Techno-economic and environmental assessment of a novel polygeneration system based on integration of biomass air-steam gasification and solar parabolic trough collector

Abstract

Renewable energy-based polygeneration energy systems, in addition to providing a variety of products, can effectively improve this planet's environmental conditions and reduce emissions. Therefore, in the present work, a novel polygeneration system has been proposed to produce power, heat, freshwater, and hydrogen-based on biomass and solar energy. In the present system, the Kalina cycle, Gas turbine cycle, double-pressure steam cycle, and organic Rankine cycle are used to produce power, Multi-effect desalination and reverse osmosis are used to produce freshwater, and the PEM electrolyzer is used to produce hydrogen. Also, the exhaust syngas from the gasification process has been used to supply steam to the gasifier reactor. Considering the determination of environmental laws and the need to transform Kish Island into a green island for residents and tourists, a proposed system has been defined for Kish Island in Iran. In the proposed system, the feasibility of three biomass fuels, Municipal Solid Waste (MSW), Mixed Paper Waste (MPW), and Date Palm Waste (DPW), was studied from a technical, economic, and environmental point of view. Air and steam agents have been used for the gasification of mentioned fuels. To evaluate the performance of the system in terms of thermodynamics, economics, and environment during the year, the analysis of the average monthly solar for the studied system has been used. MED has been analyzed using artificial intelligence techniques. Finally, a sensitivity analysis is performed for the main operational parameters. The results of the proposed system modeling show that MSW is the most economical fuel and the use of DPW has the least environmental impact on the system, but in terms of operating conditions, MPW with overall energy and exergy efficiency of 41.68% and 34.19% compared to other fuels perform better. The overall results of the 4E analysis for MSW fuel show that the overall energy and exergy efficiency of the polygeneration system is 39% and 32.01%, respectively. Power generation costs and environmental impacts for MSW biomass are 0.014 $/kWh and 0.002 Pts/kWh, respectively. The monthly analysis of the studied system for all three fuels shows that the net power generation decreases in the summer months. The results of the sensitivity analysis of the studied system show that the optimal design of gasification temperature, air compressor pressure ratio, condenser pressure, and the number of MED effects play a key role in the objective functions of the studied system.