A solar-assisted NGCC-based multigeneration system with LNG cold-exergy recovery and hydrogen production: Thermodynamic, exergoeconomic, and environmental analysis

Articles in Press

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

Mechanical Engineering Department, Engineering Faculty, Urmia University, Urmia, Iran

10.22104/hfe.2026.8089.1390

Abstract

The growing need of the flexible and low-carbon energy provision has propelled the adoption of multigeneration systems that utilize renewable heat concurrently with waste heat and cryogenic energy. This paper introduces a new solar-assisted natural-gas combined-cycle (NGCC)-based multigeneration design which combines a gas-turbine Brayton cycle, a steam Rankine cycle, a solar-powered organic Rankine cycle (ORC) to liquefied natural gas (LNG) cold-exergy recovery, an absorption refrigeration system and a proton-exchange-membrane (PEM) electrolyzer to co-produce electricity, hydrogen, heating and cooling. A thermodynamic model is developed and validated coupled with the energy, exergy, exergoeconomic, environmental as well as sensitivity analyses. The suggested design provides 186.3 MW of net electricity at an electrical efficiency rate of 51.3 % and exergy efficiency rate of 33.8 %. The system also generates hydrogen at a rate of 0.502 kg/s, provides cooling of 1.53MW, and recovers 27.3MW of valuable heating with LNG regasification. The combustion and high-temperature heat-recovery units comprise most of exergy destruction and, thus, the main focus of further performance enhancement; exergoeconomic outcomes also show that the mitigation of irreversibilities in the said units are the most promising in terms of cost reduction. On electricity-only basis, environmental assessment gives a particular CO2 emission of 0.352 kg/kWh or 0.349 kg/kWh when co-products are added on an electric-equivalent basis. The parametric analyses are a confirmation that the solar irradiation, turbine inlet temperature, compressor pressure ratio, and LNG regasification pressure are of great influence of the system performance.

Keywords

Main Subjects

Hydrogen, Fuel Cell & Energy Storage

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 06 May 2026

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