Thermodynamic performance analyses and collaborative optimization for a novel integrated energy system coupled with organic Rankine cycle

Integrated energy system (IES) coupled with organic Rankine cycle (ORC) system has potential to improve its own thermodynamic performances. Therefore, a novel IES-ORC system is proposed in this paper. Its novelty is that an absorption heat pump (AHP) and an ORC subsystem are arranged in parallel behind the internal combustion engine (ICE), which could flexibly adjust the power and cold produced. Moreover, the exhaust smoke heat from ICE is successively recovered by ORC, AHP and heat exchanger, according to cascade energy utilization principles. The advantages of the IES-ORC system are exhibited through the comparison. On the basis, the effect of several important parameters on thermodynamic performances is explored through parametric analysis. Further, a collaborative optimization method for optimizing system configuration and operation is proposed, and applied to a commercial building. As a result, the annual cost per unit area of the IES-ORC system is about 166.7 yuan/m(2) in a typical year. Moreover, the IES-ORC system can adjust the output electric-heat ratio through the ORC subsystem, decreasing the produced waste heat and increasing the exergy efficiency. Therefore, the novel IES-ORC system is reliable and feasible, in terms of various energy provisions for users, and the collaborative optimization method can realize the cost-oriented design for system configuration and operation.