.
Fig. 1. Schematic of the developed novel solar-geothermal based system to provide electricity, hydrogen and cooling.
3
Energy Conversion and Management 198 (2019) 111812
Although previous studies were conducted on renewable energy
based multigeneration systems, efforts need to be directed towards
developing new integrated renewable energy based systems that utilize
the thermochemical water splitting cycle for hydrogen production.
Specifically, solar and geothermal based energy systems utilizing these
thermochemical cycles need to be developed. Hence, in this study a
solar-geothermal hybrid system is integrated with the thermochemical
CuCl cycle for hydrogen production. In addition, the system is designed
for trigeneration of hydrogen, cooling and power. A novel integration is
proposed in this study to produce clean hydrogen via CuCl cycle and
recovering the additional heat to generate cooling. This system utilizes
a geothermal power plant, which overcomes the electricity demand of
the CuCl cycle and produces additional power as useful output. The
specific objectives of the proposed system are (i) to develop a new
hybrid solar-geothermal based energy system that utilizes the heat from
the solar collector for the CuCl cycle to produce clean hydrogen, (ii) to
recover the waste heat from CuCl cycle and employ it to generate
cooling, (iii) to employ the geothermal energy resource to produce
electric power to overcome the load requirements of the electrolyzer
and to provide the supplementary electricity as a major commodity, (iv)
to thermodynamically investigate the developed system as well as the
subsystems to determine their energetic and exergetic performance and
(v) to conduct a parametric study for investigating the effects of varying
system operating parameters on the performance of the developed
system.
2. System description
A solar-geothermal hybrid multi-generation system integrated with
the Cu-Cl cycle for hydrogen production and absorption chiller for
O. Siddiqui, et al.
cooling is designed. Fig. 1 demonstrates the schematic layout of the
designed system. The present system comprises of the solar tower, the
geothermal resource, the Cu-Cl cycle, steam turbine for electricity
production and an absorption chiller unit to provide cooling. Hydrogen,
cooling and electricity are the major system commodities. The CuCl
thermochemical cycle is simulated using Aspen plus with respect to the
heat available from solar energy source and remaining subsystems are
modeled using Engineering Equation Solver (EES).
The system is designed in a way that the solar heliostat source
provides the heat which is at high temperature and this heat is em-
ployed in CuCl cycle for hydrogen production. The CuCl cycle needs
electrical input in electrolyzer. The geothermal source is connected
with the turbine to achieve the electrical output. The generator converts
the mechanical energy into electrical energy and a part of this electrical
load is employed to run electrolyzer while remaining electric power is
supplied to the community. During the modeling of the CuCl cycle, a
Fig. 2. Schematic of the CuCl cycle simulated in Aspen plus.
4
Energy Conversion and Management 198 (2019) 111812
room of improvement was found by heat recovery. This additional heat
is utilized to employ the absorption chiller to provide cooling.
2.1. Solar heliostat field
The solar heliostat field provides the integrated system with the heat
requirement to produce hydrogen via CuCl cycle. Molten salt is used as
the working fluid, which absorbs the incoming solar thermal energy
which is supplied to the CuCl cycle for hydrogen production. The design
of the heliostat field employed in this paper consists of a set of mirrors
which are being used to reflect the sunlight to the central receiver. The
solar radiation intensity is taken for the chosen location of Costa Rica.
At this location, the annual average solar radiation intensity is 216 W/
m2 [29]. The number of heliostats used are 1000. The solar heliostat
design parameters are listed in Table 1.
O. Siddiqui, et al.
2.2. Water splitting CuCl cycle
A four-step CuCl cycle is employed in the multi-generation system as
a subsystem. Fig. 2 exhibits the schematic of the CuCl cycle simulated in
Aspen plus. Aspen Plus v9 is used to simulate the CuCl cycle and the
property method employed is SOLID, which deals with real gases and
solids as well. This Aspen Plus version already has the entropy, en-
thalpy, exergy and Gibbs energy properties for CuCl, CuCl2, HCl and
Cu2OCl2. The stoichiometric reactors are employed in the Aspen Plus
simulation of the CuCl cycle. Both physical and chemical exergies are
considered for the exergy analyses. Table 3 is also added in the results
section describing each state point properties for the CuCl cycle to make
it clear and reader friendly. The very first step of the Cu-Cl cycle is
hydrolysis reaction. This reaction is performed at a high temperature of
400 °C and 1 bar pressure. The block B1 represents the hydrolysis re-
action which reacts the cupric chloride with water to form copper-
oxychloride. This reaction is highly endothermic and requires the heat.
In this step, water (steam) reacts with the cupric chloride in a reactor
and forms hydrogen chloride and copper-oxychloride (Table 4).
2CuCl2 (s) + H2 O(g) Cu2 OCl2 (s) + 2HCl(g) (1)
The thermolysis is the second step of the CuCl cycle and considered
as one of the major steps of the whole cycle. This reaction occurs at
500 °C temperature and 1 bar pressure. The block B4 shows decomposes
reactor which splits the copper-oxychloride into oxygen and cuprous
chloride. This reaction is also endothermic and absorbs requires good
amount of heat. Both oxygen and cuprous chloride are formed in this
reaction by thermochemical splitting of copper-oxychloride.
Cu2 OCl2 (s) 0.5O2 (g) + 2CuCl(l) (2)
The electrolysis step is well known as the heart of this cycle and the
word heart is used to put emphasis on this reaction. This reaction occurs
at the reference temperature and pressure of 25 °C and 1 bar. The block
B8 undergoes the electrolysis reaction and forms hydrogen which is
separated via stream S16 by electrolyzing hydrogen chloride gas. This
electricity required by this reaction is 55 kJ per mole of hydrogen [26].
Aqueous cupric chloride and hydrogen are formed in this reaction by
the reaction of cuprous chloride with hydrogen chloride.
(3)
2CuCl(aq) + 2HCl(aq) H2 (g) + 2CuCl2 (aq)
The drying is the final step of the CuCl cycle. The reaction condi-
tions for this step are 80 °C temperature and 1 bar pressure. The block
B11 represents the dryer which splits the cupric chloride from the ad-
ditional water through stream S2 and recycles in to the first step. The
cupric chloride is separated from the water in this step and recycled to
the first step (hydrolysis).
CuCl2 (aq) CuCl2 (s) (4)
2.3. Geothermal power generation system
The geothermal based power generation system depicted in Fig. 1
includes a production well, reinjection well, turbine 1, generator and
AC/DC converter. The hot geothermal fluid enters the system at a
temperature of 240 °C and pressure of 3347 kPa at state 33. These
conditions for the geothermal well are taken from an actual geothermal
power plant in Costa Rica [30]. The geothermal fluid is flashed to a
lower pressure to convert the saturated liquid to a saturated mixture,
hence, producing vapor that is passed through turbine 1 to generate
power. The mechanical power of the turbine is converted to electrical
power through a generator. Further, the electricity required by the CuCl
cycle electrolyser, is provided through an AC to DC converter. After
leaving turbine 1, the geothermal water is allowed to be reinjected in
the reinjection well.
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Energy Conversion and Management 198 (2019) 111812
2.4. Absorption cooling system (ACS)
The absorption cooling system comprises of an ammonia-water
mixture as the working fluid. The waste heat from the CuCl cycle is
passed to the absorption system through heat exchanger 4. The gen-
erator of the ACS contains an ammonia-water mixture with 32.4%
ammonia by mass. As the heat from the CuCl cycle is transferred to the
generator of the ACS, ammonia gas is separated from the mixture, and
leaves the generator at state 21 to enter the condenser, where it rejects
heat. After heat rejection, it is passed through a throttle valve that drops
the pressure and thus the temperature of ammonia. Cold ammonia at
state 23 enters the evaporator where the required cooling is achieved.
After absorbing heat in the evaporator, ammonia enters the absorber
where it combines with the weak solution that is formed in the gen-
erator and is pumped to the absorber. The heat exchanger between the
generator and the absorber is utilized to preheat the strong solution
before it enters the generator at state 29. Thus, the cycle continues in
this way by providing cooling by taking a primary input of heat and a
marginal electricity input for the pump.
3. Analysis
The designed system is based on a combination of solar and geo-
thermal renewable energy sources. Each major component within the
integrated system is analysed thermodynamically via energy and exergy
approaches. The following are the assumptions made for the analysis:
• The steady-state conditions exist.
• The irradiance of 216 W/m is considered [29].
2
• The heat losses in system components are negligible
• The isentropic efficiency of turbine is assumed as 80% [27].
• The 25 °C temperature and 101.3 kPa of pressure are assumed to be
the reference condition.
• The “solids” property method is employed in Aspen plus to deal with
real fluids.
• The geothermal fluid enters the system at 240 °C as saturated liquid
• The kinetic and potential energy changes are negligible.
• The pressure losses in pipes and heat exchangers are negligible.
• The geothermal fluid exists as saturated liquid at 240 °C [30].
• The flash chamber and separator operate adiabatically.
• The absorption cooling system operates at evaporator and condenser
pressures of 244.9 kPa and 1555.8 kPa respectively.
• The generator of the absorption cooling system operates with total
inlet mass flow rate of 4.12 kg/s and ammonia mass fraction of 0.37.
Qi + Wi + mi (hi ) = Qe + We + me (h e )
i e (5)
mi exi + ExQ + Ex win = me ex e + Ex wo + ExQ + Ex dest
i e (6)
which are the general energy and exergy balance equations which are
used during the analysis. In the described equations, i signifies input
while e indicates the exit. Likewise, m specifies mass flow rate, Q re-
presents heat transfer rate, W entitles work rate, h characterizes en-
thalpy and Ex d indicates exergy destruction.
3.1. Solar heliostat field
A solar heliostat field is integrated with the multi-generation system
which is employed to provide the designed system with heat require-
ment. The CuCl cycle has heat requirement which is covered by the
solar heliostat. Molten salt (67% LiF, 33% BaF) is being used as a
working fluid which absorbs the heat from the solar heliostat which is
then supplied to the CuCl cycle. Following is the equation used to
calculate the total amount of heat achieved by the solar heliostat:
Qsolar = he Ib Ahe Nhe (7)
O. Siddiqui, et al. Energy Conversion and Management 198 (2019) 111812

In the above equation, he signifies the heliostat efficiency, Ahe expressed as

characterizes the aperture area, Ib denotes the irradiance and Nhe
m33 h33 = m34 h34 (21)
symbolizes the number of heliostats. These parameters are listed in
Table 1. Further details about the solar heliostat modeling can be ob- m33 ex33 = m34 ex34 + Ex dest , FR (22)
tained from Ref. [31].

3.2. Thermochemical copper-chlorine (Cu-Cl) cycle 3.3.2. Separator

The energy and exergy balance equations for the separator are ex-
A four-step thermochemical copper-chlorine cycle is considered. pressed as
The thermodynamic balance of the major components is presented in
m34 h34 = m35 h35 + m37 h37 (23)
this section. In the thermodynamic analysis, the balance equations of
each component are written as follows:
m34 ex34 = m35 ex35 + m37 ex37 + Exdest , sep (24)
3.2.1. Hydrolysis reactor (B1)
The energy and exergy balance equations for hydrolysis reactor B1: 3.3.3. Turbine
ms1 hs1 + ms22 hs22 + Q i = ms2 hs2 (8)
m35 h35 = WT + m36 h36 (25)
ms1 ex1 + ms22 ex22 + Ex Qin = ms2 exs2 + Ex dest (9)
m35 ex35 = WT + m36 ex36 + Exdest , T (26)

3.2.2. Heat exchanger (B3) The electricity output can be determined as

For heat exchanger B3: Wel = WT gen (27)
m s3h s3 + Qi = ms6h s6 (10)
Here, WT denotes the mechanical turbine work output and gen re-
presents the generator efficiency considered as 80%.
m s2 ex s2 + Ex Qi = ms3ex s3 + Ex dest (11)

3.4. Absorption cooling system

3.2.3. Decomposition reactor (B4)
The balance equations for the decomposition reactor B4: In the analysis of the ABS, firstly the thermal energy recovered from
ms6 hs6 + Qi = ms7 hs7 (12) the CuCl cycle and transferred to the ABS system is evaluated via the
AspenPlus through the heat duty of heat exchanger (HEX 4). Next, the
ms6 exs6 + Ex Qi = ms7 exs7 + Exdest (13) determined generator heat input is used to evaluate the enthalpies at
the assumed pressure levels of ammonia-water as well as ammonia
fractions. These properties are then used to determine other thermo-
3.2.4. Separator (B5)
physical properties. Further, a series of thermodynamic balance equa-
For the separator,
tions are then solved simultaneously in Engineering Equation Solver for
ms 7 h s 7 = ms 8 h s 8 + ms 9 h s 9 (14) all components to determine all state point properties, cooling effect
provided, COP etc. The assumptions required to perform the compu-
ms7 exs7 = ms8 exs8 + ms9 exs9 + Ex dest (15)
tations are listed in Section 3. The primary balance equations for the
main ABS components are given below:
3.2.5. Electrolysis reactor (B8)
The energy and exergy balance equations for the electrolysis reactor 3.4.1. Generator
B8,
m29 h29 + Q ABS, gen = m21 h21 + m30 h30 (28)
ms5 hs5 + ms10 hs10 + Wel = ms11 hs11 (16)

ms5 exs5 + ms10 exs10 + Wel = ms11 exs11 + Exdest (17) T0

m29 ex29 + QABS , gen 1 = m21 ex21 + m30 ex30 + Ex dest , ABS , gen
Tgen (29)
3.2.6. Dryer (B11) where Tgen denotes the average generator temperature that is de-
The balance equations for dryer B11: termined from temperatures of the input and output streams.
ms14 hs14 = ms19 hs19 + ms22 hs 22 (18)
3.4.2. Condenser
ms14 exs14 = ms19 exs19 + ms22 exs22 + Exd (19) The energy and exergy balance equations for the condenser can be
The total heat input required by the CuCl thermochemical cycle can expressed by
be presented by the given equation. m21 h21 = QL, ABS, con + m22 h22 (30)
Q i = QB1 + QB3 + Q B4 + QB10 + QB11 (20)
T0
m21 ex21 = QL, ABS, con 1 + m22 ex22 + Exdest , ABS, con
3.3. Geothermal power generation system
TABS , con (31)

where TABS, con denotes the average condenser temperature.

The energy and exergy analyses of the geothermal power generation
system is discussed here. The energy and exergy balance for each
3.4.3. Throttling valve
system component is defined by the following equations:
m22 h22 = m23 h23 (32)
3.3.1. Flash chamber
The energy and exergy balance equations for the flash chamber are m22 ex22 = m23 ex23 + Ex dest , ABS , TV 1 (33)

6
O. Siddiqui, et al. Energy Conversion and Management 198 (2019) 111812

3.4.4. Evaporator Wel, G = Wel WH2 (47)

m23 h23 + Q ABS, EV = m24 h24 (34) where Wel represents the electrical power generated by the turbine and
WH2 denotes the power transferred to the CuCl cycle for hydrogen
T0 production.
m23 ex23 + Q ABS, EV 1 = m24 ex24 + Exdest , ABS, EV
TEV (35) The exergy efficiency of the overall system is evaluated as
where TEV denotes the average evaporator temperature.
=
Wel, G + Q ABS, EV ( T0
TEV )
1 + m H2 ex H2
ex , ov T0
3.4.5. Absorber Qsolar (1 Tsun
) + m (ex33 ex38) (47)
33

m24 h24 + m32 h32 = m27 h27 + QABS , abs (36) where ex H2 denotes the total specific exergy of hydrogen, ex33 and ex38
represent the specific exergy of states 33 and 38 respectively, Tsun is the
T0
m24 ex24 + m32 ex32 = m27 ex27 + Q ABS, abs 1 + Exdest , ABS, EV sun temperature considered as 5777 K.
Tabs (37)
where Tabs denotes the average absorber temperature. 4. Results and discussion

3.4.6. Pump For the analysis of the developed system, Aspen Plus and
Engineering Equation Solver (EES) software are utilized. The overall
m27 h27 + WABS, P = m28 h28 (38)
energy efficiency of the system is determined to be 19.6% and the
m27 ex27 + WABS, P = m28 ex28 + Exdest , ABS, P (39) overall exergy efficiency is found to be 19.1%. These values are lower
than common trigeneration systems. This can be attributed to the pri-
In addition, the isentropic efficiency of the pump is considered to be mary usage of solar and geothermal energy resources. In the present
50%. system, at steady state conditions the overall solar energy input com-
prises of 22,216 kW and the geothermal energy input considering re-
3.4.7. Heat exchanger injection is 36,700 kW. However, in terms of energetic output, con-
m28 h28 + m30 h30 = m31 h31 + m29 h29 (40) sidering the turbine power output, hydrogen output with its lower
heating value and cooling output, a total output of nearly 11548 kW is
m28 ex28 + m30 ex30 = m31 ex31 + m29 ex29 + Exd, ABS, HX (41) obtained. Similarly, exergetically the total solar input comprises of
21070 kW and the total exergy output comprises of 11012 kW. The
The design constraints and input parameters utilized in the present
comparatively low efficiencies can be attributed to the reduction in
study for various subsystems are listed in Table 1.
efficiencies at each subsystem step. For instance, in the geothermal
plant, not all the geothermal energy input to the system is converted to
3.5. Efficiencies
useful power. There are energy losses firstly in the flash chamber fol-
lowed by the steam turbine. Further, the saturated liquid separated
The energy and exergy efficiency of the CuCl thermochemical cycle
after the flash chamber is returned to the re-injection well without
can be defined by the following equations:
further usage. Moreover, the solar powered CuCl cycle entails various
mH2 LHVH2 energy losses as well as other irreversibilities that lower the overall
=
Cu Cl
Q i + Wel (42) efficiencies. For example, from the total solar energy input to the
system, only 80% reach the solar tower and in each consequent process
m H2 ex H2 there exist energy losses and exergy destructions. Each step in the CuCl
Cu Cl =
Ex Qi + We (43) cycle entail their associated irreversibilities. In the electrolysis step, for
where Q in is the total heat input to the CuCl cycle, We is the electrical
Table 1
work input, m H2 is the mass flow rate of produced hydrogen, LHVH2
Design constraints and input parameters.
denotes the lower heating value of hydrogen.
Both energetic and exergetic coefficients of performance (COP) of Input parameter Value
the ABS are determined respectively from:
Location chosen Costa Rica
Q ABS, EV Geothermal fluid mass flow rate 100 kg/s [30]
COPen, ABS = Geothermal well temperature 240 °C [30]
Q ABS, gen (44) Geothermal fluid inlet condition Saturated liquid [30]
Geothermal fluid inlet pressure 3347 kPa [30]

COPex, ABS =
Q ABS, EV ( T0
TEV
1 ) Geothermal fluid flashing pressure
Solar radiation intensity
600 kPa [30]
216 W/m2 [29]
T0
Q ABS, gen (1 ) Heliostat mirror dimensions 11 m × 11 m
Tgen (45) Number of heliostats 1000 [26]
Heliostat efficiency 80% [31]
where the cooling effect provided by the ABS is denoted by QABS , EV and
Working fluid Molten salt (67% LiF, 33% BaF)
the corresponding heat input required is represented by QABS , gen , Tgen Ambient temperature 25 °C
denotes the average generator temperature and TEV represents the Ambient pressure 101 kPa
average evaporator temperature. Turbine isentropic efficiency 80% [27]
The energy efficiency of the overall system is calculated as CuCl cycle hydrolysis reaction temperature 400 °C
CuCl cycle thermolysis reaction temperature 500 °C
Wel, G + Q ABS, EV + mH 2 LHVH2 CuCl cycle electrolysis reaction temperature 25 °C
= CuCl cycle drying reaction temperature 100 °C
(46)
en, ov
Qsolar + m33 (h33 h38)
CuCl cycle pressure 1 bar
where QABS , EV represents the cooling provided by the ABS, mH2 is the ABS condenser pressure 1555.8 kPa
ABS evaporator pressure 244.9 kPa
mass flow rate of hydrogen produced, LHVH2 is the lower heating value
ABS generator inlet total mass flow rate 4.12 kg/s
of hydrogen, Qsolar is the solar energy input to the system and Wel, G ABS generator inlet ammonia mass fraction 0.37
denotes the power delivered to the grid that is evaluated as

7
O. Siddiqui, et al.
instance, not all the power input to the electrolyser is converted to
hydrogen energy. Several types of losses occur within the electrolyser
including activation, Ohmic and concentration losses, which result is
various power losses. Thus, resulting in lowering of overall efficiencies.
Nevertheless, since the conventional power generation systems based
on these resources having only energy as the useful output entail in-
herently low efficiencies, the new integrated trigeneration system is
able to increase the efficiencies to 19.6% energetically and 19.1% ex-
ergetically. Thus, it is recommended to implement system integration as
well as multigeneration methodologies in energy systems to achieve
higher useful outputs as well as efficiencies. Furthermore, the energy
efficiency of the solar based CuCl cycle is calculated as 35.3% and the
exergy efficiency is found to be 35.9%. In addition, the energetic COP of
the ABS is determined as 0.54 and the exergetic COP is found to be
0.32. The highest exergy destruction rate of 2348 kW is found to occur
in the geothermal flash chamber. This is attributed to the sudden
pressure and temperature drops. Also, the exergy destruction rate in the
turbine is found to be 658.4 kW. This is essentially attributed to the
irreversibilities in the turbine, which can be reduced by developing
steam turbines with higher isentropic efficiencies. Next, the ABS gen-
erator is found to have an exergy destruction rate of 443.9 kW, this can
also be attributed to the irreversibilities in the generator as well as
temperature differences in the inlet and outlet streams. Thus, streams
with minimal temperature differences need to be utilized to minimize
the exergy destruction rates. Important system results, outputs and
exergy destruction rates are provided in Table 2. Several results are
drawn from the proposed multi-generation system. The energy and
exergy efficiency of each sub-system is defined separately. Numerous
parametric studies are also conducted. These are discussed in the pro-
ceeding sections.
4.1. Effect of input water flow rate on the CuCl cycle components
The significance of this section is to investigate one of the major
subsystem of CuCl cycle. The results, efficiencies and performance of
the presented four-step CuCl cycle is validated with some studies con-
ducted in the literature. For the CuCl cycle, our main concerns are
hydrogen production under different flow rates of water as all other
components are recycled and heat recovered by the CuCl cycle, which is
employed to the absorption cooling system to generate cooling. One
figure in this section mainly focuses on the production of major sub-
stance in CuCl cycle under different water flow rates and second
parametric study investigates the hydrogen flow rates and heat re-
covered by the heat exchanger which is employed to the absorption
chiller to provide cooling. Fig. 3 depicts the effect of input water flow
rate on the flow rate of copper-oxychloride, cupric chloride, oxygen and
hydrogen. The graphical representation shows that with the rise in
water flow rate, the flow rate of copper-oxychloride, cupric chloride,
oxygen and hydrogen increases and each flow rate increases with the
different ratio and this increment can be calculated with the help of
chemical equations by stoichiometric calculations. The effect of water
mole flow is considered in the parametric study to see its effect on the
heat recovery and hydrogen production. As a whole the CuCl cycle is
dependent upon the water supplied to it, hence, Fig. 4 shows the effect
of water mole flow on B3 and B6 heat exchanger with respect to the left
y-axis and hydrogen and oxygen flow rates with respect to right y-axis.
Water is the sole input fluid of the CuCl cycle as all other components
are recycled, thus, it has direct effect on hydrogen production and the
graph represents that with the rise in water mole flow, hydrogen and
oxygen production increases and this rise in the flow rate of working
fluids results in the increment of heat recovery via heat exchanger B3
and B6.
8
Energy Conversion and Management 198 (2019) 111812
4.2. Effect of direct normal irradiance (DNI) and number of heliostats on
the efficiencies
The DNI is an important system operating parameter that effects the
system outputs considerably. Also, it depends on various factors in-
cluding the time of the day as well as seasonal weather conditions.
Hence, in solar energy based systems it is essential to analyse how the
variation in solar radiation intensities effects the overall system, its
useful outputs and its efficiencies. Thus, in this section the effect of
varying DNI as well as number of heliostats is studied on the energy
efficiency as well as the exergy efficiency the overall system. In addition
to this, as the solar heliostat based resource is utilized to operate the
thermochemical CuCl cycle, the effect of varying DNI on the hydrogen
production rates is also studied. These parametric studies will firstly
provide useful information about the performance of the system in
terms of efficiencies. Further, at a given DNI or number of heliostats,
the amount of hydrogen production rate the system is capable of
achieving can also be obtained. Fig. 5 depicts the effects of DNI on the
hydrogen production rate as well as the overall energy and exergy ef-
ficiencies. As the DNI increases from 100 to 300 W/m2, the energy ef-
ficiency is observed to increase from 15.2% to 21.7% respectively. Also,
the exergy efficiency is observed to increase from 14.9% to 21.2% for
the same rise in DNI values. This increase in efficiencies is attributed to
the increased hydrogen production rates from the CuCl cycle at higher
DNI. This is also depicted in Fig. 5. Furthermore, the effect of the
number of heliostats on the hydrogen production rate and the solar
power input is shown in Fig. 6. For 500 heliostats, a solar power input
of 11,108 kW is calculated and a hydrogen production rate of 16.1 mol/
s is obtained. These are observed to increase to 33,323 kW and
48.2 mol/s respectively as the number of heliostats is increased to 1500.
The number of heliostats directly effect the solar energy entering the
energy system. Hence, optimal number of heliostats should be utilized.
Moreover, the effect of hydrogen production rate on the CuCl cycle
efficiencies as well as the overall energy and exergy efficiencies is de-
picted in Fig. 7. At a production rate of 20 mol/s, the CuCl efficiency is
evaluated to be 21.9% energetically and 22.4% exergetically. Also, the
overall system energy efficiency is evaluated as 14.4% energetically and
14.1% exergetically. As the hydrogen production rate increases, the
useful outputs of the system increase quantitatively. Thus, the energy
and exergy efficiencies are also observed to rise. However, the DNI
varies according to the time of the year and are effected by various
factors such as sky clarity index, Also, during sunset hours no solar
energy is available. Hence, thermal energy storage systems can be
employed to store any excess energy available during the day, which
can be utilized during low or no solar availability. Thus, it is re-
commended to conduct a dynamic simulation on the developed system
Table 2
Summary of results.
Results/parameters Value
Turbine power output 3398 kW
Cooling effect provided 603.9 kW
Hydrogen production rate 32.1 mol/s
Overall system energy efficiency 19.6%
Overall system exergy efficiency 19.1%
CuCl cycle energy efficiency 35.3%
CuCl cycle exergy efficiency 35.9%
Exergy destruction rates of major components Condenser: 1.9 kW
Evaporator: 174.6 kW
Generator: 443.9 kW
Heat exchanger: 22.5 kW
Turbine: 658.4 kW
Flash chamber: 2348 kW
Hydrolysis: 70.3 kW
Thermolysis: 112.2 kW
Electrolysis: 63.4 kW
Dryer: 33.2 kW
O. Siddiqui, et al.
Fig. 3. Effect of water input flow rate on the production of various chemical
compounds of the CuCl cycle.
Fig. 4. Water mole flow effect on heat recovery and hydrogen flow rate.
Fig. 5. Effect of direct normal irradiance on the hydrogen production rate and
the overall energy and exergy efficiencies.
analysing the periods of excess and low energy availabilities.
4.3. Effect of flashing pressures on geothermal power generation
In geothermal power plants, flashing pressure is an important
system parameter that effects the amount of vapor formed in the flash
chamber as well as its enthalpy. There is exists a trade off between the
enthalpy of saturated vapor that enters the turbine and its vapor
quality. As the flashing pressure is reduced, higher vapor quality is
achieved due to higher formation of saturated vapor. However, lower
the flashing pressure, lower is the vapor enthalpy entering the turbine
9
Energy Conversion and Management 198 (2019) 111812
Fig. 6. Effect of the number of heliostats on the solar input and the hydrogen
production rate.
Fig. 7. Effect of hydrogen production on the system efficiencies.
for power production. Thus, the flashing pressure effects the turbine
power output as well as the exergy destruction rates. This also effects
the performance of the overall system. In the present study, the geo-
thermal fluid enters the system at a pressure of 3347 kPa as saturated
liquid and is flashed to a lower pressure of 600 kPa to increase the
vapor quality of steam. The vapor quality of steam corresponds to the
amount of vapor present in the working fluid that can be sent to the
turbine for power generation. When the saturated geothermal liquid is
flashed from a high to low pressure, the amount of vapor quantity in-
creases in the fluid. Thus, increasing the vapor quality. However, as
discussed earlier it is important to investigate the effect of this flashing
pressure on the system performance. Hence, Fig. 8 shows the effect of
flashing pressure on the flash temperatures and exergy destruction rates
in the flash chamber. The exergy destruction rates are observed to de-
crease with increasing flash pressures. This is attributed to lower
pressure differences, as lower pressure differences in the flash chamber
result in lower exergy destructions. Furthermore, the flash temperature
increases with increasing flashing pressures. Hence, the enthalpy of
steam entering the turbine also increases. However, the steam quality
decreases simultaneously that decreases the mass flow rate of steam
through the turbine. Furthermore, Fig. 9 depicts the relation between
flashing pressures and turbine work output at different geothermal inlet
source pressures. As can be observed from the figure, there is an op-
timum flashing pressure for each value of inlet source pressure. For
instance, the optimum flashing pressure for an inlet source pressure of
3000 kPa exists at nearly 500 kPa. If the flashing pressures are increased
further or decreased to lower values, the turbine work output is re-
duced. Therefore, it is recommended to utilize the optimum flashing
pressures that would provide the required power outputs as well as
minimize the exergy destruction rates. Figs. 8 and 9 thus depict the
O. Siddiqui, et al. Energy Conversion and Management 198 (2019) 111812

in reducing the exergy destruction rates as well as provide higher tur-

bine power outputs.
Table 3 provides the state point properties of each stream for the
CuCl cycle including pressure, temperature, exergy, mass flow rate,
volumetric flow rate, mass enthalpy and mass entropy respectively.

4.4. Effect of the geothermal fluid mass flow rate on the turbine power
output and overall energy and exergy efficiencies

The mass flow rate of the geothermal fluid in a geothermal plant is a

Fig. 8. Effect of flashing pressure on the flash temperature and exergy de-
struction rate.
Fig. 9. Effect of the flashing pressures on the specific turbine power output for
different inlet geothermal source pressures.
trade off that exists between the power output of the turbine and the
exergy destruction rate of the flash chamber. At lower flashing pres-
sures (500–600 kPa), higher exergy destruction rates are found in the
flash chamber. However, in this range of flashing pressure, the op-
timum turbine power output is achieved. It is thus recommended to
conduct a comprehensive study on the flashing pressures of geothermal
power plants to investigate the optimum pressure values that would aid
significant parameter that determines the amount of useful power
output that can be extracted from the plant. Also, as the mass flow rate
varies, the overall energy efficiency and exergy efficiency are effected.
The geothermal fluid mass flow rate, however, depends on several
factors including geographical location and resource potential at a
given location. Hence, it is essential to investigate how the system
performance varies with a change in the geothermal fluid flow rate.
Therefore, the effect of the geothermal fluid mass flow rate on the
turbine power output and overall energy and exergy efficiencies is
depicted in Fig. 10. This figure firstly provides the power output po-
tential of the geothermal power plant considered in the present study at
different mass flow rates of the geothermal fluid. Secondly, at each
operating point, it provides the corresponding system energy as well as
exergy efficiencies.
The turbine power output increases with increasing mass flow rates,
however, the energy efficiency and exergy efficiency are observed to
decrease. For instance, at a mass flow rate of 50 kg/s, the turbine power
is calculated to be 1699 kW and the energy and exergy efficiencies are
evaluated to be 24.2% and 23.6% respectively. However, as the mass
flow rate increases to 250 kg/s, the energy efficiency reduces to 14.6%
and the exergy efficiency reduces to 14.3%. This can be attributed to
the increase in the energy input to the system with the geothermal fluid.
As more fluid enters the system, more amount of energy enters the
system per unit time. Although the turbine power output increases, the
increase in energy input to the system through the geothermal fluid
offsets this rise in the efficiency evaluation. Thus, it is recommended to
utilize optimum flow rates that provide the required power output as
well as high efficiencies.
4.5. Effect of turbine isentropic efficiency on the overall system performance
The isentropic efficiency of the turbine is an important system
parameter the effects the amount of irreversibilities in the turbine.
Higher the amount of irreversibilities in the turbine, lower is the output

Table 3
State point table with respect to each stream for thermochemical CuCl cycle.
State point From To Substance Pressure Temperature Mass Flow rate Specific exergy Specific Enthalpy Specific Entropy

Units kPa °C kg/s kJ/kg kJ/kg J/kg K

S1 B1 H2O 100 25 2.14 0.00 −15864.3 −9057.6

S2 B11 B1 CuCl2 100 25 15.99 0.00 306.5 4116.0
S3 B1 B2 Cu2OCl2 + HCl 100 400 18.13 63.14 −2538.9 4381.3
S4 B2 B3 Cu2OCl2 100 400 12.72 −2.73 −1789.5 5925.4
S5 B3 B4 Cu2OCl2 100 400 12.72 −2.73 −1789.5 5925.4
S6 B2 B7 HCl 100 400 5.41 180.81 −4302.3 747.9
S8 B7 B8 HCl 100 25 5.41 −0.73 −5144.2 −1467.0
S10 B4 B5 CuCl + O2 100 500 12.72 378.27 519.5 1160.3
S11 B5 O2 100 500 0.95 189.57 466.5 928.8
S12 B5 B6 CuCl 100 500 11.77 393.14 523.2 1178.3
S14 B6 B8 CuCl 100 430 11.77 345.86 475.9 1178.1
S15 B8 B9 CuCl2 + H2 100 25 17.18 −0.11 −699.6 3335.8
S16 B9 H2 100 25 0.12 −16.19 0.0 54.3
S17 B9 B10 CuCl2 + H2O 100 25 17.06 0.00 −708.8 3344.2
S19 B10 B11 CuCl2 + H2O 100 25 17.06 0.00 −708.8 3344.2
S20 B11 B12 H2O 100 25 1.07 0.00 −15864.3 −9057.6
S21 B1 H2O 100 25 1.07 0.00 −15864.3 −9057.6

10
O. Siddiqui, et al. Energy Conversion and Management 198 (2019) 111812

Table 4
Thermophysical properties for state points of other subsystems.
State point Substance Pressure (kPa) Temperature (°C) Mass Flow rate (kg/s) Specific exergy (kJ/kg) Specific enthalpy (kJ/kg) Specific entropy (kJ/kg K)

21 Ammonia + water 1555.8 107.3 0.56 400.1 1544.0 4.882

22 Ammonia + water 1555.8 40.0 0.56 315.8 190.76 0.658
23 Ammonia + water 244.9 −14.1 0.56 287.5 190.76 0.753
24 Ammonia + water 244.9 −10.0 0.56 130.7 1258.83 4.861
25 Water 101.325 35.0 4.8 0.706 146.7 0.505
26 Water 101.325 20.0 4.8 0.167 84.01 0.297
27 Ammonia + water 244.9 40.0 4.12 −7.46 −43.3 0.472
28 Ammonia + water 1555.8 40.44 4.12 −5.87 −40.2 0.477
29 Ammonia + water 1555.8 110.0 4.12 45.36 302.1 1.454
30 Ammonia + water 1555.8 130.3 3.56 68.97 396.1 1.641
31 Ammonia + water 1555.8 40.44 3.56 3.27 −0.724 0.531
32 Ammonia + water 244.9 40.71 3.56 1.87 −0.724 0.535
33 Water 3347 240 100 236.8 1037.48 2.702
34 Water 600 158.8 100 213.4 1037.48 2.781
35 Water 600 158.8 17.6 746.4 2756.15 6.759
36 Water 150 111.3 17.6 515.9 2563.1 6.885
37 Water 600 158.8 82.4 99.5 670.4 1.931
38 Water 600 158.8 100 202.8 1003.5 2.702

effect, Fig. 12 depicts the change in the efficiencies of the overall system
as well as the CuCl cycle with change in the ambient temperature. The
exergy efficiency of the system is found to vary from 18.9% to 19.1% as
the ambient temperature changes from −10 to 30 °C. Also, the CuCl
cycle exergy efficiency changes from 35.7% to 35.9% for the same
temperature rise. However, the energy efficiencies are not observed to
change significantly with the ambient temperature. This signifies that
exergy analyses provides more valuable results and information as
compared to an energy analysis only. Thus, it is recommended to
analyse a given energy system from both energy and exergy ap-
proaches.

4.7. Effect of evaporator exit temperature on the ABS performance

Fig. 10. Effect of the geothermal fluid mass flow rate on the turbine power
output and overall energy and exergy efficiencies.
potential. Further, the isentropic efficiency of the turbine also varies for
different types of turbines. Hence, it is important to investigate how the
output potential of the developed system varies if the turbine isentropic
efficiency varies. Also, it is essential to study the effect of the change in
isentropic efficiency on the exergy destruction rates as well as effi-
ciencies. Thus, these are investigated and presented in Fig. 11. As can
be observed from the figure, the exergy destruction rates decrease with
increasing isentropic efficiencies and both the energy and exergy effi-
ciencies increase. Also, the turbine power output also increases with a
rise in isentropic efficiencies. For instance, as the isentropic efficiency
increases from 70% to 85%, the turbine work output increases from
2973 kW to 3611 kW. The energy efficiency increases from 18.8% to
19.9% and the exergy efficiency rises from 18.3% to 19.4%. In addition
to this, the exergy destruction rate decreases from 987.6 kW to
493.8 kW. Thus, it is recommended to develop and utilize steam tur-
bines that entail minimal irreversibilities and thus minimal exergy de-
struction leading to higher efficiencies.
There are several system design parameters that are employed in the
ABS. Each parameter entails an effect on the overall performance of the
ABS as well as its subsystems. One such important system parameter
includes the evaporator exit temperature. As the cooling load increases
or decreases, the evaporator exit temperature may vary, this effects
several system results. The primary effects are on the exergy destruction
rates of ABS components as well as the energetic and exergetic COP.
Hence, these are investigated as depicted in Figs. 13 and 14. As the
evaporator temperature increases, the exergy destruction rates in the
generator and condenser are observed to increase and in the eva-
porator, it is observed to decrease. Furthermore, the energetic COP is
observed to increase with increasing evaporator temperature. However,
the exergetic COP is found to decrease. Hence, the choice of the

4.6. Effect of ambient temperature on the efficiencies

The ambient temperature is also an important system parameter in

energy systems. With a change in the ambient temperature, the en-
thalpy as well as the entropy of the reference conditions vary. Since the
specific exergy is a function of the reference conditions, the exergy of
each state point in the system changes with a change in the reference
conditions. The exergetic performance of the overall system thus varies Fig. 11. Effect of the turbine isentropic efficiency on the turbine power output,
as the ambient temperature increases or decreases. To analyse this exergy destruction rate and the overall energy and exergy efficiencies.

11
O. Siddiqui, et al.
Fig. 12. Effect of ambient temperature on the overall system and CuCl cycle
energy and exergy efficiencies.
Fig. 13. Effect of evaporator exit temperature on the exergy destruction rates in
the absorption cooling system generator, condenser and evaporator.
Fig. 14. Effect of evaporator exit temperature on the energetic and exergetic
COP of the absorption cooling system.
evaporator temperature should be utilized optimally taking into ac-
count the required cooling load, evaporator type etc. Such operating
points should be designed that lead to minimal exergy destruction rates
in all components and provide the highest energetic and exergetic COP.
4.8. Validation
As a novel integration of solar and geothermal based integrated
system is proposed in this study, the only way of validation is to
12
Energy Conversion and Management 198 (2019) 111812
validate with studies in the literature entailing the major subsystems
utilized in the present study. The study conducted by Al-Zareer et al.
[26] considered a solar heliostat based integrated energy system uti-
lizing the thermochemical CuCl cycle. The CuCl cycle efficiency was
found to be 38.2%, while in the proposed study, the energy efficiency of
the CuCl cycle is determined to be 35.3. In addition, the overall energy
efficiency of the solar heliostat based integrated system was reported to
be 12.6% and the overall exergy efficiency was found to be 20.7%. In
the present study, the overall energy efficiency is found to be 19.6%
while the exergy efficiency is found to be 19.1%. Furthermore, the re-
sults of the absorption cooling cycle subsystem are validated with a
study [28] in terms of performance, efficiencies, cooling and exergy
destructions. This study found the energetic COP for the absorption
cooling system as 0.69 while the proposed system revealed the en-
ergetic COP of 0.54 as it is utilizing the low-grade recovered heat.
5. Conclusions
A novel solar and geothermal based energy system for producing
electricity, hydrogen and cooling is developed and analysed thermo-
dynamically. The system entails a solar powered hydrogen production
subsystem incorporating a hybrid thermochemical CuCl cycle. In ad-
dition, a geothermal power plant is integrated for electricity produc-
tion. The proposed system is investigated comprehensively in terms of
major subsystems and overall system to investigate and scrutinize the
performance under different conditions and analyse the key findings.
The hydrogen production rate obtained from the developed system is
32.1 mol/s. Further, the energetic performance in terms efficiency of
the overall system is found to be 19.6% and the exergetic efficiency is
evaluated to be 19.1%. Also, the energy efficiency and exergy efficiency
of the CuCl hydrogen production cycle is determined as 35.3% and
35.9% respectively. The energy efficiency increases from 15.2% to
21.7% and the exergy efficiency rises from 14.9% to 21.2% as the DNI
varies from 100 to 300 W/m2. Also, for a geothermal fluid mass flow
rate variation from 50 kg/s to 250 kg/s, the energy and exergy effi-
ciencies decrease from 24.2% and 23.6% to 14.6% and 14.3% respec-
tively. Further, the COP of the absorption cooling system is found to be
0.54 energetically and 0.32 exergetically. Since the highest exergy de-
struction rate of 2348 kW is found to occur in the geothermal flash
chamber, investigation of optimal flashing pressures is recommended.
Declaration of Competing Interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial
interests.
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