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Optimal thermo-economic design of a PAFC-ORC combined power system

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Abstract

Phosphoric acid fuel cells (PAFCs) are appropriate for applications that require high-quality power because of their high reliability. We propose a system that combines an 11 MW PAFC and an organic Rankine cycle (ORC). The ORC recovers waste heat from the PAFC and produces power. The performance and economics of the system were simulated with changes in the working parameters of the PAFC and ORC to find economically optimal design conditions. The optimal working conditions with the best economic performance were found between the operating conditions with the maximum power and the maximum efficiency. The best design conditions were predicted for various ORC working fluids: the power was between 14.63 and 15.51 MW, and the efficiency was between 40.35 and 42.75 %. The maximum improvements of the power and efficiency over the stand-alone PAFC system were 41.77 % and 47.18 %, and the estimated payback period was around 5.50 years.

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Abbreviations

A :

Area (m2)

AB :

After-burner

BOP :

Balance of plant

C y :

Annual operating cost (€)

CF 0 :

Investment cost (€)

CF y :

Net cash flow in y (€)

CHP :

Combined heat and power

Cost :

Cost (€)

F :

Faraday constant (C/mol)

Δg0 :

Gibbs free energy change (J/mol)

h :

Specific enthalpy (J/kg)

\({\rm{\Delta }}\overline h \) :

Molar enthalpy change (J/mol)

I :

Current (A)

j :

Current density (A/m2)

j 0 :

Exchange current density (A/m2)

\(\dot M\) :

Molar flow rate (mol/s)

LHV :

Lower heating value (kJ/kg)

m,n :

Exponent (-)

m :

Mass flow rate (kg/s)

NPV :

Net present value (€)

n e :

Number of electrons (-)

ORC :

Organic Rankine cycle

P :

Pressure (kPa)

PAFC :

Phosphoric acid fuel cell

PP :

Pinch point temperature difference

p :

Partial pressure (kPa)

R :

Universal gas constant (kJ/kmol·K)

Rv :

Revenue (€)

SR :

Steam reforming

T :

Temperature (°C)

t :

Thickness (m)

V :

Voltage (V)

WGS :

Water gas shift

W :

Power (MW)

Z :

Utilization (-)

act :

Activation losses

c :

Condenser

comp :

Compressor

conc :

Concentration losses

crit :

Critical

eff :

Effective

elec :

Electrolyte

eva :

Evaporator

fs :

Fuel cell system

f :

Fuel

g :

Generator

i :

Inlet

inv :

DC to AC inverter

m :

Motor

o :

Outlet

ohm :

Ohmic losses

op :

Operating

O&M :

Operation and maintenance

p :

Pump

rev :

Reversible

t :

Turbine

wf :

Working fluid

α :

Charge transfer coefficient (-)

η :

Efficiency (-)

Κ :

Specific conductivity (mho/m)

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the Korea Institute of Energy Technology Evaluation and Planning (KETEP) and the Ministry of Trade, Industry & Energy (MOTIE) of the Republic of Korea (No. 20194030202340) and also by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant funded by the Korea government (MSIT) (No. 2017R1A2B4006859).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Graduate School, Inha University, Inchoen, 22212, Korea

    Hye Rim Kim & Jae Hong Lee

  2. Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, Inha University, Incheon, 22212, Korea

    Tong Seop Kim

Authors
  1. Hye Rim Kim
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  2. Jae Hong Lee
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Tong Seop Kim.

Additional information

Hye Rim Kim is studying for a Master’s degrees at Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, Inha University. Her major research topic is performance analysis of advanced power system including fuel cell, gas turbine and ORC combined cycle.

Jae Hong Lee received his B.S. degree from the Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, Inha University, in 2015 and is currently a Ph.D. student in the same department. His research interests include performance analysis and diagnosis of gas turbine power plants.

Tong Seop Kim received his Ph.D. degree from Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, Seoul National University in 1995. He has been with Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, Inha University since 2000. His research interests include design, analysis and diagnosis of advanced energy systems including gas/steam turbine based power plants.

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Kim, H.R., Lee, J.H. & Kim, T.S. Optimal thermo-economic design of a PAFC-ORC combined power system. J Mech Sci Technol 34, 3863–3874 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-020-0837-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-020-0837-5

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