Thermal Modeling and Simulation of an Integrated Solid Oxide Fuel Cell and Charcoal Gasification System

In this study we propose a novel integrated charcoal gasification and solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) system, which is intended to produce electricity and heat simultaneously. This system mainly consists of an updraft gasifier using air and steam as the gasification agents, a planar and direct internal reforming SOFC and a low temperature gas cleanup system. The performance of this system is assessed through numerical modeling using a pre-developed and validated heat transfer model of the SOFC and thermodynamic models for the rest of the components. These models are used to simulate the performance of the cell and system for a case study. In. addition, a parametric study is conducted to assess the effect of Reynolds olds number at the fuel channel inlet of the SOFC on, the cell performance, e.g., fuel utilization and power density, and the system performance, e.g., electrical, efficiency, exergetic efficiency, and power to heat ratio. The number of stacks is also calculated for different Reynolds numbers to discuss the economical feasibility of the integrated system. The results show that the electrical efficiency., exergetic efficiency and power to beat ratio of this system are 33.31%, 45.72%, and 1.004, respectively, for the base case. The parametric study points out that taking the Reynolds number low yields higher electrical and exergetic efficiencies for the system, but it also increases the of cost of the system. (C) 2009 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Environ Prog, 28: 380-385, 2009