Thermal Analysis of a Solar Powered ORC in Libya

The paper presents a study of a thermal assessment of an Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) energized by heat absorbed from a parabolic trough collector (PTC) located in Derna, Libya. Both the ORC and PTC are modeled using the IPSEpro software. The simulation results are used to evaluate the system performance using energy and exergy analysis. The study showed the PTC collector was the main contributor of the energy and exergy losses within the PTC system and the evaporator within in the ORC. At this specific weather conditions, the ORC was able to produce about 3 MW electrical powers from the powered PTC heat. Moreover, exergy efficiency of the PTC was 47.7 %, the heat engine was 23.3 % and for the overall system (PTC and ORC) was 11.1 %.