Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of biogas-fed Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) plant

Abstract The solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC), alone and integrated with a gas turbine (SOFC/GT), is known for its high electrical efficiency and low emissions during operation. Before the SOFC/GT operation phase, the process life cycle also includes the extraction of ores, production of materials and components, and demolition, all these together with their intervening transports. By performing a life cycle assessment (LCA) for the SOFC/GT, the total environmental impact of the process is established and environmental “hot spots” are found. The results of the LCA of the SOFC/GT process showed that the most contributing phase to environmental impact, within all investigated impact categories during the life cycle, is the production of the SOFC-module. The pyrolysis processes of raw materials and the assemblage of the SOFC sub-components require an extended amount of energy. Of course, both these processes are carried out under laboratory circumstances, but even when the use of energy is reduced by 50%, this phase is more dominant than other power producing processes. Further effort has to be put into development of materials and manufacturing processes in order to reduce the resources used during the production phase of the SOFC.

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Life cycle analyses of bulk-scale solid oxide fuel cell power plants and comparisons to the natural gas combined cycle

The Canadian Journal of Chemical Engineering ◽

10.1002/cjce.22207 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 93 (8) ◽

pp. 1349-1363 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Jake Nease ◽

Thomas A. Adams

Keyword(s):

Life Cycle ◽

Fuel Cell ◽

Natural Gas ◽

Solid Oxide Fuel Cell ◽

Power Plants ◽

Combined Cycle ◽

Solid Oxide ◽

Oxide Fuel ◽

Natural Gas Combined Cycle ◽

Bulk Scale

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Life Cycle Analysis: Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) Power Plants

10.2172/1542445 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Timothy J Skone

Keyword(s):

Life Cycle ◽

Fuel Cell ◽

Solid Oxide Fuel Cell ◽

Life Cycle Analysis ◽

Power Plants ◽

Solid Oxide ◽

Oxide Fuel

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Life Cycle Assessment of a Biogas-Fed Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) Integrated in a Wastewater Treatment Plant

Energies ◽

10.3390/en12091611 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 12 (9) ◽

pp. 1611 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Marta Gandiglio ◽

Fabrizio De Sario ◽

Andrea Lanzini ◽

Silvia Bobba ◽

Massimo Santarelli ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Life Cycle ◽

Fuel Cell ◽

Solid Oxide Fuel Cell ◽

Thermal Energy ◽

Treatment Plant ◽

Primary Energy ◽

Solid Oxide ◽

Waste Water Treatment Plant ◽

Oxide Fuel ◽

Cogeneration System

This work assesses the environmental impacts of an industrial-scale Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) plant fed by sewage biogas locally available from a Waste Water Treatment Plant (WWTP). Three alternative scenarios for biogas exploitation have been investigated and real data from an existing integrated SOFC-WWTP have been retrieved: the first one (Scenario 1) is the current scenario, where biogas is exploited in a boiler for thermal-energy-only production, while the second one is related to the installation of an efficient SOFC-based cogeneration system (Scenario 2). A thermal energy conservation opportunity that foresees the use of a dynamic machine for sludge pre-thickening enhancement is also investigated as a third scenario (Scenario 3). The life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) has shown that producing a substantial share of electrical energy (around 25%) via biogas-fed SOFC cogeneration modules can reduce the environmental burden associated to WWTP operations in five out of the seven impact categories that have been analyzed in this work. A further reduction of impacts, particularly concerning global warming potential and primary energy demand, is possible by the decrease of the thermal request of the digester, thus making the system independent from natural gas. In both Scenarios 2 and 3, primary energy and CO2 emissions embodied in the manufacture and maintenance of the cogeneration system are neutralized by operational savings in less than one year.

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Economic Analysis of Hydrogen Household Energy Systems Including Incentives on Energy Communities and Externalities: A Case Study in Italy

Energies ◽

10.3390/en14185847 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 14 (18) ◽

pp. 5847

Author(s):

Niccolò Caramanico ◽

Giuseppe Di Di Florio ◽

Maria Camilla Baratto ◽

Viviana Cigolotti ◽

Riccardo Basosi ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Life Cycle ◽

Fuel Cell ◽

Natural Gas ◽

Economic Analysis ◽

Solid Oxide Fuel Cell ◽

Cell System ◽

Solid Oxide ◽

Oxide Fuel ◽

Fuel Cell System ◽

Net Metering

The building sector is one of the key energy consumers worldwide. Fuel cell micro-Cogeneration Heat and Power systems for residential and small commercial applications are proposed as one of the most promising innovations contributing to the transition towards a sustainable energy infrastructure. For the application and the diffusion of these systems, in addition to their environmental performance, it is necessary, however, to evaluate their economic feasibility. In this paper a life cycle assessment of a fuel cell/photovoltaic hybrid micro-cogeneration heat and power system for a residential building is integrated with a detailed economic analysis. Financial indicators (net present cost and payback time are used for studying two different investments: reversible-Solid Oxide Fuel Cell and natural gas SOFC in comparison to a base scenario, using a homeowner perspective approach. Moreover, two alternative incentives scenarios are analysed and applied: net metering and self-consumers’ groups (or energy communities). Results show that both systems obtain annual savings, but their high capital costs still would make the investments not profitable. However, the natural gas Solide Oxide Fuel Cell with the net metering incentive is the best scenario among all. On the contrary, the reversible-Solid Oxide Fuel Cell maximizes its economic performance only when the self-consumers’ groups incentive is applied. For a complete life cycle cost analysis, environmental impacts are monetized using three different monetization methods with the aim to internalize (considering them into direct cost) the externalities (environmental costs). If externalities are considered as an effective cost, the natural gas Solide Oxide Fuel Cell system increases its saving because its environmental impact is lower than in the base case one, while the reversible-Solid Oxide Fuel Cell system reduces it.

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A novel trigeneration system based on solid oxide fuel cell-gas turbine integrated with compressed air and thermal energy storage concepts: Energy, exergy, and life cycle approaches

Sustainable Cities and Society ◽

10.1016/j.scs.2020.102667 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 66 ◽

pp. 102667

Author(s):

Ramin Roushenas ◽

Ehsan Zarei ◽

M. Torabi

Keyword(s):

Life Cycle ◽

Energy Storage ◽

Fuel Cell ◽

Solid Oxide Fuel Cell ◽

Gas Turbine ◽

Thermal Energy ◽

Thermal Energy Storage ◽

Solid Oxide ◽

Compressed Air ◽

Oxide Fuel

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Criticality and Life-Cycle Assessment of Materials Used in Fuel-Cell and Hydrogen Technologies

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su13063565 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (6) ◽

pp. 3565

Author(s):

Mitja Mori ◽

Rok Stropnik ◽

Mihael Sekavčnik ◽

Andrej Lotrič

Keyword(s):

Life Cycle Assessment ◽

Fuel Cells ◽

Life Cycle ◽

Fuel Cell ◽

Polymer Electrolyte ◽

Polymer Electrolyte Membrane ◽

Solid Oxide ◽

Oxide Fuel ◽

Electrolyte Membrane ◽

Hydrogen Technologies

The purpose of this paper is to obtain relevant data on materials that are the most commonly used in fuel-cell and hydrogen technologies. The focus is on polymer-electrolyte-membrane fuel cells, solid-oxide fuel cells, polymer-electrolyte-membrane water electrolysers and alkaline water electrolysers. An innovative, methodological approach was developed for a preliminary material assessment of the four technologies. This methodological approach leads to a more rapid identification of the most influential or critical materials that substantially increase the environmental impact of fuel-cell and hydrogen technologies. The approach also assisted in amassing the life-cycle inventories—the emphasis here is on the solid-oxide fuel-cell technology because it is still in its early development stage and thus has a deficient materials’ database—that were used in a life-cycle assessment for an in-depth material-criticality analysis. All the listed materials—that either are or could potentially be used in these technologies—were analysed to give important information for the fuel-cell and hydrogen industries, the recycling industry, the hydrogen economy, as well as policymakers. The main conclusion from the life-cycle assessment is that the polymer-electrolyte-membrane water electrolysers have the highest environmental impacts; lower impacts are seen in polymer-electrolyte-membrane fuel cells and solid-oxide fuel cells, while the lowest impacts are observed in alkaline water electrolysers. The results of the material assessment are presented together for all the considered materials, but also separately for each observed technology.

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