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Integrated plasma gasification and SOFC system simulation using Aspen Plus

Integrated plasma gasification and SOFC system simulation using Aspen Plus
Integrated plasma gasification and SOFC system simulation using Aspen Plus
Gasification is the thermal decomposition of a solid feedstock into a combustible synthetic gas mainly composed of H2and CO. Gasification usually suffers from relatively low electrical efficiencies when coupled with a steam cycle or gas engine power generation trains for electricity generation. The integration of gasifiers with more advanced electricity generation technologies such as Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFC), presents a significant opportunity to maximize the energy recovery from biomass and waste.This study presents the results of a simulation study, using Aspen Plus, whereby an integrated microwave induced plasma (MIP) gasifier, gas cleaning unit, SOFC and an anode off-gas combustor, was modelled foroptimal energy efficiency. MIP gasificationis a novelhigh temperature plasma based advanced thermal conversion technology, that enables generation of a high quality synthetic gas suitable for energy generation using an SOFC. Specific focus has been given to the removal of syngas impurities within the synthetic gas clean-up train to ensure the removal of impuritiessuch as tars, particulates, H2Sand HCl, critical to the performance and durability of the fuel cells.This study demonstrates the theoretical feasibility of combining MIP gasification and SOFC.The influence of feedstock moisture content on gasification efficiency is investigated showing thatbest efficiencies are obtained with moisture content close to 21%.The integrated system shows a very high electrical efficiency of up to 34%corresponding to a cell voltage of 0.83 V at low current densityand CHP efficiency higher than 70%when turning biomass into electricity
Vecten, Simon
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Herbert, Ben
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Wilkinson, Michael
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Shaw, Andy
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Bimbo, Nuno
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Dawson, Richard James
dc703106-cdab-43b4-8756-dfe755eb35bb
Vecten, Simon
7f401db0-0c73-4c7d-b674-a8f40b169616
Herbert, Ben
d8fc50d8-57aa-4783-8dc9-b72e6197528c
Wilkinson, Michael
13c4494c-2155-4aec-9273-da13f58ccce0
Shaw, Andy
2a55db78-bd0b-4d30-b311-af537cc96e5d
Bimbo, Nuno
53d9fc24-e2c1-4e2d-8d75-8dc640d8adda
Dawson, Richard James
dc703106-cdab-43b4-8756-dfe755eb35bb

Vecten, Simon, Herbert, Ben, Wilkinson, Michael, Shaw, Andy, Bimbo, Nuno and Dawson, Richard James (2018) Integrated plasma gasification and SOFC system simulation using Aspen Plus. In Proceedings of the 13th European SOFC & SOE Forum 2018. 10 pp .

Record type: Conference or Workshop Item (Paper)

Abstract

Gasification is the thermal decomposition of a solid feedstock into a combustible synthetic gas mainly composed of H2and CO. Gasification usually suffers from relatively low electrical efficiencies when coupled with a steam cycle or gas engine power generation trains for electricity generation. The integration of gasifiers with more advanced electricity generation technologies such as Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFC), presents a significant opportunity to maximize the energy recovery from biomass and waste.This study presents the results of a simulation study, using Aspen Plus, whereby an integrated microwave induced plasma (MIP) gasifier, gas cleaning unit, SOFC and an anode off-gas combustor, was modelled foroptimal energy efficiency. MIP gasificationis a novelhigh temperature plasma based advanced thermal conversion technology, that enables generation of a high quality synthetic gas suitable for energy generation using an SOFC. Specific focus has been given to the removal of syngas impurities within the synthetic gas clean-up train to ensure the removal of impuritiessuch as tars, particulates, H2Sand HCl, critical to the performance and durability of the fuel cells.This study demonstrates the theoretical feasibility of combining MIP gasification and SOFC.The influence of feedstock moisture content on gasification efficiency is investigated showing thatbest efficiencies are obtained with moisture content close to 21%.The integrated system shows a very high electrical efficiency of up to 34%corresponding to a cell voltage of 0.83 V at low current densityand CHP efficiency higher than 70%when turning biomass into electricity

Text
Integrated plasma gasification and SOFC system simulation using Aspen Plus - Accepted Manuscript
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More information

Published date: 3 July 2018
Venue - Dates: 13thEuropean SOFC& SOE Forum, , Lucerne, Switzerland, 2018-07-03 - 2018-07-06

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 442761
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/442761
PURE UUID: a1edc14f-7506-4a74-b941-9592b3bea5c4
ORCID for Nuno Bimbo: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0001-8740-8284

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Date deposited: 27 Jul 2020 16:30
Last modified: 17 Mar 2024 03:59

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Contributors

Author: Simon Vecten
Author: Ben Herbert
Author: Michael Wilkinson
Author: Andy Shaw
Author: Nuno Bimbo ORCID iD
Author: Richard James Dawson

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