A combined power and cooling cycle modified to improve resource utilization efficiency using a distillation stage

A combined power and cooling cycle is being investigated. The cycle is a combination of a Rankine cycle and an absorption refrigeration cycle. The vapor exiting the turbine in this cycle is cold enough to extract refrigeration output. This combined cycle is being proposed for application with lower temperature heat sources such as solar, geothermal, and industrial waste heat with the primary objective of producing power. In this paper, the goal is to optimize the cycle configuration for maximum resource utilization efficiency (RUE). Based on an exergy analysis, the cycle configuration has been modified to improve the RUE. A thermal distillation scheme, similar to those found in some Kalina cycles has been implemented in the cycle. An optimization method is used to maximize the RUE of the modified configuration. A significant improvement in the efficiency of more than 25% was achieved with the improved configuration. Larger pressure ratios are obtained across the turbine. Increased efficiencies can also be obtained for the cases where only work output is desired.