Waste heat recovery of a wind turbine for poly-generation purpose: Feasibility analysis, environmental impact assessment, and parametric optimization

• Published in: Energy (Oxford) 2023-01, Vol.263, p.125891, Article 125891
• Main Authors: Zhou, Jincheng, Hai, Tao, Ali, Masood Ashraf, Shamseldin, Mohamed A., Almojil, Sattam Fahad, Almohana, Abdulaziz Ibrahim, Alali, Abdulrhman Fahmi
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Absorption cycle; Environmental effects; Poly-generation; Reverse osmosis desalination unit; Waste heat recovery; Wind turbine
• ISSN: 0360-5442
• DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2022.125891

World energy markets are gradually shifting in favor of wind-based power plants. A decrease in global warming can be attributed to the reduction of dependence on fossil fuels as a result of wind energy. In this regard, utilizing the waste heat from the generator of a wind turbine has recently been considered and only a few studies have been done about it. This shortage has made clear the need for further studies. In the present research, a novel poly-generation system is introduced based on the waste heat recovery of a wind turbine to fill this research gap because the waste energy of a wind turbine has not been utilized for the poly-generation purpose. A novel power-cooling production absorption cycle and a domestic hot water heat exchanger are utilized for this purpose. Also, the produced power in the absorption cycle is sent to a reverse osmosis desalination unit for freshwater production. The considered system is comprehensively studied from energy, exergy, environmental, and exergo-economic standpoints. In the average wind speed of 10 m/s, the exergy efficiency, unit cost of products, reduction in CO2 emission rate, and payback period are seen to be 36.76%, 20.25 $/GJ, 2452801 kg/year, and 2.301 years, which shows its performance is better than the previous studies based on the waste heat recovery of a single wind turbine. •Waste heat recovery of a wind turbine for poly-generation purpose.•Energy and exergo-economic analyses are done through parametric study.•Wind turbine is the major contributor in exergy destruction and cost rates.•This waste heat recovery produces 73.25 kW heating, 45.86 kW cooling, and 0.274 kg/s of freshwater.