Performance Evaluation and Parametric Optimum Criteria of an Irreversible Molten Carbonate Fuel Cell-Heat Engine Hybrid System

摘要

The model of a hybrid system composed of a molten carbonate fuel cell (MCFC) and a heat engine ispresented, in which multi-irreversibilities such as overpotentials in the electrochemical reaction, heatleak from the MCFC to the environment, non-perfect regeneration in the regenerator, and finite-rateheat transfer in the heat engine are taken into account. Expressions for the efficiency and power outputof the system are analytically derived, from which the general characteristics of the hybrid system arerevealed and the optimum criteria of some main parameters such as the current density, efficiency andpower output are determined. The influence of the irreversible losses on the performance of the hybridsystem is discussed. Moreover, a multi-objective function including both the efficiency and the poweroutput is put forward and used to further subdivide the optimally operating region of the hybridsystem. The results obtained here are very general and may be directly used to derive the variousinteresting conclusions of the hybrid systems operated under different special cases.