Simulation and Analysis of Steady State Characteristics of Hundred Kilowatt Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell Combined Heat and Power System Based on Hydrogen Production From Natural Gas

doi:10.12096/j.2096-4528.pgt.22078

Abstract

Abstract:

A model of hundred kilowatt proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) combined heat and power system was established in Aspen Plus platform, which was composed of fuel processing unit, heat recovery unit and PEMFC unit. The key equipment model of fuel processing unit was built according to the reaction kinetic parameters, while PEMFC stack adopted the custom model from Aspen Custom Modeler. This paper verified the accuracy of key equipment model and analyzed the effects of operating parameters on system performances under steady-state conditions. The results show that under the operation mode of determining heat by power, the feed of combustion natural gas or the steam-carbon ratio of reforming gas can be appropriately reduced to improve electrical efficiency and exergy efficiency of the system. In addition, the linkage valve on the pipeline from pressure swing adsorption (PSA) to PEMFC can be adjusted to increase the anode inlet pressure of the stack, so as to improve the power generation. However, it is not recommended to increase the cathode inlet pressure of the stack, which will lead to raise of auxiliary equipment power consumption and decline in net power efficiency. When the power is determined by heat, the opposite adjustment method can be adopted, and the exhaust temperature of combustion flue gas and PEMFC tail gas can be reduced to improve the system thermal efficiency. The study results provide reference for adjusting the operation parameters of PEMFC combined heat and power system to achieve appropriate thermo-electric output ratio.

Key words: hydrogen production by nature gas steam reforming, proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC), combined heat and power, steady state characteristics

CLC Number:

TK 91

Lei WU, Liju PENG, Shuang LI, Yixiang SHI, Ningsheng CAI. Simulation and Analysis of Steady State Characteristics of Hundred Kilowatt Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell Combined Heat and Power System Based on Hydrogen Production From Natural Gas[J]. Power Generation Technology, 2023, 44(3): 350-360.

Figures/Tables 13

Tab. 1 Kinetic parameters of CH4 steam reforming chemical reaction

Y	X	E/(kJ⋅mol^-1)	T_ref/ K
k₁/(kmol⋅Pa^0.5⋅kg^-1⋅h^-1)	0.058 2	240.10	648
k₂/(kmol⋅Pa^-1⋅kg^-1⋅h^-1)	7.558×10^-5	67.13	648
k₃/(kmol⋅Pa^0.5⋅kg^-1⋅h^-1)	6.935×10^-3	243.90	648
$K H 2$ /Pa^-1	2.96×10^-7	82.90	648
$K H 2 O$	0.415 2	88.68	823
$K C H 4$ /Pa^-1	1.79×10^-6	38.28	823
K_CO/Pa^-1	4.091×10^-4	70.65	648

Tab. 1 Kinetic parameters of CH4 steam reforming chemical reaction

Y	X	E/(kJ⋅mol^-1)	T_ref/ K
k₁/(kmol⋅Pa^0.5⋅kg^-1⋅h^-1)	0.058 2	240.10	648
k₂/(kmol⋅Pa^-1⋅kg^-1⋅h^-1)	7.558×10^-5	67.13	648
k₃/(kmol⋅Pa^0.5⋅kg^-1⋅h^-1)	6.935×10^-3	243.90	648
$K H 2$ /Pa^-1	2.96×10^-7	82.90	648
$K H 2 O$	0.415 2	88.68	823
$K C H 4$ /Pa^-1	1.79×10^-6	38.28	823
K_CO/Pa^-1	4.091×10^-4	70.65	648

Tab. 2 Comparison of NGSR simulation values with reference values

组分	物质摩尔分数/%			相对误差/%
组分	进口	出口参考值	出口模拟值	相对误差/%
CH₄	21.69	3.58	3.53	-1.66
H₂O	74.41	34.09	33.96	-0.39
CO₂	1.10	5.86	5.91	0.88
CO	0	9.09	9.07	-0.15
H₂	1.20	47.14	47.29	0.33
N₂	0.33	0.24	0.24	-1.57
C₂H₆	0.78	0	2.70×10^-4	—
C₃H₈	0.42	0	2.70×10^-8	—
C₄H₁₀	0.06	0	2.60×10^-12	—

Tab. 3 Verification results of WGS reactor model

项目	各组分摩尔分数/%
项目	CH₄	N₂	CO₂	CO	H₂	H₂O
进料	3.580	0.238	5.861	9.092	47.141	34.088
出口参考值	3.580	0.238	12.300	2.652	53.582	27.648
出口模拟值	3.580	0.238	12.120	2.833	54.400	27.829

Tab. 4 Validation model parameters of PEMFC

参数	A/cm²	N	l/μm	j_max/(A/cm²)	R_c/Ω	T_cell/K
取值	232	35	178	1.5	0.000 3	353.15

Fig. 1 Comparison between simulation and reference values of PEMFC model

Fig. 2 Flow chart of hundred kilowatt fuel cell CHP system

Tab. 5 Natural gas components

组分	CH₄	C₂H₆	C₃H₈	C₄H₁₀	C₅H₁₂
体积分数/%	92.70	2.09	0.27	0.12	0.08
组分	C₆H₁₄	H₂	O₂	CO₂	N₂
体积分数/%	0.03	0.01	0.35	1.90	2.45

Tab. 6 Hundred kilowatt PEMFC stack model parameters

参数	A/cm²	N	l/μm	j_max/(A/cm²)	T_cell/K
取值	943.8	225	20	1.5	353.15

Fig. 3 Effect of steam-carbon ratio on performance of PEMFC-CHP system

Fig. 4 Effect of reforming temperature on system performance

Fig. 5 Effect of anode pressure on system performance

Fig. 6 Effect of cathode pressure on system performance

Fig. 7 Effect of waste heat recovery temperature on system performance

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