Performance of sCO2 Cycles for Waste Heat Recovery and Techno-Economic Perspective As Gas Turbine Bottoming Cycle

Abstract
Supercritical carbon dioxide (sCO2) cycles are compact and widely adaptable to various heat sources, including the waste heat from gas turbine (GT) exhaust gases. While the addition of a steam cycle enhances the typical 40%-efficiency of GTs up to 60%, their substantial investments render them less appealing for smaller GTs. This creates an opportunity for sCO2 cycles, but a comprehensive comparison of their performance with that of steam across a range of applications remains lacking. Moreover, their applicability to various industrial scenarios based on existing installations is missing from a techno-economic standpoint. To address these needs, four promising sCO2 cycles are optimized and compared with the simple steam cycle. Their techno-economic performances are then investigated for 20 industrial GTs of different size. The analysis yielded performance maps demonstrating comparable performances for sCO2 and steam cycles, as well as significant techno-economic advantages for sCO2 bottoming cycles for smaller GTs. However, when it comes to larger GTs combined with reheats and expansions steam cycles, sCO2 cannot outperform them in current technological standards. Nevertheless sCO2 cycles offers an attractive alternative, facilitating cogeneration. Among the different approaches designed to integrate the heat requirements of amine-based capture, steam cycles have always proved more suitable because of the thermal stability of amines. In conclusion, the research underscores the cost-effectiveness and adaptability of sCO2 cycles for heat recovery applications, particularly as bottoming cycles for smaller GTs, while larger GTs present a challenge.