Steady-State Modeling of Methane Fueled SOFC-GT System: Variation of Operational Parameters Throughout the Cycle

Abstract

This paper presents results of a steady-state thermodynamic model of a hybrid tubular solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC)-gas turbine (GT) cycle developed using commercial process simulation software, Aspen Plus®. The methane fueled hybrid cycle incorporates a 0-dimensional macro level SOFC model considering three chemical reactions: reaction of H2 with O2 producing H2O, methane steam-reforming reaction, and CO shift reaction. In this paper, all important thermodynamic properties, such as temperature, pressure, mass, volume and molar flow rates, and composition of all major streams in the cycle are investigated for two configurations: cycle with and without anode recirculation. In addition, operational conditions, like power output, specific work, efficiency, and heat duty of all equipments, such as SOFC stack, GT, fuel reformer, compressors, heat exchangers, and pump are evaluated. This work can help in better understanding of hybrid SOFC-GT cycle inner working.