S-CO<sub>2</sub> Brayton Cycle Coupled with Molten Salts Thermal Storage Energy, Exergy and Sizing Comparative Analysis
In the context of central solar receiver systems, the utilisation of S-CO<sub>2</sub> Brayton cycles as opposed to Rankine cycles confers a number of advantages, including enhanced efficiency, the requirement for less sophisticated turbomachinery, and a reduction in water consumption. A...
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2025-03-01
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| author | Javier Teixidor-López Javier Rodríguez-Martín Paul Tafur-Escanta Robert Valencia-Chapi Javier Muñoz-Antón |
| author_facet | Javier Teixidor-López Javier Rodríguez-Martín Paul Tafur-Escanta Robert Valencia-Chapi Javier Muñoz-Antón |
| author_sort | Javier Teixidor-López |
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| description | In the context of central solar receiver systems, the utilisation of S-CO<sub>2</sub> Brayton cycles as opposed to Rankine cycles confers a number of advantages, including enhanced efficiency, the requirement for less sophisticated turbomachinery, and a reduction in water consumption. A pivotal consideration in the design of such systems pertains to the thermal storage system. This work undertakes a comparative analysis of the performance of an S-CO<sub>2</sub> Brayton cycle utilising two distinct types of molten salts, namely solar salts and chloride salts (MgCl<sub>2</sub>–KCl), as the heat transfer fluid on the thermal energy storage medium. The present study adopts an energetic and exergetic perspective with the objective of identifying areas of high irreversibility and proposing mechanisms to reduce them. The work is concluded with an analysis of the size of the different components. The overall energy efficiency is determined as 22.29 % and 23.76 % for solar and chloride salts, respectively. In the case of chloride salts, this efficiency is penalized by the higher losses in the solar receiver due to the higher operating temperature. The exergy analysis shows that using MgCl<sub>2</sub>–KCl salts increases exergy destruction in the recuperators, lowering irreversibilities in other components. While the sizes of all components decrease when using chloride salts, the volume of the storage system increases. These results demonstrate that the incorporation of MgCl<sub>2</sub>–KCl salts enhances the performance of S-CO<sub>2</sub> recompression cycles operating in conjunction with a central solar receiver. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-2fdd4e8cb1944dada4b995a4dbb38187 |
| institution | Kabale University |
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| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-03-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Applied Sciences |
| spelling | doaj-art-2fdd4e8cb1944dada4b995a4dbb381872025-08-20T03:43:10ZengMDPI AGApplied Sciences2076-34172025-03-01156321610.3390/app15063216S-CO<sub>2</sub> Brayton Cycle Coupled with Molten Salts Thermal Storage Energy, Exergy and Sizing Comparative AnalysisJavier Teixidor-López0Javier Rodríguez-Martín1Paul Tafur-Escanta2Robert Valencia-Chapi3Javier Muñoz-Antón4ETSI Industriales, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM), José Gutiérrez Abascal 2, 28006 Madrid, SpainETSI Industriales, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM), José Gutiérrez Abascal 2, 28006 Madrid, SpainFacultad de Ingeniería en Ciencias Aplicadas, Universidad Técnica del Norte, Av. 17 de Julio 5-21, Ibarra 100105, EcuadorFacultad de Ingeniería en Ciencias Aplicadas, Universidad Técnica del Norte, Av. 17 de Julio 5-21, Ibarra 100105, EcuadorETSI Industriales, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM), José Gutiérrez Abascal 2, 28006 Madrid, SpainIn the context of central solar receiver systems, the utilisation of S-CO<sub>2</sub> Brayton cycles as opposed to Rankine cycles confers a number of advantages, including enhanced efficiency, the requirement for less sophisticated turbomachinery, and a reduction in water consumption. A pivotal consideration in the design of such systems pertains to the thermal storage system. This work undertakes a comparative analysis of the performance of an S-CO<sub>2</sub> Brayton cycle utilising two distinct types of molten salts, namely solar salts and chloride salts (MgCl<sub>2</sub>–KCl), as the heat transfer fluid on the thermal energy storage medium. The present study adopts an energetic and exergetic perspective with the objective of identifying areas of high irreversibility and proposing mechanisms to reduce them. The work is concluded with an analysis of the size of the different components. The overall energy efficiency is determined as 22.29 % and 23.76 % for solar and chloride salts, respectively. In the case of chloride salts, this efficiency is penalized by the higher losses in the solar receiver due to the higher operating temperature. The exergy analysis shows that using MgCl<sub>2</sub>–KCl salts increases exergy destruction in the recuperators, lowering irreversibilities in other components. While the sizes of all components decrease when using chloride salts, the volume of the storage system increases. These results demonstrate that the incorporation of MgCl<sub>2</sub>–KCl salts enhances the performance of S-CO<sub>2</sub> recompression cycles operating in conjunction with a central solar receiver.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/15/6/3216supercritical carbon dioxideBrayton cyclecentral solar receiverheat transfer fluidexergy analysis |
| spellingShingle | Javier Teixidor-López Javier Rodríguez-Martín Paul Tafur-Escanta Robert Valencia-Chapi Javier Muñoz-Antón S-CO<sub>2</sub> Brayton Cycle Coupled with Molten Salts Thermal Storage Energy, Exergy and Sizing Comparative Analysis Applied Sciences supercritical carbon dioxide Brayton cycle central solar receiver heat transfer fluid exergy analysis |
| title | S-CO<sub>2</sub> Brayton Cycle Coupled with Molten Salts Thermal Storage Energy, Exergy and Sizing Comparative Analysis |
| title_full | S-CO<sub>2</sub> Brayton Cycle Coupled with Molten Salts Thermal Storage Energy, Exergy and Sizing Comparative Analysis |
| title_fullStr | S-CO<sub>2</sub> Brayton Cycle Coupled with Molten Salts Thermal Storage Energy, Exergy and Sizing Comparative Analysis |
| title_full_unstemmed | S-CO<sub>2</sub> Brayton Cycle Coupled with Molten Salts Thermal Storage Energy, Exergy and Sizing Comparative Analysis |
| title_short | S-CO<sub>2</sub> Brayton Cycle Coupled with Molten Salts Thermal Storage Energy, Exergy and Sizing Comparative Analysis |
| title_sort | s co sub 2 sub brayton cycle coupled with molten salts thermal storage energy exergy and sizing comparative analysis |
| topic | supercritical carbon dioxide Brayton cycle central solar receiver heat transfer fluid exergy analysis |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/15/6/3216 |
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