A Dynamic Analysis of Biomethane Reforming for a Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Operating in a Power-to-Heat System Integrated into a Renewable Energy Community

Francesco Calise, Francesco Liberato Cappiello, Luca Cimmino () and Maria Vicidomini
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Francesco Calise: Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Naples Federico II, 80125 Naples, Italy
Francesco Liberato Cappiello: Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Naples Federico II, 80125 Naples, Italy
Luca Cimmino: Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Naples Federico II, 80125 Naples, Italy
Maria Vicidomini: Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Naples Federico II, 80125 Naples, Italy

Energies, 2024, vol. 17, issue 13, 1-21

Abstract: This paper aims to develop a dynamic simulation model for the reduction of energy consumption through the use of organic waste from a residential district, supplied by a hybrid renewable energy plant. The proposed layout is based on a novel paradigm of a renewable energy community focused on the biocircular economy and a sustainable approach. The novelty with respect to the majority of papers developed in the literature on renewable energy communities lies in the use of both solar photovoltaic production and the organic fraction of municipal solid waste collected by the community. Energy production by biomass conversion and by photovoltaic fields shared among the buildings is used to satisfy in a sustainable manner the community loads for heating, cooling, and power. The district heating network is based on water loop heat pumps and air-to-air heat pumps and it includes the power-to-heat energy storage strategy. The biogas produced by the anaerobic digestion process is cleaned in order to supply a solid oxide fuel cell for the production of additional power, mainly during the hours of poor or null solar energy production. Then, the layout integrates several innovative topics, such as the power-to-heat strategy, the biocircular economy, the low-temperature district heating, the use of a solid oxide fuel cell, and a renewable energy community. The dynamic model of the proposed hybrid renewable layout is developed in the TRNSYS environment, but some innovative energy components, such as anaerobic digestion, the biogas upgrading unit, and the solid oxide fuel cell, are dynamically modeled in MATLAB and then integrated into the whole plant model. The proposed plant has been confirmed to be extremely profitable and able to obtain important energy savings, considering the achieved payback period of 4.48 years and the primary energy saving of 23%. This layout resulted in an interesting solution for pushing the development of smart and sustainable cities.

Keywords: renewable energy communities; solar and biomass; waste energy recovery; power to heat (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: 2024
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