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

Journal article (2022)

Authors

P.C. Kuo Energy Technology - Mechanical, Maritime and Materials Engineering , University of Tokyo
B. Illathu Kandy Energy Technology - Mechanical, Maritime and Materials Engineering , Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)
F. Özdemir Energy Technology - Mechanical, Maritime and Materials Engineering
T. Woudstra Process and Energy
P.V. Aravind Energy Technology - Mechanical, Maritime and Materials Engineering , Rijksuniversiteit Groningen
Research Group
Energy Technology (Mechanical, Maritime and Materials Engineering) (TU Delft)
Copyright: © 2022 P.C. Kuo, B. Illathu Kandy, F. Özdemir, T. Woudstra, P.V. Aravind
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fenrg.2022.731191
More Info
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Published Date

2022

Language

English

Faculty

Mechanical, Maritime and Materials Engineering

Department

Process and Energy

Research Group

Energy Technology

Abstract

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 (SOFCs), and a combined heat and power (CHP) system. A set of detailed experimental data of pyrolysis product yields was established in Aspen Plus to model the BP process. The impacts of various operating parameters including current density (j), fuel utilization factor (Uf), pyrolysis gas reforming temperature (Treformer), and biochar split ratio (Rbiochar) on the SOFC and overall system performances in terms of energy and exergy analyses were evaluated. The simulation results indicated that increasing the Uf, Treformer, and Rbiochar can favorably improve the performances of the BP-SOFC-CHP system. As a whole, the overall electrical, energy and exergy efficiencies of the BP-SOFC-CHP system were in the range of 8–14%, 76–78%, and 71–74%, respectively. From the viewpoint of energy balance, burning the reformed pyrolysis gas can supply enough energy demand for the process to achieve a stand-alone BP-SOFC-CHP plant. In case of a stand-alone system, the overall electrical, energy and exergy efficiencies were 5.4, 63.9 and 57.8%, respectively, with a biochar yield of 31.6%.