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

Journal article (2023)

Authors

B.N. van Veldhuizen Ship Design, Production and Operations - Mechanical, Maritime and Materials Engineering
L. van Biert Ship Design, Production and Operations - Mechanical, Maritime and Materials Engineering
A. Amladi Rijksuniversiteit Groningen
T. Woudstra Rijksuniversiteit Groningen
K. Visser Ship Design, Production and Operations - Mechanical, Maritime and Materials Engineering
P.V. Aravind Rijksuniversiteit Groningen
Research Group
Ship Design, Production and Operations (Mechanical, Maritime and Materials Engineering) (TU Delft)
Copyright: © 2023 B.N. van Veldhuizen, L. van Biert, A. Amladi, T. Woudstra, K. Visser, P.V. Aravind
DOI
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https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enconman.2022.116498
Sustainability Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Alternative fuels Thermodynamic analysis Heat integration Ships
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Published Date

2023

Language

English

Faculty

Mechanical, Maritime and Materials Engineering

Department

Marine and Transport Technology

Research Group

Ship Design, Production and Operations

Abstract

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 also have great potential to cater for the heat demand in ships, but the heat integration is not often considered when assessing its feasibility. This study evaluates the electrical and heat efficiency of a 100 kW SOFC system for marine applications fuelled with methane, methanol, diesel, ammonia, or hydrogen. In addition, cathode off-gas recirculation (COGR) is investigated to tackle low oxygen utilisation and thus improve heat regeneration. The software Cycle Tempo is used to simulate the power plant, which uses a 1D model for the SOFCs. At nominal conditions, the highest net electrical efficiency (LHV) was found for methane (58.1%), followed by diesel (57.6%), and ammonia (55.1%). The highest heat efficiency was found for ammonia (27.4%), followed by hydrogen (25.6%). COGR resulted in similar electrical efficiencies, but increased the heat efficiency by 11.9% to 105.0% for the different fuels. The model was verified with a sensitivity analysis and validated by comparison with similar studies. It is concluded that COGR is a promising method to increase the heat efficiency of marine SOFC systems.