Exergetic analysis of power plants operating on biomaterials

Abstract

There is growing interest worldwide in biomaterials for power generation as substitutes or supplements for hydrocarbon fuels. In this paper, biomaterials-based power generation is evaluated and compared with widely used hydrocarbon-based generation. Exergy, the theoretical maximum work extractable from a system as it interacts with a particular reference state, is used as the parameter to measure the overall effectiveness of the thermomechanical energy conversion and detect inefficiencies. The destruction of exergy happens when irreversible mechanical or chemical processes occur during power generation. Combustion constitutes the main portion of the exergy destruction in power plants and biomaterials have a significant advantage over fossil fuels when the amount of exergy destruction is compared between the two. This exergetic study on power plants operating on biomaterials will be further developed into economic and environmental research.