10
Exergy Analysis Applied to Geothermal Power Systems 233

The brute-force exergy efficiency is given by:

_ 1 e2 1 m
m _ a eb
ηIIHXer;BF 5 ð10:33Þ
_ 1 e1 1 m
m _ a ea
The functional exergy efficiency is not as obvious. Functional exergy efficiencies for
heat exchangers will vary depending on the nature and purpose of the unit. Suppose,
for example, it is used to preheat a stream of isobutane prior to entering an evaporator
and that the heat comes from a stream of hot geothermal brine. Then we might take
the ratio of the exergy gained by the isobutane to the exergy given up by the brine
stream as a measure of the functional efficiency of the exchanger:
_ 1 ðe2 2 e1 Þ
m
ηIIHXer;FUN1 5 ð10:34Þ
m_ a ðea 2 eb Þ
Alternatively, we might observe that the brine at state b is simply disposed of by
means of reinjection back into the formation with no further use made of it, in which
case we might use the following definition:
_ 1 ðe2 2 e1 Þ
m
ηIIHXer;FUN2 5 ð10:35Þ
_ a ea
m
Numerical example
Preheater-evaporator: Suppose a stream of geothermal brine is
used to heat a stream of isobutane from a liquid to a saturated vapor. With reference
_ a be the brine flow rate and m
to Fig. 10.4, let m _ 1 be that for the isobutane. The heat
exchanger consists of two sections: the preheater PH which raises the liquid to its boil-
ing point and the evaporator E which changes the saturated liquid to a saturated
vapor. We will assume that both the brine and the isobutane pass through the heat
exchanger at constant pressure. The following data are given:
_ a 5 85 kg=s
T2 5 370 K; Ta 5 400 K; ΔTpp 5 5 K; T0 5 293:15 K; m
The pinch point where the brine and the isobutane will come closest in temperature,
ΔTpp 5 5 K, will most likely occur at the isobutane bubble point. We will assume this
to be true and verify it as we proceed. Let us use the state point z for the brine at the
pinch point, and y for the isobutane at the pinch point. Furthermore, we will assume
that the following isobutane properties are known:
T1 5 320 K; h1 5 275:58 kJ=kg; s1 5 1:0600 kJ=kg  K
Property values for both brine (pure water) and isobutane will be taken from
Reynolds’ property book [3].
Using eq. (10.32) applied to the evaporator section only, we find the isobutane flow rate:
ha 2 hz 532:7 2427:3
_15m
m _a 5 85 3 5 40:45 kg=s ð10:36Þ
h2 2 hy 640:09 2418:58
The brine outlet temperature may now be found assuming linearity of the brine cool-
ing curve: Tb 5 358.9 K. So the cold-end temperature difference is 38.9 K and the
pinch point does indeed occur at the bubble point.
We now have everything needed to find the rate of exergy loss using eq. (10.31):
ΔE_ 5 11;997:5 211;355:0 5 642:5 kW ð10:37Þ