Technoeconomy of Different Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Based Hybrid Cycles

Abstract

Gas turbine, steam turbine and heat engine (Stirling engine) is used as bottoming cycle for a solid oxide fuel cell plant to compare different plants efficiencies, CO2 emissions and plants cost in terms of $/kW. Each plant is then integrated with biomass gasification and finally six plants configurations are compared with each other. Technoeconomy is used when calculating the cost if the plants. It is found that when a solid oxide fuel cell plant is combined with a gas turbine cycle then the plant efficiency will be the highest one while if a biomass gasification plant is integrated with these hybrid cycles then integrated biomass gasification with solid oxide fuel cell and steam cycle will have the highest plant efficiency. The cost of solid oxide fuel cell with steam plant is found to be the lowest one with a value of about 1030$/kW.