A Novel Layout for Combined Heat and Power Production for a Hospital Based on a Solid Oxide Fuel Cell

Francesco Calise, Francesco Liberato Cappiello (), Luca Cimmino, Massimo Dentice d’Accadia and Maria Vicidomini
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Francesco Calise: Department of Industrial Engineering, Università Degli Studi “Federico II”, 80124 Napoli, Italy
Francesco Liberato Cappiello: Department of Industrial Engineering, Università Degli Studi “Federico II”, 80124 Napoli, Italy
Luca Cimmino: Department of Industrial Engineering, Università Degli Studi “Federico II”, 80124 Napoli, Italy
Massimo Dentice d’Accadia: Department of Industrial Engineering, Università Degli Studi “Federico II”, 80124 Napoli, Italy
Maria Vicidomini: Department of Industrial Engineering, Università Degli Studi “Federico II”, 80124 Napoli, Italy

Energies, 2024, vol. 17, issue 5, 1-21

Abstract: This paper addresses the problem of the reduction in the huge energy demand of hospitals and health care facilities. The sharp increase in the natural gas price, due to the Ukrainian–Russian war, has significantly reduced economic savings achieved by combined heat and power (CHP) units, especially for hospitals. In this framework, this research proposes a novel system based on the integration of a reversible CHP solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) and a photovoltaic field (PV). The PV power is mainly used for balancing the hospital load. The excess power production is exploited to produce renewable hydrogen. The SOFC operates in electrical tracking mode. The cogenerative heat produced by the SOFC is exploited to partially meet the thermal load of the hospital. The SOFC is driven by the renewable hydrogen produced by the plant. When this hydrogen is not available, the SOFC is driven by natural gas. In fact, the SOFC is coupled with an external reformer. The simulation model of the whole plant, including the reversible SOFC, PV, and hospital, is developed in the TRNSYS18 environment and MATLAB. The model of the hospital is calibrated by means of measured data. The proposed system achieves very interesting results, with a primary energy-saving index of 33% and a payback period of 6.7 years. Therefore, this energy measure results in a promising solution for reducing the environmental impact of hospital and health care facilities.

Keywords: combined heat and power production; solid oxide fuel cell; renewable hydrogen; photovoltaic; electric energy storage; energy storage; energy savings for hospital; health care facilities (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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