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Experimental Energy and Exergy Performance Evaluation of a Novel Pumpless Rankine Cycle (PRC) Unit Employing Low-Temperature Heat Sources

Author

Listed:
  • Evangelos Syngounas

    (Energy and Environmental Research Laboratory, Department of Agricultural Development, Agri-Food and Natural Resources Management, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 34000 Psachna, Evia, Greece)

  • John Konstantaras

    (Energy and Environmental Research Laboratory, Department of Agricultural Development, Agri-Food and Natural Resources Management, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 34000 Psachna, Evia, Greece)

  • Nikolaos Arapkoules

    (Energy and Environmental Research Laboratory, Department of Agricultural Development, Agri-Food and Natural Resources Management, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 34000 Psachna, Evia, Greece)

  • Dimitrios Tsimpoukis

    (Energy and Environmental Research Laboratory, Department of Agricultural Development, Agri-Food and Natural Resources Management, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 34000 Psachna, Evia, Greece)

  • Maria K. Koukou

    (Energy and Environmental Research Laboratory, Department of Agricultural Development, Agri-Food and Natural Resources Management, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 34000 Psachna, Evia, Greece)

  • Michail Gr. Vrachopoulos

    (Energy and Environmental Research Laboratory, Department of Agricultural Development, Agri-Food and Natural Resources Management, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 34000 Psachna, Evia, Greece)

Abstract

The current study experimentally investigates the performance of a novel pumpless Rankine cycle (PRC) configuration utilizing low-temperature heat sources. Precisely, a 1 kW e PRC configuration using R245fa refrigerant is tested under different heat source and heat sink temperature levels. The energetic and exergetic performance indexes are calculated using validated simulation models developed in MATLAB incorporating the CoolProp library. The derived efficiency results are compared with the corresponding indexes of a conventional ORC system used as the baseline. The findings show that for a hot water heat source temperature of 90 °C and a cold water heat sink temperature of 10 °C as the working conditions, the time-averaged thermal efficiency maximizes at 4.5%, while the corresponding time-averaged exergy efficiency is calculated at 31%. Additionally, the innovative PRC topology shows higher efficiency rates compared to the conventional ORC solution for all the working scenarios tested. For a heat sink of 40 °C and a heat source of 90 °C, the thermal efficiency and the exergy efficiency calculated for the PRC are 7.7% and 7.5% higher, respectively, than the baseline ORC system, showing improved exploitation potential.

Suggested Citation

  • Evangelos Syngounas & John Konstantaras & Nikolaos Arapkoules & Dimitrios Tsimpoukis & Maria K. Koukou & Michail Gr. Vrachopoulos, 2025. "Experimental Energy and Exergy Performance Evaluation of a Novel Pumpless Rankine Cycle (PRC) Unit Employing Low-Temperature Heat Sources," Energies, MDPI, vol. 18(17), pages 1-25, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:18:y:2025:i:17:p:4766-:d:1744433
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    References listed on IDEAS

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