Comparison of Rankine-cycle power systems: effects of seven working fluids

This study investigates the safety, health, technical, and economic issues surrounding the prime working-fluid candidates for industrial Rankine-cycle power systems in the range of 600 to 2400 kW. These fluids are water, methanol, 2-methyl pyridine/H/sub 2/O, Fluorinol 85, toluene, Freon R 11, and Freon R 113. Rankine-cycle power systems using water as a working fluid and boilers burning coal, refuse, oil, or gas - or driven by nuclear energy - have been the mainstay of power generation for about a century. Interest in energy conservation in the industrial sector is now encouraging the development of small Rankine power systems that use heat from a variety of waste streams. The temperature range of interest for industrial applications is from 500/sup 0/F to 1100/sup 0/F (260/sup 0/C to 593/sup 0/C) for gaseous streams and approximately 300/sup 0/F (149/sup 0/C) for condensing streams. At temperatures below about 700/sup 0/F (371/sup 0/C), steam systems become less efficient and too expensive to be used. However, other working fluids, usually organic compounds, can be economically attractive at the lower temperatures. This study shows that, at current and projected energy costs, Rankine-cycle power systems using any of the seven working fluids investigated here can exceed the minimum return on investment (ROI) criteria of most industries. The highest ROIs occur for those systems using a 300/sup 0/F (149/sup 0/C) condensing stream as the heat source. There appear to be no significant health or safety problems that would prevent the use of any of the candidate working fluids. The only limitation of an organic fluid is its maximum stability temperature, which may prevent its use with high-temperature waste-heat streams