Thermodynamic Analysis of Solid Oxide Fuel Cell and Gas Turbine Hybrid System Fueled With Gasified Biomass

Abstract

In this work, the detailed model of a high temperature Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) and Gas Turbine (GT) hybrid system was established by using MATLAB/Simulink platform, based on the equations of mass and energy balance and thermodynamic characteristics, with the consideration of various polarization losses and fuel cell heat loss. Influence of different biomass gases on the hybrid system performance was studied. Results show that the electrical efficiency could reach up to over 50% with four types of gasified biomass, higher than other hybrid power system using biomass gases. Biomass gases from different sources have different composition and calorific value, which significantly affect the hybrid system performance. The system output power and efficiency fueled with wood chip gas are higher than the system fueled with other three types of fuel. Restricted by compressor surge safety zone, the adjustable range of biomass gas fuel flow rate is small. The speed of the gas turbine has a significant impact on the hybrid system parameters such as output power and efficiency. When the rotational speed of the gas turbine is lower than the rated value, the hybrid system performance parameters change significantly, on the contrary, the hybrid system performance parameters change slightly.