Exergy Analysis of Heat Pump Polygeneration System

Abstract

Environmental degradation and sustainable development are currently two of the most significant global challenges. Among these, producing drinking water, chill air, hot air, and expanding renewable energy methods are paramount. The effective use of advanced technology to produce multiple outputs has demonstrated itself to be a reliable, affordable, and competitive approach to energy generation. Polygeneration technologies' high productivity stems from their ability to recover energy that would otherwise be wasted. So, this study aims to combine the solar-powered heat pump/VCR with a humidification, dehumidification, and desalination cycle for polygeneration. In order to minimize the thermal pollution from this system, waste heat from the VCR's condenser has been recovered and utilized to produce hot water and fresh water along with a cooling effect. The investigation evaluates the effect of seawater temperature, humidifier efficiency, relative humidity, and the surrounding temperature on the performance factors, that is, thermodynamic and exergy analysis. A mathematical model has been simulated using MATLAB, yielding key performance metrics: a gained output ratio of 1.909, a coefficient of performance of 1.724, a thermal performance factor of 3.786 for the cycle and 0.565 for the plant, and an exergy efficiency of 27.52%. These results highlight the potentiality of the heat pump polygeneration system in providing sustainable and efficient solution for domestic needs.