Exergy Analysis of a Gas Turbine Cycle With Steam Generation for Methane Conversion Within Solid Oxide Fuel Cells

The combination of fuel cells with conventional mechanical power generation technologies (heat engines) promotes effective transformation of the chemical energy of fuels into electrical work. The implementation of solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) within gas turbine systems powered by natural gas (methane) requires an intermediate step of methane conversion to a mixture of hydrogen and carbon monoxide. State-of-the-art Ni-YSZ (yttria-stabilized zirconia) anodes permit methane conversion directly on anode surfaces, and contemporary designs of SOFC stacks allow this reaction to occur at elevated pressures. An exergy analysis of a gas turbine cycle integrated with SOFCs with internal reforming is conducted. As the efficiency of a gas turbine cycle is mainly defined by the maximum temperature at the turbine inlet, this temperature is fixed at $1573K$ for the analysis. In the cycle considered, the high-temperature gaseous flow from the turbine heats the input flows of natural gas and air, and is used to generate pressurized steam, which is mixed with natural gas at the SOFC stack inlet to facilitate its conversion. This technological design permits avoidance of the generally accepted recirculation of the reaction products around the anodes of SOFCs, which reduces the capacity of the SOFC stack and the entire combined power generation system correspondingly. At the same time, the thermal efficiency of the combined cycle is shown to remain high and reach 65–85% depending on the SOFC stack efficiency. The thermodynamic efficiency of the SOFC stack is defined as the ratio of electrical work generated to the methane oxidized (through the intermediate conversion). For a given design and operating condition of the SOFC stack, an increase in the thermodynamic efficiency of a SOFC is attained by increasing the fuel cell active area. Achieving the highest thermodynamic efficiency of the SOFC stack leads to a significant and nonproportional increase in the stack size and cost. For the proposed steam generating scheme, increasing the load of the SOFC stack is accompanied by a decrease in steam generation, a reduction in the steam to methane ratio at the anode inlet, and an increased possibility of catalyst coking. Accounting for these factors, the range of appropriate operating conditions of the SOFC stack in combination with steam generation within a gas turbine cycle is presented.