Open AccessTrigeneration system driven by the geothermal and solar sources
Author(s) -
Moscatiello Cristina,
Boccaletti Chiara,
Alcaso Aderito Neto,
Figueiredo Ramos Carlos A.,
Marques Cardoso Antonio J.
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
iet renewable power generation
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.005
H-Index - 76
eISSN - 1752-1424
pISSN - 1752-1416
DOI - 10.1049/iet-rpg.2019.1285
Subject(s) - renewable energy , environmental science , photovoltaic system , geothermal gradient , electricity , geothermal power , process engineering , chiller , electricity generation , solar air conditioning , engineering , waste management , environmental engineering , geothermal energy , power (physics) , electrical engineering , thermodynamics , geophysics , geology , physics
In this study, a novel trigeneration system is conceived to produce heat and electricity and to provide cooling for the health treatments and touristic facilities of a spa, based on the natural hot water and solar sources. The power generation components, individually considered, are commercially available ones, but their novel combination and the complex power flow management represented a challenge. The proposed system is composed of a low‐temperature driven adsorption chiller, thermally activated by a low enthalpy geothermal source, and by hybrid photovoltaic/thermal panels. In this way, multiple objectives are achieved: produce electricity and thermal energy by renewable sources; optimise the use of different renewable sources (geothermal and solar); use the energy available for free from a geothermal source also during summer (otherwise wasted) to produce a cooling effect, and in so doing, avoiding the huge electricity consumption of conventional air conditioning units in summer; reduce the temperature of the fluids released to the environment (in a natural reserve); reduce the CO2 emissions by 45% with respect to the present configuration, limiting the global warming. The mathematical models were experimentally validated using a pilot plant built on purpose, and the performance of the whole system was analysed and discussed.