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Sustainable design of geothermal energy systems for electric power generation using life cycle optimization
Author(s) -
Tian Xueyu,
Meyer Taylor,
Lee Hannah,
You Fengqi
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
aiche journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.958
H-Index - 167
eISSN - 1547-5905
pISSN - 0001-1541
DOI - 10.1002/aic.16898
Subject(s) - organic rankine cycle , superstructure , geothermal energy , geothermal power , geothermal gradient , electricity generation , process engineering , environmental science , mathematical optimization , engineering , computer science , power (physics) , waste heat , mathematics , heat exchanger , mechanical engineering , geology , thermodynamics , physics , structural engineering , geophysics
This article addresses the sustainable design of organic Rankine cycle‐based geothermal binary power systems under economic and environmental criteria. A novel superstructure with multiple heat source temperatures, working fluids, and heat rejection systems is proposed. Based on the superstructure, a life cycle optimization model is formulated as a mixed‐integer nonlinear fractional program (MINFP) to determine the optimal design. The nonconvex MINFP is efficiently solved by a tailored global optimization algorithm. Two case studies are considered to demonstrate the proposed modeling framework and solution algorithm. One case is based on a geothermal energy system located in California, and the other one is in New York (NY) State. The results show that the geothermal energy system in California is much more economically competitive than that in NY State. The difference in life cycle environmental impacts is less pronounced because the environmental impacts are less sensitive to geological conditions than the capital investments.