Shoaib Khanmohammadi

The present study deals with the development and thermodynamic assessments of a solar-assisted Kalina cycle with solar energy as the prime mover. Three configurations of the studied systems were suggested based on using different strategies for waste heat management. A comparative thermodynamic analysis is developed to show the influences of proposed arrangements on the performance of the system. A parametric study is done to find the thermodynamic behavior of the SolKa/TEG–FC system by changing some crucial parameters, such as turbine inlet pressure (TIP), turbine inlet temperature (TIT), and a number of parabolic trough collector (NCPC), as well as the concentration of inlet stream to the separator. The results indicated that adding the TEG unit to the SolKa system enhances the thermal efficiency by 0.68% and adding the PEM fuel cell with the TEG unit improves the thermal efficiency by 6.8%. The SolKa/TEG and SolKa/TEG–FC arrangements generate 3.27 and 38.95 kW more output power than the Solka system, respectively. Parametric analysis of SolKa/TEG–FC system for the TIT from 104 to 120°C leads to increasing output power of about 48.7 kW. The result of the current study can provide a good vision to design a better Kalina cycle integrated with solar energy.