Opportunities and Challenges in Using SOFCs in Waste to Energy Systems

Aravind, P.V.; Cavalli, Alessandro; Patel, H.C.; Recalde, Mayra; Saadabadi, Ali; Tabish, Asif Nadeem; Botta, G.; Tattai, Aditya Thallam; Teodoru, Ana; Hajimolana, Yashar S.; Chundru, Pradeep; Woudstra, Theo

doi:10.1149/07801.0209ecst

Cited by 6 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 24 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Based upon the accumulated lab-scale research on artificial biogas as well as on biogas-SOFCs and integrated process simulations, biogas-SOFC research has already reached demonstration level in pilot and real-scale plants [34][35][36][37][38]. The BIOCELL project studied the performance of a 2.8 kWe biogas-SOFC integrated process, including the effective removal of sulphur and pre-reforming.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Economic Feasibility of Power/Heat Cogeneration by Biogas–Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) Integrated Systems

et al. 2022

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Based upon the thermodynamic simulation of a biogas-SOFC integrated process and the costing of its elements, the present work examines the economic feasibility of biogas-SOFCs for combined heat and power (CHP) generation, by the comparison of their economic performance against the conventional biogas-CHP with internal combustion engines (ICEs), under the same assumptions. As well as the issues of process scale and an SOFC’s cost, examined in the literature, the study brings up the determinative effects of: (i) the employed SOFC size, with respect to its operational point, as well as (ii) the feasibility criterion, on the feasibility assessment. Two plant capacities were examined (250 m3·h−1 and 750 m3·h−1 biogas production), and their feasibilities were assessed by the Internal Rate of Return (IRR), the Net Present Value (NPV) and the Pay Back Time (PBT) criteria. For SOFC costs at 1100 and 2000 EUR·kWel−1, foreseen in 2035 and 2030, respectively, SOFCs were found to increase investment (by 2.5–4.5 times, depending upon a plant’s capacity and the SOFC’s size) and power generation (by 13–57%, depending upon the SOFC’s size), the latter increasing revenues. SOFC-CHP exhibits considerably lower IRRs (5.3–13.4% for the small and 16.8–25.3% for the larger plant), compared to ICE-CHP (34.4%). Nonetheless, according to NPV that does not evaluate profitability as a return on investment, small scale biogas-SOFCs (NPVmax: EUR 3.07 M) can compete with biogas-ICE (NPV: EUR 3.42 M), for SOFCs sized to operate at 70% of the maximum power density (MPD) and with a SOFC cost of 1100 EUR·kWel−1, whereas for larger plants, SOFC-CHP can lead to considerably higher NPVs (EUR 12.5–21.0 M) compared to biogas-ICE (EUR 9.3 M). Nonetheless, PBTs are higher for SOFC-CHP (7.7–11.1 yr and 4.2–5.7 yr for the small and the large plant, respectively, compared to 2.3 yr and 3.1 yr for biogas-ICE) because the criterion suppresses the effect of SOFC-CHP-increased revenues to a time period shorter than the plant’s lifetime. Finally, the economics of SOFC-CHP are optimized for SOFCs sized to operate at 70–82.5% of their MPD, depending upon the SOFC cost and the feasibility criterion. Overall, the choice of the feasibility criterion and the size of the employed SOFC can drastically affect the economic evaluation of SOFC-CHP, whereas the feasibility criterion also determines the economically optimum size of the employed SOFC.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Economic Feasibility of Power/Heat Cogeneration by Biogas–Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) Integrated Systems

et al. 2022

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The sum of such characteristics allows Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFCs) to represent a suitable technological coupling option for Combined Heat and Power (CHP) applications fed by conventional and unconventional fuels (e.g., natural gas, bio-syngas mixtures, etc.) positioning SOFCs as a key component of a low-carbon energy matrix and closing a high efficiency, zero-emission energy cycle with minimal emissions [21][22][23].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Experimental Procedures & First Results of an Innovative Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Test Rig: Parametric Analysis and Stability Test

et al. 2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Solid Oxide Fuel Cells are a promising technology for Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFC) are a promising technology For high-efficiency electrochemical conversion of a vast range of fuel gas mixtures, thigh operating temperature conditions (650–900 °C) represent a challenge both at system level and at laboratory testing level, in terms of material properties and performance dynamics. In this work a detailed procedural analysis is presented for an innovative all-ceramic compact SOFC test rig and first experimental testing results are reported in terms of polarization curves obtained under parametric variation of operating conditions (H2 content, air ratio λ and temperature) and short-term voltage stability test under load (140 h at 0.3 A/cm2). The electrochemical characterization results confirm the validity of the used all-ceramic cell holder, showing excellent cell performances in terms of polarization. H2 content has the most impact on SOFC performance, followed by temperature and finally air ratio, whose impact in the analyzed range is hardly seen. From the short-term stability test, the test bench setup reliability is demonstrated, showing no significant performance degradation after 140 continuous hours under load, which confirms the high quality and reproducibility of the results.

show abstract

Solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) fed with biogas containing hydrogen chloride traces: Impact on direct internal reforming and electrochemical performance

Illathukandy

Saadabadi

Kuo

et al. 2022

Electrochimica Acta

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Opportunities and Challenges in Using SOFCs in Waste to Energy Systems

Cited by 6 publications

References 24 publications

Economic Feasibility of Power/Heat Cogeneration by Biogas–Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) Integrated Systems

Economic Feasibility of Power/Heat Cogeneration by Biogas–Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) Integrated Systems

Experimental Procedures & First Results of an Innovative Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Test Rig: Parametric Analysis and Stability Test

Solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) fed with biogas containing hydrogen chloride traces: Impact on direct internal reforming and electrochemical performance

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About