Optimization of a Hybrid Solar Tower System for Power, Hydrogen, and Superheated Water Production

Optimization of a Hybrid Solar Tower System for Power, Hydrogen, and Superheated Water Production | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Optimization of a Hybrid Solar Tower System for Power, Hydrogen, and Superheated Water Production Hadi Ghaebi, Ghader Abbaspour This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-6083627/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract This research explores the incorporation of solar tower systems with a Thermal Energy Storage (TES) system in a hybrid setup that includes the supercritical S-CO₂ Brayton cycle, the heat recovery steam generators (HRSGs) and the Copper-Chlorine (Cu-Cl) cycle for producing hydrogen and superheated steam. Energy, exergy, and thermoeconomic examines are conducted to evaluate the functionality of each subsystem. TES helps mitigate fluctuations in solar radiation by storing thermal energy for periods of lower solar input, and each proposed component is individually modeled by utilizing Engineering Equation Solver (EES) software. In the base case, The exergy destruction rates are 9930 kW for the solar tower, 7111 kW for the S-CO₂ cycle, and 9735 kW for the Cu-Cl cycle. The base system generates \(\:4226\) kW of power, 2679 kW of heating, and \(\:0.04971\) kg.s − 1 of hydrogen, with energy and exergy efficiencies of 17.48% and 18.72%. The costs of electricity, heat, and hydrogen production in this case are 0.2917, 0.1061, and 0.02632 $ /s, with a total production cost of 0.00003568 $ /kJ.s. After optimization, the energy and exergy efficiencies of the system are 19.93% and 21.35%, respectively, producing 5943 kW of power, 3268 kW of heat, and 0.06675 kg.s − 1 of hydrogen. In the optimized case, the production costs of electricity, heat, and hydrogen are 0.03193, 0.1222, and 0.03337 $ /s, with the total production cost reduced to 0.00003193 $ /kJ.s. These results highlight the system's potential for efficiency improvement, indicating notable economic and operational benefits in renewable energy applications. Physical sciences/Engineering/Energy infrastructure Physical sciences/Engineering/Mechanical engineering Physical sciences/Energy science and technology Physical sciences/Energy science and technology/Renewable energy Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-6083627","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":427285976,"identity":"0048b575-0ecf-4150-be54-2342e24ead63","order_by":0,"name":"Hadi Ghaebi","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAAxklEQVRIiWNgGAWjYBACAwYeBgbGBgk5mAAP0VqMSdbCkNhAtMPM+dce/PBxh0X6hmuHHzD8qGGQMSek2XLGu2TJmWckcjfcTjNg7DnGwCNzgJDDbpwxkOZtA2lJMGDgbWDgkSDkMKAW499/2yTSDW6nf2D8S5SW8z1m0oxtEgkGt3MMmIm0hcfMsveMhOHM2zkFh2WOSRBjyxnjGz931Mnz3U7f+PBNjY09QS0MEgkI9gEgl6AGBgb+A0QoGgWjYBSMgpENAM7OPkYSGzfrAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC","orcid":"","institution":"University of Mohaghegh Ardabili","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Hadi","middleName":"","lastName":"Ghaebi","suffix":""},{"id":427285977,"identity":"8a2121e2-90b4-4ef1-afd1-b3e0b8c35bcb","order_by":1,"name":"Ghader Abbaspour","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Mohaghegh Ardabili","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Ghader","middleName":"","lastName":"Abbaspour","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-02-22 06:38:14","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6083627/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-6083627/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":79643410,"identity":"be97cc49-5626-4879-8bde-8370975ff7cb","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-04-01 06:32:13","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":742593,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"1403.10.30.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6083627/v1_covered_da0440b5-b575-4d6b-9b1a-ed7611afcf03.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Optimization of a Hybrid Solar Tower System for Power, Hydrogen, and Superheated Water Production","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6083627/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-6083627/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eThis research explores the incorporation of solar tower systems with a Thermal Energy Storage (TES) system in a hybrid setup that includes the supercritical S-CO₂ Brayton cycle, the heat recovery steam generators (HRSGs) and the Copper-Chlorine (Cu-Cl) cycle for producing hydrogen and superheated steam. Energy, exergy, and thermoeconomic examines are conducted to evaluate the functionality of each subsystem. TES helps mitigate fluctuations in solar radiation by storing thermal energy for periods of lower solar input, and each proposed component is individually modeled by utilizing Engineering Equation Solver (EES) software. In the base case, The exergy destruction rates are 9930 kW for the solar tower, 7111 kW for the S-CO₂ cycle, and 9735 kW for the Cu-Cl cycle. The base system generates \u003cspan class=\"InlineEquation\"\u003e \u003cspan class=\"mathinline\"\u003e \\(\\:4226\\) \u003c/span\u003e \u003c/span\u003e kW of power, 2679 kW of heating, and \u003cspan class=\"InlineEquation\"\u003e \u003cspan class=\"mathinline\"\u003e \\(\\:0.04971\\) \u003c/span\u003e \u003c/span\u003e kg.s\u003csup\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;1\u003c/sup\u003e of hydrogen, with energy and exergy efficiencies of 17.48% and 18.72%. The costs of electricity, heat, and hydrogen production in this case are 0.2917, 0.1061, and 0.02632 \u003cspan\u003e$\u003c/span\u003e/s, with a total production cost of 0.00003568 \u003cspan\u003e$\u003c/span\u003e/kJ.s. After optimization, the energy and exergy efficiencies of the system are 19.93% and 21.35%, respectively, producing 5943 kW of power, 3268 kW of heat, and 0.06675 kg.s\u003csup\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;1\u003c/sup\u003e of hydrogen. In the optimized case, the production costs of electricity, heat, and hydrogen are 0.03193, 0.1222, and 0.03337 \u003cspan\u003e$\u003c/span\u003e/s, with the total production cost reduced to 0.00003193 \u003cspan\u003e$\u003c/span\u003e/kJ.s. These results highlight the system's potential for efficiency improvement, indicating notable economic and operational benefits in renewable energy applications.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Optimization of a Hybrid Solar Tower System for Power, Hydrogen, and Superheated Water Production","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2025-03-13 08:35:44","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6083627/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"62d1439d-d11f-4a23-99f2-3f439916cbf3","owner":[],"postedDate":"March 13th, 2025","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"posted","subjectAreas":[{"id":45530705,"name":"Physical sciences/Engineering/Energy infrastructure"},{"id":45530706,"name":"Physical sciences/Engineering/Mechanical engineering"},{"id":45530707,"name":"Physical sciences/Energy science and technology"},{"id":45530708,"name":"Physical sciences/Energy science and technology/Renewable energy"}],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2025-04-01T06:24:05+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2025-03-13 08:35:44","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-6083627","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-6083627","identity":"rs-6083627","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"8U1c8b4HqxoKbykW_rLl7","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}