Design of a 5-kW advanced fuel cell polygeneration system

In this article, a planar, low-temperature, solid-oxide fuel cell based on nanocomposite materials is developed by cost-effective tape casting and hot-pressing methods. First, a single cell with active area of 6 × 6 cm² was manufactured and tested to determine the cell performance. The power density of 0.4 and 0.7 W cm^-2 were achieved at stable open-circuit voltages at operating temperature of 550°C using the syngas and hydrogen, respectively. Based on these experimental results, a 5-kW low-temperature, solid-oxide fuel cell polygeneration system is designed and analyzed. This system can provide electrical power and heating concurrently from a single source of fuel. The system design and the energy and mass balance are presented and a simulation based on syngas is performed. Finally, effects of fuel utilization factor, fuel cell operating temperature, and air temperature at cathode inlet on performance of polygeneration system is investigated.