Energy 55 (2013) 98e106

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Energy
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Performance analysis of an integrated biomass gasification and PEMFC

(proton exchange membrane fuel cell) system: Hydrogen and power
generation
Bhawasut Chutichai a, Suthida Authayanun b, Suttichai Assabumrungrat a,
Amornchai Arpornwichanop a, c, *
a
Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok 10330, Thailand
b
Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Srinakharinwirot University, Nakhon Nayok 26120, Thailand
c
Computational Process Engineering, Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok 10330, Thailand

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: The PEMFC (proton exchange membrane fuel cell) is expected to play a significant role in next-generation
Received 17 November 2012 energy systems. Because most hydrogen that is used as a fuel for PEMFCs is derived from the reforming of
Received in revised form natural gas, the use of renewable energy sources such as biomass to produce this hydrogen offers a
29 March 2013
promising alternative. This study is focused on the performance analysis of an integrated biomass
Accepted 30 March 2013
Available online 29 April 2013
gasification and PEMFC system. The combined heat and power generation output of this integrated
system is designed for residential applications, taking into account thermal and electrical demands. A
flowsheet model of the integrated PEMFC system is developed and employed to analyze its performance
Keywords:
Biomass gasification
with respect to various key operating parameters. A purification process consisting of a wateregas shift
PEMFC reactor and a preferential oxidation reactor is also necessary in order to reduce the concentration of CO in
Hydrogen the synthesis gas to below 10 ppm for subsequent use in the PEMFC. The effect of load level on the
Integrated system performance of the PEMFC system is investigated. Based on an electrical load of 5 kW, it is found that the
Performance analysis electrical efficiency of the PEMFC integrated system is 22%, and, when waste heat recovery is considered,
the total efficiency of the PEMFC system is 51%.
! 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction coal [3], natural gas [4] and methanol [5], all of which contain
carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. Since hydrocarbon fuels are derived
The PEMFC (proton exchange membrane fuel cell) has received from petroleum, which is an inherently limited source of energy,
growing attention as an efficient power generation device due to its the use of renewable fuels such as biomass to produce hydrogen
low emissions, potentially high energy density, compactness, has been widely explored [6]. Several types of biomass are
modularity, light weight, fast start-up and fast response to load considered to be valuable feedstocks for hydrogen production
changes. For residential applications, PEMFCs can be employed as processes [7]. Among the various fuel production processes avail-
either primary or backup energy sources; a PEMFC can produce able, gasification is accepted as an efficient technology for the
about 5 kW of power or 120 kWh of energy per day as a cogene- conversion of biomass to synthesis gas [8]. Using steam as a major
ration system [1]. gasifying agent seems to be an effective method for producing
Pure hydrogen is an ideal fuel for PEMFCs; however, it is not hydrogen-rich gas [9]; however, in practice, air is generally fed into
available in nature and must be extracted from various fuels via the gasifier in order to enhance the combustion reaction [10] and to
reforming technologies. Most fuels considered to be hydrogen enable self-sustainable operation of the system [11]. Because syn-
sources are based on hydrocarbon compounds [2]. These include thesis gas obtained from gasification contains a high CO fraction
that can deteriorate PEMFC performance, a purification process is
necessary to decrease the content of CO to an acceptable of 10 ppm
or less to avoid catalyst poisoning [12,13].
* Corresponding author. Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engi-
PEMFC-based cogeneration systems have higher efficiencies
neering, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok 10330, Thailand. Tel.: þ66 2 218 6878;
fax: þ66 2 218 6877. than traditional power generation systems because heat and elec-
E-mail address: [email protected] (A. Arpornwichanop). tricity are generated and utilized closer to the user. Various studies

0360-5442/$ e see front matter ! 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2013.03.088
 B. Chutichai et al. / Energy 55 (2013) 98e106 99

on PEMFC systems have been performed over the past several de- step involves parametric analysis. For the biomass gasification
cades. The chemical and thermodynamic aspects of the electrical process, the effect of the operating conditions is investigated to find
characteristics of a PEMFC were studied by Yan et al. [14] and Asl optimal conditions at which a maximum quantity of H2 is pro-
et al. [15]. Although the design and analysis of fuel cell-based CHP duced. Finally, performance of the PEMFC integrated system is
(combined heat and power) systems are subjects of interest [1,16], analyzed to determine the electrical, thermal and overall effi-
only limited information is available regarding PEMFC systems in- ciencies. In this study, the PEMFC system is designed with a power
tegrated with biomass gasification. Toonssen et al. [17] studied the generation of 5 kW.
integration of PEMFC and biomass gasification. The results of this
study indicated that the efficiency of such an integrated system is 2.1. Hydrogen production from biomass gasification
around 30%. The effect of the purity level of hydrogen on the effi-
ciency of the cogeneration system was investigated without This section describes the hydrogen production system for the
considering the effect of the operating parameters on the gasifi- integrated PEMFC system, which is based on a biomass gasification
cation process and the fuel cell. process. The goal of this system is to produce H2-rich gas with the
It is known that the performance of heat and power cogenera- required quality and in the required quantity to satisfy the demands
tion systems depends on their operating conditions. Thus, a of the PEMFC. This system plays a key role in the PEMFC integrated
comprehensive understanding of a biomass gasification system system because of the complexity of the biomass conversion pro-
coupled with PEMFC is essential for achieving efficient system cesses, including the biomass gasification and hydrogen purifica-
operation. The goal of this study is to analyze the performance of an tion processes. The hydrogen production system consists of three
integrated biomass gasification and PEMFC system. The simulation major units: (1) a biomass gasifier, which converts biomass into H2-
of this integrated system is carried out using a process flowsheet rich gas; (2) high- and low-temperature wateregas shift reactors
simulator to investigate system performance with respect to key (HTS and LTS), which remove CO via reaction with steam to produce
operating parameters, including air and steam feed rate, gasifica- CO2 and additional H2; and (3) a PROX (preferential oxidation
tion temperature, biomass composition and load change. The reactor) in which the remaining CO in the H2 feed is reduced to an
PEMFC integrated system studied in this work is designed to supply acceptable level for PEMFC applications (less than 10 ppm).
an electrical load of 5 kW to cover a power demand for residential The reactions that take place in the hydrogen production system
applications. The efficiency of the PEMFC system including heat are summarized in Table 1. In this study, all gaseous products ob-
recovery is also considered. tained from each unit are at chemical equilibrium. All gasifier and
purification reactors are operated at steady-state, isothermal and
2. Integrated biomass gasification and PEMFC system isobaric conditions. The compositions of the gaseous streams
associated with the gasifier, wateregas shift reactors and prefer-
Fig. 1 shows a schematic diagram for the integrated biomass ential oxidation reactor, which contain H2, CO, CO2, CH4, N2, and
gasification and PEMFC system. It consists of two main sections: (1) H2O, are determined by minimizing the Gibbs free energy using a
the hydrogen production and purification system, in which biomass flowsheet simulator (Aspen Plus). Various types of biomass feed-
is converted into an H2-rich gas via a fluidized bed gasifier; and (2) stock have been used as a carbon source in gasification process such
the PEMFC stack, in which electricity is generated from the elec- as sewage sludge [18], crop residues [19] and wooden waste [16].
trochemical reaction of hydrogen and oxygen. This goal of this Wooden waste like sawdust, which is widely available in Thailand,
study is to design and analyze this integrated PEMFC system. A is selected as a model biomass feedstock.
systematic model-based procedure is shown in Fig. 2. First, models Fig. 3 shows the flowsheet for the hydrogen production process
of the hydrogen production process and PEMFC are developed and based on biomass gasification. The stream BIOMASS is specified as a
the reliability of the developed models is verified by comparing the nonconventional stream. Biomass is fed to DECOMP (RYield), where
modeling results against data reported in the literature. The next thermal decomposition occurs and volatile matter, such as H2, N2,

H2-rich gas

Biomass
Gasifier Cyclone
Separator

Air
HTS LTS PROX

Biomass
Loads
e- e-

Exhaust

Air
Steam Air Exhaust
Ash
PEMFC Stack

Fig. 1. Schematic diagram of the airesteam biomass gasification and PEMFC integrated system.
100 B. Chutichai et al. / Energy 55 (2013) 98e106

Biomass gasification
PEMFC
process

Determine the configuration of Determine the specifications of

a gasifier (fluidized bed fuel cell stack (electrical power,
gasifier) operating voltage)

Develop the simulation mode of

the gasification process Develop the PEMFC model
(thermodynamics approach) (electrochemical model)

Modify parameters Modify parameters

Is the model No Is the model No
based on data from based on data from
validated? validated?
the literature the literature
Yes Yes

Perform parametric analysis and Investigate the performance of

determine optimal operating the PEMFC at the design
conditions with the aim to obtain specifications
H2-rich gas production

Do the quality of the No Indude the purification

product gas satisfy the step (WGS reactors and
demands of the PEMFC? PROX reactor)

Yes
Integrated biomass gasification
and PEMFC system

Analyze the overall system efficiency

Fig. 2. A systematic model-based analysis of the PEMFC integrated system.

O2 and S (sulfur), solid particles (carbon) and ash, are generated. unit CSEP (SEP), from which the solid carbon is circulated back to
This unit is modeled by specifying the distribution of the product the gasification process. The stream CWASTE carries 2% of the total
yields based on the ultimate analysis of the biomass feedstock. The solid carbon obtained from the biomass. This stream is mixed with
enthalpy of the product steam is balanced by inserting the heat ash in a mixing unit (forming the stream ASH-C).
stream Q-DECOMP. Gasifying agent streams representing steam The operating parameters of the gasification process are ob-
and air are fed into the GASIF1 reactor (RGibbs). The product gas the tained from Li et al. [20]. It is assumed that the residual carbon
GASIF2 reactor (RGibbs) is then sent to ASHSEP (SEP) to remove ash. loss to ash in the gasifier is 2% and that the heat loss from the
The unit CYCLONE (SEP) represents a cyclone separator. The re- gasifier is equal to 3% of the heat input. The efficiency of the
sidual solid carbon (SOLID) is removed and subsequently fed to the cyclone separation is 85% [21]. In the HTS and LTS reactors (HTS
and LTS), the wateregas shift reaction between CO and steam
occurs. The HTS (high-temperature wateregas shift reactor) is
Table 1 operated at 400 " C and the LTS (low temperature wateregas shift
Reactions involved in the hydrogen production process. reactor) is operated at 200 " C [22]. The CO-selective oxidation
Biomass gasification reaction takes place in the preferential oxidation reactor,
Heterogeneous reactions represented by the unit PROX in Fig. 3. This reactor is operated at
Char partial combustion C þ 0:5O2 4 CO DH0298 ¼ $111 kJ/mol 150 " C [22].
Boudouard C þ CO2 4 CO DH0298 ¼ þ172 kJ/mol
Wateregas C þ H2 O 4 CO þ H2 DH0298 ¼ þ131 kJ/mol
Methanation C þ 2H2 4CH4 DH0298 ¼ $75 kJ/mol 2.2. PEMFC stack
Homogeneous reactions
CO partial combustion CO þ 0:5O2 4 CO2 DH0298 ¼ $283 kJ/mol The PEMFC represents one of the most promising power
H2 partial combustion H2 þ 0:5O2 4 H2 O DH0298 ¼ $242 kJ/mol
generation technologies for converting the chemical energy
Wateregas shift CO þ H2 O4 CO2 þ H2 DH0298 ¼ $41 kJ/mol
Steamemethane reforming CH4 þ H2 O4CO þ 3H2 DH0298 ¼ þ206 kJ/mol contained in hydrogen into electrical power in a single step. A
Wateregas shift reactor (HTS, LTS) PEMFC system consists of a polymer electrolyte membrane
Wateregas shift CO þ H2 O4 CO2 þ H2 DH0298 ¼ $41 kJ/mol sandwiched between two electrodes: an anode and a cathode.
Preferential oxidation reactor (PROX) The electrochemical reactions that take place in the fuel cell stack
CO oxidation CO þ 0:5O2 4 CO2 DH0298 ¼ $283 kJ/mol
are as follows:
 B. Chutichai et al. / Energy 55 (2013) 98e106 101

Fig. 3. Flowsheet of the hydrogen production system based on the gasification process.

Anode : H2 /Hþ þ 2e$ i

Cathode : 0:5O2 þ Hþ þ 2e$ /H2 O NH2 ¼ (4)
nF
Overall : H2 þ 0:5O2 /H2 O
In general, the operating voltage of a PEMFC has a direct impact
In this study, the electrochemical model used to describe the on the current and power generation. Typically, a PEMFC is oper-
electrical characteristics of the PEMFC is derived from Springer ated at 0.6e0.8 V, compromising its power output [25,26]. In this
et al. [23] under the following assumptions: steady-state and study, it is assumed that the nominal cell voltage for a single cell of
isothermal conditions, ideal gas behavior, and no membrane a PEMFC is 0.7 V at full load [27]. Table 2 shows the specifications
swelling. Anode losses in the fuel cell are not considered due to the and operating conditions of a PEMFC stack designed for 5 kW of
fast kinetics of the hydrogen oxidation reaction [24]. The overall cell electrical power. To determine the performance of the PEMFC, the
voltage is obtained by determining the reversible cell potential and fuel cell stack efficiency is defined as shown in Eq. (5):
then subtracting the voltage losses, such as the kinetic voltage
losses at the cathode and the Ohmic resistances of membrane and Pe ðWÞ
Stack efficiencyð%Þ ¼ ' 100; (5)
electrodes. This relationship is described in Eq. (1), mH2 ' HHVH2

Ecell ¼ Erev $ hc $ iR; (1) where Pe is the electrical power that is generated from the fuel cell
stack, mH2 is the flow rate of H2 that is actually supplied to the fuel
where Ecell represents the overall cell voltage, Erev is the reversible cell and HHVH2 is the higher heating value of H2.
cell potential or thermodynamic voltage, hc is the cathode potential
loss and iR is the Ohmic resistance loss. 2.3. Model validation
The reversible voltage can be estimated by using the Nernst
equation (Eq. (2)), The models of the biomass gasification and PEMFC systems
" ! "0:5 # described in the previous section are validated to confirm their
0 RT PH2 PO2 reliability before they are used to investigate the performance of
Erev ¼ Erev þ ln ; (2)
nF aH2 O the integrated PEMFC system for power generation. Fig. 4 shows
the model prediction for the product gas composition obtained
0
where Erev is the reversible voltage at standard temperature and from the gasification process compared with experimental results
pressure, T is the operating temperature, R is the ideal gas constant obtained under the same conditions reported by Karatas et al. [28].
(¼8.314 J mol$1 K$1), n is the number of moles of electrons trans- In the study of Karatas et al. [28], a fluidized-bed gasifier was used
ferred (¼2), F is the Faraday constant, PH2 is the partial pressure of to gasify tire waste with different gasifying agents: CO2, air and
H2, PO2 is the partial pressure of O2 and aH2 O is the water activity. steam. Considering the airesteam gasification using commercial
In order to calculate the cathode potential losses, the Butlere tire scraps as an input fuel, these authors reported various exper-
Volmer equation (Eq. (3)) is employed: imental results. Experiment number 2 (T#2) from their work [28]
was chosen for the model validation. The input data for T#2 are
# $ % $ %& as follows: the gasifying agent consists of air and steam, the gasi-
$ac F aF
i ¼ i0 exp hc $ exp a hc ; (3) fication agent temperature is 230 " C and the steam-to-air ratio is
RT RT

where i is the current density, i0 is the exchange current density, ac

Table 2
is the transfer coefficient of the cathodic reaction (¼0.5) and aa is
Design specifications and operating conditions for the PEMFC.
the transfer coefficient of the anodic reaction (¼0.5).
The Ohmic resistance loss depends on the proton conductivity Number of cells 50 cells
Active area 0.072 m2/cell
through the membrane (Nafion") and electrodes. In this study,
Electrical power 5 kW
values for the proton conductivity of Nafion" and the membrane Operating voltage 0.7 V/cell
resistance (R) are taken from the work of Springer et al. [23]. Operating temperature 80 "
C
At steady-state conditions, the quantity of H2 ðNH2 Þ that is Operating pressure 1 atm
consumed by the electrochemical reactions can be derived from the Fuel utilization [30] 80 %
Oxygen utilization [18,30] 50 %
following equation:
102 B. Chutichai et al. / Energy 55 (2013) 98e106

60 3. Results and discussion

In this section, the performances of the biomass gasification

50 system for hydrogen production and the PEMFC system for po-
wer generation are investigated. Synthesis gas from the gasifi-
Gas composition (mol.%, dry basis)

cation process is treated to reduce the quantity of CO it contains

40 to an acceptable level for PEMFC operation. Key operating pa-
rameters of the biomass gasifier studied here include the
biomass source, the oxygen ER (equivalence ratio), the gasifica-
tion temperature, and the steam-to-biomass ratio. The perfor-
30
mance of the PEMFC is examined by considering the polarization
curve. Electrical and thermal efficiencies of the integrated system
are also considered. The ER is defined as the ratio of air fed into
20
the gasifier to the stoichiometric amount of air required for
complete combustion.

10 3.1. Effect of biomass source

The effect of biomass composition on the gas produced by the

0 gasification process is studied. The biomass feedstocks considered
H2 CO CO2 CH4 N2 in this study are wood waste (sawdust), sugarcane bagasse, corn
straw, rice husks and rice straw. Table 3 shows the proximate and
Fig. 4. Comparison of the product gas composition obtained from the model
ultimate analyses and the heating value for each biomass source.
predictions and from data reported in the literature by Karatas et al. [28].
The results shown in Fig. 6 indicate that, at the same operating
condition, all product gases from the gasification, regardless of the
biomass source, contain primarily H2 and CO2. The quantities of
0.239. Fig. 4 shows that the model predictions are found to be in these major gasification products present in the synthesis gas
good agreement with the experimental results. do not differ significantly among different feedstocks. This results
The PEMFC model is validated against the experimental data of from the similar compositions of all feedstocks, as observed in the
Yan et al. [14], who investigated the performance of a PEMFC stack results of the ultimate analysis. However, it is expected that the
at both steady-state and transient conditions. Yan et al. [14] re- content of H2 in the synthesis gas could increase if biomass with a
ported five experimental runs at steady-state to investigate the high carbon fraction and low ash fraction were used.
effect of operating temperature. For model validation, experi-
mental data for a PEMFC stack with an operating temperature of 3.2. Effect of oxygen equivalence ratio
80 " C, an H2 stoichiometry of 1.2, an air stoichiometry of 2, an
anode humidity of 100% and a cathode humidity of 100% were Since steam gasification is a highly endothermic reaction, air is
selected. The results indicate that the model predictions and introduced into the gasifier in order to enhance the combustion of
experimental results for the polarization curve are in good oxygen and solid carbon in the biomass, thereby utilizing the
agreement (Fig. 5). combustion heat to maintain the steam gasification reaction. The
amount of air fed into the gasifier is represented by the oxygen
equivalence ratio (ER). Fig. 7 shows that when the gasifier is
operated at a higher ER, less H2 is generated. This is because a large
quantity of solid carbon is lost as a result of the partial combustion
with O2. Additionally, the partial combustion of CO and H2 is more
pronounced, decreasing the fractions of H2, CO and CH4. It is also
observed that the fraction of N2 in the synthesis gas product in-
creases. This is the major drawback of introducing air into the
gasifier. The N2 dilution effect lowers the heating value of the
product gas, as shown in Fig. 8. Furthermore, reductions in the H2

Table 3
Biomass compositions.

Material Proximate Ultimate analysis (wt.%) HHV

analysis (wt.%) (MJ/kg)

VM FC Ash C H N O S

Sawdusta 79.50 16.80 3.70 44.13 6.50 e 45.73 0.08 18.47c

Sugarcane 83.66 13.15 3.20 45.48 5.96 45.21 0.15 e 18.73
bagasseb
Corn strawb 73.15 19.19 7.65 44.73 5.87 0.60 40.44 0.70 17.68
Rice husksb 61.81 16.95 21.24 38.50 5.20 e 34.61 e 14.69
Rice strawb 65.47 15.86 18.67 38.24 5.20 0.87 36.26 0.18 15.09

VM ¼ volatile matter and FC ¼ fixed carbon.

a
Tan and Zhong [31].
b
Fig. 5. Comparison of the cell potential obtained from the model predictions and from Yin [32].
c
data reported in the literature by Yan et al. [14]. Calculated by modified Dulong’s equation [33].
 B. Chutichai et al. / Energy 55 (2013) 98e106 103

40
H2
CO
CO2
Gas composition (mol. %, dry basis)

CH4
30

20

10

0
Sawdust Sugarcane Corn Rice Rice
bagasse straw husk straw Fig. 8. Effect of oxygen equivalence ratio on the higher heating value and the H2 and
CO yield of the product gas (temperature ¼ 650 " C, S/B ¼ 1.0).
Fig. 6. Effect of biomass source on the composition of the product gas from gasification
(temperature ¼ 650 " C, ER ¼ 0.28, S/B ¼ 1.0, moisture content ¼ 10%).
3.3. Effect of gasification temperature

and CO yields with increasing ER reduce the heating value of the Gasification temperature is one of the most important parame-
synthesis gas; a low-quality product gas is therefore obtained. ters affecting the H2 yield. Fig. 9 presents the H2 yield as a function of
As mentioned previously, in the airesteam gasification process, the gasification temperature for different values of ER. At ER ¼ 0.28,
the heat of the combustion reaction is used for the endothermic the H2 yield initially increases with increased gasification temper-
gasification reaction. As a result, it is possible to balance the ature, reaches a maximum at a temperature around 650 " C, and then
combustion and gasification reactions by adjusting the air supply slightly decreases. When the gasification temperature is increased,
such that a self-sustaining energy condition is reached at which an the extents of the Boudouard, wateregas shift and reforming re-
external heat input is unnecessary. The simulation results show actions are all increased, resulting in an increase in the quantity of H2
that the gasifier can be operated at self-sustaining conditions generated. However, at temperatures higher than 650 " C, the H2
when air is fed at an ER of 0.28. It should be noted that the demand yield is reduced as a result of the reverse wateregas shift reaction.
for air can be reduced when useful heat in the high-temperature
product gas is recovered to preheat the air before it is fed to the 3.4. Effect of steam-to-biomass ratio
gasifier.
Steam plays a key role in the production of hydrogen-rich gas
from the gasification process, because it affects the wateregas shift,
70
3.5
N2
60
3.0
Gas composition (mol. %, dry basis)

ER = 0
50
Hydrogen yield (L/hr)

H2 2.5

40
2.0
ER = 0.28
30
1.5 ER = 0.38
CO 2
20
1.0 ER = 0.50
CO
10
0.5
CH 4
0
0.0
0.0 0 .1 0 .2 0 .3 0 .4 0 .5 0 .6 500 600 700 800 900 1000
Equivalence ratio (ER) Gasification temperature ( o C)
Fig. 7. Effect of oxygen equivalence ratio on the composition of the product gas from Fig. 9. Effect of gasification temperature on the H2 yield for different values of
gasification (temperature ¼ 650 " C, S/B ¼ 1.0). equivalence ratio.
104 B. Chutichai et al. / Energy 55 (2013) 98e106

wateregas and reforming reactions. Fig. 10 shows the effect of the 45

S/B ratio (steam-to-biomass) on the composition of the product gas. H2
When a larger fraction of steam is added to the gasifier, the con- 40 CO2

Gas composition (mol. %, dry basis)

centrations of H2 and CO2 increase, but those of CO and CH4
CO
decrease. However, when the gasifier is operated at a higher S/B, a
35 CH4
higher energy input is needed for increased steam production.
Under the conditions studied, the optimal value for the S/B is in the
range of 0.8e1.2. Within this range, synthesis gas with an H2 frac-
30
tion of 30 mol.% is generated.
25
3.5. Hydrogen purification process
20
Since the product gas from the biomass gasifier contains a CO
fraction in excess of the maximum specification for PEMFC opera- 15
tion, the product gas is passed through high- and low-temperature
wateregas shift reactors (HTS and LTS) and a preferential oxidation 10
reactor (PROX). The product gas compositions at the outlets of the
gasifier, HTS reactor, LTS reactor and PROX reactor are shown in 5
Fig. 11. The final product gas used as a fuel for the PEMFC stack is
composed of 33 mol.% H2 with a CO concentration less than 10 ppm.
0
The efficiency of the hydrogen-production system for converting
Gasifier HTS LTS PROX
the energy in biomass into H2-rich gas is 57.50%.
reactor reactor reactor
3.6. PEMFC performance Fig. 11. Product gas compositions at the outlets of the gasifier, HTS reactor, LTS reactor
and PROX reactor.
The performance of the PEMFC is evaluated using a polarization
curve showing the relationship between current density, cell po- Fig. 13. This implies that, for the required load level, the PEMFC may
tential and power. Fig. 12 shows that the cell potential decreases be operated at a higher efficiency but at a significantly lower power
with increasing current density because larger voltage losses are output. At the chosen design condition (5 kW of power generation),
observed at higher current densities. The maximum power that the the stack efficiency is 47.23% based on the energy content of the
PEMFC can generate is around 10 kW at 0.45 V. At this condition, hydrogen fed to the stack. By examining the energy contained in
the stack efficiency of the PEMFC is quite low; it is not suitable to the exhaust gas leaving the PEMFC stack, it is found that the ther-
operate the PEMFC at its maximum power. Typically, a cell potential mal energy obtained from the PEMFC stack is around 7.7 kW. This
of around 0.7 V is chosen as an operating point [30]. Under the value is computed from the enthalpy of the exhaust gas using the
design conditions for which the PEMFC is operated at 0.7 V, the reference temperature of 25 " C. This thermal energy can be utilized
generated current density is equal to 198 mA/cm2 and 5 kW of for space heating or water heating.
electrical power is produced.
In general, the fuel cell stack efficiency is directly related to the 3.7. Performance of the PEMFC integrated system
fuel cell potential. An increase in the load level results in a decrease
in both the fuel cell potential and stack efficiency, as shown in The biomass gasification and PEMFC integrated system is
designed based on a combined heat and power generation
35
1.1 11

30 1.0 10
Gas composition (mol. %, dry basis)

H2 0.9 9
25
0.8 8

20 CO 2 0.7 7
Cell potential (V)

Power (kW)

0.6 6
15
0.5 5
CO
10 0.4 4

0 .3 3
5
0 .2 2
CH 4
0 0.1 1

0.0 0
0.0 0 .2 0 .4 0.6 0 .8 1.0 1.2 1.4 1.6 0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900
Steam-to-biomass ratio (S/B)
Current density (mA/cm 2 )
Fig. 10. Effect of steam-to-biomass ratio on the product gas composition
(temperature ¼ 650 " C, ER ¼ 0.28). Fig. 12. Polarization curve for the PEMFC.
 B. Chutichai et al. / Energy 55 (2013) 98e106 105

0.90 60 where mbiomass is the mass flow rate of the biomass and HHVbiomass
is the higher heating value of the biomass.
The overall efficiency of the system is determined from Eq. (8),
0.85 which represents the ratio of usable energy (electricity and heat) to
55
the energy input [29]:

Fuel cell stack efficiency (%)

0.80 Pe þ Ph ðWÞ
Overall efficiencyð%Þ ¼ ' 100: (8)
Cell potential (V)

50 mbiomass ' HHVbiomass

0.75 In this study, it is found that changes in the load levels have an
impact on the system performance, as shown in Fig.14. The electrical
45 efficiency is increased with increasing load level because a higher
0.70 fraction of the energy in the biomass is converted into electricity to
meet the power demand. When the system is operated at a higher
load level, more hydrogen is consumed and the quality of the
40
0.65 exhaust gas from the PEMFC stack is therefore reduced, resulting in a
reduction in thermal efficiency. Under the optimal operating con-
ditions described earlier, the PEMFC integrated system has an
0.60 35 electrical efficiency of 22% and a thermal efficiency of 29%. Thus,
1 2 3 4 5 when the waste thermal energy is recovered within the system, the
Power (kW) overall efficiency of this integrated system is increased to 51%.

Fig. 13. Effect of load levels on the cell potential and the fuel cell stack efficiency. 4. Conclusions

approach. This system involves the recovery of waste thermal en- In this study, an integrated biomass gasification and PEMFC
ergy back into the system as a useful thermal power. The perfor- system was proposed for combined heat and power cogeneration.
mance of this integrated system is defined by its ability to convert Simulations of the integrated PEMFC system using sawdust as the
the chemical energy contained in biomass into electrical and major feedstock were performed to analyze the effect of the oper-
thermal power. The electrical and thermal efficiencies of the PEMFC ating parameters on its performance. Biomass gasification was
integrated system are defined by Eqs. (6) and (7) [29,30]: coupled with a wateregas shift reactor and a preferential oxidation
reactor to purify the synthesis gas obtained from the gasifier. It was
Pe ðWÞ found that when the gasifier is operated at an optimal operating
System electrical efficiencyð%Þ ¼ ' 100;
mbiomass ' HHVbiomass temperature in the range of 600e650 " C, a steam-to-biomass ratio
(6) of 0.8e1.2 and an oxygen equivalence ratio of 0.28, the synthesis
gas obtained contains approximately 33 mol.% H2 and the efficiency
of the gasifier in converting biomass is around 57%. The PEMFC
Ph
System thermal efficiencyð%Þ ¼ ' 100; stack generates electricity and low-grade heat with an efficiency of
mbiomass ' HHVbiomass
47e60%. The total efficiency of the PEMFC integrated system
(7) operated at the design condition is around 51%.

Acknowledgments
60
Support from the Thailand Research Fund, Thailand’s Higher
Education Commission and Ratchadaphiseksomphot Endowment
Overall
Fund (CU-CLUSTER-FUND) is gratefully acknowledged.
50
B. Chutichai would like to thank the Dutsadiphiphat Scholar-
ship, Ratchadaphiseksomphot Endowment Fund, Chulalongkorn
University.
40
Efficiency (%)

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