Energy and economic analysis of organic Rankine cycle for liquid desiccant system

The main purpose of this study is to experimentally evaluate the energy and economic benefits of an organic Rankine cycle (ORC) based liquid desiccant (LD) assisted air conditioning system (ORCLD) for building applications. A district heating network was used as the heat source of the ORC, and the heat and power generated from the ORC was provided for the LD-assisted air conditioning system and building. The primary energy consumption, payback period, and life cycle cost of ORCLD were analyzed and compared with those of the LD-assisted air conditioning system as a reference system. There were two operation modes for ORCLD: power and heat priorities, which obtain the maximum power and heat output, respectively. As a result, the ORCLD with heat priority mode could save the primary energy consumption by 2.2% compared with the reference system and show the lowest payback period and life cycle cost. Consequently, the heat priority mode for the ORCLD is strongly recommended in terms of both energy and cost. (c) 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.