Search Results (7)

The opportunities related to the adoption of synthetic gaseous fuels derived from solid biomass are limited by the issues caused by the peculiarities of the syngas. The aim of this paper is to analyze several possible layouts of hybrid energy systems, in which the main thermal source is the organic fraction of municipal solid wastes. The case of a small community of about 1000 persons is analyzed in this paper. The examined layouts coupled an externally fired micro gas turbine with a waste heat recovery system based on both an Organic Rankine Cycle and supercritical CO₂ gas turbines. A thermodynamic analysis has been carried out through the use of the commercial software Thermoflex 31, considering the losses of each component and the non-ideal behavior of the fluids. The results of the numerical analysis highlight that the introduction of a waste heat recovery system leads to an increase of at least 16% in the available net power, while a cascade hybrid energy grid can lead to a power enhancement of about 29%, with a considerable increase also in the energetic and exergetic global efficiencies. Full article

Adopting biomass energy as an alternative to fossil fuels for electricity production presents a viable strategy to address the prevailing energy deficits and environmental concerns, although it faces challenges related to suboptimal energy efficiency levels. This study introduces a novel combined cooling and power (CCP) system, incorporating an externally fired gas turbine (EFGT), steam Rankine cycle (SRC), absorption refrigeration cycle (ARC), and organic Rankine cycle (ORC), aimed at boosting the efficiency of biomass integrated gasification combined cycle systems. Through the development of mathematical models, this research evaluates the system’s performance from both thermodynamic and exergoeconomic perspectives. Results show that the system could achieve the thermal efficiency, exergy efficiency, and levelized cost of exergy (LCOE) of 70.67%, 39.13%, and 11.67 USD/GJ, respectively. The analysis identifies the combustion chamber of the EFGT as the component with the highest rate of exergy destruction. Further analysis on parameters indicates that improvements in thermodynamic performance are achievable with increased air compressor pressure ratio and gas turbine inlet temperature, or reduced pinch point temperature difference, while the LCOE can be minimized through adjustments in these parameters. Optimized operation conditions demonstrate a potential 5.7% reduction in LCOE at the expense of a 2.5% decrease in exergy efficiency when compared to the baseline scenario. Full article

The utilization of biomass for multi-generation systems is garnering significant interest due to its potential in conserving primary energy and mitigating greenhouse gas emissions. However, enhancing its energy efficiency remains a critical challenge. This study introduces an innovative cogeneration system that combines biomass gasification with an externally fired gas turbine, organic Rankine cycle, and absorption refrigeration cycle. It undergoes thorough thermodynamic and exergoeconomic evaluations, with a dual-objective optimization conducted to identify the optimal operational conditions that achieve the highest exergy efficiency while minimizing product cost. The findings reveal that, in the base case, the thermal efficiency, exergy efficiency, and sum unit cost of the product (SUCP) of the system are 66.36%, 32.04%, and 8.71 USD/GJ, respectively. A parametric study illustrates that elevating the air compressor pressure ratio or the temperature difference at the cold end enhances thermal efficiency but reduces exergy efficiency. Additionally, the lowest unit cost of the product is attainable by optimizing the gas turbine inlet temperature. The performance of the system shows negligible sensitivity to the turbine inlet pressure of a bottoming organic Rankine cycle. Finally, optimization demonstrates a 9.7% increase in exergy efficiency and a 1.8% rise in the SUCP compared to the baseline scenario. The study suggests integrating with other energy sources for diversified product outputs and conducting environmental analyses in future research. Full article

Renewable energy sources can help the countries to achieve some of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) provided from the recent 2030 Agenda, allowing for clean, secure, reliable and affordable energy. Biomass technology is a relevant renewable energy to contribute to reach a clean and affordable energy production system with important emissions reduction of greenhouse gases (GHG). An innovative technological application of biomass energy consisting of a burner coupled with an external fired gas turbine (EFGT) has been developed for the production of electricity. This paper shows the results of the plant modelling by Aspen Plus environment and preliminary experimental tests; the validation of the proposed model allows for the main parameters to be defined that regulate the energy production plant supplied by woodchips. Full article

This paper presents the theoretical model and the simulation of a cutting edge hybrid power system composed of an externally-fired gas turbine (EFGT) coupled with an organic Rankine cycle (ORC) as a bottoming unit for the maximization of electrical power. The power plant is fed with different biomass sources from olive industry wastes (pruning, dry pomace, stones, leaves and twigs), providing more than 550 kW of electric power and a net electrical efficiency of 26.0%. These wastes were burnt directly at atmospheric pressure in an EFGT, producing 400 kW of electric power and exhaust gases at 300 °C. Ten suitable ORC working fluids have been studied to maximize the electric power generation: cyclohexane, isohexane, pentane, isopentane, neopentane, R113, R245fa, R365mfc, R1233zd and methanol. The best fluid was R1233zd, reaching 152.4 kW and 22.1% of ORC thermal efficiency; as drawback, however, R1233zd was not suitable for Combined Heat and Power CHP applications due its lower condensation temperature. Thus, despite R113 gave minor electricity production (137.5 kW) this allowed to generate additional thermal power (506.8 kW) in the way of hot water at 45 °C. Full article

Biomass as a source of renewable energy is a promising solution for current problems in energy supply. Olive waste is considered as an interesting option, especially for Mediterranean countries. Within this paper, a microscale externally fired gas turbine (EFGT) technology is presented as a decentralized power plant, within the range of 15 kW_th, based on olive residues. It was modeled by Aspen Plus 8.6 software to provide a sufficient technical study for such a plant. Optimized parameters for pressure ratio and turbine air-mass flow have been mapped for several loads to provide information for process control. For all cases, mechanical output, efficiency curves, and back-work ratio have been calculated. Using this information, typical plant sizes and an example of power production are discussed. Additionally, achievable energy production from olive waste is estimated on the basis of this data. The results of this study show that such a plant has an electrical efficiency of 5%–17%. This variation is due to the examination being performed under several combustion temperatures, actual load, heat exchanger temperatures, and heat transfer efficiency. A cost estimation of the discussed system showed an estimated capital cost of 33,800 to 65,300 € for a 15 kW_th system. Full article

In the present work, the results are reported of the energy and exergy analyses of three biomass-related processes for electricity generation: the biomass gasification integrated externally fired combined cycle, the biomass gasification integrated dual-fuel combined cycle, and the biomass gasification integrated post-firing combined cycle. The energy efficiency for the biomass gasification integrated post-firing combined cycle is 3% to 6% points higher than for the other cycles. Although the efficiency of the externally fired biomass combined cycle is the lowest, it has an advantage in that it only uses biomass. The energy and exergy efficiencies are maximized for the three configurations at particular values of compressor pressure ratios, and increase with gas turbine inlet temperature. As pressure ratio increases, the mass of air per mass of steam decreases for the biomass gasification integrated post-firing combined cycle, but the pressure ratio has little influence on the ratio of mass of air per mass of steam for the other cycles. The gas turbine exergy efficiency is the highest for the three configurations. The combustion chamber for the dual-fuel cycle exhibits the highest exergy efficiency and that for the post-firing cycle the lowest. Another benefit of the biomass gasification integrated externally fired combined cycle is that it exhibits the highest air preheater and heat recovery steam generator exergy efficiencies. Full article