Desain dan Analisa Performansi Sistem Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) dengan Daya 500 Watt dengan Menggunakan Aspen Plus

Abstract

The Energy crisis and the rise in greenhouse gas emissions due to fossil fuel consumption have necessitated the development of efficient and environmentally friendly renewable energy technologies. The Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) is one such technology capable of converting low-temperature heat into electrical energy by utilizing organic working fluids. This study aims to design and analyze the performance of an ORC system with a power output of 500 Watts using Aspen Plus software as a simulation tool. The working fluids used in this simulation are n-pentane, R-141b, and diethyl ether. The heat source is obtained from the combustion of biomass, empty fruit bunches (EFB) and palm kernel shells. The simulation is conducted to determine the energy requirements of the main ORC components, including the evaporator, turbine, pump, and condenser. Furthermore, an analysis is carried out to determine the minimum biomass flow rate required to generate sufficient thermal energy for evaporating the working fluid, with the target power output. The simulation results indicate that each working fluid possesses distinct thermodynamic characteristics that influence the overall system efficiency. The ORC system utilizing n-pentane as the working fluid demonstrated that the minimum required flow rate is 7.15 kg/h for EFB and 4.23 kg/h for palm kernel shells under the specified conditions. This study contributes to the development of a laboratory-scale ORC prototype and supports the potential of biomass as a local renewable energy source in Indonesia. The findings are expected to serve as a reference for the design of efficient, sustainable, and environmentally friendly small-scale power generation systems.