| Title | Techno-Economic Comparison of Different Air Cooled Condenser Technologies for Geothermal ORC Applications |
|---|---|
| Authors | Lorenzo GALIETI, Umberto MERLO, Stefano FILIPPINI, Carlo DE SERVI, Piero COLONNA, Paolo SILVA, Paola BOMBARDA, Dario ALFANI |
| Year | 2024 |
| Conference | Stanford Geothermal Workshop |
| Keywords | geothermal orc power plant, condenser, techno-economic |
| Abstract | Typical binary geothermal power plants employ large fin-fan condensers to ensure the condensation of the organic working fluid. These components are characterized by substantial footprint, high construction costs and the need for extensive on-site installation works. This study focuses on evaluating other viable air cooled condenser technologies for geothermal power plants situated in relatively accessible regions. In such areas, the environmental conditions may not demand the exceptional reliability and robustness of fin-fan condensers and it may be instead preferrable to opt for more efficient and easier-to-control solutions. In particular, finned coil condensers, both with and without air pre-humidification, could serve as a valid alternative in low-to-medium capacity binary geothermal power plants, with benefits both in terms of component cost, performance as well as ease of installation. To this scope, detailed numerical models that perform the preliminary design of fin-fan condensers and finned coil condensers have been developed and subsequently incorporated in an in-house code that simulates geothermal ORC power plants. This enables the optimization of the ORC power plant's performance while taking into account various condenser design options and, consequently, to compare the trends between plant performance and condenser capital costs for the different cooling technologies. This study has received funding from the European Union as part of the EASYGO-ITN |