Pinch analysis methodology for trigeneration with energy storage system design

Abstract

Rising energy prices, as well as environmental pollution and depletion of fossil fuel, have increased the need to find alternative energy sources and improve the efficiency of current energy systems. Conventional power plants only use an average thermal efficiency of 30 – 35 % to produce power while the remaining energy is dissipated to the environment. The thermal efficiency can be increased to 80 – 90 % by reusing the waste heat for other applications, such as heating and cooling. A trigeneration system is a technology that can produce power, heating and cooling from a single energy source. Pinch Analysis is a methodology that can help users optimise energy, water and other resources. This paper proposes a novel methodology for developing a Trigeneration Cascade Table (TriGenCT) with energy storage system based on the Pinch Analysis algebraic technique. There are five parts for developing TriGenCT which are data extraction, Single Utility Problem Table Algorithm, Multiple Utility Problem Table Algorithm, Total Site Problem Table Algorithm and TriGenCT with energy storage system. The usage of trigeneration system with storage can save energy up to 202 GWh/y. The development of a TriGenCT with energy storage system can be very useful for engineers and managers to optimize the design of trigeneration systems as well as energy storage systems.