Robust control for fuel cell-microturbine hybrid power plant using biomass

A system showing great promise is the integration of gasification with a fuel cell. The emerging high-temperature fuel cells produce very high-temperature exhaust gases that can either be used directly in a combined-cycle or to drive a gas turbine. A high-temperature fuel cell-microturbine combination has the potential to achieve up to 60% efficiency and near-zero emissions. Fuel flexibility enables the use of low-cost indigenous fuels, renewables, and waste materials. The characteristics of gas from biomass gasification may vary significantly. Traditional control design approaches consider a fixed operating point in the hope that the resulting controller is robust enough to stabilize the system for different operating conditions. On the other hand, robust control incorporates the uncertain parameters of the model.