Performance Augmentation of Low Temperature Kalina Cycle System

A new Kalina cycle system is designed to generate electricity using low temperature heat sources. Parallel flow arrangement of working fluid through heat exchangers is proposed to reduce the heat load in the heat recovery steam generator. An auxiliary separator is incorporated in the system to enhance the ammonia mass fraction in the vapor mixture. The separation temperature, separation pressure and mass fraction of ammonia are varied to perform energy analysis of the cycle. Results of analysis have been compared to similar Kalina cycle system with series flow arrangement of the working fluid. Parallel flow arrangement resulted with reduction of heat load in the heat recovery steam generator and improved cycle efficiency. Up to 37% increase in the cycle efficiency is observed for similar operating conditions. The result of analysis is presented in the form of charts and may be utilized to configure the optimum operating parameters of low temperature Kalina cycle systems.