Optimal design of solid oxide fuel cell, ammonia-water single effect absorption cycle and Rankine steam cycle hybrid system

•A combined system containing a solid oxide fuel cell is introduced and analyzed.•In this process electricity-heat and cooling are produced simultaneously.•Energy and exergy analyses along with economic factors are done.

A combined system containing solid oxide fuel cell-gas turbine power plant, Rankine steam cycle and ammonia-water absorption refrigeration system is introduced and analyzed. In this process, power, heat and cooling are produced. Energy and exergy analyses along with the economic factors are used to distinguish optimum operating point of the system. The developed electrochemical model of the fuel cell is validated with experimental results. Thermodynamic package and main parameters of the absorption refrigeration system are validated. The power output of the system is 500 kW. An optimization problem is defined in order to finding the optimal operating point. Decision variables are current density, temperature of the exhaust gases from the boiler, steam turbine pressure (high and medium), generator temperature and consumed cooling water. Results indicate that electrical efficiency of the combined system is 62.4% (LHV). Produced refrigeration (at −10 °C) and heat recovery are 101 kW and 22.1 kW respectively. Investment cost for the combined system (without absorption cycle) is about 2917$ kW−1.