Optimum parameters of Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) power plant using coconut shell as fuel

Abstract

The scarcity of energy sources is an important issue now. The increasing number of populations causes higher energy needs. The use of renewable energy as an alternative is a good solution. Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) is a Rankine cycle that can work at low temperatures and pressures. The working fluid of ORC is an organic one such as R-134a refrigerant; because its boiling point is lower than that of water and has low environmental impact. In this study, work simulations were performed by using Cycle Tempo software to analyze the performance of the ORC system using coconut shells and to obtain optimum parameter variations based on thermal efficiency values. The simulated data consists of 12 variations of fuel rate parameters and mass flow rate. Based on the simulation results, 2.5 kg 2 GPM variation is obtained as the optimum parameter variation with a thermal efficiency value of 6.17%.