Performance evaluation of a conceptual compressed air energy storage system coupled with a biomass integrated gasification combined cycle

Abstract

In this study, a novel design has been developed to improve the energy efficiency of the compressed air energy storage (CAES) system by integration with a biomass integrated gasification combined cycle (BIGCC) system. With the energy cascade utilization principle, the heat from the compressed air cooling is recycled by the heat regeneration system of the BIGCC system in charging process. Besides, different from the normal CAES system, in discharging process, the compressed air from the air storage vessel is set into the combustor of the BIGCC system directly after being heated by the bypass flue, which is arranged in parallel at the heat recovery steam generator of the BIGCC system. By such incorporation, the heat storage equipment can be saved and the electricity consumed by the air compressor of the BIGCC system can be reduced, thus the energy efficiency of the CAES system can be improved. Energy, exergy, economic, and sensitivity analyses were applied to evaluate the performance of the integrated system. The results of the analyses show that with the integration, the round-trip efficiency and exergy efficiency of the CAES system can reach 88.43% and 64.28%, respectively. Besides, the overall efficiency of the coupled system improves by 0.35%.