Proposal and thermodynamic performance study of a novel LNG-fueled SOFC-HAT-CCHP system with near-zero CO2 emissions

The cold energy in many liquefied natural gas (LNG) satellite stations is directly carried away by air or seawater. This causes cold energy waste and environmental cold pollution. To solve this problem, a combined power, heating and cooling system (CCHP) driven by LNG is established based on solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) and humid air turbine (HAT), namely SOFC-HAT-CCHP system, in which, not only can the waste cold energy cool compressor inlet air to decrease power consumption, but supply cold energy for the cold storage and CO2 recovery. Based on FORTRAN and Aspen Plus, the thermodynamic performance calculation models and the simulation work of the new system are carried out, such as the exergy and energy analysis, as well as the effects of the selected important variables. The results indicate that total exergy efficiency and total power efficiency are 64.7% and 54.4%, and the total thermal efficiency is 79.1%. Besides, the capture rate and purity of the CO2 are 98.7% and 98.9% respectively. The novel system is environmental protective, energy-saving and efficient, which may provide a new direction to reasonably analysis utilize the waste cold energy in LNG satellite stations. (C) 2020 Hydrogen Energy Publications LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.