Energy analysis of a trigeneration plant based on solid oxide fuel cell and organic Rankine cycle

In this study, energy analysis of a trigeneration plant based on solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) and organic Rankine cycle (ORC) is conducted. The physical and thermodynamic elements of the plant include an SOFC, an ORC, a heat exchanger for the heating process and a single-effect absorption chiller for cooling. The results obtained from this study show that there is at least a 22% gain in efficiency using the trigeneration plant compared with the power cycle (SOFC and ORC). The study also shows that the maximum efficiency of the trigeneration plant is 74%, heating cogeneration is 71%, cooling cogeneration is 57% and net electricity is 46%. Furthermore, it is found that the highest net power output that can be provided by the trigeneration plant considered in this study is 540 kW and, the highest SOFC-AC power is 520 kW. The study reveals that the inlet pressure of the turbine has an insignificant effect on the efficiency. The study also examines the effect of both the SOFC current density and the SOFC inlet flow temperature on the cell voltage and voltage loss.