THERMODYNAMIC ANALYSIS OF COMBINED RANKINE AND GAS TURBINE CYCLE INTEGRATED WITH FUEL CELL

Abstract

High efficiency power system can be constructed by the combination of Rankine cycle, Gas turbine cycle and solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC). A solid oxide fuel cell is a fuel cell that can operate at high temperature. By applying its high temperature exhaust heat to gas combined power cycle generation. A triple combined cycle can be developed. In this paper, a triple combined cycle is proposed as an attractive option to high efficiency and limits the environmental impact. It include study of heat recovery system for 110 MW SOFC fuelled by natural gas. Two type of SOFC are considered, tubular and planer SOFCS, operated either natural gas or hydrogen fuel. A detailed thermodynamic analysis of the triple combined cycle. Mass and energy balance are performed for each individual component and whole plant in order to evaluate performance and thermal efficiency, With the help of Energy Equation Solver (EES). It is found that a high overall efficiency approaching 70% may be achieved with an optimum configuration using SOFC. The integrated system would also reduce emission, fuel consumption and improve total fuel efficiency.