Thermo-economic modeling and analysis of an NG-fueled SOFC-WGS-TSA-PEMFC hybrid energy conversion system for stationary electricity power generation

Abstract The natural gas fueled system coupling solid oxide fuel cell, water gas shift reaction, thermal swing adsorption and proton exchange membrane fuel cell (SOFC-WGS-TSA-PEMFC) could have a high efficiency and fast response for power generation. The thermo-economic analyses show that the hybrid system could have a better economy for electricity generation, whose specific electricity cost with LaNi5 as the thermal swing adsorption (TSA) working medium is 4.058 ￠/kW h only, remarkably lower than that of a standard power plant (5.46 ￠/kW h). The sensitivity analysis indicates the low sensitivity of the system to the market price fluctuation. When using the Mg+2 wt%Ni or TiFe metal hydride with the higher hydrogen capacity and the cheaper price as the TSA working medium for H2 production, the specific electricity energy cost can be further reduced to 3.958 ￠/kW h, which could be more economical than that with the traditional pressure swing adsorption or the membrane reactor for H2 production. In addition, the large-scale electricity power generation helps to cut down the system specific cost. These results reveal that the hybrid system could be a promising and economical energy conversion system for stationary electricity power generation.

[1]  Klaus Schlichte,et al.  The application of Mg-based metal-hydrides as heat energy storage systems , 2000 .

[2]  Zhen Wu,et al.  Dynamic modeling and operation strategy of an NG-fueled SOFC-WGS-TSA-PEMFC hybrid energy conversion system for fuel cell vehicle by using MATLAB/SIMULINK , 2019, Energy.

[3]  F. Orecchini,et al.  Hydrides for submarine applications: Overview and identification of optimal alloys for air independent propulsion maximization , 2015 .

[4]  Bin Chen,et al.  Modeling of all-porous solid oxide fuel cells with a focus on the electrolyte porosity design , 2018, Applied Energy.

[5]  Xinhua Wang,et al.  Hydrogen storage alloys for high-pressure suprapure hydrogen compressor , 2006 .

[6]  P. Lv,et al.  Hydrogenation improvement of TiFe by adding ZrMn2 , 2017 .

[7]  S. Chan,et al.  Energy and exergy analysis of simple solid-oxide fuel-cell power systems , 2002 .

[8]  L. A. Verhoef,et al.  Fuel cell electric vehicle as a power plant and SOFC as a natural gas reformer: An exergy analysis of different system designs , 2016 .

[9]  Andrew Dicks,et al.  A study of SOFC–PEM hybrid systems , 2000 .

[10]  Abu Bakar Mohamad,et al.  Hydrogen purification using compact pressure swing adsorption system for fuel cell , 2009 .

[11]  Shohreh Fatemi,et al.  Investigating PSA, VSA, and TSA methods in SMR unit of refineries for hydrogen production with fuel cell specification , 2017 .

[12]  Øystein Arild,et al.  Optimum performance of a single effect desalination unit integrated with a SOFC system by multi-objective thermo-economic optimization based on genetic algorithm , 2019, Energy.

[13]  M. Lototskyy,et al.  Cycling stability of RNi5 (R = La, La+Ce) hydrides during the operation of metal hydride hydrogen compressor , 2018 .

[14]  O. Levenspiel.  Chemical Reaction Engineering , 1972 .

[15]  Yılser Devrim,et al.  Investigation of micro-combined heat and power application of PEM fuel cell systems , 2018 .

[16]  E. Mokheimer,et al.  Thermo-economic optimization of hydrogen production in a membrane-SMR integrated to ITM-oxy-combustion plant using genetic algorithm , 2019, Applied Energy.

[17]  A. Khajepour,et al.  A comprehensive review of the key technologies for pure electric vehicles , 2019, Energy.

[18]  Chia-Chieh Shen,et al.  Cyclic hydrogenation stability of γ-hydrides for Ti25V35Cr40 alloys doped with carbon , 2015 .

[19]  Shabbir Ahmed,et al.  Fuel quality issues with biogas energy – An economic analysis for a stationary fuel cell system , 2012 .

[20]  Hicham Chaoui,et al.  Overview and benchmark analysis of fuel cell parameters estimation for energy management purposes , 2018 .

[21]  Hankwon Lim,et al.  Steam reforming of methanol for ultra-pure H2 production in a membrane reactor: Techno-economic analysis , 2019, International Journal of Hydrogen Energy.

[22]  Fusheng Yang,et al.  Techno-economic analysis of screening metal hydride pairs for a 910 MWhth thermal energy storage system , 2019, Applied Energy.

[23]  François Maréchal,et al.  Thermo‐Economic Modelling and Optimisation of Fuel Cell Systems , 2005 .

[24]  S.M.S. Mahmoudi,et al.  Exergoeconomic analysis of a trigeneration system driven by a solid oxide fuel cell , 2015 .

[25]  E. Diemuodeke,et al.  Thermo-environmental and economic analysis of an integrated municipal waste-to-energy solid oxide fuel cell, gas-, steam-, organic fluid- and absorption refrigeration cycle thermal power plants , 2019, Applied Energy.

[26]  Richard Turton,et al.  Analysis, Synthesis and Design of Chemical Processes , 2002 .

[27]  P. Muthukumar,et al.  Experiments on a metal hydride-based hydrogen storage device , 2005 .

[28]  M. M. Rahman,et al.  A critical review on design aspects and developmental status of metal hydride based thermal machines , 2018, International Journal of Hydrogen Energy.

[29]  Lu Zhang,et al.  Electrochemical performance and capacity degradation mechanism of single-phase La–Mg–Ni-based hydrogen storage alloys , 2015 .

[30]  G. Iglesias,et al.  LCOE (levelised cost of energy) mapping: A new geospatial tool for tidal stream energy , 2015 .

[31]  Masoud Rokni,et al.  Modeling and Analysis of Transport Processes and Efficiency of Combined SOFC and PEMFC Systems , 2014 .

[32]  Sudip Ghosh,et al.  Techno-economic assessment of a repowering scheme for a coal fired power plant through upstream integration of SOFC and downstream integration of MCFC , 2017 .

[33]  Farschad Torabi,et al.  Comprehensive comparative evaluation of different possible optimization scenarios for a polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell , 2019, Energy Conversion and Management.

[34]  Mamdouh El Haj Assad,et al.  Direct hydrocarbon fuel cells: A promising technology for improving energy efficiency , 2019, Energy.

[35]  O. Singh,et al.  Thermo-economic study of combined cycle power plant with carbon capture and methanation , 2019, Journal of Cleaner Production.

[36]  Zhen Wu,et al.  Modeling of a novel SOFC-PEMFC hybrid system coupled with thermal swing adsorption for H2 purification: Parametric and exergy analyses , 2018, Energy Conversion and Management.

[37]  A. Basile,et al.  Methanol steam reforming for hydrogen generation via conventional and membrane reactors: A review , 2014 .

[38]  Woonki Na,et al.  The efficient and economic design of PEM fuel cell systems by multi-objective optimization , 2007 .

[39]  Denver F. Cheddie,et al.  Thermo-economic optimization of an indirectly coupled solid oxide fuel cell/gas turbine hybrid power plant , 2011 .

[40]  Ali Turan,et al.  Solid oxide fuel cell hybrid system: A detailed review of an environmentally clean and efficient source of energy , 2019, Energy.

[41]  A. Morin,et al.  Three-dimensional analysis of Nafion layers in fuel cell electrodes , 2014, Nature Communications.

[42]  S. Basu,et al.  Direct ethanol fuel cells for transport and stationary applications – A comprehensive review , 2015 .

[43]  C. Chu,et al.  Biohydrogen purification using metal hydride technologies , 2016 .

[44]  A. Jain,et al.  Study of cyclic performance of V-Ti-Cr alloys employed for hydrogen compressor , 2018 .

[45]  E. Yeager.  Fuel Cells: They produce more electricity per pound of fuel than any other nonnuclear method of power production. , 1961, Science.

[46]  D. Moon,et al.  H2 PSA purifier for CO removal from hydrogen mixtures , 2012 .

[47]  Johannes Henkel,et al.  Balancing wind energy and participating in electricity markets with a fuel cell population , 2012 .

[48]  Meng Ni,et al.  2D thermal modeling of a solid oxide electrolyzer cell (SOEC) for syngas production by H2O/CO2 co-electrolysis , 2012 .

[49]  Zhida Zhu,et al.  Enhanced cycling stability and high rate dischargeability of A2B7-type La–Mg–Ni-based alloys by in-situ formed (La,Mg)5Ni19 superlattice phase , 2019, Journal of Alloys and Compounds.

[50]  Fusheng Yang,et al.  Magnesium based metal hydride reactor incorporating helical coil heat exchanger: Simulation study and optimal design , 2014 .

[51]  Alexandros Arsalis,et al.  Thermoeconomic modeling and parametric study of hybrid SOFC–gas turbine–steam turbine power plants ranging from 1.5 to 10 MWe , 2008 .

[52]  Lennart Söder,et al.  Distributed generation : a definition , 2001 .

[53]  H. Zoz,et al.  Scale-up of milling in a 100 L device for processing of TiFeMn alloy for hydrogen storage applications: Procedure and characterization , 2019, International Journal of Hydrogen Energy.