A new geothermally driven combined plant with energy storage option for six useful outputs in a sustainable community

Abstract

In this paper, a new integrated system using geothermal energy as a renewable source is developed and analyzed thermodynamically, and its performance evaluation in terms of numerous criteria is conducted. In order to reveal the importance of such a unique approach, multiple useful outputs are obtained from this integrated plant designed. These useful products from the geothermal power-based multigeneration system are primarily power, heat, cooling, hot water, fresh water, heated air for drying, and hydrogen. To generate these outputs, the present multigeneration system consists of six sub-plants, namely the Kalina cycle, hydrogen production subsystem, cooling cycle, drying process, fresh and hot water production plants. A parametric investigation and evaluation is carried out to show what manner direction different design parameters affect the system performance. Based on such comprehensive analysis and assessment study, the energetic efficiency for the integrated plant is found to be 59.93% while the exergetic efficiency is 57.18% which more truly reflects the practicality. Finally, the exergetic assessment results show that the Kalina cycle and the hydrogen generation plant have the maximum exergy destruction rates among other sub-plants of geothermal-based combined plant.