Thermo-economic optimization of an indirectly coupled solid oxide fuel cell/gas turbine hybrid power plant

Power generation using gas turbine (GT) power plants operating on the Brayton cycle suffers from low efficiencies, resulting in poor fuel to power conversion. A solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) is proposed for integration into a 10-MW GT power plant, operating at 30% efficiency, in order to improve system efficiencies and economics. The SOFC system is indirectly coupled to the GT, in order to minimize the disruption to the GT operation. A thermo-economic model is developed to simulate the hybrid power plant and to optimize its performance using the method of Lagrange Multipliers. It predicts an optimized power output of 18.9 MW at 48.5% efficiency, and a breakeven per-unit energy cost of USD 4.54 ¢ kW h⁻¹ for the hybrid system based on futuristic mass generation SOFC costs.     

Thermo-economic modeling of a solid oxide fuel cell/gas turbine power plant with semi-direct coupling and anode recycling

Power generation using gas turbine (GT) power plants operating on the Brayton cycle suffers from low efficiencies, resulting in poor fuel to power conversion. A solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) is proposed for integration into a 10 MW gas turbine power plant, operating at 30% efficiency in order to improve system efficiencies and economics. The SOFC system is semi-directly coupled to the gas turbine power plant, with careful attention paid to minimize the disruption to the GT operation. A thermo-economic model is developed for the hybrid power plant, and predicts an optimized power output of 21.6 MW at 49.2% efficiency. The model also predicts a breakeven per-unit energy cost of USD 4.70 ¢/kWh for the hybrid system based on futuristic mass generation SOFC costs. Results show that SOFCs can be semi-directly integrated into existing GT power systems to improve their thermodynamic and economic performance.     

Synergistic integration of a gas turbine and solid oxide fuel cell for improved transient capability

A theoretical solid oxide fuel cell–gas turbine hybrid system has been designed using a Capstone 60 kW micro-gas turbine. Through simulation it is demonstrated that the hybrid system can be controlled to achieve transient capability greater than the Capstone 60 kW recuperated gas turbine alone. The Capstone 60 kW gas turbine transient capability is limited because in order to maintain combustor, turbine and heat exchangers temperatures within operating requirements, the Capstone combustor fuel-to-air ratio must be maintained. Potentially fast fuel flow rate changes, must be limited to the slower, inertia limited, turbo machinery air response. This limits a 60 kW recuperated gas turbine to transient response rates of approximately 1 kW s⁻¹. However, in the SOFC/GT hybrid system, the combustor temperature can be controlled, by manipulating the fuel cell current, to regulate the amount of fuel sent to the combustor. By using such control pairing, the fuel flow rate does not have to be constrained by the air flow in SOFC/GT hybrid systems. This makes it possible to use the rotational inertia of the gas turbine, to buffer the fuel cell power response, during fuel cell fuel flow transients that otherwise limit fuel cell system transient capability. Such synergistic integration improves the transient response capability of the integrated SOFC gas turbine hybrid system. Through simulation it has been demonstrated that SOFC/GT hybrid system can be developed to have excellent transient capability.     

Performance characteristics of part-load operations of a solid oxide fuel cell/gas turbine hybrid system using air-bypass valves

In spite of the high-performance characteristics of a solid oxide fuel cell/gas turbine (SOFC/GT) hybrid system, it is difficult to maintain high-level performance under real application conditions, which generally require part-load operations. The efficiency loss of the SOFC/GT hybrid system under such conditions is closely related to that of the gas turbine. The power generated by the gas turbine in a hybrid system is much less than that generated by the SOFC, but its contribution to the efficiency of the system is important, especially under part-load conditions. Over the entire operating load profile of a hybrid system, the efficiency of the hybrid system can be maximized by increasing the contribution of power coming from the high efficiency component, namely the fuel cell. In this study, part-load control strategies using air-bypass valves are proposed, and their impact on the performance of an SOFC/GT hybrid system is discussed. It is found that air-bypass modes with control of the fuel supply help to overcome the limits of the part-load operation characteristics in air/fuel control modes, such as variable rotational speed control and variable inlet guide vane control.     

Optimal integration strategies for a syngas fuelled SOFC and gas turbine hybrid

This article aims to develop a thermodynamic modelling and optimization framework for a thorough understanding of the optimal integration of fuel cell, gas turbine and other components in an ambient pressure SOFC-GT hybrid power plant. This method is based on the coupling of a syngas-fed SOFC model and an associated irreversible GT model, with an optimization algorithm developed using MATLAB to efficiently explore the range of possible operating conditions. Energy and entropy balance analysis has been carried out for the entire system to observe the irreversibility distribution within the plant and the contribution of different components. Based on the methodology developed, a comprehensive parametric analysis has been performed to explore the optimum system behavior, and predict the sensitivity of system performance to the variations in major design and operating parameters. The current density, operating temperature, fuel utilization and temperature gradient of the fuel cell, as well as the isentropic efficiencies and temperature ratio of the gas turbine cycle, together with three parameters related to the heat transfer between subsystems are all set to be controllable variables. Other factors affecting the hybrid efficiency have been further simulated and analysed. The model developed is able to predict the performance characteristics of a wide range of hybrid systems potentially sizing from 2000 to 2500 W m⁻² with efficiencies varying between 50% and 60%. The analysis enables us to identify the system design tradeoffs, and therefore to determine better integration strategies for advanced SOFC-GT systems.     

Model of a novel pressurized solid oxide fuel cell gas turbine hybrid engine

Solid oxide fuel cell gas turbine (SOFC-GT) hybrid systems for producing electricity have received much attention due to high-predicted efficiencies, low pollution and availability of natural gas. Due to the higher value of peak power, a system able to meet fluctuating power demands while retaining high efficiencies is strongly preferable to base load operation. SOFC systems and hybrid variants designed to date have had narrow operating ranges due largely to the necessity of heat management within the fuel cell. Such systems have a single degree of freedom controlled and limited by the fuel cell. This study will introduce a new SOFC-GT hybrid configuration designed to operate over a 5:1 turndown ratio, while maintaining the SOFC stack exit temperature at a constant 1000 °C. The proposed system introduces two new degrees of freedom through the use of a variable-geometry nozzle turbine to directly influence system airflow, and an auxiliary combustor to control the thermal and power needs of the turbomachinery.     

An integrated power generation system combining solid oxide fuel cell and oxy-fuel combustion for high performance and CO2 capture

An integrated power generation system combining solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) and oxy-fuel combustion technology is proposed. The system is revised from a pressurized SOFC-gas turbine hybrid system to capture CO₂ almost completely while maintaining high efficiency. The system consists of SOFC, gas turbine, oxy-combustion bottoming cycle, and CO₂ capture and compression process. An ion transport membrane (ITM) is used to separate oxygen from the cathode exit air. The fuel cell operates at an elevated pressure to facilitate the use of the ITM, which requires high pressure and temperature. The remaining fuel at the SOFC anode exit is completely burned with oxygen at the oxy-combustor. Almost all of the CO₂ generated during the reforming process of the SOFC and at the oxy-fuel combustor is extracted from the condenser of the oxy-combustion cycle. The oxygen-depleted high pressure air from the SOFC cathode expands at the gas turbine. Therefore, the expander of the oxy-combustion cycle and the gas turbine provides additional power output. The two major design variables (steam expander inlet temperature and condenser pressure) of the oxy-fuel combustion system are determined through parametric analysis. There exists an optimal condenser pressure (below atmospheric pressure) in terms of global energy efficiency considering both the system power output and CO₂ compression power consumption. It was shown that the integrated system can be designed to have almost equivalent system efficiency as the simple SOFC-gas turbine hybrid system. With the voltage of 0.752 V at the SOFC operating at 900 °C and 8 bar, system efficiency over 69.2% is predicted. Efficiency penalty due to the CO₂ capture and compression up to 150 bar is around 6.1%.     

Energetic and exergetic parametric study of a SOFC-GT hybrid power plant

A parametric study is conducted on a hybrid SOFC-GT cycle as part of a national program aiming to improve the efficiency of the actual gas turbine power plants and to better undertake the future investigations. The proposed power plant is mainly constituted by a Gas Turbine cycle, a SOFC system, and an ammonia water absorption refrigerating system. An external pre-reformer is installed before the SOFC. Heat recovery systems are adopted to valorize the waste heat at the SOFC and GT exhausts. The gas from the SOFC exhaust is also used as additional supply for the combustion chamber. An extraction is performed on the gas Turbine in order to feed the SOFC cycle by thermal heat flux at medium pressure.The equations governing the electrochemical processes, the energy and the exergy balances of the power plant components are established. Numerical simulation using EES software is performed. The influences of key operating parameters, such as humidity, pre-reforming fraction, extraction fraction from the Gas Turbine and fuel utilization on the performances of the SOFC-GT hybrid system are analyzed. Obtained results show that the integration of the SOFC enhances significantly the hybrid overall cycle efficiency. The increase of the ambient temperature and humidity reduces the system efficiencies. The utilization factor has a negative effect on the SOFC temperature and voltage. That leads to a decrease in the power plant performances. While the pre-reforming fraction, has a positive effect on the indicated parameters.     

Cycle analysis of an integrated solid oxide fuel cell and recuperative gas turbine with an air reheating system

Cycle simulation and analysis for two kinds of SOFC/GT hybrid systems were conducted with the help of the simulation tool: Aspen Custom Modeler. Two cycle schemes of recuperative heat exchanger (RHE) and exhaust gas recirculated (EGR) were described according to the air reheating method. The system performance with operating pressure, turbine inlet temperature and fuel cell load were studied based on the simulation results. Then the effects of oxygen utilization, fuel utilization, operating temperature and efficiencies of the gas turbine components on the system performance of the RHE cycle and the EGR cycle were discussed in detail. Simulation results indicated that the system optimum efficiency for the EGR air reheating cycle scheme was higher than that of the RHE cycle system. A higher pressure ratio would be available for the EGR cycle system in comparison with the RHE cycle. It was found that increasing fuel utilization or oxygen utilization would decrease fuel cell efficiency but improve the system efficiency for both of the RHE and EGR cycles. The efficiency of the RHE cycle hybrid system decreased as the fuel cell air inlet temperature increased. However, the system efficiency of EGR cycle increased with fuel cell air inlet temperature. The effect of turbine efficiency on the system efficiency was more obvious than the effect of the compressor and recuperator efficiencies among the gas turbine components. It was also indicated that improving the gas turbine component efficiencies for the RHE cycle increased system efficiency higher than that for the EGR cycle.     

固体氧化物燃料电池与燃气轮机联合发电系统模拟研究

固体氧化物燃料电池(SOFC)是一种高效低污染的新型能源。建立了以天然气为燃料的固体氧化物燃料电池和燃气轮机(GT)联合发电系统的计算模型,并对具体系统进行计算。结果表明：SOFC与GT组戍的联合发电系统,发电效率可达68％(LHV);加上利用的余热,整个系统的能量利用率可以超过80％。文中还分析了SOFC的工作压力、电流密度等参数对系统性能的影响,提高工作压力,可以增加电池发电量,提高系统的发电效率;而电流密度的增大将使SOFC及整个系统的发电量降低。     

Performance comparison of three solid oxide fuel cell power systems

An energy analysis of three typical solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) power systems fed by methane is carried out with detailed thermodynamic model. Simple SOFC system, hybrid SOFC‐gas turbine (GT) power system, and SOFC‐GT‐steam turbine (ST) power system are compared. The influences of air ratio and operative pressure on the performance of SOFC power systems are investigated. The net system electric efficiency and cogeneration efficiency of these power systems are given by the calculation model. The results show that internal reforming SOFC power system can achieve an electrical efficiency of more than 49% and a system cogeneration efficiency including waste heat recovery of 77%. For SOFC‐GT system, the electrical efficiency and cogeneration efficiency are 61% and 80%, respectively. Although SOFC‐GT‐ST system is more complicated and has high investment costs, the electrical efficiency of it is close to that of SOFC‐GT system. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Fuel cell system modeling for solid oxide fuel cell/gas turbine hybrid power plants, Part I: Modeling and simulation framework

A sustainable future power supply requires high fuel-to-electricity conversion efficiencies even in small-scale power plants. A promising technology to reach this goal is a hybrid power plant in which a gas turbine (GT) is coupled with a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC). This paper presents a dynamic model of a pressurized SOFC system consisting of the fuel cell stack with combustion zone and balance-of-plant components such as desulphurization, humidification, reformer, ejector and heat exchangers. The model includes thermal coupling between the different components. A number of control loops for fuel and air flows as well as power management are integrated in order to keep the system within the desired operation window. Models and controls are implemented in a MATLAB/SIMULINK environment. Different hybrid cycles proposed earlier are discussed and a preferred cycle is developed. Simulation results show the prospects of the developed modeling and control system.     

Analysis of the design of a pressurized SOFC hybrid system using a fixed gas turbine design

Design characteristics and performance of a pressurized solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) hybrid system using a fixed gas turbine (GT) design are analyzed. The gas turbine is assumed to exist prior to the hybrid system design and all the other components such as the SOFC module and auxiliary parts are assumed to be newly designed for the hybrid system. The off-design operation of the GT is modeled by the performance characteristics of the compressor and the turbine. In the SOFC module, internal reforming with anode gas recirculation is adopted. Variations of both the hybrid system performance and operating condition of the gas turbine with the design temperature of the SOFC were investigated. Special focus is directed on the shift of the gas turbine operating points from the original points. It is found that pressure loss at the fuel cell module and other components, located between the compressor and the turbine, shifts the operating point. This results in a decrease of the turbine inlet temperature at each compressor operating condition relative to the original temperature for the GT only system. Thus, it is difficult to obtain the original GT power. Two cell voltage cases and various degrees of temperature difference at the cell are considered and their influences on the system design characteristics and performance are comparatively analyzed.     

Conceptual design of a novel ammonia-fuelled portable solid oxide fuel cell system

A novel portable electric power generation system, fuelled by ammonia, is introduced and its performance is evaluated. In this system, a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) stack that consists of anode-supported planar cells with Ni-YSZ anode, YSZ electrolyte and YSZ-LSM cathode is used to generate electric power. The small size, simplicity, and high electrical efficiency are the main advantages of this environmentally friendly system. The results predicted through computer simulation of this system confirm that the first-law efficiency of 41.1% with the system operating voltage of 25.6 V is attainable for a 100 W portable system, operated at the cell voltage of 0.73 V and fuel utilization ratio of 80%. In these operating conditions, an ammonia cylinder with a capacity of 0.8 l is sufficient to sustain full-load operation of the portable system for 9 h and 34 min. The effect of the cell operating voltage at different fuel utilization ratios on the number of cells required in the SOFC stack, the first- and second-law efficiencies, the system operating voltage, the excess air, the heat transfer from the SOFC stack, and the duration of operation of the portable system with a cylinder of ammonia fuel, are also studied through a detailed sensitivity analysis. Overall, the ammonia-fuelled SOFC system introduced in this paper exhibits an appropriate performance for portable power generation applications.     

Effects of operating and design parameters on the performance of a solid oxide fuel cell–gas turbine system

We present a steady‐state thermodynamic model of a hybrid solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC)–gas turbine (GT) cycle developed using a commercial process simulation software, AspenPlus?. The hybrid cycle model incorporates a zero‐dimensional macro‐level SOFC model. A parametric study was carried out using the developed model to study the effects of system pressure, SOFC operating temperature, turbine inlet temperature, steam‐to‐carbon ratio, SOFC fuel utilization factor, and GT isentropic efficiency on the specific work output and efficiency of a generic hybrid cycle with and without anode recirculation. The results show that system pressure and SOFC operating temperature increase the cycle efficiency regardless of the presence of anode recirculation. On the other hand, the specific work decreases with operating temperature. Overall, the model can successfully capture the complex performance trends observed in hybrid cycles. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Improving hybrid SOFC‐GT systems performance through turbomachinery design

A methodology to improve the performance of a hybrid solid oxide fuel cell gas turbine (SOFC‐GT) system for the whole operating range is proposed. The method suggests a way to estimate the geometric parameters of the turbomachinery components for a hybrid SOFC‐GT system. It is based on the search of the compressor and turbine operating lines giving the optimum system efficiency both in design and part load operation. Turbomachinery models are used to calculate the geometry that produces the desired performance maps and the corresponding operating lines. Based on the new turbomachinery design, the hybrid system shows a clear efficiency advantage for the whole operating range. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Thermodynamic assessment of advanced SOFC-blade cooled gas turbine hybrid cycle

This paper focuses on novel integration of high temperature solid oxide fuel cell coupled with recuperative gas turbine (with air-film cooling of blades) based hybrid power plant (SOFC-blade cooled GT). For realistic analysis of gas turbine cycle air-film blade cooling technique has been adopted. First law thermodynamic analysis investigating the combine effect of film cooling of blades, SOFC, applied to a recuperated gas turbine cycle has been reported. Thermodynamic modeling for the proposed cycle has been presented. Results highlight the influence of film cooling of blades and operating parameters of SOFC on various performance of SOFC-blade cooled GT based hybrid power plant. Moreover, parametric investigation has also been done to examine the effect of compressor pressure ratio, turbine inlet temperature, on hybrid plant efficiency and plant specific work. It has been found that on increasing turbine inlet temperature (TIT) beyond a certain limit, the efficiency of gas turbine starts declining after reaching an optimum value which is compensated by continuous increase in SOFC efficiency with increase in operating temperature. The net result is higher performance of hybrid cycle with increase in maximum cycle temperature. Furthermore, it has been observed that at TIT 1600 K and compression ratio 20, maximum efficiency of 73.46% can been achieved.     

On better utilization of gas turbines in Kuwait

The Kuwaiti Ministry of Electricity and Water installed 16 gas turbine (GT) units of 2000 MW total generating capacity at Azzour South power plant (PP) and Sabbyia PP. These units are operating as a simple GT cycle by gas or oil fuel. The GT unit power output in Azzour PP is 163 MW at 15 °C ambient temperature (ISO conditions), and 125 MW at 46 °C (design outside air conditions). This paper suggests four variants for better utilization of these GT units. The first variant is to utilize these GT during off-peak hours to operate seawater reverse-osmosis desalting system. This increases the badly needed installed desalting capacity, decreases the specific energy consumed for desalting, and solves the problem of low water-to-power production ratio. The second variant is to add heat recovery steam generator to produce steam. This steam is used to operate multi-stage flashing units for more desalted water with no additional fuel energy. In the third variant, a gas/steam combined cycle is proposed to increase significantly both the installed capacity and efficiency. The fourth variant deals with cooling intake air to the compressor to increase the unit capacity when needed in hot days.     

Thermal performance prediction of a solar hybrid gas turbine

The present work focuses on a modelling procedure to simulate the operation of a solar hybrid gas turbine. The method is applied to a power generation system including an heliostat field, a receiver and a 36 MW commercial gas turbine. Heat is provided by concentrated solar power and integrated by fossil fuel. A detailed modelling of the gas turbine (GT) is proposed to predict the performance of commercial GT models in actual operating conditions. Advanced software tools were combined together to predict design and off-design performance of the whole system: TRNSYS® was used to model the solar field and the receiver while the gas turbine simulation was performed by means of Thermoflex®. A detailed comparison between the solarized and the conventional gas turbine is reported, taking into account GT electric power, efficiency and shaft speed. All thermodynamic parameters such pressure ratio, air flow and fuel consumption were compared. The main advantage of solarization is the fossil fuel saving, but it is balanced by a relevant penalty in power output and efficiency.     

Analysis of a pressurized solid oxide fuel cell–gas turbine hybrid power system with cathode gas recirculation

A pressurized solid oxide fuel cell–gas turbine hybrid system (SOFC–GT system) has been received much attention for a distributed power generation due to its high efficiency. When considering an energy management of the system, it is found that a heat input is highly required to preheat air before being fed to the SOFC stack. The recirculation of a high-temperature cathode exhaust gas is probably an interesting option to reduce the requirement of an external heat for the SOFC–GT system. This study aims to analyze the pressurized SOFC–GT hybrid system fed by ethanol with the recycle of a cathode exhaust gas via a simulation study. Effect of important operating parameters on the electrical efficiency and heat management of the system is investigated. The results indicate that an increase in the operating pressure dramatically improves the system electrical efficiency. The suitable pressure is in a range of 4–6 bar, achieving the highest system electrical efficiency and the lowest recuperation energy from the waste heat of the GT exhaust gas. In addition, it is found that the waste heat obtained from the GT is higher than the heat required for the system, leading to a possibility of the SOFC–GT system to be operated at a self-sustainable condition. Under a high pressure operation, the SOFC–GT system requires a high recirculation of the cathode exhaust gas to maintain the system without supplying the external heat; however, the increased recirculation ratio of the cathode exhaust gas reduces the system electrical efficiency.