This paper reports on a study of the modelling, validation and analysis of an integrated 1 MW (electrical output) tri-generation system energized by solar energy. The impact of local climatic conditions in the Mediterranean region on the system performance was considered. The output of the system that comprised a parabolic trough collector (PTC), an organic Rankine cycle (ORC), single-effect desalination (SED), and single effect LiBr-H2O absorption chiller (ACH) was electrical power, distilled water, and refrigerant load. The electrical power was produced by the ORC which used cyclopentane as working fluid and Therminol VP-1 was specified as the heat transfer oil (HTO) in the collectors with thermal storage. The absorption chiller and the desalination unit were utilize the waste heat exiting from the steam turbine in the ORC to provide the necessary cooling energy and drinking water respectively. The modelling, which includes an exergetic analysis, focuses on the performance of the solar tri-generation system. The simulation results of the tri-generation system and its subsystems were produced using IPSEpro software and were validated against experimental data which showed good agreement. The tri-generation system was able to produce about 194 Ton of refrigeration, and 234 t/day distilled water.

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 %.

Abstract-A thermal assessment study of an Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) energized by heat absorbed from a parabolic trough collectors (PTC) is presented in this paper. The IPSEpro software is used to model the system of ORC and PTC with thermal storage located in Derna, Libya. The system is examined using three modes of operation. They are low-solar radiation mode, high-solar radiation mode, and storage mode. The solar radiation is classified into low and high solar radiation according to times of the system operation during the day. Part of the absorbed solar energy by the collectors used to produce the power and the remaining energy is used to charge the thermal storage to operate the system during the storage mode in the night. The simulation results are used to assess the system performance using energy and exergy analysis. The study showed that 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 1.5 MW electrical power from the powered PTC heat with thermal storage during the day and night. Moreover, exergy efficiency of the overall system was 8.94%, 5.38% and 5.47% for low-solar radiation, high-solar radiation and storage mode respectively.Index Terms-Energy and exergy analysis, ORC, PTC, thermal storage.

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