Role of energy and exergy analyses in performance improvement and development of advanced and sustainable energy systems

Abstract

Paper presented to the 10th International Conference on Heat Transfer, Fluid Mechanics and Thermodynamics, Florida, 14-16 July 2014.

There is a growing interest on advanced and sustainable energy systems worldwide. Natural gas, biomass and coal based power generation and integrated energy systems are receiving attention to meet the growing energy demand with reduced pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions. Integrated coal and biomass gasification combined cycle power generation systems are also in use due to increased power generation efficiency and reduced emissions. Natural gas and biomass supplementary firing and hybrid power generation systems are also receiving attention to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Solar, wind and biomass based power generation systems are also growing due to their sustainable nature. The present paper reviews natural gas, biomass and coal based advanced and sustainable energy systems. The exergy analysis for energy systems is receiving attention due to the ability to analyze a power generation system from quality point of view. The role of exergy analysis for natural gas, coal and biomass power generation systems and the role of operating parameters on performance improvement is also presented.