Energy

Conversion
Systems
(FIMP 03897)

Efrain Teran, M. Sc.

Course program
i.
ii.

WORLD AND NATIONAL ENERGY SITUATION.

iii.
iv.
v.

STEAM, GAS TURBINE, AND COMBINED CYCLE POWER PLANTS.

THERMODYNAMICS REVIEW: EXERGY ANALYSIS AND

COMBUSTION.

INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE POWER PLANTS

FEASIBILITY AND TECHNOLOGIES FOR USING BIOMASS AS AN ENERGY
SOURCE

vi. HYDROPOWER PLANTS

vii. SOLAR THERMAL AND PHOTOVOLTAIC POWER PLANTS
viii. WIND POWER PLANTS
ix. ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL IMPACT ANALYSIS OF ENERGY
SYSTEMS

x.

ENERGY USE AND EFFICIENCY IN THE INDUSTRIAL AND BUSINESS

SECTORS

Chapter 2:
EXERGY ANALYSIS AND
COMBUSTION

Chapter 8: Exergy

Cengel, Yunus A., Boles, Michael A. Thermodynamics: An

Engineering Approach. McGraw Hill

5th Edition, 2004.

6th Edition, 2007.

Chapter 8: Exergy

Cengel, Yunus A., Boles, Michael A. Thermodynamics: An

Engineering Approach. McGraw Hill

7th Edition, 2011.

8th Edition, 2014.

Combustion
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zEjEqnMBdEM

Combustion
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xokHLFE96h8

First law of
thermodynamics
The law of conservation of energy states that the total
energy of an isolated system is constant; energy can be
transformed from one form to another, but cannot be
created or destroyed.

Second law of
thermodynamics
The second law of thermodynamics states that, in every
natural thermodynamic process, the sum of the
entropies of all participating bodies is increased. ,
The second law is an empirical finding that has been
accepted as an axiom of thermodynamic theory.

Exergy
Consider

de following experiment: an isolated system

consisting initially of a small container of fuel surrounded
by air in abundance.

Exergy
Suppose the fuel burns so finally there is a slightly warm
mixture of air and the combustion products formed.

Since air is abundantly present, the temperature of the

final mixture is nearly the same as the initial air
temperature.

The

total quantity of energy

associated with the system is
constant because no energy
transfers take place across the
boundary of an isolated system and,
by the first law of thermodynamics,
energy is conserved.

Exergy
The

initial fuel-air combination has a

much greater potential for use than the
final warm mixture. For instance, the
fuel might be used to generate
electricity, produce steam, or power a car
whereas the final warm mixture is clearly
unsuited for such applications.

Actually, during the process shown in the

figures the initial potential for use is
predominately destroyed owing to the
irreversible nature of that process.

Exergy
The

fuel present initially also has

economic value, but economic value
diminishes as fuel is consumed. The final
warm mixture has negligible economic
value.

Exergy

is the property that quantifies

the potential for use and it is exergy that
has economic value.

Conceptualizing Exergy
Consider a body at temperature Ti placed in contact with
the atmosphere at temperature T0.

If

Ti > T0, the body cools spontaneously until it is in

thermal equilibrium with the atmosphere.

Conceptualizing Exergy
However,

by controlling the cooling, work can be

developed as shown.

Instead of the body cooling spontaneously, heat transfer

Q passes to a power cycle that develops work Wc. The
work is fully available for lifting a weight, developing
shaft work, or generating electricity.

Exergy
Exergy is the work potential of a source or system, that
is, the amount of energy we can extract as useful work.

The work potential of a system at a specified state is the

maximum useful work that can be obtained from the
system.

Exergy is also called the availability or available energy.

Exergy
Recall that the work done during a process depends on
the initial state, the final state, and the process path.

Exergy
The

Exergy of a system is the maximum useful work

possible during a process that brings the system into
equilibrium with a heat reservoir.

Exergy
A system is said to be in the dead state when it is in
thermodynamic equilibrium with the environment it is in .

At the dead state, a system is:

at the temperature and pressure of its environment (in thermal

and mechanical equilibrium);
it has no kinetic or potential energy relative to the environment
(zero velocity and zero elevation above a reference level);
and it does not react with the environment (chemically inert).

Exergy
It is important to realize that exergy does not represent
the amount of work that a work-producing device will
actually deliver upon installation.

Rather, it represents the upper limit on the amount of

work a device can deliver without violating any
thermodynamic laws.

There will always be a difference,large or small, between

exergy and the actual work delivered by a device.

Exergy
Note

that the exergy of a system at a specified state

depends on the conditions of the environment (the dead
state) as well as the properties of the system.

Therefore,

exergy is a property of the system

environment combination and not of the system alone.

Altering the environment is another way of increasing

exergy, but it is definitely not an easy alternative.

Exergy
Using

energy and entropy balances, the following

expression is obtained for the exergy, E, of a system at a
specified state,

where U, V, S, KE, and PE denote, respectively, internal

energy, volume, entropy, kinetic energy, and potential
energy of the system at the specified state. U0, V0, and S0
denote internal energy, volume, and entropy, respectively,
of the system when at the dead state. At the dead state,
the kinetic and potential energy of the system are each
zero.

Exergy
Once

the environment is specified, a value can be

assigned to exergy in terms of property values for the
system only, so exergy can be regarded as a property of
the system.

Exergy is an extensive property.

We can also express the change in exergy between two
states as

Exergy
Expressing
exergy is:

Exergy on a unit mass basis, the specific

Exergy
Exergy

(Work Potential) Associated with Kinetic and

Potential Energy.

Kinetic energy is a form of mechanical energy, and thus it

can be converted to work entirely.

Potential energy is also a form of mechanical energy, and

thus it can be converted to work entirely

Exergy

Potential energy is also a form of mechanical energy, and

thus it can be converted to work entirely.

Therefore, the exergy of the potential energy of a system

is equal to the potential energy itself regardless of the
temperature and pressure of the environment.

Example
Maximum Power Generation by a Wind Turbine

A wind turbine with a 12-m-diameter rotor, as shown in

the figure, is to be installed at a location where the wind
is blowing steadily at an average velocity of 10 m/s.
Determine the maximum power that can be generated by
the wind turbine.

Example
Maximum Power Generation by a Wind Turbine

Example
Maximum Power Generation by a Wind Turbine

Example
Maximum Power Generation by a Wind Turbine

Example
Maximum Power Generation from a lake
A lake located 200 m above the closest river
level has a water volume of 1,000,000 m3.
What is the total exergy and specific exergy
of this water reservoir?
If the turbine pipeline takes a volume of 10
m3/s, what is the maximum possible power
generation?

Exergy of potential energy:

xpe pe gz

(kJ/kg)

Example
Maximum Power Generation from a lake

Exergy of potential energy:

xpe pe gz

(kJ/kg)

Example
Maximum Power Generation by a Wind Turbine

Example
Maximum Power Generation by a Wind Turbine

Exergy
Expressing
exergy is:

Exergy on a unit mass basis, the specific

Exergy
If the system temperature at the final state is greater
than (or less than) the temperature of the environment it
is in, we can always produce additional work by running a
heat engine between these two temperature levels.

If

the final pressure is greater than (or less than) the

pressure of the environment, we can still obtain work by
letting the system expand to the pressure of the
environment.

If the final velocity of the system is not zero, we can catch

that extra kinetic energy by a turbine and convert it to
rotating shaft work.

Exergy
The exergy of the thermal energy of thermal reservoirs is
equivalent to the work output of a Carnot heat engine
operating between the reservoir and the environment.

Carnot engine
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJlmRT4E6R0

Carnot engine
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3N_QJVucF8

Carnot engine

An amount of heat QH flows from a high temperature TH

furnace through the fluid of the "working body" (working
substance) and the remaining heat QC flows into the cold sink
TC, thus forcing the working substance to do mechanical work
W on the surroundings, via cycles of contractions and
expansions.

Carnot's theorem

No engine operating between two heat reservoirs can be more

efficient than a Carnot engine operating between the same
reservoirs.

Example:
Exergy Transfer from a Furnace

Example:
Exergy Transfer from a Furnace

Example:
Exergy Transfer from a Furnace

Example:
Exergy Transfer from a Furnace

REVERSIBLE WORK AND

IRREVERSIBILITY
The evaluation of exergy alone, however, is not sufficient
for studying engineering devices operating between two
fixed states.

This is because when evaluating exergy, the final state is

always assumed to be the dead state, which is hardly ever
the case for actual engineering systems.

In this section, we describe two quantities that are related

to the actual initial and final states of processes and serve
as valuable tools in the thermodynamic analysis of
components or systems.

These

two quantities are the reversible work and

irreversibility (or exergy destruction).

REVERSIBLE WORK AND

IRREVERSIBILITY
But first we examine the surroundings work, which is the
work done by or against the surroundings during a
process.

The work done by work-producing devices is not always

entirely in a usable form. Some of it can go to the
environment.

REVERSIBLE WORK AND

IRREVERSIBILITY
Reversible

work, , is defined as the maximum

amount of useful work that can be produced as a system
undergoes a process between the specified initial and
final states.

REVERSIBLE WORK AND

IRREVERSIBILITY
Reversible work is the useful work output obtained when
the process between the initial and final states is
executed in a totally reversible manner.

When the final state is the dead state, the reversible work
equals Exergy.

REVERSIBLE WORK AND

IRREVERSIBILITY
Any difference between the reversible work, , and
the useful work, , is due to the irreversibilities present
during the process, and this difference is called
irreversibility .

Example:
The Rate of Irreversibility of a Heat Engine

A heat engine receives heat from a source at 1200 K at a rate of

500 kJ/s and rejects the waste heat to a medium at 300 K. The
power output of the heat engine is 180 kW. Determine the
reversible power and the irreversibility rate for this process.

Example:
The Rate of Irreversibility of a Heat Engine

The reversible power for this process is the amount of power

that a reversible heat engine, such as a Carnot heat engine,
would produce when operating between the same
temperature limits, and is determined to be:

Example:
The Rate of Irreversibility of a Heat Engine

This is the maximum power that can be produced by a heat engine

operating between the specified temperature limits and receiving
heat at the specified rate. This would also represent the EXERGY
(available power) if 300 K were the lowest temperature available for
heat rejection.
The irreversibility rate is the difference between the reversible power
(maximum power that could have been produced) and the useful
power output:

Example:
The Rate of Irreversibility of a Heat Engine

Discussion Note that 195 kW of power potential is wasted

during this process as a result of irreversibilities.

Also, the 500 - 375 = 125 kW of heat rejected to the sink is

not available for converting to work and thus is not part
of the irreversibility.
Unavailable power
125 kW
Total Power
500 kW

Reversible Power
(available power)
375 kW

Irreversibility
195 kW
Actual Power
180 kW

FIRST LAW EFFICIENCY

In

general, energy conversion efficiency is the ratio

between the useful output of a device and the input, in
energy terms.

SECOND LAW EFFICIENCY

The first law efficiency makes no reference to the best
possible performance, and thus it may be misleading.

Consider two heat engines:

With 30% efficiency

SECOND LAW EFFICIENCY

These engines, at best, can perform as reversible engines, in
which case their efficiencies would be:

SECOND LAW EFFICIENCY