Development and assessment of a unique hybridized gas turbine locomotive engine operated by sustainable fuel blends

Abstract

Rail transportation is preferred as a cost-effective means of transferring passengers and goods between distant cities and countries. However, it relies on fossil fuels and produces a significant amount of carbon emissions. This paper presents a new hybrid locomotive engine consisting of a gas turbine engine, a direct solid oxide fuel cell, a high-temperature proton exchange membrane fuel cell, and an energy recovery system consisting of a refrigeration system and electrothermal generators. This newly-designed engine is investigated using thermodynamic analysis to assess its performance with five different sustainable hydrogen-base fuel blends. The hybrid engine can produce an average total power of 5911 kW with a thermal efficiency of 75% compared to 2248 kW from a gas-only turbine engine. The maximum performance can be obtained using a 75% methanol and 25% hydrogen blend to deliver 6 MW with energetic and exergetic efficiencies of 79% and 49%, respectively. In addition, carbon emissions are reduced by more than 80% using these fuel blends. Furthermore, the energy recovery system can convert 20% of the waste energy into electric and cooling energy. Moreover, the proposed study provides an environmentally friendly engine system with high performance which is potentially suitable to replace the traditional locomotive engines.