Techno-Environmental Analysis of the Use of Green Hydrogen for Cogeneration from the Gasification of Wood and Fuel Cell

Abigail Gonzalez-Diaz, Juan Carlos Sánchez Ladrón de Guevara, Long Jiang, Maria Ortencia Gonzalez-Diaz, Pablo Díaz-Herrera and Carolina Font-Palma
Additional contact information
Abigail Gonzalez-Diaz: National Institute of Electricity and Clean Energy, Reforma 113, Col. Palmira, Cuernavaca Morelos 62490, Mexico
Juan Carlos Sánchez Ladrón de Guevara: Facultad de Ingeniería, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Mexico City 04510, Mexico
Long Jiang: Institution of Refrigeration and Cryogenics, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China
Maria Ortencia Gonzalez-Diaz: CONACYT—Centro de Investigación Científica de Yucatán, A.C., Calle 43 No. 130, Chuburná de Hidalgo, Mérida 97200, Mexico
Pablo Díaz-Herrera: Facultad de Ingeniería, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Mexico City 04510, Mexico
Carolina Font-Palma: Department of Engineering, University of Hull, Hull HU6 7RX, UK

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 6, 1-14

Abstract: This paper aims to evaluate the use of wood biomass in a gasifier integrated with a fuel cell system as a low carbon technology. Experimental information of the wood is provided by the literature. The syngas is purified by using pressure swing adsorption (PSA) in order to obtain H 2 with 99.99% purity. Using 132 kg/h of wood, it is possible to generate 10.57 kg/h of H 2 that is used in a tubular solid oxide fuel cell (TSOFC). Then, the TSOFC generates 197.92 kW. The heat generated in the fuel cell produces 60 kg/h of steam that is needed in the gasifier. The net efficiency of the integrated system considering only the electric power generated in the TSOFC is 27.2%, which is lower than a gas turbine with the same capacity where the efficiency is around 33.1%. It is concluded that there is great potential for cogeneration with low carbon emission by using wood biomass in rural areas of developing countries e.g., with a carbon intensity of 98.35 kgCO 2 /MWh when compared with those of natural gas combined cycle (NGCC) without and with CO 2 capture i.e., 331 kgCO 2 /MWh and 40 kgCO 2 /MWh, respectively. This is an alternative technology for places where biomass is abundant and where it is difficult to get electricity from the grid due to limits in geographical location.

Keywords: biomass; hydrogen; fuel cell; gasification; pressure swing adsorption; carbon intensity (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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