Process Efficiencies: Net in

ECH 3101
Chemical Engineering Thermodynamics
Fall 2013
USE OF THE SECOND LAW EFFICIENCIES

The second law yields insight into the limitations of the transformation between its different
forms. Specifically it can yield limits on how much work might be obtained from or required for
desired state changes. These limitations can be expressed in the forms of efficiencies. There are
two distinct types of efficiencies that are used in thermodynamic analysis: process efficiencies
and device efficiencies. Both are explained in more detail below.
Process Efficiencies
These types of efficiencies are used to describe the performance of cyclic processes that are
designed to generate power from heat transfer or make heat flow against a temperature gradient
by the addition of power. These are absolute efficiencies. The general form for these terms is
Efficiency = (what you get that you want)/(what you have to pay to get it)
These efficiencies are typically used to describe power cycles, refrigeration cycles and heat
pump cycles.
For power cycles the efficiency is given by
= Wnet/Qin
This is the net rate of power production divided by the rate of heat transfer into the system. For a
standard steam power plant this is a number on the order of 35 %.
For refrigeration cycles (also the same as an air conditioner) the efficiency is normally called the
coefficient of performance (COP). This is calculated as
= Qc/W
This the rate of heat removal at the low temperature (amount of cooling available) divided by the
required power input. These values can range from 5 15. It is interesting to note that air
conditioning units are now sold based on a related number, the SEER (seasonal energy efficiency
ratio) which is essentially the same as the COP except the units are not dimensionless. As a
general rule the higher the SEER the more efficient the unit.
Heat pump cycles use the same equipment as an air conditioner, with only a slight reversal of the
flow path. In Tallahasee many homes have combined heat pump/ air conditioner systems.
Device Efficiencies
The second law can also be used to describe the performance of devices that either produce or
consume power, such as turbines, pumps and compressors. For these types of devices a relative
efficiency is defined that specifies how some specific device performs compared to an idealized
device.
Turbines
For a turbine operating at steady state one typically knows the inlet temperature and pressure, the
mass flow rate and the outlet pressure which is controlled by a downstream valve. The outlet
temperature and power produced will be determined by the design and maintenance
characteristics of the turbine. If one neglects the kinetic energy changes the power produced is
given by
The heat term is written as a heat loss because most turbines operate at temperatures greater than
ambient and even if insulated will lose some heat to the environment. This heat loss will
diminish the amount of power that can be produced. We also know that reversible processes
produce maximal work so that for a turbine the maximum work that can be obtained is for a
reversible, adiabatic process. If one writes the entropy balance for a reversible, adiabatic turbine
we find that
Then the maximum work is found from
The actual work can then be found as the efficiency times the maximum work. With the actual
work one can then return to the energy balance above and determine the actual outlet enthalpy
(note that this requires knowledge of the heat loss if there is one) and then the actual outlet
temperature can be found from the knowledge of the outlet temperature and enthalpy.
Example: 20 kg/sec of steam at 30 MPa and 700 C flows through a well insulated turbine. The
exit pressure is 2 MPa and the turbine efficiency is 90%. What are the power produced and the
exit temperature?
From the steam tables we find the inlet specific enthalpy as 3745.6 kJ/kg and the inlet specific
entropy as 6.5606 kJ/kgK. We find the reversible, adiabatic outlet state by interpolating in the
steam tables to find the state where the pressure is 2 MPa and the specific entropy is 6.5606. By
interpolation we find that at these conditions the temperature would be 303.5 C and the specific
enthalpy would be 2910.9 kJ/kg. The maximum power would then be given by

The actual power would be 15025 kW. The actual exit enthalpy would be 2994.4 kJ/kg and by
interpolation the actual exit temperature would be 338.0 C.
Pumps and Compressors

Because pumps and compressors are devices that consume power the idealized (reversible and
adiabatic) devices consume less work than the actual devices. This then leads to a definition of
the efficiency as
= Wmin/Wact
As before, the minimum work occurs for reversible and adiabatic operation. And, as we saw for
turbines, the variables known to specify the operation of these devices are the inlet temperature
and pressure, the flow rate and the outlet pressure. The outlet temperature will be determined by
the operation of the actual device and can be calculated if the device efficiency is known. For
pumps, which are used to increase the pressure of liquids which are incompressible, the work can
be obtained from
=
We normally execute this calculation and then divide by the efficiency to obtain the actual work.
The difference in temperature is not important for liquids. For many pumps more detailed
information is available because the efficiency varies with the outlet pressure and the speed of
the impeller.
Compressors are used to move gases which are compressible. If the pressure increase is not too
large, then the ideal gas law can be used to yield useful results. For an ideal gas with constant
heat capacity the power for an adiabatic compressor is given by
For reversible, adiabatic operation the entropy is constant and for an ideal gas this leads to
The power required can then be calculated from the mass flow rate, the inlet temperature, the
compression ratio and the heat capacity. The actual work is then calculated based on the
efficiency and the actual exit temperature is found from the energy balance.
Example: A well insulated compressor receives 2 moles/sec of air at 1 atm and 300K and
compresses this to 10 atm pressure. Calculate the power required and the air exit temperature if
the compressor efficiency is 85%. Assume ideal gas behavior with Cp = 30 J/mole K.
We must first calculate the adiabatic and reversible (isentropic) exit temperature as
Tisentropic = 300*(10)8.314/30 = 567.9 K
Then the minimum power is found from
Wmin = 2*30*(567.9-300) = 16072 W
The actual power is = 18908 W = 18.9 kW.
The outlet temperature is Tout = Tin + 18908/(2*30) = 615.1 K.
This temperature is greater than the isentropic temperature due to the frictional losses in the
compressor that lead to internal heating.

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ECH 3101

Chemical Engineering Thermodynamics

USE OF THE SECOND LAW EFFICIENCIES

Then the maximum work is found from

Pumps and Compressors

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