Chemical Process Utilities

Power Cycle

Prof. Shishir Sinha

Department of Chemical Engineering

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 Topics Covered Previously

• Energy Perspective of Steam

• Energy Perspective of Hot Oil

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 Topics to be covered

• Thermodynamics of Power generation and

Refrigeration

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 Introduction
• Engines are the thermodynamic system used to generate a net power
output. The produced power can be used in variety of applications,
which can be termed as work done by the system.
• On the other hand, some devices are used to extract heat from the
colder environment and deliver it to the hotter environment. These are
termed as refrigerator, heat pump, or air conditioner.
• The natural tendency of heat is to flow from
hotter medium to the colder medium. Hence, in
the second case external work needs to be done
for heat transfer.
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 Introduction
• However, both systems work on a principal of thermodynamic cycles.
• Depending upon the type of work, these cycles can be classified into
two categories viz.
– Power Cycles
– Refrigeration cycles
• In terms of working fluid, these cycles can be
termed as;
– Gas cycles
– Vapor cycles

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 Introduction
• In gas cycles, the working fluid as gas does not change its physical state
throughout the heat transfer cycle. E.g. Helium
• In vapor cycle, the working fluid remains in liquid phase in one half of
the cycle and in gaseous phase on the other half. E.g. Steam
• In terms of system used, these thermodynamic
cycles are termed as;
– Closed cycles
– Open cycles

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 Introduction
• In a closed cycle, the working fluid return to its initial state and can be
reused for successive cycles.
• E.g. Closed-cycle gas turbine
• In an open cycle, refilling of fluid is necessary for each cycle, as the
fluid get consumed or wasted.
• E.g. Open-cycle gas turbine

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 Closed Cycle Open Cycle
• Fluid with better • Cheaper fluid like air needs to
thermodynamic properties like be used
Helium needs to be used
• The fluid can get contaminated
• The fluid remains intact in a during heating through
closed compressing and
heating chamber and hence combustion
do not get contaminated • The fluid needs to be replaced
• Same fluid can be used every time
recirculated every time

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 Closed Cycle Open Cycle
• Fluid does not effect the life • Contaminated fluid can effect
cycle of system. E.g. wear of the service life of the system
turbine blades • Best suits in moving
• Preferable for stationary installation
installation and marine uses • Low maintenance and
• High maintenance and installation cost
installation cost

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 Ideal Cycles
Assumptions
• The cycle runs smooth and does not involve any frictional losses
• Sufficient time is provided throughout the cycle. The system runs in a
quasi-equilibrium during the expansion and compression cycles.
• No heat transfer and pressure loss to the surrounding, as the piping
and joints are well insulated.

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 Ideal Cycles
• Considering all of these assumptions we can establish an ideal cycle,
which can help to understand the mechanism involved in the real cycle.
• The thermal efficiency (𝜂 𝑇ℎ ) of a heat engine can be defined as
𝑊𝑛𝑒𝑡
𝜂 𝑇ℎ =
𝑄𝑖𝑛

• 𝑊𝑛𝑒𝑡 = Net work done by the system

• 𝑄𝑖𝑛 = Heat input to the system

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 Carnot Cycle
• The Carnot cycle was proposed by
Lenard Carnot.
• It gives a thermodynamic interpretation
of the maximum possible efficiency that
could be obtained from a heat engine.
• The Carnot cycle is an ideal reversible
closed thermodynamic cycle, which can
be divided into four successive
operations

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 Carnot Cycle
1. Isothermal heat addition from heat
reservoir at (TH), leading to an
isothermal expansion
• The heat is absorbed by the system (gas)
and the net work is done by the gas to
the surrounding. The work can be
calculated as
𝑉2
𝑊𝐴−𝐵 = 𝑄𝐻 = 𝜇𝑅𝑇𝐻 𝑙𝑛( )
𝑉1

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 Carnot Cycle
2. Isentropic expansion from higher
temperature (TH) to lower temperature
(TC), leading to an adiabatic expansion.
• The system is thermodynamically
insulated
• The work is done by the system on the
surrounding. It can be calculated as;
𝜇𝑅
𝑊𝐵−𝐶 = (𝑇 − 𝑇𝐶 )
𝛾−1 𝐻

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 Carnot Cycle
3. Isothermal heat rejection to low
temperature at heat sink, leading to
isothermal compression.
• The heat is lost to the surrounding
during this step
• The work is done on the system
(negative work) by the surrounding. It
can be calculated as;
𝑉3
𝑊𝐶−𝐷 = 𝑄𝐶 = −𝜇𝑅𝑇𝐶 𝑙𝑛( )
𝑉4

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 Carnot Cycle
4. Isentropic compression from low
temperature to high temperature,
leading to the adiabatic compression.
• The system is again considered
thermally insulated and the gas
continue to compress to achieve the
original high temperature TH.
• The work is done on the system
𝜇𝑅
𝑊𝐷−𝐴 = − (𝑇𝐻 − 𝑇𝐶 )
𝛾−1

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 Carnot Cycle
• Hence, net work (W) on complete cycle
can be determined as;
𝑊 = 𝑊𝐴𝐵 + 𝑊𝐵𝐶 + 𝑊𝐶𝐷 + 𝑊𝐷𝐴
Adding all the works will leads to the
following equation
𝑽𝟐 𝑽𝟑
𝑾 = 𝝁𝑹𝑻𝑯 𝒍𝒏 − 𝝁𝑹𝑻𝑪 𝒍𝒏( )
𝑽𝟏 𝑽𝟒

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 Carnot Cycle
• Net efficiency of Carnot engine can be
calculated as;
𝑊 𝑄1 −𝑄2 𝑇𝐶
𝜂= = =1−
𝑄1 𝑄1 𝑇𝐻

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Relation between T-S and P-V Curve

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 Carnot Vapor Cycle
• Except for the working material, which
is steam, the theory of Carnot vapor
cycle is identical to that of a
thermodynamic cycle. Any type of
steam can be used: moisture
containing, dry, saturated, or
superheated.

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Carnot Vapor Cycle

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 Carnot Vapor Cycle
• At a fixed temperature (TH) and pressure
(PH), the water is isothermally
transformed into dry saturated steam.
• Point B expresses the dry steam.
• Temperature and pressure remains
constant from A to B.
• We know that water's latent heat is the
heat it absorbs during its conversion to
dry steam.
𝐻𝑒𝑎𝑡 𝑎𝑏𝑠𝑜𝑟𝑏𝑒𝑑 𝑄𝐻 = 𝑆2 − 𝑆1 𝑇𝐻
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 Carnot Vapor Cycle
• During adiabatic expansion from B to C,
no heat is transferred from the system,
hence entropy remains constant.
• The Dry steam converts to wet steam by
doing work to the surrounding.
Temperature and pressure reduces to TC
and PC.
• During isothermal compression cycle (C
to D), the wet steam’s temperature and
pressure remains unchanged. The work
is done by the environment.

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 Carnot Vapor Cycle
• Heat is rejected to the surrounding,
which can be calculated as
𝑄𝐶 = − 𝑆2 − 𝑆1 𝑇𝐶
• In the fourth and last step, the steam is
compressed adiabatically till it reaches
its original temperature and pressure.
• Hence, net work for complete cycle will
be
𝑊 = 𝑆2 − 𝑆1 𝑇𝐻 − 𝑆2 − 𝑆1 𝑇𝐶
𝑾 = 𝑺𝟐 − 𝑺𝟏 (𝑻𝑯 −𝑻𝑪 )

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 Carnot Vapor Cycle
• The Carnot efficiency will be
𝑊
𝜂=
𝑄𝐻
𝜂 = 𝑆2 − 𝑆1 (𝑇𝐻 −𝑇𝐶 )/ 𝑆2 − 𝑆1 𝑇𝐻
𝑻𝑪
𝜼=𝟏−
𝑻𝑯

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 Carnot Vapor Cycle
• It should be highlighted that a steam
engine operating on the Carnot cycle is
impossible.
• The obvious explanation for this is that
the isothermal expansion A-B will have
to be done very slowly in order to keep
the steam at temperature TH.
• As a result, isothermal compression C-D
will have to be done very slowly.

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 Carnot Vapor Cycle
• However, in order to achieve optimal adiabatic conditions, adiabatic
expansion B-C and adiabatic compression D-A should be performed as
quickly as feasible.
• We all know that in practice, rapid changes in engine speed are
impossible.
• Furthermore, it is extremely difficult to
completely eliminate friction between the
engine's numerous moving parts, and there are
heat losses owing to conduction, radiation, and
other factors.
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 Rankine Cycle
• The Rankine cycle, can be considered as an ideal cycle for vapor power
systems.
• By superheating the steam in the boiler and condensing it fully in the
condenser, the impracticalities associated with the Carnot cycle may be
removed.

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 Rankine Cycle
• It work by converting water into steam in a boiler which expands
through a turbine producing useful work.
• It converts heat into mechanical energy, which can be further
transformed to electricity by using the associated utilities.

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 Rankine Cycle
Rankine cycle can also be divided into four successive steps, as shown
1. Pump: It is used to increase the fluid pressure using a compression
cycle. Work is done on the system at this step.
As the fluid is water which does not change its volume during
compression. It is an isentropic process.

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 Rankine Cycle
2. Boiler: The compressed fluid is heated to obtain its higher
temperature i.e. its boiling point, converting it to the high pressure
steam.
Heat is supplied to the system and the pressure remains constant. It is an
isobaric process.

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 Rankine Cycle
3. Turbine: The high pressure stem get expanded while doing work to
convert the pressure energy to mechanical energy.
Work is done by the system and pressure is reduced. It is an isentropic
process.

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 Rankine Cycle
4. Condenser: The unutilized heat get transferred to the heat sink in this
step. The sink can be the environment of water for preheating. It is an
isobaric process.
The release of heat is necessary to reduce the volume of the fluid.
Otherwise it can directly reduce the efficiency of the pump.

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 Energy analysis for the Rankine Cycle
• The steady state flow equation for a unit mass of fluid can be written
as;
𝑞𝑖𝑛 − 𝑞𝑜𝑢𝑡 + 𝑤𝑖𝑛 − 𝑤𝑜𝑢𝑡 = ℎ𝑒 − ℎ𝑖 𝑘𝐽/𝑘𝑔
Where, q is the heat; w stands for work; and h is the enthalpy of the
system. Subscripts, in, out, e and i, stands for inlet, outlet, effluent, and
influent, respectively.
• For pump; q=0
𝑤𝑝𝑢𝑚𝑝 = ℎ2 − ℎ1 = 𝑣 𝑃2 − 𝑃1
𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒, ℎ1 = ℎ𝑓 𝑎𝑡 𝑃1 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑣 ≅ 𝑣1 ≅ 𝑣𝑓 𝑎𝑡 𝑃1 (𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟)

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 Energy analysis for the Rankine Cycle
• For boiler; w=0
𝑞𝑖𝑛 = ℎ3 − ℎ2
• For turbine; q=0
𝑤𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑏𝑖𝑛𝑒 = ℎ3 − ℎ4
• For condenser; w=0
𝑞𝑜𝑢𝑡 = ℎ4 − ℎ1
• Thermal efficiency of Rankine cycle will be
𝑤𝑛𝑒𝑡 𝑞𝑜𝑢𝑡
𝜂= =1−
𝑞𝑖𝑛 𝑞𝑖𝑛

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 Prediction of Actual Vapor Cycle
• The actual vapor power cycle differs from the ideal Rankine cycle, as a
result of irreversibilites in various components.
• Fluid friction causes pressure drop in the boiler, the condenser and the
piping between various parts. This requires a large pump and larger
work input to the pump.
• Heat losses due to poor insulation is another cause to deviate from
ideal cycle.

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Prediction of Actual Vapor Cycle

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 Prediction of Actual Vapor Cycle
• Other reason for reduced performance are related to the
irreversibilities happening throughout the cycle.
• Pump requires a higher work input for compression
• Turbine on the other hand produces lesser work output due to
irreversibilities, making it non-isentropic.

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 Improving the Efficiency of Actual Vapor Cycle
• Rankine cycle efficiency can be increased by increasing average
temperature at which heat is transferred to the working fluid in the
boiler or decreasing the average temperature at which heat is rejected
from the working fluid in the condenser.
• That is, the average fluid temperature should be as high as possible
during heat addition and as low as possible during heat rejection.

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 Improving the Efficiency of Actual Vapor Cycle
Three ways:
(a) Lowering the condenser pressure (Lowers Tlow, av).
(b) Superheating the steam to high temperatures (Increases Thigh, av)
(c) Increasing the boiler pressure (Increases Thigh, av).

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 References

• Gavin Towler and Ray Sinnott,Utilities and Energy Efficient Design

(2013), DOI: 10.1016/B978-0-08-096659-5.00003-1

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Thank You

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