Thermodynamic analysis of a trigeneration system for waste heat recovery in the oil and gas industry

The energy and exergy analysis of a newhybrid loop heat pipe (LHP) heat exchanger trigeneration system is studied through energy and exergy efficiency parameters. The effect of exhaust gas inlet temperature on both energy and exergy efficiencies, and electrical to thermal energy ratio of the system are investigated. The energy efficiency increases with increasing exhaust gas inlet temperature but exergy efficiency and electrical to thermal energy ratio decreases. These results clearly show that performance evaluation of trigeneration system based on energy analysis is not adequate and hence more meaningful evaluation must include exergy analysis. The present analysis contributes to further information on the role of exhaust gas inlet temperature influence on the performance of exhaust gas recovery and solar trigeneration from a thermodynamic point of view. Decision makers should find the methodology contained in this paper useful in the comparison and selection of advanced exhaust gas recovery and solar systems.