EXERGY ANALYSIS OF LIQUID AIR ENERGY STORAGE SYSTEM BASED ON LINDE CYCLE

Abstract

The paper presents a theoretical analysis from an energetic and exergetic point of view for a liquid air energy storage system (LAES). This paper identifies upper bounds on the energy and exergetic efficiency for this system. The system uses the simple Linde-Hampson liquefaction cycle for the liquefaction subsystem and the direct expansion method without heating above ambient temperature, for the power generation subsystem. It is known that as the temperature decreases, the destruction of mechanical work input increases due to the irreversibility of working processes. As a result, any irreversible process is very important to observe in cryogenic processes. The purpose of this paper is to develop an exergetic analysis which is then used in a procedure to optimize the Linde installation within the liquid air energy storage system when some functional parameters are changed. The analysis aims to find the functional parameters for which the exergetic efficiency of the installation is maximum. For each subsystem of the simple Linde installation an exergetic product and a fuel were defined and, based on their definition, the coefficient of performance of each functional area was calculated as well as the exergy destructions. Finally, the analysis of system components is presented in order to identify the components that have the greatest impact on energy and exergetic efficiency in an ideal environment. The analytical approach presented in this paper can be applied to other LAES configurations to identify the optimal operating points in terms of energy and exergetic efficiency.