Thermodynamic analysis of ORC solar power plant operating in southern Tunisia

The study focuses on the design of a thermal power plant using solar energy and operating on an organic Rankine cycle. A mathematical model has been developed using Engineering Equation Solver (EES) to determine the cycle performance. Model validation was made considering experimental data. Since working fluid choice is an essential step in the study of the ORC system a comparison between the R245fa fluid and n-pentane is made. It has shown that the suitable fluid is the n-pentane. By the following, a solar field study is elaborated. This has shown that southern Tunisia has significant solar potential. The results showed that the tracking system improved the net power generated and to improve the overall thermal efficiency it is preferred to work with a low condensing temperature.