Novel and concise approach to thermodynamic and techno-economic optimization - A regenerative plant study

The applicability of a concise optimization methodology in thermodynamic and techno-economic optimization of a power generating plant is examined. The case study regenerative plant is optionally coupled to an auxiliary heat supply source (for instance, CSP panels): the influence of the fundamental variables on thermal efficiency, cost profile and power generation is investigated. Notably, the classical thermal efficiency index which shows inconsistency in differentiating between optimal and suboptimal power generation operations is compared with the power-energy quantity ratio (PQR), an index of optimal operation, which gives an indication of the value of the objective variable for which optimal operation is possible. From the result, the thermal efficiency index is inadequate to differentiate between optimal and sub-optimal thermal operations in the plant, while the PQR congruently indicates the point of optimal power production.