Investigation and proposal of a novel solar-powered trigeneration system for more environmentally friendly heating, cooling, and power generation

The rapid decrease of fossil fuel reserves and their environmental damage, including global warming, has led to the employment of waste heat recovery and renewables. The present research suggests a novel trigeneration system that uses solar energy to produce electricity, heating, and cooling for buildings. The research seeks to reduce energy waste and boost system efficiency. In the Kalina cycle, which combines with the absorption refrigeration cycle, a heliostat-based central receiver with helical coils and Syltherm 800 oil as solar heat transfer fluid improves solar rays-to-heat conversion. Extensive parametric research and system modeling were conducted using the Engineering Equation Solver (EES) software, using mass, energy, and exergy equations. Direct normal irradiation (DNI) and coil form (rib height) affect receiver oil temperature using a mathematical model. ANSYS-FLUENT CFD simulations reveal a maximum of 39.4% rise in oil output temperature at 2 mm rib height, 42 mm coil pitch, and 1000 W/m ² DNI. The proposed system's energetic and exergetic evaluation demonstrates that adding an absorption refrigeration cycle (ARC) to the Kalina cycle boosts its energy and exergy efficiencies by 23.78% and 14.55%. The exergetic assessment exhibited the exergy destruction where the center receiver (22.45%) dissipated the most exergy, followed by the heliostat field (11.67%). The examined receiver configuration provides an effective approach for improving the thermal performance of the solar collector and its associated system. The proposed system supports sustainable development through the cleaner production of diverse types of energy to meet the needs of societies.