Optimal utilization of geothermal energy through three organic cycles combined with a thermoelectric generator and an electrolysis unit

Over the past several years, numerous studies have been conducted to analyze the feasibility of utilizing various organic cycles to harness geothermal energy as an environmentally friendly and renewable energy source. Nonetheless, there has been a dearth of effort in comparing and deciding on the co...

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Main Authors: Lotfi Ben Said, Ali B.M. Ali, Saman Ahmad Aminian, Kamal Sharma, Aashim Dhawan, Prabhat Sharma, Nidhal Becheikh, Lioua Kolsi
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-07-01
Series:Case Studies in Thermal Engineering
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214157X25004095
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author Lotfi Ben Said
Ali B.M. Ali
Saman Ahmad Aminian
Kamal Sharma
Aashim Dhawan
Prabhat Sharma
Nidhal Becheikh
Lioua Kolsi
author_facet Lotfi Ben Said
Ali B.M. Ali
Saman Ahmad Aminian
Kamal Sharma
Aashim Dhawan
Prabhat Sharma
Nidhal Becheikh
Lioua Kolsi
author_sort Lotfi Ben Said
collection DOAJ
description Over the past several years, numerous studies have been conducted to analyze the feasibility of utilizing various organic cycles to harness geothermal energy as an environmentally friendly and renewable energy source. Nonetheless, there has been a dearth of effort in comparing and deciding on the configuration with higher performance. In order to fulfill this purpose, the exergy-economic performances of three cogeneration systems based on three organic cycles, namely the organic Rankine cycle (ORC), trilateral cycle (TLC), and organic flash cycle (OFC), are compared in the present study. The electricity is produced in the turbines of the ORC and OFC and the expander of the TLC. Hydrogen is another product of the systems, which is produced in a proton exchange membrane electrolyzer. The electrolyzer is fed by the electricity generated by a thermoelectric generator, which is utilized instead of the condenser of the cycles to recuperate the waste heat of the condensation process. The comparison is made among the optimum performances of the three systems employing a three-objective optimization. The TLC configuration brings about the highest exergy efficiency (ηex) equal to 48.43 %. ηex of the ORC and OFC configurations are calculated as 37.48 % and 38.6 %, respectively. A comparison between the ORC and OFC from an overall perspective resulted in the selection of the OFC. Moreover, OFC can be introduced as the configuration that leads to the best economic performance. The specific cost of cogeneration (cco) and total cost rate (C˙tot) in the OFC case are 27.1 % and 23.9 % lower than those of the TLC case, respectively. A comparative examination has demonstrated that the newly proposed systems possess the capability to generate electricity and hydrogen at a substantially lower cost than a previously suggested system.
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spelling doaj-art-676bc33f71434125ad8a1bb43cd58e8d2025-08-20T02:04:37ZengElsevierCase Studies in Thermal Engineering2214-157X2025-07-017110614910.1016/j.csite.2025.106149Optimal utilization of geothermal energy through three organic cycles combined with a thermoelectric generator and an electrolysis unitLotfi Ben Said0Ali B.M. Ali1Saman Ahmad Aminian2Kamal Sharma3Aashim Dhawan4Prabhat Sharma5Nidhal Becheikh6Lioua Kolsi7Department of Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Ha'il, Ha'il City, 81451, Saudi ArabiaAir Conditioning Engineering Department, College of Engineering, University of Warith Al-Anbiyaa, Karbala, IraqDepartment of Civil Engineering, College of Engineering, Cihan University-Erbil, Erbil, Iraq; College of Technical Engineering, Islamic Azad University, Urmia Branch, Iran; Corresponding author. College of Technical Engineering, Islamic Azad University, Urmia Branch, IranDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, Institute of Engineering and Technology, GLA University, Mathura, (U.P.), IndiaCentre of Research Impact and Outcome, Chitkara University, Rajpura, 140417, Punjab, IndiaChitkara Centre for Research and Development, Chitkara University, Himachal Pradesh, 174103, IndiaMining Research Center, Northern Border University, P.O. Box 1321, Arar 91431, Saudi ArabiaDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Ha'il, Ha'il City, 81451, Saudi ArabiaOver the past several years, numerous studies have been conducted to analyze the feasibility of utilizing various organic cycles to harness geothermal energy as an environmentally friendly and renewable energy source. Nonetheless, there has been a dearth of effort in comparing and deciding on the configuration with higher performance. In order to fulfill this purpose, the exergy-economic performances of three cogeneration systems based on three organic cycles, namely the organic Rankine cycle (ORC), trilateral cycle (TLC), and organic flash cycle (OFC), are compared in the present study. The electricity is produced in the turbines of the ORC and OFC and the expander of the TLC. Hydrogen is another product of the systems, which is produced in a proton exchange membrane electrolyzer. The electrolyzer is fed by the electricity generated by a thermoelectric generator, which is utilized instead of the condenser of the cycles to recuperate the waste heat of the condensation process. The comparison is made among the optimum performances of the three systems employing a three-objective optimization. The TLC configuration brings about the highest exergy efficiency (ηex) equal to 48.43 %. ηex of the ORC and OFC configurations are calculated as 37.48 % and 38.6 %, respectively. A comparison between the ORC and OFC from an overall perspective resulted in the selection of the OFC. Moreover, OFC can be introduced as the configuration that leads to the best economic performance. The specific cost of cogeneration (cco) and total cost rate (C˙tot) in the OFC case are 27.1 % and 23.9 % lower than those of the TLC case, respectively. A comparative examination has demonstrated that the newly proposed systems possess the capability to generate electricity and hydrogen at a substantially lower cost than a previously suggested system.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214157X25004095Geothermal energyComparative analysisCogenerationOrganic Rankine cycleOrganic flash cycleTrilateral cycle
spellingShingle Lotfi Ben Said
Ali B.M. Ali
Saman Ahmad Aminian
Kamal Sharma
Aashim Dhawan
Prabhat Sharma
Nidhal Becheikh
Lioua Kolsi
Optimal utilization of geothermal energy through three organic cycles combined with a thermoelectric generator and an electrolysis unit
Case Studies in Thermal Engineering
Geothermal energy
Comparative analysis
Cogeneration
Organic Rankine cycle
Organic flash cycle
Trilateral cycle
title Optimal utilization of geothermal energy through three organic cycles combined with a thermoelectric generator and an electrolysis unit
title_full Optimal utilization of geothermal energy through three organic cycles combined with a thermoelectric generator and an electrolysis unit
title_fullStr Optimal utilization of geothermal energy through three organic cycles combined with a thermoelectric generator and an electrolysis unit
title_full_unstemmed Optimal utilization of geothermal energy through three organic cycles combined with a thermoelectric generator and an electrolysis unit
title_short Optimal utilization of geothermal energy through three organic cycles combined with a thermoelectric generator and an electrolysis unit
title_sort optimal utilization of geothermal energy through three organic cycles combined with a thermoelectric generator and an electrolysis unit
topic Geothermal energy
Comparative analysis
Cogeneration
Organic Rankine cycle
Organic flash cycle
Trilateral cycle
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214157X25004095
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