Energy and exergy analyses of a solar-biomass integrated cycle for multigeneration

• New integrated multi-generation system using biomass and solar energy is proposed.
• Energy and exergy analyses are conducted for assessment.
• Energy and exergy efficiencies of the multi-generation system and its subsystems are studied for comparison.
• A parametric study is carried out.

A biomass and solar integrated system for multigeneration of useful outputs, in which two renewable energy sources are combined to produce multiple outputs (e.g., power, cooling, hot water, heated air), is developed and presented. Energy and exergy analyses are used to assess the performance of the cycle, and the effects of various system parameters on energy and exergy efficiencies of the overall system and its subsystems are examined. The overall energy and exergy efficiencies of the system are found to be 66.5% and 39.7% respectively. Furthermore, the effect is also investigated of reference-environment temperature on energy and exergy efficiencies for the system, when operated only on biomass and solar energy.