Feasibility of cogeneration application of a 4. 8-MW fuel cell power plant at a Santa Clara, California paper mill. Final report

Technical Report · Sun Jul 01 00:00:00 EDT 1979

OSTI ID:6056896

Criner, D E

This study evaluated the feasibility of employing a 4.8-MW fuel cell power plant in a cogeneration mode. The proposed site for the power plant is at a Santa Clara, California, recycled paper mill owned by the Container Corporation of America. Ways for utilizing the waste heat from the fuel cell within the paper mill were studied. Several uses were identified which would reduce the amount of process steam now generated by conventional fossil-fueled boilers in the paper mill. The electrical energy from the fuel cell could be fed to the municipal electric system owned by the City of Santa Clara or could be used directly by the paper mill, depending upon the form of ownership for the fuel cell. In addition to assessing ownership alternatives for the fuel cell power plant, potential arrangements for operation and maintenance of the plant were studied. Also, the projected cost and availability of alternative fuels for the fuel cell were examined. Economic analyses were performed for several scenarios involving different fuels and ownership arrangements. Breakeven capital costs for the fuel cell power plant were computed for the various scenarios. Sensitivity studies were performed to determine the impact of variations in assumed base values for fuel price, electric rates, and other parameters. Total energy savings resulting from operation of the fuel cell power plant and the potential operational impact of the fuel cell power plant on the City of Santa Clara electric system and CCA Plant were also evaluated. The environmental implications of the fuel cell power plant were assessed in terms of the net changes in air emissions for particulates, sulfur dioxide, and oxides of nitrogen which would occur at the paper mill plant site. As part of the study, a proposed demonstration program was developed for actually installing the fuel cell power plant at the Santa Clara site.

• Research Organization: Burns and McDonnell Engineering Co., Kansas City, MO (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: ET-78-C-03-2189
• OSTI ID: 6056896
• Report Number(s): SAN-2189-T1
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

30 DIRECT ENERGY CONVERSION
20 FOSSIL-FUELED POWER PLANTS
29 ENERGY PLANNING
POLICY AND ECONOMY
DUAL-PURPOSE POWER PLANTS
FEASIBILITY STUDIES
FUEL CELL POWER PLANTS
CO-GENERATION
PAPER INDUSTRY
AIR POLLUTION ABATEMENT
AUXILIARY SYSTEMS
AVAILABILITY
CALIFORNIA
COST
DEMONSTRATION PROGRAMS
DIAGRAMS
ECONOMIC ANALYSIS
ECONOMICS
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS
FORECASTING
FUELS
HYDROCARBON FUEL CELLS
INSTALLATION
NAPHTHA
NATURAL GAS
NATURAL GAS FUEL CELLS
OWNERSHIP
POWER RANGE 1-10 MW
PRICES
PROCESS HEAT
RECYCLING
SENSITIVITY ANALYSIS
STEAM GENERATORS
WASTE HEAT UTILIZATION
BOILERS
COAL TAR OILS
DEUS
DIRECT ENERGY CONVERTERS
DISTILLATES
ELECTROCHEMICAL CELLS
ENERGY
ENERGY SOURCES
FLUIDS
FOSSIL FUELS
FUEL CELLS
FUEL GAS
GAS FUELS
GASES
HEAT
INDUSTRY
NORTH AMERICA
OILS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
OTHER ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
PETROLEUM
PETROLEUM DISTILLATES
PETROLEUM FRACTIONS
POLLUTION ABATEMENT
POWER GENERATION
POWER PLANTS
STEAM GENERATION
USA
VAPOR GENERATORS
WASTE PRODUCT UTILIZATION
WESTERN REGION
WOOD PRODUCTS INDUSTRY
300501* - Fuel Cells- Design & Development
200105 - Fossil-Fueled Power Plants- Heat Utilization
290800 - Energy Planning & Policy- Heat Utilization- (1980-)