EconPapers    
Economics at your fingertips  
 

Prospects of Fuel Cell Combined Heat and Power Systems

A.G. Olabi, Tabbi Wilberforce, Enas Taha Sayed, Khaled Elsaid and Mohammad Ali Abdelkareem
Additional contact information
A.G. Olabi: Department of Sustainable and Renewable Energy Engineering, University of Sharjah, Sharjah 27272, UAE
Tabbi Wilberforce: Mechanical Engineering and Design, School of Engineering and Applied Science, Aston University, Aston Triangle, Birmingham B4 7ET, UK
Enas Taha Sayed: Centre for Advanced Materials Research, University of Sharjah, Sharjah 27272, UAE
Khaled Elsaid: Chemical Engineering Department, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843-3122, USA
Mohammad Ali Abdelkareem: Department of Sustainable and Renewable Energy Engineering, University of Sharjah, Sharjah 27272, UAE

Energies, 2020, vol. 13, issue 16, 1-20

Abstract: Combined heat and power (CHP) in a single and integrated device is concurrent or synchronized production of many sources of usable power, typically electric, as well as thermal. Integrating combined heat and power systems in today’s energy market will address energy scarcity, global warming, as well as energy-saving problems. This review highlights the system design for fuel cell CHP technologies. Key among the components discussed was the type of fuel cell stack capable of generating the maximum performance of the entire system. The type of fuel processor used was also noted to influence the systemic performance coupled with its longevity. Other components equally discussed was the power electronics. The thermal and water management was also noted to have an effect on the overall efficiency of the system. Carbon dioxide emission reduction, reduction of electricity cost and grid independence, were some notable advantages associated with fueling cell combined heat and power systems. Despite these merits, the high initial capital cost is a key factor impeding its commercialization. It is, therefore, imperative that future research activities are geared towards the development of novel, and cheap, materials for the development of the fuel cell, which will transcend into a total reduction of the entire system. Similarly, robust, systemic designs should equally be an active research direction. Other types of fuel aside, hydrogen should equally be explored. Proper risk assessment strategies and documentation will similarly expand and accelerate the commercialization of this novel technology. Finally, public sensitization of the technology will also make its acceptance and possible competition with existing forms of energy generation feasible. The work, in summary, showed that proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEM fuel cell) operated at a lower temperature-oriented cogeneration has good efficiency, and is very reliable. The critical issue pertaining to these systems has to do with the complication associated with water treatment. This implies that the balance of the plant would be significantly affected; likewise, the purity of the gas is crucial in the performance of the system. An alternative to these systems is the PEM fuel cell systems operated at higher temperatures.

Keywords: combined heat and power system; PEM fuel cell; optimization; climate change; fossil fuel (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (19)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/13/16/4104/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/13/16/4104/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jeners:v:13:y:2020:i:16:p:4104-:d:396161

Access Statistics for this article

Energies is currently edited by Ms. Agatha Cao

More articles in Energies from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager (indexing@mdpi.com).

 
Page updated 2024-12-28
Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:13:y:2020:i:16:p:4104-:d:396161