A Feasibility Study of Carbon-dioxide Based Rankine Cycle Powered by the Linear Fresnel Reflector Solar Concentrator System.

Theoretical analysis of a linear Fresnel reflector solar concentrator powered Rankine thermodynamic cycle utilizing supercritical CO2 as a working fluid is presented. The system model consists of a linear Fresnel reflector solar concentrator with trapezoidal cavity absorber, a power generating turbine, a heat recovery system and a feed pump. The effects of the principal parameters of the supercritical CO2 on the performance of the system are investigated numerically by means of MATLAB simulation program under the assumed design conditions. It is shown that the key performance parameters, such as concentrator area, concentrated power reached to the absorber, CO2 flow rate have significant effects on the thermal performance of the supercritical CO2 in the trapezoidal cavity absorber. Analytical simulations show that the proposed system may have 0.3-0.38 kW power generation and 2.0-2.14 kW heat output for the various mass flow rates of the CO2. The results recommend the potential of this new system for applications to electricity power and heat power generation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]