Performance analysis of humid air turbine cycle with solar energy for methanol decomposition

► This paper proposed and studied the humid air turbine (HAT) cycle with methanol through decomposition with solar energy. ► The cycle's exergy efficiency is higher than that of the conventional HAT cycle by at least 5 percentage points. ► It is estimated that the solar heat-work conversion efficiency is about 39%, higher than usual. ► There is an optimal methanol conversation for the cycle's thermal efficiency and exergy efficiency at given π and TIT. ► Using EUD, the exergy loss is decreased by 8 percentage points compared with the conventional HAT cycle.