Energetic, Economic and Environmental Performance Analysis of a Micro-Combined Cooling, Heating and Power (CCHP) System Based on Biomass Gasification

Diego Perrone, Teresa Castiglione (), Pietropaolo Morrone, Ferdinando Pantano and Sergio Bova
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Diego Perrone: Department of Mechanical Energy and Management Engineering, University of Calabria, 87036 Rende, Italy
Teresa Castiglione: Department of Mechanical Energy and Management Engineering, University of Calabria, 87036 Rende, Italy
Pietropaolo Morrone: Department of Mechanical Energy and Management Engineering, University of Calabria, 87036 Rende, Italy
Ferdinando Pantano: SILPA Srl, Via E. Fermi 14, 88900 Crotone, Italy
Sergio Bova: Department of Mechanical Energy and Management Engineering, University of Calabria, 87036 Rende, Italy

Energies, 2023, vol. 16, issue 19, 1-22

Abstract: In this paper, the performance of an innovative micro-combined cooling, heating, and power (CCHP) system, based on an internal combustion engine fueled with syngas from woody biomass, is analyzed. In particular, a numerical model, which considers a direct coupling between the internal combustion engine and the gasifier as a novel aspect, was developed, validated and applied to three different case studies to perform an energetic, economic and environmental analysis. For each considered case, the CCHP system was equipped with a reversible electric air–water pump and a back-up boiler. The energy analysis shows that the user characterized by a high uniformity of the thermal load exploits the CCHP system in the optimal way as it allows for the highest thermal self-consumption rate. On the contrary, for the cases in which the thermal request is not uniform, a high electric surplus is recorded. In this case, the adoption of the heat pump allows to compensate for this disadvantage by recovering the electric surplus, thus achieving a thermal integration and CO 2 emissions reduction of about 15.8% with respect to the case in which no heat pump is used. Overall, the results demonstrate the affordability of the biomass-based CCHP system, which is of increasing importance in this period of contingent international political crisis.

Keywords: CCHP systems; biomass gasification; syngas fueled engines; waste heat recovery (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: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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