Energy xxx (2015) 1e10

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Energy
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/energy

Thermodynamic analysis of a milk pasteurization process assisted by

geothermal energy
Nurdan Yildirim a, *, Seda Genc b
a
Yasar University, Engineering Faculty, Department of Energy Systems Engineering, TR-35100, Bornova, Izmir, Turkey
b
Yasar University, Vocational School, Department of Food Processing, TR-35100, Bornova, Izmir, Turkey

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Renewable energy system is an important concern for sustainable development of the World. Ther-
Received 10 June 2015 modynamic analysis, especially exergy analysis is an intense tool to assess sustainability of the systems.
Received in revised form Food processing industry is one of the energy intensive sectors where dairy industry consumes sub-
1 August 2015
stantial amount of energy among other food industry segments. Therefore, in this study, thermodynamic
Accepted 4 August 2015
Available online xxx
analysis of a milk pasteurization process assisted by geothermal energy was studied. In the system, a
watereammonia VAC (vapor absorption cycle), a cooling section, a pasteurizer and a regenerator were
used for milk pasteurization. Exergetic efficiencies of each component and the whole system were
Keywords:
Milk pasteurization
separately calculated. A parametric study was undertaken. In this regard, firstly the effect of the
Geothermal energy geothermal resource temperature on (i) the total exergy destruction of the absorption cycle and the
Thermodynamic analysis whole system, (ii) the efficiency of the VAC, the whole system and COP (coefficient of performance) of the
Exergy analysis VAC, (iii) the flow rate of the pasteurized milk were investigated. Then, the effect of the geothermal
resource flow rate on the pasteurization load was analyzed. The exergetic efficiency of the whole system
was calculated as 56.81% with total exergy destruction rate of 13.66 kW. The exergetic results were also
illustrated through the Grassmann diagram.
© 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction consumes 5% of total industrial energy use and Turkey is one of the
top ten largest milk producing countries with almost
Milk constitutes an important part of a balanced and healthy 19,000,000 tonnes/year of milk production. The dairy industry is of
diet with its excellent nutritional properties. It is one of the most great importance including 1,250,947 firms in Turkey [3,4].
popular beverages where more than 6 billion people consume milk Heating and cooling are common processes in dairy industry
and milk products around the World . According to a recent study and tubular or plate heat exchangers are used for these processes.
on the statistics from FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization) In a milk processing plant, one of the best known heat treatments is
world total milk production is 703,996,079 tonnes/year [1,2]. pasteurization which is carried out between 60e75
C according to
Therefore, producing safe milk by pasteurization process is a vital the process type [2]. The heat transfer is especially provided by hot
issue for human health. water in the pasteurization process and the required energy is
The production of fluid milk requires crucial amounts of energy supplied by using different energy sources such as natural gas, coal,
and raw materials. The main energy costs for dairy companies arise electricity, renewable energies, etc. In today's World, the demand
from their energy systems, the cleaning of the equipment and on energy has been rising parallel to the technological develop-
operating the machineries. In the case of complete milk processing ment and increasing population. However, fossil energy reserves on
plants, the energy requirement for pasteurization is about 600 MJ the Earth have been diminishing and the utilization of renewable
of thermal and 200 MJ of electrical energy per ton of the final energy resources (solar, wind, geothermal energy etc.) have been
product [1]. On the global scale, the food and tobacco industry gaining importance for a sustainable future [5e7]. Among the
renewable energies, geothermal energy has found wide application
areas not only for power generation but also heating/cooling pur-
* Corresponding author. poses both in industrial and residential usage [8e11]. Since milk
E-mail addresses: [email protected], [email protected] pasteurization process needs both heating and cooling applications
(N. Yildirim).

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2015.08.003
0360-5442/© 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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2 N. Yildirim, S. Genc / Energy xxx (2015) 1e10

Nomenclature Subscript
abs absorber
cp specific heat (kJ/kgK) con condenser
COP coefficient of performance (-) cooling cooling section
e specific exergy (kJ/kg) D destruction
E_ energy rate (kW) eva evaporator
_
Ex exergy destruction rate (kW) ev-1 expansion valve-1
ev-2 expansion valve-2
F_ exergetic fuel (kW)
f functional
h specific enthalpy (kJ/kg)
gen generator
m_ mass flow rate (kg/s)
hex heat exchanger
Q_ heat transfer rate (kW) in input, inlet
P pressure (kPa) k location
P_ exergetic product (kW) max maximum
R gas constant (kJ/kgK) out output
s specific entropy (kJ/kgK) past pasteurizer
T temperature (K or
C) regen regenerator
W _ rate of work or power (kW) rev reversible
VAC vapor absorption cycle u universal
vac vapor absorption cycle
Greek letters 0 reference environment
h thermal (the first law) efficiency ()
ε exergetic (the second law) efficiency () Superscript
ph physical

together, geothermal energy can be considered one of the best Although, exergy analysis has been carried out on thermal sys-
options as a renewable energy resource for dairy processes. tems by various authors [e.g., 8, 11, 12, 15, 16, 17], there are several
For cooling purpose the most common method is conventional factors affecting the exergy destruction rate of processes. Genc and
vapor absorption systems with their lower initial and operating Hepbasli studied exergy analysis of potato crisp processes and they
costs compared to a cooling tower. However, the refrigerants showed that the increase in mass flow rate of potato caused a rise in
(chlorofluorocarbons) used in the conventional systems are not the exergy destruction rate of the fryer [15]. In another study of
environmentally friendly. Watereammonia absorption cycle where Aman et al. [12], the efficiency of a VAC used for residential air
watereammonia mixture is used as a refrigerant is not only nature cooling was studied and they discovered that if the cycle is oper-
friendly but also provides refrigeration temperature necessary for a ated using low temperature heat sources it would be more ther-
dairy process [12]. On the other hand, if watereammonia absorp- modynamically efficient. On the other hand, the performance of
tion cycle powered by thermal energy resource between each component of a pilot scale milk processing system was
100 and 200
C, it would be an economical option. Hence, investigated by Fang [17] and the performance of the regenerator
geothermal energy is taken into account as a heat source for was found to be 30% exergetic efficiency value at the optimum
watereammonia VAC (vapor absorption cycle). The absorption operating condition.
cycle is composed of an absorber, an evaporator, a desorber, a Exergy analysis is an intense tool to evaluate the performance of
condenser, a heat exchanger, expansion valves, and a pump. the systems. In this regard, the results of the exergetic analysis
Ammonia (absorbent) and water (refrigerant) circulate along the indicate the major irreversibility issues and guide us to possible
system to provide for cooling effect [12,13]. improvements in the systems. To the best of the author's knowledge,
The energy analysis is basically applied by using the first law of there are no studies on exergy analysis of a milk pasteurization
thermodynamics, which is defined as the conservation of energy. process powered by geothermal energy in the open literature and
However, the first law analysis gives no idea about quality of the this was the driving force behind doing this study. The aim of the
energy. Exergy can be expressed as the maximum amount of work study is to carry out thermodynamic analysis (including energy and
obtained from a system when it is brought to a state of thermo- exergy analysis) on a milk pasteurization process with a water-
dynamic equilibrium with its surroundings [14]. The second law eammonia vapor absorption cycle, assisted by geothermal energy
analysis or exergy analysis assesses performance of the systems and which is presented in Section 2. The whole system and component
indicates irreversibility to improve the system. based efficiencies were computed by various parameters such as
Up to now energy analysis studies performed on fluid milk pro- geothermal resource temperatures and mass flow rates, etc.
duction process by using geothermal energy are concerned, Kiruja
[13] performed energy analysis of a milk pasteurization unit is based 2. System description
on the mass flow rate of milk processed. The system analyzed by
Ref. [13] is mainly composed of four units namely the pasteurizer, the Fig. 1 illustrates a schematic diagram of the considered system of
regenerator, the watereammonia absorption cycle and the cooling a milk pasteurization process assisted by geothermal energy. This
section. Most of the energy used in the milk pasteurization line was system was adopted from a study performed by Kiruja [13]. The
obtained in the regenerator with a value of 237,5 kW due to the whole energy requirement of the pasteurization system was sup-
heating and cooling of milk during the production line. In the same plied from geothermal resource where VAC was used for both
study, the effect of mass flow rate of raw milk on heat exchanger area, heating and cooling purposes.
energy requirement of pasteurizer, desorber, evaporator and the In the system of interest, the whole energy requirement for the
mass flow rate of geothermal resource were investigated [13]. pasteurization of milk was obtained from a geothermal resource

Please cite this article in press as: Yildirim N, Genc S, Thermodynamic analysis of a milk pasteurization process assisted by geothermal energy,
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 N. Yildirim, S. Genc / Energy xxx (2015) 1e10 3

3. Modeling

The fundamental mass, energy, and exergy balance equations

are carried out in the system of interest to acquire exergy
destruction and efficiencies in which the system is at steady-state
and steady-flow process.
In general, the mass balance equation is explained in the rate
form as
X X
m_ in ¼ m_ out (1)

The general energy balance can be expressed as the total energy

input equals the total energy output
X X
E_ in ¼ E_ out (2)

with all energy terms it becomes

X X
Q_ þ m_ in hin ¼ W_ þ m_ out hout (3)

The general exergy balance equation is defined in the rate form

as
Fig. 1. Schematic of the system of a milk pasteurization process assisted by geothermal X X X
_ _ out ¼ _ D
in 
energy (adopted from Ref. [13]). Ex Ex Ex (4)

or
where the vapor absorption refrigeration cycle was used in the milk X X X 
T0 _ X
pasteurization process line. m_ in ein  m_ out eout þ 1 Qk  W_ ¼ _
ExD
Tk
In the considered system, the whole energy requirement for
the pasteurization of milk was obtained from the geothermal (5)
resource with the indices 16 in Fig. 1. The geothermal source (line
where
16) is separated in two parts as stream 17 and 19. The first one
(stream 17) goes to the pasteurizer and provides required heat for _ ¼ me
Ex _ (6)
pasteurization of milk (stream 13); the second geothermal line
(stream 19) feeds up the VAC where water and ammonia are used Exergy can be classified into physical and chemical exergy. In
as an absorbent and a refrigerant, respectively. The VAC is made this study, only physical exergy has been taken into account in all
up of the generator, the condenser, the evaporator, the absorber, steps of the process.
the pump, two expansion valves and the heat exchanger. In the The specific physical exergy of milk is calculated by using Eq. (7).
generator of the VAC, the thermal energy of the geothermal
resource (stream 19) is transferred to the solution (rich in eph ¼ ðh  h0 Þ  T0 ðs  s0 Þ (7)
ammonia) and ammonia in the solution starts to evaporate
(stream 1), then a weak solution remains (stream 8) in the where the specific enthalpies of milk are computed by the formula
generator of the VAC. Stream 1 is condensed in the condenser at
constant pressure and stream 2 runs through the expansion valve h  h0 ¼ cp ðT  T0 Þ (8)
whereas its pressure decreases the evaporator pressure (stream 3).
In the evaporator, ammonia evaporates (stream 4) and provides a where 0 denotes the reference environment of the system
cooling effect for milk (stream 15). In the absorber, the ammonia (T0 ¼ 25
C, P0 ¼ 1 atm).
vapor is absorbed by stream 10 (the solution weak in ammonia) The specific entropies of the milk are calculated as [18]
and forms the ammonia rich solution. Stream 5 (the rich solution)
s  s0 ¼ cp lnðT=T0 Þ  R lnðP=P0 Þ (9)
is pumped through the heat exchanger (stream 6) and the rich
solution (stream 7) flows back to the generator to repeat the VAC. In this study, specific heat of milk is taken as 3.85 kJ/kg K from
In the system, the regenerator is used to save energy by pre- Ref. [19].
heating milk to be pasteurized (stream 12) while precooling milk General mass, energy and exergy balance equations of the milk
to be cooled (stream 14). pasteurization system (in Fig. 1) related on the system component
The whole system is explained above and displayed in Fig. 1 basis are summarized in Table 1. The exergetic efficiencies of each
made up of mainly four units, namely (i) the VAC (containing the component and the whole system are also shown in Table 1.
generator, the condenser, the evaporator, the absorber, the heat The coefficient of performance (COP) of the VAC can be calcu-
exchanger, two expansion valves and the pump) which is used to lated as the ratio of the evaporator capacity to the generator ca-
supply proper heat for pasteurization and cooling of milk, (ii) the pacity and pump work.
regenerator for the purpose of pre-heating and pre-cooling of
pasteurized milk, (iii) the pasteurizer containing the heat Q_ eva
COPvac ¼ (10)
exchanger responsible for extracting thermal energy of the _
Q gen þ W _ pump
geothermal water to the milk, and (iv) the cooling section to cool
the product (milk). The maximum COP of the VAC is determined by Eq. (11).

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4 N. Yildirim, S. Genc / Energy xxx (2015) 1e10

Table 1
The mass, energy and exergy equations of the components of the milk pasteurization process assisted by geothermal energy.

System components Mass, energy and exergy equations System components Mass, energy and exergy equations

Q_ gen ¼ m_ 20 ðh19  h20 Þ m_ 5 ¼ m_ 4 þ m_ 10

Q_ gen ¼ m_ 1 h1 þ m_ 8 h8  m_ 7 h7 Q_ abs ¼ m_ 4 h4 þ m_ 10 h10  m_ 5 h5
_ D;gen ¼ m_ 7 e7  m_ e  m_ e þ Q_ gen ð1  T =Tgen Þ _ _ 4 e4 þ m_ 10 e10  m_ 5 e5  Q_ abs ð1  T0 =Tabs Þ
Ex 8 8 1 1 0 Ex D;abs ¼ m
εgen ¼ ðm_ 7 e7 þ m_ 19 e19 Þ=ðm_ 1 e1 þ m_ 8 e8 þ m_ 20 e20 Þ εabs ¼ 1  ExD;abs =ðm_ 4 e4 þ m_ 10 e10 Þ

m_ 6 ¼ m_ 7 , m_ 8 ¼ m_ 9 m_ 1 ¼ m_ 2
m_ 6 h6 þ m_ 8 h8 ¼ m_ 7 h7 þ m_ 9 h9 Q_ con ¼ m_ 1 ðh1  h2 Þ
_ _ 6 e6 þ m_ 8 e8  m_ 7 e7  m_ 9 e9 _ D;con ¼ m_ ðe  e Þ  Q_ con ð1  T =Tcon Þ
Ex D;hex ¼ m Ex 1 1 2 0
εhex ¼ ðm_ 7 e7  m_ 6 e6 Þ=ðm_ 8 e8  m_ 9 e9 Þ εcon ¼ Q_ con ð1  T0 =Tcon Þ=ðm_ 1 ðe1  e2 ÞÞ

m_ 3 ¼ m_ 4 m_ in ¼ m_ out
Q_ eva ¼ m_ 3 ðh4  h3 Þ hin ¼ hout
_ D;eva ¼ m_ ðe  e Þ þ Q_ ð1  T =Teva Þ
Ex _ D;ev ¼ mðe
Ex _ in  eout Þ
3 3 4 eva 0
εeva ¼ Q_ eva ð1  T0 =Teva Þ=ðm_ 3 ðe4  e3 ÞÞ εev ¼ Ex_ out =Ex
_
in

m_ 5 ¼ m_ 6 m_ 13 ¼ m_ 14 , m_ 11 ¼ m_ 12
W_ pump ¼ m_ 5 ðh  h5 Þ
6 Q_ regen; max ¼ m_ 14 Cpmilk ðT12  T11 Þ
W_ pump ¼ m_ 5 n5 ðP  P5 Þ
6 Q_ regen ¼ hregen Q_ regen; max
W_ pump;rev ¼ m_ 5 ðe  e5 Þ
6 Q_ regen ¼ m_ 14 Cpmilk ðT13  T14 Þ
_ D;pump ¼ W
Ex _ pump  W _ pump;rev _ D;regen ¼ m_ e þ m_ e  m_ e  m_ e
Ex 11 11 13 13 12 12 14 14
_
εpump ¼ W pump;rev / W _ pump εregen ¼ ðm_ 12 e12  m_ 11 e11 Þ=ðm_ 13 e13  m_ 14 e14 Þ
m_ 12 ¼ m_ 13 , m_ 17 ¼ m_ 18 m_ 21 ¼ m_ 22 , m_ 14 ¼ m_ 15
Q_ past ¼ m_ 12 Cpmilk ðT13  T12 Þ Q_ cooling ¼ Q_ eva
Q_ past ¼ m_ 17 ðh17  h18 Þ Q_ cooling ¼ m_ 14 Cpmilk ðT14  T15 Þ
_ D;past ¼ m_ e þ m_ e  m_ e  m_ e _ _ 14 e14 þ m_ 21 e21  m_ 15 e15 þ m_ 22 e22
Ex 12 12 17 17 13 13 18 18 Ex D;cooling ¼ m
εpast ¼ ðm_ 13 e13  m_ 12 e12 Þ= ðm_ 17 e17  m_ 18 e18 Þ εcooling ¼ Q_ cooling ð1  T0 =Tcooling Þ= ðm_ 14 e14  m_ 15 e15 Þ

   
T0 Teva (i) Considering P_ as the pasteurized milk the functional exer-
COPvac;rev ¼ 1 $ (11)
Tgen T0  Teva getic efficiency:

The exergetic efficiency of the VAC is the ratio of actual coeffi-

cient of performance (COP) to the reversible COP under the same :
operating conditions: E xproduct ðm_ 17 e17  m_ 18 e18 Þ
εf 1 ¼ ¼ (15)
Ex: fuel m_ 16 e16  m_ 18 e18  m_ 20 e20 þ W_ pump
COPvac
εvac ¼ (12)
COPvac;rev
The thermal efficiency of the whole system is defined by the (ii) Considering P_ as total of the pasteurized and cooled milk
formula as follows:

m_ 15 h15 þ m_ 18 h18 þ m_ 20 h20 :

hwhole ¼ (13)
W_ pump þ m_ h þ m_ h E xproduct ðm_ 17 e17  m_ 18 e18 Þ þ ðm_ 15 e15  m_ 14 e14 Þ
16 16 11 11 εf 2 ¼¼ ¼
Ex: fuel m_ 16 e16  m_ 18 e18  m_ 20 e20 þ W _ pump
Exergetic efficiency can be defined in two ways as universal and
functional exergetic efficiencies. The universal exergetic efficiency (16)
of the whole system can be computed by dividing total exergy The system was modeled using Engineering Equation Solver
output to total exergy input in which “output” indicates to the net (EES) Software package [20] and the graphs were drawn in both EES
output (Eq. (14)). In the system interest, while exergy of the and Microsoft Office Excel.
pasteurized-cooled milk ðEx _
15 Þ and exergy of the geothermal
resource outlet (Ex _ _
18 and Ex20 ) are considered as output, the pump
_ pump Þ, exergy of the geothermal resource inlet ðEx _ 4. Data used and assumptions made
power ðW 16 Þ and
exergy of the milk inlet ðEx _ Þ are taken as input.
11
The whole system explained in Section 2 is assessed by using
energetic and exergetic analysis whereas the model explained in
:
E xout m_ e þ m_ 18 e18 þ m_ 20 e20 Section 3 is performed to this system. The main data used in this
εu;whole ¼ ¼ 15 15 (14)
Ex: in W_ pump þ m_ e þ m_ e study were taken from Refs. [12,13]. Firstly, using these data the
16 16 11 11
pressures, the concentration values of the solution of the VAC were
In this study, functional exergetic efficiency was defined on the calculated, then enthalpy and entropy values based on water-
_
exergetic product ðPÞ/exergetic _ basis in two ways:
fuel ðFÞ eammonia mixtures were computed using EES by formulas

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 N. Yildirim, S. Genc / Energy xxx (2015) 1e10 5

explained in Refs. [21e23]. The thermodynamic properties of the

efficiency
Exergetic
other streams (milk and geothermal resource) illustrated in Fig. 1

32.01

31.89
were determined and all results were tabulated in Table 1 as a
representative case. The following several assumptions have been
considered for the exergy analysis of the system.

Reversible

1.863
4.1. Assumptions

1.86
COP
(a) All processes are steady state and steady flow with negligible

0.5942
potential and kinetic energy effects.

0.60
COP
(b) Ammoniaewater solutions are assumed to be in equilibrium
in the generator and the absorber at their respective pres-

power
(mW)
Pump
sures and temperatures.

0.89

0.39
(c) The directions of heat transfer to the system and work
transfer from the system are positive.

6.706
(kW)
HEX
load

6.53
(d) The pressure and heat losses in the pipelines and the system
components (generator, condenser, evaporator, absorber,
regenerator, pasteurizer cooler, etc.) are ignored.

load (kW)
Absorber
(e) All throttle valves are operated under adiabatic condition,

15.33

15.38
which results in constant enthalpy process.
(f) The generator temperature is taken as 5
C less than tem-
perature of the geothermal resource.

Evaporator
load (kW)
(g) The milk temperature at the pasteurizer entrance is 2
C less

10.00

10.02
than temperature of the geothermal resource.
(h) The cold storage temperature of the milk is taken as 4
C.
(i) The thermal efficiency of the heat exchanger in the VAC is

Condenser
load (kW)
assumed as 0.80.

11.43

11.47
(j) The effectiveness of the regenerator is accepted as 0.95.
(k) Specific heat of the milk is kept constant and taken as 3.85 kJ/
kg K.
Generator
load (kW)

(l) The pasteurization temperature of the milk is taken as 76
C.

16.77

16.82
(m) The condenser, the evaporator and the absorber tempera-
tures are assumed to be 30
C, 2
C and 30
C, respectively.
(n) The pressure of geothermal resource is assumed same as

0.5299
7.612
with the generator pressure.
28.75
9.36
14.81
99.94
20.30
20.30
153.67
272.80
101.95
101.95
31.59

21.08
Specific

101.6
20.3

154.8
272.3

101.4
exergy
(kJ/kg)

(o) The pressure of the chilled water is assumed as atmospheric

102
pressure.
(p) The temperature and pressure values for the reference
environment are taken to be 25
C and 101.325 kPa,
(kJ/kgK)
entropy
Specific

0.6092
0.6095

0.5166
0.4594
0.4592
5.704
1.455
1.536
5.595
0.609
0.609
0.663
0.517
0.459
0.459
5.695
1.487
1.515
5.596

0.664
respectively.

5. Results and discussion

enthalpy

77.13
77.13

37.48

76.24
76.94
1627.00
340.78
340.78
1465.82
114.25
114.25
35.42
110.85
Specific

341.6
341.6

113.3
112.4
(kJ/kg)

1627

1464

111
5.1. Validation
Concentration

An EES code was written to solve system governing equations

displayed in Table 1. The property correlations for the pure water
55.05
55.05
55.05
43.90
43.90
43.90

55.07
55.07
55.07
43.88
43.88
43.88

and ammoniaewater solution are taken from the literature [22,23].

100
100
100
100

100
100
100
100

The operating pressure values of the VAC were computed based on

(%)

the condenser and the evaporator temperatures. Then determina-

tion of concentration values of the solution was done by related to
Pressure

1166.92
1166.92
461.67
461.67
461.67
1166.92
1166.92
1166.92
1166.92
461.67

461.7
461.7
461.7

461.7

the absorber and the generator temperatures and pressures. As a

(kPa)

1167
1167

1167
1167
1167
1167

result, the first and second law analyses of the VAC components
were conducted.
The outcome of the validation exercise.

Temperature

The accuracy of the developed EES code has been verified. The
validation of the code is done by comparing the results of the VAC
30.19
62.07

40.15

calculated in this study to those reported in the theoretical study by

(
C)

80
30
2
2
30
30
62
80
40
40
80
30
2
2
30

80

40

Aman et al. [12]. Table 2 summarizes the results of the validation

study. It is clearly stated from Table 2, the results of this study
Point

match up with the reference study [12].

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
This Study

5.2. Results
Ref. Study
Table 2

For a representative case, the temperature, pressure, enthalpy,

entropy, fluid names and mass flow rate data for ammonia,

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6 N. Yildirim, S. Genc / Energy xxx (2015) 1e10

Table 3
Thermodynamic properties of the system at operating conditions Tgen ¼ 95
C, Tcon ¼ 30
C, Tabs ¼ 30
C, Teva ¼ 2
C and hHEX ¼ 80%.

Point Temperature Pressure Specific enthalpy Specific entropy Fluid Mass flowrate Specific exergy Exergy (kW)
(
C) (kPa) (kJ/kg) (kJ/kgK) (kg/s) (kJ/kg)

1 95 1167 1665 5.801 NH3 0.03086 38.22 1.18

2 30 1167 341.6 1.487 NH3 0.03086 0.5299 0.01635
3 2 461.7 341.6 1.515 NH3 0.03086 7.612 0.2349
4 2 461.7 1464 5.596 NH3 0.03086 101.6 3.136
5 30 461.7 113.3 0.6092 NH3eH20 0.1033 20.3 2.098
6 30.19 1167 112.4 0.6095 NH3eH20 0.1033 21.08 2.178
7 66.1 1167 57.05 0.6709 NH3eH20 0.1033 172.3 17.8
8 95 1167 193.4 0.4245 NH3eH20 0.07247 382.1 27.69
9 43.15 1167 48.31 0.3573 NH3eH20 0.07247 160.4 11.62
10 40 461.7 62.46 0.3539 NH3eH20 0.07247 147.3 10.67
11 4 101.3 80.85 0.2812 Milk 1 2.988 2.988
12 70.32 101.3 174.5 0.5447 Milk 1 12.05 12.05
13 76 101.3 196.4 0.6079 Milk 1 15.09 15.09
14 13 101.3 46.2 0.1582 Milk 1 0.9555 0.9555
15 4 101.3 80.85 0.2812 Milk 1 2.988 2.988
16 100 1167 419.9 1.306 Geothermal Water 0.8628 35.02 30.22
17 100 1167 419.9 1.306 Geothermal Water 0.1883 35.02 6.594
18 72.32 1167 303.6 0.9824 Geothermal Water 0.1883 15.28 2.877
19 100 1167 419.9 1.306 Geothermal Water 0.6745 35.02 23.62
20 79 1167 331.6 1.063 Geothermal Water 0.6745 19.35 13.05
21 0 101.3 0.0613 0.00015 Chilled Water 2.739 4.662 12.77
22 3 101.3 12.71 0.04592 Chilled Water 2.739 3.579 9.801

ammoniaewater mixture, milk, geothermal and chilled water are Total exergy destruction of the VAC and the whole system versus
shown in Table 3 following the stream numbers specified in Fig. 1 the geothermal resource temperature were plotted as seen in Fig. 4.
(and Table 1) and specific exergy values for each stream are The results indicate that total exergy destruction is proportional
calculated and added to Table 3. with the geothermal resource temperature for both the VAC and
Table 4 presents the results of the heat capacities of the each the whole system. The exergy destruction rate of the whole system
component and efficiency values of the whole system based on the is computed as 13.66 kW at 100
C and 27.31 kW at 180
C as seen in
operating condition (Tgeo ¼ 100
C, Tgen ¼ 95
C, Tcon ¼ 30
C, Table 7.
Tabs ¼ 30
C, Teva ¼ 2
C and hHEX ¼ 80%, mmilk ¼ 1 kg/s). When the Fig. 5 displays the variation of the efficiencies when the
system run at this operating condition, the performance parame- geothermal resource temperature is in the range between 100 and
ters (COP) and the exergetic efficiency of the VAC and the thermal 180
C, all other parameters kept constant (Table 3). It is clearly
and exergetic efficiencies of the whole system were computed to be
0.5813, 25.55%, 71.05% and 56.81%, respectively. Total exergy
destruction of the whole system is found as 13.66 kW (Table 5) Table 5
Non-dimensional exergy loss of different components of the whole system
while the greatest irreversibility (exergy destruction) occurs in the
(T16 ¼ 100
C, Tgen ¼ 95
C, Tcon ¼ 30
C, Tabs ¼ 30
C, Teva ¼ 2
C and hHEX ¼ 80%,
VAC covering 51.07% (6.974 kW), followed by the regenerator m_ milk ¼ 1 kg/s).
(5.076 kW), the cooling section (0.932 kW) and the pasteurizer
Component Exergy destruction Exergy destruction
(0.674 kW), as seen in Table 5 and Fig. 2.
rate (kW) fraction (%)
Exergy analysis of the VAC showed that the highest exergy
destruction is obtained in the absorber with a value of 4.58 kW Absorption Cycle 6.974 51.07
Pasteurizer 0.6739 4.935
covering 65.63% of total exergy destruction of the VAC (Table 6,
Regenerator 5.076 37.17
Fig. 3). Cooling section 0.9323 6.827
Whole System 13.66 100

Table 4
Main results of the system at operating conditions T16 ¼ 100
C, Tgen ¼ 95
C,
Tcon ¼ 30
C, Tabs ¼ 30
C, Teva ¼ 2
C and hHEX ¼ 80%, m_ milk ¼ 1 kg/s.

Parameter Value Unit

Generator heat capacity 59.52 kW

Condenser heat capacity 40.86 kW
Evaporator heat capacity 34.65 kW
Absorber heat capacity 52.38 kW
Heat exchanger heat capacity 17.52 kW
Pasteurizer heat capacity 21.88 kW
Regenerator heat capacity 242.6 kW
Cooling section heat capacity 34.65 kW
Pump power 0.09067 kW
COP of the VAC 0.5813 e
Reversible COP of the VAC 2.275 e
Exergetic efficiency of the VAC 25.55 %
Thermal efficiency of the whole system 71.05 %
Exergetic efficiency of the whole system 56.81 %
Fig. 2. Percentage exergy loss of the whole system (T16 ¼ 100
C, m_ milk ¼ 1 kg/s).

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Table 6
Non-dimensional exergy loss of different components of the VAC (T16 ¼ 100
C,
Tgen ¼ 95
C, Tcon ¼ 30
C, Tabs ¼ 30
C, Teva ¼ 2
C and hHEX ¼ 80%, m_ milk ¼ 1 kg/s).

Component Exergy destruction Exergy destruction

rate (kW) fraction (%)

Generator 0.2501 3.587

Condenser 0.4894 7.018
Absorber 4.577 65.63
HEX 0.4413 6.428
Evaporator 0.004336 0.044
Pump 0.01011 0.153
Expansion valve 1 0.2513 3.603
Expansion valve 2 0.9501 13.62
VAC 6.974 100

Fig. 5. Effect of the geothermal resource temperature on efficiency of the adsorption

cycle, pasteurization system and COP of the adsorption cycle (m_ milk ¼ 1 kg/s).

seen from Fig. 5, the COP and exergetic efficiencies showed a

decreasing trend with increasing geothermal resource
temperature.
In the system of interest, the effect of the geothermal resource
temperature on the flow rate of the pasteurized milk ðm_ 15 Þ was
examined. For this purpose nine different temperatures (from 100
to 180
C) were considered and the results are seen in Fig. 6. It is
clear from Fig. 6, increasing the geothermal resource temperature
scales up the flow rate of the pasteurized milk. In this regard, if the
geothermal resource flow rate kept constant as 0.8628 kg/s
(Table 3), the maximum (4.116 kg/s) and minimum flow rate (1 kg/
Fig. 3. Percentage exergy loss of the VAC (T16 ¼ 100
C, m_ milk ¼ 1 kg/s).
s) of the pasteurized milk were obtained at geothermal resource
temperature of 180
C and 100
C, respectively.
The exergetic efficiencies of each component in the whole sys-
tem were analyzed by using the equations given in Table 1 and the
results are indicated in Fig. 7. The efficiency values are in the range
of 39%e99% and the evaporator has the highest exergetic efficiency
with a value of 99.85%.
Fig. 8 presents the effect of geothermal resource temperature
and geothermal resource flow rate on the exergetic efficiency of the
whole system for mass flow rate of milk is 1 kg/s. As seen from the
Fig. 8, the maximum efficiency can be obtained by using lower
temperature and higher flow rate of the geothermal resource.
When the geothermal resource temperature kept constant as
100
C, the required geothermal resource flow rate increases with
increasing pasteurized milk flow rate which results in rising
pasteurization capacity (Fig. 9).
The exergy destructions in the whole system are quantified
Fig. 4. Effect of the geothermal resource temperature on total exergy destruction of
the VAC and the whole system (m_ milk ¼ 1 kg/s). based on the data shown in Table 3 and illustrated on the Grassman
diagram (Fig. 10). In the considered system, while the total exergy

Table 7
The thermodynamic analysis results of the milk pasteurization process assisted by geothermal energy with respect to temperature of geothermal resource (m_ milk ¼ 1 kg/s).

T 16 (
C) 100 120 140 160 180

m_ 16 (kg/s) 0.8628 0.4696 0.3287 0.2552 0.2096

m_ 17 (kg/s) 0.1883 0.109 0.07648 0.05877 0.04761
m_ 19 (kg/s) 0.6745 0.3607 0.2522 0.1964 0.162
m_ 15 (kg/s) 1 1 1 1 1
Evaporator heat capacity (kW) 34.65 34.65 34.65 34.65 34.65
Pasteurizer heat capacity (kW) 21.88 21.88 21.88 21.88 21.88
Regenerator heat capacity (kW) 242.6 242.6 242.6 242.6 242.6
COP of the VAC 0.5813 0.5552 0.5317 0.5118 0.495
Exergetic efficiency of the VAC (%) 25.55 20.02 16.49 14.09 12.36
Exergetic efficiency of the whole system (%) 56.81 41.08 32.24 26.57 22.61
Exergy destruction of the VAC 6.974 10.05 13.1 16.04 18.88
Exergy destruction of the whole system 13.66 17.21 20.7 24.07 27.31
T19 (
C) 43.15 47.15 51.15 55.15 59.15
Ammonia concentration of the weak solution, X 8 0.3594 0.2673 0.1854 0.1106 0.04097

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8 N. Yildirim, S. Genc / Energy xxx (2015) 1e10

Fig. 6. Effect of the geothermal resource temperature on the flow rate of pasteurized
milk (m_ 16 ¼ 0,8628 kg/s).

input rate is calculated as 31.208 kW, the total exergy output rate of
the whole system is determined as 18.915 kW. The main exergy
destruction rates occurred in the regenerator, the absorber, the
expansion valve-2, the cooling section and the pasteurizer with the
values of 5.07 kW, 4.57 kW, 0.95 kW, 0.94 kW and 0.68 kW, Fig. 8. The effect of geothermal resource temperature (T16) and geothermal resource
respectively. flow rate (m_ 16) on the exergetic efficiency of the whole system (m
_ milk ¼ 1 kg/s).
This is the first study conducted on exergetic analysis of a milk
pasteurization system. Since there is no any exergetic study about
the whole pasteurization system, the comparisons are made on the generator operating temperature of 80
C and watereammonia
component basis. By comparison, the energetic efficiency assess- flow rate of 0.0089 kg/s. In this research, because of the different
ment of the pasteurization of milk by using geothermal energy was operating conditions (generator temperature of 95
C and water-
carried out by Kiruja [13]. The energy analysis results of this study eammonia flow rate of 0.03 kg/s) the exergetic efficiency of the
are found close to the results of Ref. [13]. As an example, for 1 kg/s VAC was found to be 25.55%.
pasteurize milk flow rate, the pasteurizer heat capacities of the
reference study [13] and this study are calculated as 22.6 kW and 6. Conclusions
21.88 kW, respectively. The difference in the pasteurizer's heat ca-
pacities is due to the different operating conditions (pressure and Thermal (the first law) analysis is mostly used to evaluate the
temperature) in the VAC. Another study was carried out on exer- performance of various thermal systems. Recently, the exergy
getic performance assessment of a dairy process by considering two analysis method, considering the second law of thermodynamics,
different energy sources [16]. In the first system, natural gas and has been gaining importance since it is a more useful tool to indi-
electricity, in the second system natural gas and solar energy were cate the inefficiencies of the system of interest. In this regard, we
used and their exergetic efficiencies were compared. Although the have carried out energy and exergy analyses of a milk
first system has 10.3% exergetic efficiency, the second one's exer-
getic efficiencies changed from the value of 5.2%e14.3% depending
on the solar fractions. Fang [17] performed exergy analysis of a pilot
milk processing system and determined the exergetic efficiency
values of the homogenizer, the regenerator, the feed water heater,
the cooler and the heater were calculated to be 60.8%, 29.1%, 9%,
2.9% and 1.9%, respectively. In the study of Aman et al. [12] the
exergetic efficiency of the VAC was calculated as 32% with

Fig. 7. Exergetic efficiency of the system component (T16 ¼ 100
C, Tgen ¼ 95
C, Fig. 9. Effect of pasteurized milk flow rate (m_ 15) and geothermal resource flow rate
Tcon ¼ 30
C, Tabs ¼ 30
C, Teva ¼ 2
C and hHEX ¼ 80%, m_ milk ¼ 1 kg/s). (m_ 16) on the pasteurization capacity (T16 ¼ 100
C).

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 N. Yildirim, S. Genc / Energy xxx (2015) 1e10 9

Fig. 10. Grassmann diagram of the milk pasteurization process assisted by geothermal energy.

pasteurization process assisted by geothermal energy using the selection of the components in regard to scale up and opti-
operational data taken from the literature. The concluding remarks mum operational cost of the whole system.
of the present study can be summarized as follows:
Acknowledgments
a) The total exergy destruction of the whole system was found
to be 13.66 kW. The greatest exergy destruction of the whole The authors wish to express their gratitude to Prof. Arif Hepbasli
system basis was due to the VAC (6.974 kW), the regenerator for his valuable suggestions and comments. They also would like to
(5.076 kW) followed by the cooling section and the thank the reviewers for their valuable and constructive comments
pasteurizer. which have been utilized in increasing the quality of the paper.
b) The highest portion of exergy destruction rate among VAC
components belongs to the absorber with a value of 4.57 kW. References
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