Evaluating the Performance of a Solar Parabolic Trough Collector Integrated with a Photovoltaic Module and an Organic Rankine Cycle

Abstract

In the current research, the efficiency of a hybrid renewable system consisting of a solar parabolic trough collector and the organic Rankine (PTC- ORC) is evaluated. Moreover, the effect of using the photovoltaic module in this coupled system (PTC-PV-ORC) is poked. Due to analyzing the performance of these systems, the 3D designs of PTC and PTC-PV systems are introduced and solved using the finite volume method (FVM). To scrutinize the performance of the systems, comprehensively, the effect of solar irradiance and concentration ratio on the exergy and energy output of the systems are investigated. Besides, the operating fluids of the PTC and ORC systems are considered to be VP-1 and R407c, respectively. According to obtained data, at the base case condition, the overall energy efficiency of the PTC, PTC-PV, PTC-ORC, and PTC-PV-ORC systems is 42.7%, 47.2%, 13.43%, and 21.46%, respectively. Moreover, the performance of these systems from the exergy viewpoints is 1.8%, 10.86%, 3.72%, and 12.42%, respectively. Based on the achieved results, the PTC-ORC and PTC-PV systems have the lowest and highest energy efficiency among the studied systems, while from the exergy viewpoint, the PTC and PTC-PV-ORC systems have the lowest and highest performance.

Keywords: Organic Rankine cycle, Parabolic trough collector, Photovoltaic module, Energy, Exergy