Thermodynamic evaluation of SOFC-GT hybrid power and cooling system

Amongst various energy conversion systems, the fuel cell based direct energy conversion system appears to have good potential to mitigate the environmental impact along with being an alternate source for power generation. Fuel cells are quite attractive due to their capability to produce electricity directly without producing any harmful emissions in the environment. However, there exists ample scope for optimal utilization of energy interactions in it. Present work deals with the parametric investigation of the considered configuration of the solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) and gas turbine (GT) hybrid system coupled with a refrigeration cycle for yielding power and cooling together. The hybrid power and cooling system rely upon the SOFC for direct electricity generation along with shaft work from the GT. For better energy utilization, it is proposed to utilize the GT exhaust energy for steam generator and running the vapor absorption refrigeration system to meet the power generation and cooling requirements, respectively. Novelty of this work lies in the effective energy utilization by integration of cooling with power in SOFC-GT hybrid system. Here thermodynamic modeling of the considered hybrid power and cooling system has been carried out based on the first law of thermodynamics. The computer simulation of SOFC-GT hybrid power and cooling system is used for studying the effect of different parameters on the cycle performance. Here maximum efficiency of 64.74% is found at 6 cycle pressure ratio, 1400 K turbine inlet temperature and 288 K ambient temperature.