Assessment of a novel solid oxide fuel cell tri-generation system for building applications

The paper provides a performance analysis assessment of a novel solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) liquid desiccant tri-generation system for building applications. The work presented serves to build upon the current literature related to experimental evaluations of SOFC tri-generation systems, particularly in domestic built environment applications. The proposed SOFC liquid desiccant tri-generation system will be the first-of-its-kind. No research activity is reported on the integration of SOFC, or any fuel cell, with liquid desiccant air conditioning in a tri-generation system configuration. The novel tri-generation system is suited to applications that require simultaneous electrical power, heating and dehumidification/cooling. There are several specific benefits to the integration of SOFC and liquid desiccant air conditioning technology, including; very high operational electrical efficiencies even at low system capacities and the ability to utilise low-grade thermal energy in a (useful) cooling process. Furthermore, the novel tri-generation system has the potential to increase thermal energy utilisation and thus the access to the benefits achievable from on-site electrical generation, primarily; reduced emissions and operating costs. Using empirical SOFC and liquid desiccant component data, an energetic, economic and environmental performance analysis assessment of the novel system is presented. Significant conclusions from the work include: (1) SOFC and liquid desiccant are a viable technological pairing in the development of an efficient and effective tri-generation system. High tri-generation efficiencies in the range of 68-71% are attainable. (2) The inclusion of liquid desiccant provides an efficiency increase of 9-15% compared to SOFC electrical operation only, demonstrating the potential of the system in building applications that require simultaneous electrical power, heating and/or dehumidification/cooling. (3) Compared to an equivalent base case system, the novel tri-generation system is currently only economically viable with a government’s financial support. SOFC capital cost and stack replacement are the largest inhibitors to economic viability. Environmental performance is closely linked to electrical emission factor, and thus performance is heavily country dependent. (4) The economic and environmental feasibility of the novel tri-generation system will improve with predicted SOFC capital cost reductions and the transition to clean hydrogen production.

[1]  S. Chungpaibulpatana,et al.  A review of absorption refrigeration technologies , 2001 .

[2]  R. J. Romero,et al.  Simulation of an air conditioning absorption refrigeration system in a co-generation process combining a proton exchange membrane fuel cell , 2007 .

[3]  Wei Chen,et al.  Analysis of total energy system based on solid oxide fuel cell for combined cooling and power applications , 2010 .

[4]  Saffa Riffat,et al.  Experimental investigation of a building integrated photovoltaic/thermal roof collector combined with a liquid desiccant enhanced indirect evaporative cooling system , 2015 .

[5]  P. J. Sebastian,et al.  Cogeneration Fuel Cell-Sorption Air Conditioning Systems , 2011 .

[6]  Fabio Rinaldi,et al.  A tri-generation system based on polymer electrolyte fuel cell and desiccant wheel – Part A: Fuel cell system modelling and partial load analysis , 2015 .

[7]  K. F. Fong,et al.  Investigation on zero grid-electricity design strategies of solid oxide fuel cell trigeneration system for high-rise building in hot and humid climate , 2014 .

[8]  Andrea Casalegno,et al.  A trigeneration system based on polymer electrolyte fuel cell and desiccant wheel - Part B: Overall system design and energy performance analysis , 2015 .

[9]  Pere Margalef,et al.  Integration of a molten carbonate fuel cell with a direct exhaust absorption chiller , 2010 .

[10]  Jacobo Porteiro,et al.  Feasibility of a new domestic CHP trigeneration with heat pump: II. Availability analysis , 2004 .

[11]  G. Gigliucci,et al.  Demonstration of a residential CHP system based on PEM fuel cells , 2004 .

[12]  Feridun Hamdullahpur,et al.  Exergy analysis of an integrated solid oxide fuel cell and organic Rankine cycle for cooling, heating and power production , 2010 .

[13]  Yixin Lu,et al.  A solid oxide fuel cell system for buildings , 2007 .

[14]  Saffa Riffat,et al.  Experimental evaluation of a liquid desiccant air conditioning system for tri-generation/waste-heat-driven applications , 2017 .

[15]  Saffa Riffat,et al.  Tri-generation systems: Energy policies, prime movers, cooling technologies, configurations and operation strategies , 2014 .

[16]  Iain Staffell,et al.  Current status of fuel cell based combined heat and power systems for residential sector , 2015 .

[17]  Ruzhu Wang,et al.  Evaluation and analysis of novel micro-scale combined cooling, heating and power (MCCHP) system , 2007 .

[18]  Iain Staffell,et al.  The cost of domestic fuel cell micro-CHP systems , 2013 .

[19]  Neil Hewitt,et al.  An investigation of a household size trigeneration running with hydrogen , 2011 .

[20]  Saffa Riffat,et al.  An experimental study of a novel integrated desiccant air conditioning system for building applications , 2016 .

[21]  Palanichamy Gandhidasan.  A simplified model for air dehumidification with liquid desiccant , 2004 .

[22]  Saffa Riffat,et al.  Emission and economic performance assessment of a solid oxide fuel cell micro-combined heat and power system in a domestic building , 2015 .

[23]  Borong Lin,et al.  Combined cogeneration and liquid-desiccant system applied in a demonstration building , 2004 .

[24]  Carlos A. Infante Ferreira,et al.  Techno-economic review of solar cooling technologies based on location-specific data ☆ , 2014 .

[25]  Mohand Tazerout,et al.  Fuel savings and CO2 emissions for tri-generation systems , 2003 .

[26]  Jacobo Porteiro,et al.  Feasibility of a new domestic CHP trigeneration with heat pump: I. Design and development , 2004 .

[27]  Junzhen Wu,et al.  Experimental and simulative investigation of a micro-CCHP (micro combined cooling, heating and power) system with thermal management controller , 2014 .

[28]  Andrew Honey,et al.  feed in tariff , 2009 .

[29]  Fahad A. Al-Sulaiman,et al.  Trigeneration: A comprehensive review based on prime movers , 2011 .

[30]  Rosenberg J. Romero,et al.  Cogeneration Fuel Cells – Air Conditioning Systems , 2011 .

[31]  Kiyoshi Saito,et al.  Performance analysis of desiccant dehumidification systems driven by low-grade heat source , 2011 .

[32]  I. Dincer,et al.  Energy analysis of a trigeneration plant based on solid oxide fuel cell and organic Rankine cycle , 2010 .

[33]  M. A. Darwish,et al.  Building air conditioning system using fuel cell: Case study for Kuwait , 2007 .

[34]  Saffa Riffat,et al.  Fuel cell technology for domestic built environment applications: State of-the-art review , 2015 .

[35]  Ricardo Martinez-Botas,et al.  Solid oxide fuel cell/gas turbine trigeneration system for marine applications , 2011 .

[36]  Jitian Han,et al.  Investigation on performance of an integrated solid oxide fuel cell and absorption chiller tri-gener , 2011 .

[37]  Ruzhu Wang,et al.  A REVIEW OF THERMALLY ACTIVATED COOLING TECHNOLOGIES FOR COMBINED COOLING, HEATING AND POWER SYSTEMS , 2011 .

[38]  Ruzhu Wang,et al.  Experimental investigation of a micro-combined cooling, heating and power system driven by a gas engine. , 2005 .

[39]  Saffa Riffat,et al.  Experimental investigation of a biomass-fuelled micro-scale tri-generation system with an organic Rankine cycle and liquid desiccant cooling unit , 2014 .