An Advanced Exergoeconomic Comparison of CO2-Based Transcritical Refrigeration Cycles

CO2-based transcritical refrigeration cycles are currently gaining significant research attention, as they offer a viable solution to the use of natural refrigerants (e.g., CO2). However, there are almost no papers that offer an exergoeconomic comparison between the different configurations of these types of systems. Accordingly, the present work deals with a comparative exergoeconomic analysis of four different CO2-based transcritical refrigeration cycles. In addition, the work is complemented by an analysis of the CO2 abatement costs. The influences of the variation of the evaporating temperature, the gas cooler outlet temperature, and the pressure ratio on the exergy efficiency, product cost rate, exergy destruction cost rate, exergoeconomic factor, and CO2 penalty cost rate are compared in detail. The results show that the transcritical cycle with the ejector has the lowest exergetic product cost and a low environmental impact.