Break-Even Power Production in a Supercritical CO2 Brayton Cycle

摘要

Supercritical CO2 power plants offer the potential forrnbetter economics due to their small size, use of standardrnmaterials, and improved electrical-power-conversionrnefficiency. Sandia National Labs (SNL or Sandia) and thernDOE-NE have been operating a supercritical CO2 (S-CO2)rnBrayton cycle power system that is currently located atrnSandia’s contractor Barber Nichols Inc. in Arvada,rnColorado. This loop is a re-configurable proof-ofprinciplernBrayton cycle power loop that is beingrndeveloped in stages. During 2010 the Brayton cycle looprnwas configured with a 260 kW heater, a Printed CircuitrnHeat Exchanger (PCHE) recuperator, and a PCHE waterto-rnCO2 gas chiller. The test results of a break-even powerrngenerating test are provided. A schematic of the simplernheated-recuperated Brayton loop is shown in Figure 1.