Analysis of CO2-based trans-critical power cycle in waste heat recovery

Abstract

Carbon-dioxide-based trans-critical power cycle is a novel technology for waste heat recovery. This technology can handle the high-temperature exhaust gas and can be built in a compact size, which is an important feature for the auxiliary equipment for an internal combustion engine. To obtain the best output, four configurations were constructed: the basic system; one with preheater, another with regenerator and a fourth with preheater and regenerator. Special features of supercritical CO2 make these cycles able to recover more energy than the traditional organic Rankine cycle. According to this study, heat regeneration increases thermal efficiency while preheating influences the net power output. Thus, it is beneficial to add both regenerator and preheater to the basic cycle.