Plant-Wide Control of an Integrated Molten Carbonate Fuel Cell Plant

Author(s):  
Amir Hossein Davoodi ◽  
Mahmoud Reza Pishvaie

This paper presents the design and part-load operation of a molten carbonate-micro gas turbine (MCFC/MGT) hybrid system (HS), and proposes a multiloop control strategy for the HS. A mathematical model of the system is introduced. Then, the structure of process is changed and the performance of HSs at part-load operation is studied. The novelty includes utilizing some part of the main fuel instead of auxiliary fuel in the combustion stage. The results show that the new configuration has more efficiency (about 63%). In order to keep the operating system within safe limits, variables of the control system are determined. Those controlled variables are as follows: stack temperature, fuel utilization (FU), turbine inlet temperature (TIT), and output power of HS. Based on relative gain array (RGA) analysis, control structures are suggested for two HS. Investigations on results of RGA analysis indicate that the new configuration has more interactions between inputs and outputs and so has different control structure. The dynamic simulation results show that the proposed control structure is achievable for MCFC/MGT HSs.

Author(s):  
Ai-guo Liu ◽  
Yi-wu Weng

This paper presented the work on the design and part-load operation of a power generation system composed of a pressurized molten carbonate fuel cell and a micro-gas turbine (MCFC/MGT). The gas turbine was based on the commercially available one and the MCFC was assumed to be newly designed for the hybrid system. The effect of different control strategies on the performance of system during part-load operation has been analyzed. Performance of system and gas turbine was compared at the same part-load considering the different control strategies. The results show that the system efficiency is lower compared with the same systems analyzed by the other authors. The system has good performance when both the turbine inlet temperature and cell temperature are maintained close to the design-point condition, but it is difficult for gas turbine to obtain the original power.


Author(s):  
Ji Ho Ahn ◽  
Tong Seop Kim

Owing to the increasing consumption of fossil fuels and emission of greenhouse gases, interests in highly efficient and low carbon emitting power systems are growing fast. Several research groups have been suggesting advanced systems based on fuel cells and have also been applying carbon capture and storage technology to satisfy the demand for clean energy. In this study, the performance of a hybrid system, which is a combination of a molten carbonate fuel cell (MCFC) with oxy-combustion carbon capture and an indirectly fired micro gas turbine (MGT) was predicted. A 2.5MW MCFC system that is used in commercial applications was used as the reference system so that the results of the study could be applicable to practical situations. The ambient pressure type hybrid system was modeled by referring to the design parameters of an MGT that is currently being developed. A semi-closed type design characterized by flow recirculation was adopted for this hybrid system. A part of the recirculating gas is converted into liquefied carbon dioxide and captured for storage at the carbon separation unit. Almost 100% carbon dioxide capture is possible with this system. In these systems, the output power of the fuel cell is larger than in the normal hybrid system without carbon capture because the partial pressure of carbon dioxide increases. The increased cell power partially compensates for the power loss due to the carbon capture and MGT power reduction. The dependence of net system efficiency of the oxy-hybrid on compressor pressure ratio is marginal, especially beyond an optimal value.


Author(s):  
Ji Ho Ahn ◽  
Tong Seop Kim

Owing to the increasing consumption of fossil fuels and emission of greenhouse gases, interests in highly efficient and low carbon emitting power systems are growing fast. Several research groups have been suggesting advanced systems based on fuel cells and have also been applying carbon capture and storage technology to satisfy the demand for clean energy. In this study, the performance of a hybrid system, which is a combination of a molten carbonate fuel cell (MCFC) with oxy-combustion carbon capture and an indirectly fired micro gas turbine (MGT), was predicted. A 2.5 MW MCFC system that is used in commercial applications was used as the reference system so that the results of the study could be applied to practical situations. The ambient pressure type hybrid system was modeled by referring to the design parameters of an MGT that is currently being developed. A semi-closed type design characterized by flow recirculation was adopted for this hybrid system. A part of the recirculating gas is converted into liquefied carbon dioxide and captured for storage at the carbon separation unit (CSU). Almost 100% carbon dioxide capture is possible with this system. In these systems, the output power of the fuel cell is larger than in the normal hybrid system without carbon capture because the partial pressure of carbon dioxide increases. The increased cell power partially compensates for the power loss due to the carbon capture and MGT power reduction. The dependence of net system efficiency of the oxy-hybrid on compressor pressure ratio is marginal, especially beyond an optimal value.


Author(s):  
Ji Ho Ahn ◽  
Ji Hun Jeong ◽  
Tong Seop Kim

The demand for clean energy continues to increase as the human society becomes more aware of environmental challenges such as global warming. Various power systems based on high-temperature fuel cells have been proposed, especially hybrid systems combining a fuel cell with a gas turbine, and research on carbon capture and storage technology to prevent the emission of greenhouse gases is already underway. This study suggests a new method to innovatively enhance the efficiency of a molten carbonate fuel cell/micro gas turbine hybrid system including carbon capture. The key technology adopted to improve the net cycle efficiency is off-gas recirculation. The hybrid system incorporating oxy-combustion capture was devised, and its performance was compared with that of a post-combustion system based on a hybrid system. A molten carbonate fuel cell system based on a commercial unit was modeled. Externally supplied water for reforming was not needed as a result of the presence of the water vapor in the recirculated anode off-gas. The analyses confirmed that the thermal efficiencies of all the systems (MCFC stand-alone, hybrid, hybrid with oxy-combustion capture, hybrid with post-combustion capture) were significantly improved by introducing the off-gas recirculation. In particular, the largest efficiency improvement was observed for the oxy-combustion hybrid system. Its efficiency is over 57% and is even higher than that of the post-combustion hybrid system.


Author(s):  
Pietro Bedont ◽  
Olivia Grillo ◽  
Aristide F. Massardo

This paper addresses the off-design analysis of a hybrid system (HS) based on the coupling of an existing Ansaldo Fuel Cells (formerly Ansaldo Ricerche) molten carbonate fuel cell (MCFC) stack (100 kW) and a micro gas turbine. The MCFC stack model at fixed design conditions has previously been presented by the Authors [1]. The present work refers to an off-design stack model, taking into account the influence of the reactor layout, current density, air and fuel utilisation factor, CO2 recycle loop, cell operating temperature, etc. Finally, the design and off-design model of the whole hybrid system is presented. Efficiency at part load condition is presented and discussed, taking into account all the constraints for the stack and the micro gas turbine, with particular emphasis on CO2 recycle control.


Author(s):  
Georgia C. Karvountzi ◽  
Paul F. Duby

The goal of this study is to define the operating envelope of a 20MW molten carbonate fuel cell (MCFC)-gas turbine hybrid system, under part load conditions. The first part of the paper reviews our baseline fuel cell hybrid system model that predicts overall system LHV efficiency around 69% at full load. The second part of the paper consider several strategies: 1/ run fuel cell at full load and bypass gas turbine; 2 /run fuel cell at full load and gas turbine at part load; 3/ run fuel cell at OCV and gas turbine at full load; 4/ run fuel cell at part load and gas turbine at full load; and 5/run both fuel cell and gas turbine at part load. The best system part-load performance was achieved when the fuel cell operates at part load while the gas turbine is at full load. The highest operational flexibility is achieved when we part load both the fuel cell and the gas turbine. Depending on system targets and deliverables such as fuel cell voltage and fuel utilization or gas turbine firing temperature some of these modes may not be economical. A comparison with the performance of a conventional combined cycle 20MW power plant under part load was performed. The MCFC hybrid system showed better efficiency and better cost of electricity (COE) under part load operation than the gas turbine combined cycle part loaded.


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