The utilization of renewable energy and waste heat recovery can effectively alleviate the ongoing energy crisis and environmental pollution. The organic Rankine cycle has been proven to be reliable in converting low-to-medium-grade waste heat to power. The fluid selection is a crucial factor in the organic Rankine cycle design procedure, because the cycle performance depends mainly on the thermophysical properties of the working fluid. In this study, the optimal selection principle, based on environmental and economic criteria, for 14 different working fluids is proposed, considering a heat-source temperature range of from 90 to 230 °C. Electricity production cost and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions were selected as the objective functions. Through carbon footprint analysis, the greenhouse gas emissions generated by the organic Rankine cycle were investigated. Then, parametric studies were performed to analyze the matching relationship between the heat-source temperatures and corresponding fluids. The results demonstrate that for organic Rankine cycles with low-global warming potential (GWP) fluids, the construction phase generates the majority of the total emissions, approximately 66.24–90.21%. For high-GWP fluids, such as R134a and R245fa, the majority of the emissions are generated during the operation phase and include approximately 481.17 tons and 374.47 tons CO_2,eq, respectively. From the viewpoint of environmental benefits, R600a exhibited the highest emission reduction, approximately 9531.06 tons CO_2,eq, followed by R152a, R600, and R245fa, at a heat-source temperature of 150 °C. The matching relationship study indicated that the optimal temperature ranges for R601 are 363–384 K and 481–503 K, based on the maximum emission reductions. Regarding the economic analysis, the suitable temperature range corresponding to the best economic performance for R245fa was 363–468 K. Finally, correlations based on the best environmental benefits between the heat-source temperatures and optimal fluids were provided.

利用可再生能源和余热回收可以有效缓解持续的能源危机和环境污染。有机兰金循环已被证明在将中低级余热转化为电能方面是可靠的。流体的选择是有机朗肯循环设计程序中的关键因素，因为循环性能主要取决于工作流体的热物理性质。在这项研究中，考虑到热源温度范围为90至230°C，提出了基于环境和经济标准的14种不同工作流体的最佳选择原则。目标是选择电力生产成本和减少温室气体排放。通过碳足迹分析，研究了有机朗肯循环产生的温室气体排放。然后，进行参数研究以分析热源温度与相应流体之间的匹配关系。结果表明，对于具有低全球变暖潜势（GWP）流体的有机朗肯循环，施工阶段产生了总排放量的大部分，约占66.24–90.21％。对于高全球升温潜能值的流体，例如R134a和R245fa，大部分排放是在运行阶段产生的，包括大约481.17吨和374.47吨一氧化碳 结果表明，对于具有低全球变暖潜势（GWP）流体的有机朗肯循环，施工阶段产生了总排放量的大部分，约占66.24–90.21％。对于高全球升温潜能值的流体，例如R134a和R245fa，大部分排放是在运行阶段产生的，包括大约481.17吨和374.47吨一氧化碳 结果表明，对于具有低全球变暖潜势（GWP）流体的有机朗肯循环，施工阶段产生了总排放量的大部分，约占66.24–90.21％。对于高全球升温潜能值的流体，例如R134a和R245fa，大部分排放是在运行阶段产生的，包括大约481.17吨和374.47吨一氧化碳_2，eq。从环境效益的角度来看，在热源温度为150°C时，R600a的减排量最高，约为9531.06吨CO _2eq，其次是R152a，R600和R245fa。匹配关系研究表明，基于最大的减排量，R601的最佳温度范围为363–384 K和481–503K。关于经济分析，与R245fa的最佳经济性能相对应的合适温度范围为363–468K。最后，根据热源温度和最佳流体之间的最佳环境效益提供了相关性。