Analysis of an Integrated Agro-waste Gasification and 120Â kW SOFC CHP System: Modeling and Experimental Investigation

Renewable sources of hydrogen are of major interest in the context of energy production through fuel cells. The technical feasibility of CHP system composed by orange peels steam/air gasification unit coupled with a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) was investigated in this study. To this purpose, a zero-dimensional process simulation model of the CHP system using Aspen Plus was developed. Mathematical model was experimentally validated in a lab scale apparatus. Moreover, optimal operative conditions and integration options were investigated, as well as the system maximum theoretical overall efficiency. Results showed that in order to obtain 120 kW of DC power from the specific SOFC, 65 kg/h of biomass with 20% of moisture and 173 kg/h of raw biomass with 70% of water needed to be fed in the CHP system. It was theoretically proved that 120 kW of DC power and 135 kW of heat could be produced from SOFC unit at the selected operative conditions, with a net CHP maximum efficiency equal to 74%.