Performance Analysis of the Low-Temperature Solar-Boosted Power Generation System—Part I: Comparison Between Kalina Solar System and Rankine Solar System

On the base of the two classical thermodynamic cycles (Kalina cycle and Rankine cycle), solar-boosted Kalina system (Kalina solar system) and solar-boosted Rankine system (Rankine solar system) with traditional nonconcentrating flat plate solar collector (FPSC) and evacuated tube solar collector (ETSC) are investigated in the present paper. The proposed solar systems are considered to be the hybrid of power generation subcycle and solar collector subcycle. Their electricity generating performances are compared under their respective optimal operating conditions to clarify which one is more competitive in solar utilization. Results show that ETSC is the better choice for the both solar systems. Further, the performance comparison shows that the low-temperature solar energy utilized in Kalina cycle is predominant to generate electricity. Meanwhile, the study also find that mass flow rate of the power generation subcycle, mass flow rate of the solar collector subcycle, mass fraction of ammonia and the regenerator performance are important operational parameters for high performance of the Kalina solar system. Finally, with the aid of the weather conditions of Kumejima Island in Japan, the perceptual knowledge for Kalina solar system by using an application case is shown in the paper.