Innovative thermodynamic integration: kalina, orc and rankine cycles to obtain sustainable energy from gas turbine waste heat

The research presents the thermodynamic performance analysis in which Kalina, Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) and Rankine cycles are integrated to ensure sustainable energy production from the waste heat of the UGT-25000 gas turbine. In the comparisons, the highest performance level in terms of energy efficiency was given by the Gas Turbine + Kalina Cycle with 68.57%, whereas the others' energy efficiencies were determined as 68.13% (Gas Turbine + ORC), 68.05% (Gas Turbine + Rankine) and 65.72% (Gas Turbine only). According to exergy efficiency, the highest value was given by the Gas Turbine + Kalina Cycle with 23.71%. The exergy efficiencies of the remaining cycles were 17.71% (Gas Turbine + Rankine), 17.52% (Gas Turbine alone) and 13.28% (Gas Turbine + ORC). On cost of energy and carbon footprint basis, the best performance was also exhibited by the Gas Turbine + Kalina Cycle with figures of $0.36/kWh and 3.66 kg CO₂/h, respectively. But the cost of energy per unit of the Gas Turbine alone is $0.63/kWh and the carbon footprint is 20.46 kg CO₂/h. The results obtained show that the Kalina cycle plays a significant role in sustainable production of energy both cost saving and reducing the carbon footprint. Thermodynamic calculations were done using the Engineering Equation Solver (EES) software and detailed study of the energy and exergy losses in system components was conducted. The study provides a valuable guideline for effective utilization of waste heat and supply of sustainable solutions by integrated systems in the energy sector.