Thermodynamic analysis of a new combined cooling, heat and power system driven by solid oxide fuel cell based on ammonia-water mixture

Although a solid oxide fuel cell combined with a gas turbine (SOFC-GT) has good performance, the temperature of exhaust from gas turbine is still relatively high. In order to recover the waste heat of exhaust from the SOFC-GT to enhance energy conversion efficiency as well as to reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases and pollutants, in this study a new combined cooling, heat and power (CCHP) system driven by the SOFC is proposed to perform the trigeneration by using ammonia-water mixture to recover the waste heat of exhaust from the SOFC-GT. The CCHP system, whose main fuel is methane, can generate electricity, cooling effect and heat effect simultaneously. The overall system performance has been evaluated by mathematical models and thermodynamic laws. A parametric analysis is also conducted to examine the effects of some key thermodynamic parameters on the system performance. Results indicate that the overall energy conversion efficiency exceeds 80% under the given conditions, and it is also found that the increasing the fuel flow rate can improve overall energy conversion efficiency, even though both the SOFC efficiency and electricity efficiency decrease. Moreover, with an increased compressor pressure ratio, the SOFC efficiency, electricity efficiency and overall energy conversion efficiency all increase. Ammonia concentration and pressure entering ammonia-water turbine can also affect the CCHP system performance.