A thermodynamic model for exergetic performance and optimization of a solar and biomass-fuelled multigeneration system

Integrated energy systems utilizing renewable sources are sustainable and environmentally substitutes for conventional fossil-fired energy systems. A new multigeneration plant with two inputs, such as biomass and solar energy, and four useful outputs, such as cooling, heating, power, and distilled water, is presented and investigated in this paper. The proposed system includes evacuated tube solar collectors, biomass burners, the organic rankine cycle (ORC), absorption chillers, heaters, and a multi-effect desalination system (MED). The results showed that the proposed system can produce 802.5 kW for power, 10391 kW for heating, 5658 kW for cooling, and 9.328 kg/s for distilled water. The energy efficiency of the system is 61%, while the exergy efficiency is 7% and the main sources of exergy destructions are biomass burner, evacuated tube solar collectors, and the vapour generator. Exergy optimization is carried out to find the optimum point of the system.