A supercritical Rankine cycle is a thermodynamic process where heat is transferred to a fluid at a pressure above its critical point and the fluid is transformed into supercritical phase before being expanded in a turbine that generates power. The spent vapor is condensed to liquid and recycled back through the cycle.
Published in Chapter:
Supercritical Fluids and Their Applications in Power Generation
Huijuan Chen (GE Global Research Center, USA), Ricardo Vasquez Padilla (Southern Cross University, Australia), and Saeb Besarati (Clean Energy Research Center, USA)
Copyright: © 2021
|Pages: 34
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-5796-9.ch016
Abstract
Supercritical fluids have been studied and used as the working fluids in power generation system for both high- and low-grade heat conversions. Low-grade heat sources, typically defined as below 300 ºC, are abundantly available as industrial waste heat, solar thermal, and geothermal, to name a few. However, they are under-exploited for power conversion because of the low conversion efficiency. Technologies that allow the efficient conversion of low-grade heat into mechanical or electrical power are very important to develop. First part of this chapter investigates the potential of supercritical Rankine cycles in the conversion of low-grade heat to power, while the second part discusses supercritical fluids used in higher grade heat conversion system. The selection of supercritical working fluids for a supercritical Rankine cycle is of key importance. This chapter discusses supercritical fluids fundamentals, selection of supercritical working fluids for different heat sources, and the current research, development, and commercial status of supercritical power generation systems.