Performance assessment of a biomass-fuelled distributed hybrid energy system integrating molten carbonate fuel cell, externally fired gas turbine and supercritical carbon dioxide cycle. (1st May 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Roy, Dibyendu; Samanta, Samiran; Ghosh, Sudip
• Is Part Of: Energy conversion and management. Volume 211(2020)
• Publication Date: 2020-05-01
• Subjects: Biomass gasification -- Molten carbonate fuel cell -- s-CO2 cycle -- Exergy analysis -- Economic analysis -- Environmental analysis; Direct energy conversion -- Periodicals; Energy storage -- Periodicals; Energy transfer -- Periodicals; Énergie -- Conversion directe -- Périodiques; Direct energy conversion; Periodicals; 621.3105
• DOI: 10.1016/j.enconman.2020.112740
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0196-8904

Abstract

Graphical abstract: Highlights: A biomass-based MCFC-EFGT-sCO2 hybrid distributed energy system is proposed. Energetic, exergetic, economic, and environmental analyses have been performed. The highest 40.88% energy efficiency and 34.07% exergy efficiency are obtained. The minimum cost of electricity of 0.1057 $/kWh could be achieved. This system gives better results than other conventional biomass-based power plants. Abstract: This article proposes an innovative distributed hybrid power system where the biomass gasification technology is integrated with the molten carbonate fuel cell, an externally fired gas turbine, and a supercritical carbon dioxide cycle. The thermodynamic, economic and environmental performances of the proposed system are extensively studied to show the impact of the main operational and design parameters. The proposed small capacity hybrid power system yields the highest energy efficiency of 40.88%, which is close to the efficiency level of the large-scale biomass gasification based combined cycle system. The maximum exergetic efficiency of the proposed power system is estimated to be around 34.07%. The biomass gasifier (31.79%) contributes the highest amount of exergy destruction, followed by the primary heat exchanger (15.97%), combustion chamber (14.01%) and the molten carbonate fuel cell (12.53%) unit. The sensitivity analysis reveals that the cost of electricity can reach up to 0.1057 $/kWh. A comparative performance analysis, among other biomass-fueled power generation systems suggests that the developed power system yields better techno-economic performance than the other previously proposed system configurations. The environmental analysis reveals that the proposed plant can reduce maximum up to 1510 ton of CO2 /year, which yields an environmental benefit of 21, 901 $/year, in comparison to a fossil fuel-based plant of similar capacity.