Performance, Efficiency, and Flexibility Analysis of a High-Temperature Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell-Based Micro-Combined Heat-and-Power System with Intensification of the Steam Methane Reforming Step by Using a Millistructured Reactor

The complete simulationmodel of an existing 1 kW high-temperatureproton exchange membrane (HT-PEM) fuel cell-based residential micro-combinedheat-and-power process, including a compact intensified heat-exchanger-reactor,is developed in the simulation software ProSimPlus v3.6.16. Detailedsimulation models of the heat-exchanger-reactor, a mathematical modelof the HT-PEM fuel cell, and other components are presented. The resultsobtained by the simulation model and by the experimental micro-cogeneratorare compared and discussed. To fully understand the behavior of theintegrated system and assess its flexibility, a parametric study isperformed considering fuel partialization and important operatingparameters. The values of the air-to-fuel ratio = [30, 7.5] and steam-to-carbonratio = 3.5 (corresponding to net electrical and thermal efficienciesof 21.5 and 71.4%) are chosen for the analysis of inlet/outlet componenttemperatures. Finally, the exchange network analysis of the full processproves that the process efficiencies can still be increased by furtherimproving the process internal heat integration.