Development and multi-criteria optimization of a solar thermal power plant integrated with PEM electrolyzer and thermoelectric generator

This study investigates a novel solar-driven energy system for co-generating power, hydrogen, oxygen, and hot water. In the proposed system, parabolic trough collectors (PTCs) are used as the heat source of cascaded power cycles, i.e., steam and organic Rankine cycles (SRC and ORC). While the electricity produced by the SRC is supplied to the grid, the energy output of the ORC is used to drive an electrolyzer for hydrogen production. In addition, the use of a thermoelectric generator (TEG) using heat rejected from the ORC condenser for supplying additional electricity to the electrolyzer is investigated. A multi-objective optimization based on the genetic algorithm approach is carried out to estimate the optimal results for the proposed system. The specific cost of the system product and exergy efficiency are the chosen objective parameters to be minimized and maximized, respectively. The results show that, for the optimal system with the TEG, the specific cost of the system product and the exergy efficiency are 30.2$/GJ and 21.9%, respectively, and the produced hydrogen rate is 2.906 kg/h. The results also show that using a TEG increases efficiency and reduces the specific cost of system product. For having the most realistic interpretation of the investigations, the performance of the proposed system is investigated for four cities in Khuzestan province in Iran.     

Numerical analysis of latent heat thermal energy storage using encapsulated phase change material for solar thermal power plant

Thermal energy storage improves the load stability and efficiency of solar thermal power plants by reducing fluctuations and intermittency inherent to solar radiation. This paper presents a numerical study on the transient response of packed bed latent heat thermal energy storage system in removing fluctuations in the heat transfer fluid (HTF) temperature during the charging and discharging period. The packed bed consisting of spherical shaped encapsulated phase change materials (PCMs) is integrated in an organic Rankine cycle-based solar thermal power plant for electricity generation. A comprehensive numerical model is developed using flow equations for HTF and two-temperature non-equilibrium energy equation for heat transfer, coupled with enthalpy method to account for phase change in PCM. Systematic parametric studies are performed to understand the effect of mass flow rate, inlet charging system, storage system dimension and encapsulation of the shell diameter on the dynamic behaviour of the storage system. The overall effectiveness and transient temperature difference in HTF temperature in a cycle are computed for different geometrical and operational parameters to evaluate the system performance. It is found that the ability of the latent heat thermal energy storage system to store and release energy is significantly improved by increasing mass flow rate and inlet charging temperature. The transient variation in the HTF temperature can be effectively reduced by decreasing porosity.     

Performance and design optimization of a low-cost solar organic Rankine cycle for remote power generation

Recent interest in small-scale solar thermal combined heat and power (CHP) power systems has coincided with demand growth for distributed electricity supplies in areas poorly served by centralized power stations. One potential technical approach to meeting this demand is the parabolic trough solar thermal collector coupled with an organic Rankine cycle (ORC) heat engine.The paper describes the design of a solar organic Rankine cycle being installed in Lesotho for rural electrification purpose. The system consists of parabolic though collectors, a storages tank, and a small-scale ORC engine using scroll expanders.A model of each component is developed taking into account the main physical and mechanical phenomena occurring in the cycle and based on experimental data for the main key components.The model allows sizing the different components of the cycle and evaluates the performance of the system. Different working fluids are compared, and two different expansion machine configurations are simulated (single and double stage).     

Thermo-environ study of a concentrated photovoltaic thermal system integrated with Kalina cycle for multigeneration and hydrogen production

Unlike steam and gas cycles, the Kalina cycle system can utilize low-grade heat to produce electricity with water-ammonia solution and other mixed working fluids with similar thermal properties. Concentrated photovoltaic thermal systems have proven to be a technology that can be used to maximize solar energy conversion and utilization. In this study, the integration of Kalina cycle with a concentrated photovoltaic thermal system for multigeneration and hydrogen production is investigated. The purpose of this research is to develop a system that can generate more electricity from a solar photovoltaic thermal/Kalina system hybridization while multigeneration and producing hydrogen. With this aim, two different system configurations are modeled and presented in this study to compare the performance of a concentrated photovoltaic thermal integrated multigeneration system with and without a Kalina system. The modeled systems will generate hot water, hydrogen, hot air, electricity, and cooling effect with photovoltaic cells, a Kalina cycle, a hot water tank, a proton exchange membrane electrolyzer, a single effect absorption system, and a hot air tank. The environmental benefit of two multigeneration systems modeled in terms of carbon emission reduction and fossil fuel savings is also studied. The energy and exergy efficiencies of the heliostat used in concentrating solar radiation onto the photovoltaic thermal system are 90% and 89.5% respectively, while the hydrogen production from the two multigeneration system configurations is 10.6 L/s. The concentrated photovoltaic thermal system has a 74% energy efficiency and 45.75% exergy efficiency, while the hot air production chamber has an 85% and 62.3% energy and exergy efficiencies, respectively. Results from this study showed that the overall energy efficiency of the multigeneration system increases from 68.73% to 70.08% with the integration of the Kalina system. Also, an additional 417 kW of electricity is produced with the integration of the Kalina system and this justifies the importance of the configuration. The production of hot air at the condensing stage of the photovoltaic thermal/Kalina hybrid system is integral to the overall performance of the system.     

Dynamic modeling of a solar hydrogen system under leakage conditions

Dynamic behaviors of an integrated solar hydrogen system have been modeled mathematically, which is based on a combination of fundamental theories of thermodynamics, mass transfer, fluid dynamics, and empirical electrochemical relationships. The model considers solar hydrogen system to be composed of three subsystems, i.e., solar cells, an electrolyzer, and a hydrogen tank. An additional pressure switch model is presented to visualize the hydrogen storage dynamics under a leakage condition. Validation of the solar hydrogen model system is evaluated according to the measured data from the manufacturer's data. Then, the overall was simulated by using solar irradiation as the primary energy input and hydrogen as energy storage for one-day operation. Finally, electrical characteristics and efficiencies of each subsystem as well as the entire system are presented and discussed.     

热源自调节有机朗肯循环发电系统热力性能分析

为提高基本ORC(有机朗肯循环)系统换热器内冷热流体换热温差匹配程度,提升系统热力性能,提出一种ORC-R(热源自调节有机朗肯循环发电)系统,基于热力学第一定律和第二定律,建立了系统的数学模型并编制计算机程序进行分析,研究表明:当热源与有机工质换热温差不匹配时,采用热源自调节方式可有效提升基本ORC系统热力性能;热源自调节系数不同,ORC-R系统热力性能提升程度不同,存在随热源温度不同而有所变化的极限调节值;同时,ORC-R系统较基本ORC系统达到性能最优值时的蒸发温度降低,ORC-R系统净输出功、火用效率随热源自调节系数增加呈现先增加后减小的变化规律,可找到热源自调节系数的最佳值使ORC-R系统热力性能达到最优;热源温度Tg=373、383、393和403 K时,ORC-R系统净输出功Wnet较基本ORC系统分别增加35.52%、42.75%、51.15%和57.63%;ORC-R系统火用效率ηex分别为基本ORC系统的0.879 9倍、1.174 9倍、1.485 8倍和1.807 8倍。     

Thermal integration of Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell with recuperative organic rankine cycle

The increased usage of fossil fuels in today's world is leading to an energy crisis and is having a catastrophic impact on our surroundings. There is an immediate need for the development of new, clean and renewable sources of energy especially to power the fuel driven vehicles to decrease the level of carbon footprint around the world. Fuel cells continue to produce power by undergoing a chemical process unlike conventional combustion technology to convert hydrogen-rich fuel into electricity as long as a fuel source is provided and need not be periodically recharged like batteries. The individual fuel cells can be coupled or compiled together to form stacks that can be combined into larger systems and can be scaled based on the requirement. Fuel cell systems have numerous applications from combustion engine replacements for electric vehicles and portable systems for recharging batteries of several devices to large-scale, multi-megawatt installations providing electricity directly to the utility grid. They vary greatly in their size and power output produced. In the present study, thermal integration of Polymer Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC) with Recuperative Organic Rankine Cycle (RORC) is analyzed. The PEMFC has a higher efficiency when compared to conventional energy conversion devices ranging between 40 and 60% and can also be maximized by using regeneration techniques. High temperature PEMFCs also release heat at a useful temperature of 423 K which can further be utilized to extract useful work to improve the overall efficiency of the fuel cell. A further study and analysis of the various processes of thermal regeneration techniques to improve the efficiency of a fuel cell is carried out.     

Life cycle assessment of power generation alternatives for a stand-alone mobile house

This paper presents comparative life cycle assessment of nine different hybrid power generation solutions that meet the energy demand of a prototypical mobile home. In these nine solutions, photovoltaic panels and a wind turbine are used as the main energy source. Fuel cell and diesel generator are utilized as backup systems. Batteries, compressed H₂, and H₂ in metal hydrides are employed as backup energy storage. The findings of the study shows that renewable energy sources, although they are carbon-free, are not as environmentally friendly as may generally be thought. The comparative findings of this study indicate that a hybrid system with a wind turbine as a main power source and a diesel engine as backup power system is the most environmentally sound solution among the alternatives.     

Hybridized off-grid fuel cell/wind/solar PV /battery for energy generation in a small household: A multi-criteria perspective

In this paper, the robust capability of HOMER and Criteria-COPRAS is deployed to explore the prospect of selecting a renewable energy system. The energy system consisting of wind turbines, solar photovoltaic (PV), fuel cell (FC), electrolyzer, hydrogen storage, and battery energy storage is intended to power a residential load in Lagos Nigeria. Based on the economic metric, the results show that the optimal system is a PV-Battery whose total net present cost (TNPC) and initial investment cost are $9060 and $3,818, respectively. However, if the energy systems are ranked based on multiple criteria (economic, technical and environmental aspects), the most preferred of the feasible energy systems is a hybrid PV-FC-wind-battery (TNPC-$10,324, initial cost: $7670). The study results indicate that, for viability in the adoption of hydrogen energy storage as part of the hybrid energy system, the selection metric should be based on more than one criterion.     

Transient simulation and comparative assessment of a hydrogen production and storage system with solar and wind energy using TRNSYS

This paper uses the TRNSYS software to investigate the hourly energy generation potential, storage, and consumption via an electrolyzer and a fuel cell in the Canadian city of Saskatoon, which is a region with high solar and wind energy potential. For this purpose, a location with an area of 10,000 m² was considered, in which the use of solar panels and vertical-axis wind turbines (VAWTs) were simulated. In the simulation, the solar panels were placed at specific distances, and the energy generation capacity, amount of produced hydrogen, and the energy available from the fuel cell were examined hourly and compared to the case with wind turbines placed at standard distances. The results indicated energy generation capacities of 1,966,084 kWh and 75,900 kWh for the solar panels and the wind turbines, respectively, showing the high potential of solar panels compared to wind turbines. Moreover, the fuel cells in the solar and wind systems can produce 733,077 kWh and 22,629 kWh of energy per year, respectively, if they store all of the received energy in the form of hydrogen. Finally, the hourly rates of hydrogen production by the solar and wind systems were reported.     

Performance of a direct steam generation solar thermal power plant for electricity production as a function of the solar multiple

This paper describes the influence of the solar multiple on the annual performance of parabolic trough solar thermal power plants with direct steam generation (DSG). The reference system selected is a 50 MW_e DSG power plant, with thermal storage and auxiliary natural gas-fired boiler. It is considered that both systems are necessary for an optimum coupling to the electricity grid. Although thermal storage is an opening issue for DSG technology, it gives an additional degree of freedom for plant performance optimization. Fossil hybridization is also a key element if a reliable electricity production must be guaranteed for a defined time span. Once the yearly parameters of the solar power plant are calculated, the economic analysis is performed, assessing the effect of the solar multiple in the levelized cost of electricity, as well as in the annual natural gas consumption.     

A novel auto-cascade low-temperature solar Rankine cycle system for power generation

A novel auto-cascade low-temperature solar Rankine cycle (ALSRC) system is proposed. Compared to the single stage low-temperature solar Rankine cycle (SSLSRC) system, the ALSRC system is different because it consists of two solar collectors, two expanders, a regenerator, and an internal heat exchanger (IHE). The working fluid for the ALSRC is the zeotropic mixture Isopentane/R245fa. The main advantages of the ALSRC system is that heat from the exhaust stream of the expanders are reclaimed twice, once using an IHE and another time using a regenerator. System parameters such as regeneration, mixture composition, the outlet temperature of the low temperature solar collector, and the inlet temperature of two expanders are investigated to determine their effects on thermal efficiency. Results showed that with a regenerator, the thermal efficiency of the ALSRC system using a mixture of 0.32 R245fa by mass was significantly higher than that of the SSLSRC system. It was determined that regeneration, the mixture composition, and the outlet temperature of the low temperature solar collector are all important factors that affect the system’s thermal efficiency.     

Hydrogen storage for off-grid power supply

The use of intermittent renewable energy sources for power supply to off-grid electricity consumers depends on energy storage technology to guarantee continuous supply. Potential applications of storage-guaranteed systems range from small installations for remote telecoms, water-pumping and single dwellings, to farms and whole communities for whom grid connection is too expensive or otherwise infeasible, to industrial, military and humanitarian uses. In this paper we explore some of the technical issues surrounding the use of hydrogen storage, in conjunction with a PEM electrolyser and PEM fuel cell, to guarantee electricity supply when the energy source is intermittent, most typically solar photovoltaic. We advocate metal-hydride storage and compare its energy density to that of Li-ion battery storage, concluding that a significantly smaller package is possible with metal-hydride storage. A simple approach to match the output of a photovoltaic array to an electrolyser is presented. The properties required for the metal-hydride storage material to interface the electrolyser to the fuel cell are discussed in detail. It is concluded that relatively conventional Mischmetal-based AB₅ alloys are suitable for this application.     

Solar-powered Hydrogen Refueling Stations: A techno-economic analysis

Fuel cell vehicles are a possible alternative for allowing a replacement of fossil-fuel based transportation. Thereby, this work's methodology proposes a Hydrogen Refueling Station (HRS) design powered by a photovoltaic plant for supplying the taxi fleet in a Brazilian city considering different scenarios and assuming that hydrogen-powered vehicles replace the current fleet. Results show that in order to supply 100% of the taxi fleet with hydrogen, 185.4 kgH₂/day are necessary, while only 19.8 kgH₂/day are enough to supply just 10% of it. Results also reveal slight variations in energy intensity. Hydrogen production costs are inversely proportional to the HRS's production capacity. Hydrogen costs about US$ 8.96/kg for larger HRSs and US$ 13.55/kg for smaller ones. Finally, the proposed system is an attractive alternative in the future nationwide, due to the fact that the cost of electricity has been escalating year after year above inflation rates.     

Performance evaluation of a geothermal based integrated system for power,hydrogen and heat generation

In the present study, an integrated system is proposed and thermodynamically analyzed to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions while improving overall system performance. The integrated system is comprised of a supercritical carbon dioxide (CO₂) Rankine cycle cascaded by an Organic (R600) Rankine cycle, an electrolyzer, and a heat recovery system. It is designed to utilize a medium-to-high temperature geothermal energy source for power and hydrogen production, and thermal energy utilization for space heating. Therefore, parametric studies for the supercritical CO₂ cycle, the Organic (R600) cycle, and the overall system are conducted. In addition, the effect of various operational conditions, such as geothermal source, ambient and cooling water temperatures on the performance of each cycle and the integrated system, is illustrated. It is found that increasing geothermal source temperature results in slight increases of the exergetic efficiency of the overall system. The energy efficiencies of the CO₂ and Organic Rankine cycles do not considerably vary with source temperature changes. The decay of the cooling water temperature leads to a decrease in the overall system exergetic efficiency. The system configuration, which is introduced, is capable of producing about 180 kg/h for the geothermal source of mass flow rate of 40 kg/s and a temperature of 473 K.     

Life-cycle assessment for BRRIMS solar power

This paper presents a life-cycle analysis for a new concept in solar thermal power generation. BRRIMS denotes Brayton-cycle, re-heated, recuperated, integrated, modular and storage-equipped. This concept envisages collection temperatures of around 250 °C, thermal storage in pebble beds, thermal-electric conversion in a piston–cylinder engine and air as the heat transfer fluid and working gas of the engine. The analysis applies to the manufacturing phase of the overall power plant and separately to the pebble bed thermal storage component. Three sustainability metrics are included – life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions, cumulative energy demand and energy payback time. On these metrics, the BRRIMS concept has broadly similar results to a conventional parabolic trough plant with molten salt thermal storage.     

Performance of a second generation solar cooling unit

This paper describes the performance of a 1.5 ton solar-operated absorption refrigeration unit operating with a 14 m² flat-plate solar collector system and containing five heat exchangers: the generator, the absorber, the condenser, the solution heat exchanger (all of these being of shell-and-tube type) and finally the evaporator, which is of the fin-and-tube type. One circulation pump is used for solution flow and another for the hot water flow. The condenser and the absorber are both cooled by city mains water. This particular unit, called the second generation unit, is compared with an earlier, first-generation unit (FGU), i.e. a low-cost, locally manufactured unit of 0.5 ton capacity. The results are based on the observed operation of the unit during hours of sufficient solar irradiance in April and May, the beginning of the air-conditioning season in Jordan. The variation of both the generator and evaporator temperatures during the test period are reported. Also reported is the performance of the unit as measured by the actual and theoretical (ideal) coefficients of performance, both of these being functions of the temperatures and solar irradiance. The maximum values obtained for both actual and theoretical coefficients of performance were 0.85 and 2.7, respectively. These values are within the range of values published in literature, and higher than those obtained by the FGU.     

Bond graph modeling,design and experimental validation of a photovoltaic/fuel cell/ electrolyzer/battery hybrid power system

This work presents a complete bond graph modeling of a hybrid photovoltaic-fuel cell-electrolyzer-battery system. These are multi-physics models that will take into account the influence of temperature on the electrochemical parameters. A bond graph modeling of the electrical dynamics of each source will be introduced. The bond graph models were developed to highlight the multi-physics aspect describing the interaction between hydraulic, thermal, electrochemical, thermodynamic, and electrical fields. This will involve using the most generic modeling approach possible for managing the energy flows of the system while taking into account the viability of the system. Another point treated in this work is to propose. In this work, a new strategy for the power flow management of the studied system has been proposed. This strategy aims to improve the overall efficiency of the studied system by optimizing the decisions made when starting and stopping the fuel cell and the electrolyzer. It was verified that the simulation results of the proposed system, when compared to simulation results presented in the literature, that the hydrogen demand is increased by an average of 8%. The developed management algorithm allows reducing the fuel cell degradation by 87% and the electrolyzer degradation by 65%. As for the operating time of the electrolyzer, an increment of 65% was achieved, thus improving the quality of the produced hydrogen. The Fuel Cell's running time has been decreased by 59%. With the ambition to validate the models proposed and the associated commands, the development of this study gave rise to the creation of an experimental platform. Using this high-performance experimental platform, experimental tests were carried out and the results obtained are compared with those obtained by simulation under the same metrological conditions.     

有机工质朗肯循环发电技术在钢铁行业中的应用

采用低沸点双工质有机朗肯循环余热发电系统来回收钢铁生产过程中产生的的低品位余热。本文阐述目前我国低温余热回收状况,介绍有机工质的物理性质、化学性质、热力学性质等,分析运用朗肯循环余热发电的经济性和解决低沸点双工质发电系统的关键技术,结合实际工程经验对该系统进行分析。