Performance investigation of a novel polygeneration system based on liquid air energy storage

Energy storage systems are important in polygeneration systems, as they help them attain sustainable perfor-mance concerning technical, economic, and environmental factors. In this work, a novel polygeneration system based on liquid air energy storage (LAES) and a multi-stage flash (MSF) desalination system is designed. To provide a comprehensive understanding of the system operation and behavior, energy, exergy, economic, and exergoenvironmental assessments are conducted. The proposed polygeneration system is able to provide elec-trical energy, heating, cooling, sodium hypochlorite, hydrogen, and freshwater. The overall system has three main subsystems: LAES, combined cooling, heat & power (CCHP) unit, and multi-stage flash desalination system. Energy and exergy analyses are carried out and show that the round-trip efficiencies based on energy and exergy are 63.6 % and 61 %, respectively. Also, the annual production values for the hydrogen, potable water, and sodium hypochlorite are 10.2 x 105 m3, 4.8 x 103 m3, and 43.2 tones, respectively. From an economic point of view, the payback period and internal rate of return are 3.4 years and 0.32, respectively. Finally, the exer-goenvironmental study shows that the factors for environmental damage effectiveness, exergoenvironmental, exergy stability, and sustainability index for the proposed system are 3.43, 1.68, 0.7, and 1.96.