Thermal matching performance of a geothermal ORC system using zeotropic working fluids

The thermal matching performance analysis is conducted for a geothermal organic Rankine cycle system using zeotropic mixtures as working fluids. The constant isentropic efficiency is replaced by internal efficiency of an axial flow turbine with given size for each condition, and the zeotropic mixtures of isobutane and isopentane is used as working fluids of the organic Rankine cycle, in order to improve thermal match in evaporator and condenser. The results showed the use of zeotropic mixtures leads to the prominent thermodynamic first law and second law efficiencies, especially at high minimum temperature difference in evaporator (Delta t(1)), and there exists an optimal thermal performance at some certain mole fraction of isopentane in zeotropic mixtures (x) and Delta t(1). The geothermal organic Rankine cycle with x of 0.2 and Delta t(1) of 16 K shows the maximal thermodynamic first law and second law efficiency in this research. The geothermal organic Rankine cycle system using zeotropic mixtures shows the optimal overall thermal performance at some certain x, which is not necessary to be the point with the maximal temperature glide. The use of zeotropic mixtures is not always lead to a high thermal to electricity efficiency compared to the pure working fluid, and its overall net power output of P-ORC is even lower than the pure working fluids compositions at some certain x. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.