Amogh Amladi
Please Note
2 records found
1
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 commercialisation of standalone SCWG systems is hindered by low efficiency and high operating cost. Accordingly, we propose the integration of SCWG with a reversible solid oxide cell (rSOC) to realise simultaneous syngas or power generation and wet biomass conversion. This technique would make the process feasible in terms of energy, allowing engineers to use SCWG to combine power generation with fuel production. The wet syngas from the SCWG is fed to the rSOC powered by excess renewable electricity in electrolysis mode, where steam is reduced to H2 to produce dry syngas with a higher calorific value. The energy efficiency of the proposed system is 91% in electrolysis mode and 47% in fuel cell mode. The electrolysis increases the syngas yield by a factor of thirteen and the use of total syngas generates twelve times more power in fuel cell mode compared to the use of only fresh syngas from SCWG.
Negative emission technologies have recently received increasing attention due to climate change and global warming. One among them is bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS), but the capture process is very energy intensive. Here, a novel pathway is introduced, based on second-generation biofuels followed by carbon circulation in an indefinitely closed chain, effectively resulting in a sink. Instead of using an energy-intensive conventional CCS process, the application of an on-board solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) running on biofuels in an electric vehicle (FCEV) could result in negative emissions by capturing a concentrated stream of CO2, which is readily stored in a second tank. A CO2 recovery system at the fuel station then takes the CO2 from the tank to be transported to storage locations or to be used for local applications such as CO2-based concrete curing and synthesis of e-fuels. Incorporating CO2 utilization technologies into the FCEVs-SOFC system can close the carbon loop, achieving carbon neutrality through feeding the CO2 in a reverse-logistic to a methanol plant. The methanol produced is also used in SOFCs, leading to an infinite repetition of this carbon cycle till a saturation stage is reached. It is determined this pathway will reach typical Cradle-to-Grave negative emissions of 0.515 ton CO2 per vehicle, and total negative CO2 emission of 138 Mt for all passenger cars in the EU is potentially achievable. All steps comprise known technologies with medium to high technology readiness level (TRL) levels, so principally this system can readily be applied in the mid-term.