Exergetic analysis of an innovative small scale combined cycle cogeneration system

The purpose of this paper has been to carry out an exergetic analysis of an innovative natural gas (NG) combined cycle cogeneration system (150-kWe, 192-kWt). The combined cycle is composed of a reciprocating Internal Combustion Engine (ICE), which is used as the topping cycle, and a water Rankine cycle (RC), which operates on the exhaust gases from the ICE, as the bottoming cycle. A steady-state model has been developed in order to identify and to quantify the exergetic irreversibilities of each component of the system and of the whole plant. Furthermore, a part-load exergy analysis, which shows the exergy performance in the operating field of the plant, has been carried out; finally, a sensitivity analysis pertaining to some performance parameters is presented