Investigating realistic anode off-gas combustion in SOFC/ICE hybrid systems: mini review and experimental evaluation

Nikiforakis, Ioannis; Ran, Zhongnan; Sprengel, Michael; Brackett, John; Babbitt, Guy; Assanis, Dimitris

doi:10.1177/14680874211058324

Title: Investigating realistic anode off-gas combustion in SOFC/ICE hybrid systems: mini review and experimental evaluation

Journal Article · Wed Dec 15 00:00:00 EST 2021 · International Journal of Engine Research

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1177/14680874211058324· OSTI ID:1980949

Nikiforakis, Ioannis ^[1];

^[1]; Sprengel, Michael ^[2]; Brackett, John ^[2]; Babbitt, Guy ^[2];

^[3]

Department of Mechanical Engineering, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, USA
Czero, Fort Collins, CO, USA
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, USA; Institute for Advanced Computational Science, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, USA

Solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) have been deployed in hybrid decentralized energy systems, in which they are directly coupled to internal combustion engines (ICEs). Prior research indicated that the anode tailgas exiting the SOFC stack should be additionally exploited due to its high energy value, with typical ICE operation favoring hybridization due to matching thermodynamic conditions during operation. Consequently, extensive research has been performed, in which engines are positioned downstream the SOFC subsystem, operating in several modes of combustion, with the most prevalent being homogeneous compression ignition (HCCI) and spark ignition (SI). Experiments were performed in a 3-cylinder ICE operating in the latter modus operandi, where the anode tailgas was assimilated by mixing syngas (H₂: 33.9%, CO: 15.6%, CO₂: 50.5%) with three different water vapor flowrates in the engine’s intake. While increased vapor content significantly undermined engine performance, brake thermal efficiency (BTE) surpassed 34% in the best case scenario, which outperformed the majority of engines operating under similar operating conditions, as determined from the conducted literature review. Nevertheless, the best performing application was identified operating under HCCI, in which diesel reformates assimilating SOFC anode tailgas, fueled a heavy duty ICE (17:1), and gross indicated thermal efficiency ([Formula: see text]) of 48.8% was achieved, with the same engine exhibiting identical performance when operating in reactivity-controlled compression ignition (RCCI). Overall, emissions in terms of NO_xand CO were minimal, especially in SI engines, while unburned hydrocarbons (UHC) were non-existent due to the absence of hydrocarbons in the assessed reformates.

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Research Organization:: State Univ. of New York (SUNY), Albany, NY (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy (ARPA-E)

DOE Contract Number:: AR0000959

OSTI ID:: 1980949

Journal Information:: International Journal of Engine Research, Vol. 23, Issue 5; ISSN 1468-0874

Publisher:: SAGE

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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