Techno-economic analysis of 500 MWe supercritical thermal power plant with the integration of solid oxide fuel cell

The present work aims at a comprehensive thermodynamic analyses of power generating systems integrated with high-temperature fuel cell, namely, solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC). The intent of fuel cell integration is to develop the energy systems that are energy efficient and environmental friendly as compared to the coal-fired based steam cycles, that are having largest share in the installed capacity of power generation. An Indian coal fired supercritical thermal plant of 500 MWe capacity is considered as the reference plant in the present study. The fuel cell is powered by syngas obtained from the gasification of Indian coal. The modelling of the energy systems and their analysis from a thermodynamic point of view is carried out using an advanced simulation software package known as “Cycle Tempo.” Thereafter, regression models are developed to create the response surfaces, understand the influence of the operating variables of the proposed energy systems on their performance parameters, and eventually determine an optimized configuration with the help of the “R package.” The optimum configuration of proposed SOFC integrated energy system, comprising steam cycle and ORC exhibits better performance in terms of exergy efficiency than the standalone steam plant with the same gross output by 3.89% points.