An advanced oxy-fuel power cycle with high efficiency

In this article, an innovative oxy-fuel power cycle is proposed as a promising CO2 emission mitigation solution. It includes two cases with different characteristics in the cycle configuration. Case 1 basically consists of a water steam Rankine cycle and a steam-CO2 recuperative-reheat cycle. Case 2 integrates some characteristics of Case 1 and a top Brayton cycle. The thermodynamic performances for the design conditions of these two cases were analysed using the advanced process simulator Aspen Plus and the results are given in detail. The corresponding exergy loss analyses were carried out to gain an understanding of the loss distribution. The MATIANT cycle, the CES cycle, and the GRAZ cycle were also evaluated as references. The results demonstrate that the proposed cycle has notable advantages in thermal efficiency, specific work, and technical feasibility compared with the reference cycles. For example, the thermal efficiency of Case 2 is 6.58 percentage points higher than that of the MATIANT cycle.