IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jeners/v17y2024i16p4019-d1455685.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Recent Developments in Supercritical CO 2 -Based Sustainable Power Generation Technologies

Author

Listed:
  • Saravana Kumar Tamilarasan

    (School of Mechanical Engineering, Vellore Institute of Technology, Vellore 632014, Tamil Nadu, India
    CO 2 Research and Green Technologies Centre, Vellore Institute of Technology, Vellore 632014, Tamil Nadu, India)

  • Jobel Jose

    (School of Mechanical Engineering, Vellore Institute of Technology, Vellore 632014, Tamil Nadu, India
    CO 2 Research and Green Technologies Centre, Vellore Institute of Technology, Vellore 632014, Tamil Nadu, India)

  • Vignesh Boopalan

    (School of Mechanical Engineering, Vellore Institute of Technology, Vellore 632014, Tamil Nadu, India
    CO 2 Research and Green Technologies Centre, Vellore Institute of Technology, Vellore 632014, Tamil Nadu, India)

  • Fei Chen

    (School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710049, China)

  • Senthil Kumar Arumugam

    (School of Mechanical Engineering, VIT Bhopal University, Bhopal 466114, Madhya Pradesh, India)

  • Jishnu Chandran Ramachandran

    (School of Mechanical Engineering, Vellore Institute of Technology, Vellore 632014, Tamil Nadu, India)

  • Rajesh Kanna Parthasarathy

    (CO 2 Research and Green Technologies Centre, Vellore Institute of Technology, Vellore 632014, Tamil Nadu, India)

  • Dawid Taler

    (Department of Thermal Processes, Air Protection and Waste Management, Cracow University of Technology, ul. Warszawska 24, 31-155 Cracow, Poland)

  • Tomasz Sobota

    (Department of Thermal Processes, Air Protection and Waste Management, Cracow University of Technology, ul. Warszawska 24, 31-155 Cracow, Poland)

  • Jan Taler

    (Department of Energy, Cracow University of Technology, Al. Jana Pawła II 37, 31-864 Cracow, Poland)

Abstract

Global warming and environmental pollution from greenhouse gas emissions are hitting an all-time high consistently year after year. In 2022, energy-related emissions accounted for 87% of the overall global emissions. The fossil fuel-based conventional power systems also need timely upgrades to improve their cycle efficiency and reduce their impact on the environment. Supercritical CO 2 systems and cycles are gaining attention because of their higher efficiencies and their compatibility with varied energy sources. The present work is a detailed overview of the recent developments in supercritical CO 2 -based power generation technologies. The supercritical CO 2 -based Brayton and Rankine power cycles and their improvisations in industrial applications are also discussed in detail. The advances in heat exchanger technology for supercritical CO 2 systems are another focus of the study. The energy, exergy, and economical (3E) analysis is carried out on various supercritical CO 2 power cycles reported in the literature and the data are concisely and intuitively presented. The review concludes by listing the identified directions for future technology development and areas of immediate research interest. A roadmap is proposed for easing the commercialization of supercritical CO 2 technologies to immediately address the growing challenges and concerns arising from energy-related emissions.

Suggested Citation

  • Saravana Kumar Tamilarasan & Jobel Jose & Vignesh Boopalan & Fei Chen & Senthil Kumar Arumugam & Jishnu Chandran Ramachandran & Rajesh Kanna Parthasarathy & Dawid Taler & Tomasz Sobota & Jan Taler, 2024. "Recent Developments in Supercritical CO 2 -Based Sustainable Power Generation Technologies," Energies, MDPI, vol. 17(16), pages 1-29, August.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:17:y:2024:i:16:p:4019-:d:1455685
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/17/16/4019/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/17/16/4019/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jobel Jose & Rajesh Kanna Parthasarathy & Senthil Kumar Arumugam, 2023. "Energy and Exergy Analysis of a Combined Cooling Heating and Power System with Regeneration," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(18), pages 1-17, September.
    2. Park, Joo Hyun & Park, Hyun Sun & Kwon, Jin Gyu & Kim, Tae Ho & Kim, Moo Hwan, 2018. "Optimization and thermodynamic analysis of supercritical CO2 Brayton recompression cycle for various small modular reactors," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 160(C), pages 520-535.
    3. Peng, Shuo & Hong, Hui & Jin, Hongguang & Wang, Zhifeng, 2012. "An integrated solar thermal power system using intercooled gas turbine and Kalina cycle," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 44(1), pages 732-740.
    4. Baronci, Andrea & Messina, Giuseppe & McPhail, Stephen J. & Moreno, Angelo, 2015. "Numerical investigation of a MCFC (Molten Carbonate Fuel Cell) system hybridized with a supercritical CO2 Brayton cycle and compared with a bottoming Organic Rankine Cycle," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 93(P1), pages 1063-1073.
    5. Kim, Y.M. & Kim, C.G. & Favrat, D., 2012. "Transcritical or supercritical CO2 cycles using both low- and high-temperature heat sources," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 43(1), pages 402-415.
    6. Li, Hongzhi & Zhang, Yifan & Yao, Mingyu & Yang, Yu & Han, Wanlong & Bai, Wengang, 2019. "Design assessment of a 5 MW fossil-fired supercritical CO2 power cycle pilot loop," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 174(C), pages 792-804.
    7. Song, Jian & Li, Xue-song & Ren, Xiao-dong & Gu, Chun-wei, 2018. "Performance analysis and parametric optimization of supercritical carbon dioxide (S-CO2) cycle with bottoming Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC)," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 143(C), pages 406-416.
    8. Zhang, Fuzhen & Zhu, Yinhai & Li, Conghui & Jiang, Peixue, 2018. "Thermodynamic optimization of heat transfer process in thermal systems using CO2 as the working fluid based on temperature glide matching," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 151(C), pages 376-386.
    9. Ma, Yuegeng & Morosuk, Tatiana & Liu, Ming & Liu, Jiping, 2020. "Development and comparison of control schemes for the off-design operation of a recompression supercritical CO2 cycle with an intercooled main compressor," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 211(C).
    10. Xu, Jinliang & Sun, Enhui & Li, Mingjia & Liu, Huan & Zhu, Bingguo, 2018. "Key issues and solution strategies for supercritical carbon dioxide coal fired power plant," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 157(C), pages 227-246.
    11. Song, Jian & Wang, Yaxiong & Wang, Kai & Wang, Jiangfeng & Markides, Christos N., 2021. "Combined supercritical CO2 (SCO2) cycle and organic Rankine cycle (ORC) system for hybrid solar and geothermal power generation: Thermoeconomic assessment of various configurations," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 174(C), pages 1020-1035.
    12. Le Moullec, Yann, 2013. "Conceptual study of a high efficiency coal-fired power plant with CO2 capture using a supercritical CO2 Brayton cycle," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 32-46.
    13. Akbari, Ata D. & Mahmoudi, Seyed M.S., 2014. "Thermoeconomic analysis & optimization of the combined supercritical CO2 (carbon dioxide) recompression Brayton/organic Rankine cycle," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 501-512.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Liu, Yaping & Wang, Ying & Huang, Diangui, 2019. "Supercritical CO2 Brayton cycle: A state-of-the-art review," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 189(C).
    2. Das, Mainak & Reddy, K.S., 2025. "Modelling and optimization of combined supercritical carbon dioxide Brayton cycle and organic Rankine cycle for electricity and hydrogen production," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 377(PC).
    3. Liu, Yaqin & Xu, Jinliang & Wang, Tianze, 2025. "Comparative study on supercritical carbon dioxide cycle using air-cooler and water-cooler," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 314(C).
    4. Mondal, Subha & De, Sudipta, 2015. "Transcritical CO2 power cycle – Effects of regenerative heating using turbine bleed gas at intermediate pressure," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 87(C), pages 95-103.
    5. S. Mohammad S. Mahmoudi & Ata D. Akbari & Marc A. Rosen, 2016. "Thermoeconomic Analysis and Optimization of a New Combined Supercritical Carbon Dioxide Recompression Brayton/Kalina Cycle," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(10), pages 1-19, October.
    6. Liu, Kairui & Wang, Limin & Bai, Wengang & Che, Defu, 2025. "Comparative study on dynamic characteristics of 600 MW supercritical coal-fired boilers using CO2 and water as working fluids," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 314(C).
    7. Crespi, Francesco & Gavagnin, Giacomo & Sánchez, David & Martínez, Gonzalo S., 2017. "Supercritical carbon dioxide cycles for power generation: A review," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 195(C), pages 152-183.
    8. Fallah, M. & Mohammadi, Z. & Mahmoudi, S.M. Seyed, 2022. "Advanced exergy analysis of the combined S–CO2/ORC system," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 241(C).
    9. Luo, Qianqian & Li, Xingchen & Luo, Lei & Du, Wei & Yan, Han, 2024. "Multi-objective performance analysis of different SCO2 Brayton cycles on hypersonic vehicles," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 301(C).
    10. Linares, José Ignacio & Cantizano, Alexis & Arenas, Eva & Moratilla, Beatriz Yolanda & Martín-Palacios, Víctor & Batet, Lluis, 2017. "Recuperated versus single-recuperator re-compressed supercritical CO2 Brayton power cycles for DEMO fusion reactor based on dual coolant lithium lead blanket," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 140(P1), pages 307-317.
    11. Rovira, Antonio & Muñoz, Marta & Sánchez, Consuelo & Martínez-Val, José María, 2015. "Proposal and study of a balanced hybrid Rankine–Brayton cycle for low-to-moderate temperature solar power plants," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 89(C), pages 305-317.
    12. Zhao, Xinyue & Chen, Heng & Li, Jinhang & Pan, Peiyuan & Gui, Fangxu & Xu, Gang, 2024. "Thermodynamic and economic analysis of a novel design for combined waste heat recovery of biogas power generation and silicon production," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 290(C).
    13. Zhang, Yifan & Li, Hongzhi & Li, Kailun & Yang, Yu & Zhou, Yujia & Zhang, Xuwei & Xu, Ruina & Zhuge, Weilin & Lei, Xianliang & Dan, Guangju, 2022. "Dynamic characteristics and control strategies of the supercritical CO2 Brayton cycle tailored for the new generation concentrating solar power," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 328(C).
    14. Wang, Tianze & Xu, Jinliang & Wang, Zhaofu & Zheng, Haonan & Qi, Jianhui & Liu, Guanglin, 2023. "Irreversible losses, characteristic sizes and efficiencies of sCO2 axial turbines dependent on power capacities," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 275(C).
    15. Seyed Mohammad Seyed Mahmoudi & Ramin Ghiami Sardroud & Mohsen Sadeghi & Marc A. Rosen, 2022. "Integration of Supercritical CO 2 Recompression Brayton Cycle with Organic Rankine/Flash and Kalina Cycles: Thermoeconomic Comparison," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(14), pages 1-29, July.
    16. Luo, Kun & Zhao, Chunguang & Wen, Xu & Gao, Zhengwei & Bai, Yun & Xing, Jiangkuan & Fan, Jianren, 2019. "A priori study of an extended flamelet/progress variable model for NO prediction in pulverized coal flames," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 175(C), pages 768-780.
    17. Ma, Yuegeng & Liu, Ming & Yan, Junjie & Liu, Jiping, 2017. "Thermodynamic study of main compression intercooling effects on supercritical CO2 recompression Brayton cycle," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 140(P1), pages 746-756.
    18. Guo, Jia-Qi & Li, Ming-Jia & Xu, Jin-Liang & Yan, Jun-Jie & Wang, Kun, 2019. "Thermodynamic performance analysis of different supercritical Brayton cycles using CO2-based binary mixtures in the molten salt solar power tower systems," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 173(C), pages 785-798.
    19. Kim, Sunjin & Kim, Min Soo & Kim, Minsung, 2020. "Parametric study and optimization of closed Brayton power cycle considering the charge amount of working fluid," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 198(C).
    20. Yang, D.L. & Tang, G.H. & Sheng, Q. & Li, X.L. & Fan, Y.H. & He, Y.L. & Luo, K.H., 2023. "Effects of multiple insufficient charging and discharging on compressed carbon dioxide energy storage," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 278(PA).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:17:y:2024:i:16:p:4019-:d:1455685. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.