Thermodynamic and Exergetic Analysis of an LNG-Assisted CCHP Plant with LiBr/Water ARC
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.24237/djes.2025.18412Keywords:
LNG regasification, Cold energy recovery, CCHP, Waste heat recovery, Absorption refrigeration (LiBr/Water ARC).Abstract
This study proposes a novel liquefied-natural-gas-assisted combined cooling, heating, and power (CCHP) plant in which the cryogenic energy released during regasification is cascaded through a closed nitrogen Brayton cold-box, medium-temperature heat is coupled to a toluene organic Rankine cycle (ORC), and a lithium-bromide/water absorption refrigeration cycle (ARC) provides cooling while domestic hot water at 60 °C is recovered. A comprehensive steady-state model was developed in Engineering Equation Solver (EES) and benchmarked against three published data sets; the largest deviations were 2.8% for the gas-turbine block and 0.3% for the chiller, confirming the model’s reliability. Energy and exergy balances were solved simultaneously for every component, enabling consistent comparison of power-only, CHP, and CCHP modes for a 160-MW-class plant. Under nominal conditions the system delivers 168.8 MW net power, 11.7 MW cooling, and 143.7 kg/s hot water, with energy and exergy efficiencies of 93.2% and 51%, respectively. Parametric sweeps of combustor outlet temperature, compressor pressure ratio, LNG regasification pressure, and heat exchanger pinch points expose design trade-offs, pinpoint a practical 6–7 MPa regasification-pressure window, and versus a recent benchmark lift exergy efficiency from 41% to 51% (~24% gain) while cutting specific fuel consumption by 18% at equal net power. These improvements are achieved without exotic working fluids or deep cryogenic stages, making the concept deployable with current hardware. The integrated methodology and data set form a transferable benchmark for future LNG-based energy hubs and highlight clear upgrade paths most notably staged combustion and advanced heat-exchanger networks to push performance even further.
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Copyright (c) 2025 Saadoon Abdul Hafedh, Layth Abed Hasnawi Al-Rubaye, Faramarz Ranjbar, Moharram Jafari
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