Towards clean and sustainable distributed energy system: the potential of integrated PEMFC-CHP

The mitigation options to meet the ambitious carbon reduction targets set by the UK government are discussed in this paper, including the use of carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology, clean renewable energy integration and a proposed system of integrated fuel cell combined heat and power (FC-CHP) technology. Analysis shows that the use of CCS technology within the current infrastructure can abate half the electricity-associated CO2 emissions; however, this comes at a high cost penalty. The emissions associated with domestic heat cannot be prevented without changes in the energy infrastructure. Hydrogen-powered fuel cells can provide clean energy at a range of scales and high efficiencies, especially when employed with a CHP system. However, production of CO2-free hydrogen is essential for fuel cell technology to contribute substantially to a low carbon economy globally. In this work, three methods were investigated for small-scale distributed hydrogen production, namely steam methane reforming, water electrolysis (WE) and cold plasma jet (CPJ). The criteria used for comparisons include the associated CO2 emissions and the cost of energy production. CPJ decomposition of methane shows a high potential when combined with integrated FC-CHP technology for economically viable and CO2-free generation of energy, especially in comparison to WE. Including the value of the solid carbon product makes the plasma system most attractive economically.