Hot air recirculation enlarges efficient operating window of reversible solid oxide cell systems: A thermodynamic study of energy storage using ammonia

Energy storage is vital for the energy transition, enabling reliable power grids based on intermittent renewables. Reversible solid oxide cell (rSOC) technology is promising for seasonal energy storage. The novel finding from this work is that optimised air recirculation for rSOC in endothermic electrolyser mode leads to efficiency being...

Study of Trends in System Efficiency for a Biomass Integrated Gasification Fuel Cell Gas Turbine System when Carbon Dioxide Content is Enhanced

The performance of a 30-kW gasifier–SOFC–GT system was evaluated using thermodynamic calculations. Nickel/Gadolinia Doped Ceria (Ni/GDC) anodes were utilized for Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFCs). These systems can achieve high electrical efficiencies of above 50%. The goal of the study is to evaluate trends in system efficiency when carbon...

The effects of fuel type and cathode off-gas recirculation on combined heat and power generation of marine SOFC systems

An increasing demand in the marine industry to reduce emissions led to investigations into more efficient power conversion using fuels with sustainable production pathways. Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFCs) are under consideration for long-range shipping, because of its high efficiency, low pollutant emissions, and fuel flexibility. SOFC systems...

Thermodynamic analysis of a novel integrated biomass pyrolysis-solid oxide fuel cells-combined heat and power system for co-generation of biochar and power

Biochar derived from pyrolysis or gasification has been gaining significant attention in the recent years due to its potential wide applications for the development of negative emissions technologies. A new concept was developed for biochar and power co-generation system using a combination of biomass pyrolysis (BP) unit, solid oxide fuel cells ...

Numerical Evaluation of Biochar Production Performance of Downdraft Gasifier by Thermodynamic Model

A theoretical evaluation of the biochar production process using a biomass gasifier has been carried out herein. Being distinguished from the previous research trend examining the use of a biomass gasifier, which has been focused on energy efficiency, the present study tries to figure out the effect of biochar production rate on the overall...

Negative Emission Power Plants: Thermodynamic Modeling and Evaluation of a Biomass-Based Integrated Gasification Solid Oxide Fuel Cell/Gas Turbine System for Power, Heat, and Biochar Co-Production—Part 1

This article is the first of a two-part series presenting the thermodynamic evaluation and techno-economics of developing negative-emission power plants. The aim of this research is to evaluate the potential of biochar co-production in negative-emission power plants based on biomass-fed integrated gasification solid oxide fuel cell systems...

Thermodynamic analysis of supercritical water gasification combined with a reversible solid oxide cell

The low cost of electricity in some areas facilitates the adoption of high-temperature electrolysis plants for the large-scale storage of electricity. Supercritical water gasification (SCWG) is a promising method of syngas production from wet biomass. Additionally, it is a potential source of steam for electrochemical plants. However, the...

Exploring the Possibility of Using Molten Carbonate Fuel Cell for the Flexible Coproduction of Hydrogen and Power

Fuel cells are electrochemical devices that are conventionally used to convert the chemical energy of fuels into electricity while producing heat as a byproduct. High temperature fuel cells such as molten carbonate fuel cells and solid oxide fuel cells produce significant amounts of heat that can be used for internal reforming of fuels such...

Experimental and numerical analysis of Tm²⁺ excited-states dynamics and luminescence in CaX₂ (X = Cl, Br, I)

The prospect of using Tm²⁺-doped halides for luminescence solar concentrators (LSCs) requires a thorough understanding of the temperature dependent Tm²⁺ excited states dynamics that determines the internal quantum efficiency (QE) and thereby the efficiency of the LSC. In this study we investigated the dynamics in CaX<sub...

Thermodynamic analysis of solid oxide fuel cell integrated system fuelled by ammonia from struvite precipitation process

Energy and exergy performance of ammonia fuelled solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) integrated system in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) is evaluated in this study. Ammonia can be recovered through a struvite precipitation process in the form of an ammonia-water mixture (with 14 mol.% ammonia) and used as a carbon-free fuel. A series of...

Methanol based Solid Oxide Reversible energy storage system – Does it make sense thermodynamically?

Hydrogen is yet to be widely accepted as a fuel for everyday operation due to stringent safety regulations involved around it. In the meanwhile, methanol could be a potential fuel of the future. In this work, an extensive thermodynamic investigation on an energy storage system with a reversible solid oxide stack at its core is presented. The...

Gasifier, Solid Oxide Fuel Cell integrated systems for energy production from wet biomass

Nowadays, there is worldwide interest in diversifying energy supply. In this regard, biomass is the best possible renewable organic substitute for fossil fuels. In particular, the energy content of very wet biomass, recovered with appropriate technology, could potentially be used for power generation. In addition to power generation, this...

Design, construction, and testing of a gasifier-specific solid oxide fuel cell system

This paper describes the steps involved in the design, construction, and testing of a gasifier-specific solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) system. The design choices are based on reported thermodynamic simulation results for the entire gasifier- gas cleanup-SOFC system. The constructed SOFC system is tested and the measured parameters are compared...

Towards retrofitting integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) power plants with solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC) and CO₂ capture: A thermodynamic case study

This article presents a detailed thermodynamic case study based on the Willem-Alexander Centrale (WAC) power plant in the Netherlands towards retrofitting SOFCs in existing IGCC power plants with a focus on near future implementation. Two systems with high percentage (up to 70%) biomass co-gasification (based on previously validated steady...

Fuel cell electric vehicle as a power plant and SOFC as a natural gas reformer: An exergy analysis of different system designs

Delft University of Technology, under its "Green Village" programme, has an initiative to build a power plant (car parking lot) based on the fuel cells used in vehicles for motive power. It is a trigeneration system capable of producing electricity, heat, and hydrogen. It comprises three main zones: a hydrogen production zone, a parking zone,...

Experimental model validation and thermodynamic assessment on high percentage (up to 70%) biomass co-gasification at the 253 MWe integrated gasification combined cycle power plant in Buggenum, The Netherlands

Thermodynamic System Studies for a Natural Gas Combined Cycle (NGCC) Plant with CO2 Capture and Hydrogen Storage with Metal Hydrides

Flexibility in natural gas combined cycle power plants (NGCC) with pre-combustion CO2 capture could be introduced with co-production of hydrogen and subsequent hydrogen storage with metal hydrides (MH). The current work presents a thermodynamic analysis and comparison between steady state ASPEN Plus models of a reference case NGCC plant with no...

Biomass Gasifier–SOFC Systems: From Electrode Studies to the Development of Integrated Systems and New Applications

An overview of the research activities and on-going multiple projects at Delft University of Technology aimed at the development of Gasifier–Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) based power plants are presented. Biosyngas generated in gasifiers consists of a mixture of carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), hydrogen (H2), nitrogen ...