Economic assessment of a hybrid turboexpander-fuel cell gas energy extraction plant

Abstract

In this paper, a hybrid turboexpander-fuel cell (TE-FC) is investigated for extraction of electrical energy from high pressure gas in which the fuel cells are used for preheating the gas. Combination of expanders and fuel cells will reduce the fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emission. This study reveals that there are some circumstances in which the use of fuel cells in conjunction with a turboexpander is not recommended from an economic point of view. This paper seeks the region in which utilization of fuel cells along with a turboexpander presents maximum economic profit. Using the strategy provided in this paper one can decide whether to invest in the hybrid fuel cells-turboexpander or individually planned turboexpander with a conventional gas fired preheating system. Almost all effective parameters are taken into account and this can be considered a superiority of the present paper.

Economic analysis and optimal capacity sizing of turbo‐expander‐based microgrid

“…The temperature and pressure of NG are reduced (3). Finally, NG leaves PRS and enters the distribution network at low pressure [13]. The microgrid under study can be installed in an industrial plant, to meet both heat and electricity demand of multi office buildings.…”

“…where T ( ∘ F) and P (psi) are temperature and pressure of outlet gas, respectively. If the mass flow rate of NG is given by ṁ , the required preheat power is calculated by (2) [13]:…”

“…After preheating, pressurised NG enters in TE. The recoverable electrical power is calculated as [13]…”

Coverage of peak loads in electrical networks due to the utilization of pressure drop on the gas distribution stations

“…Додатково, у роботі [5] наведено коливання річного споживання природного газу через ГРС та відповідна зміна витрати паливного газу. В роботі [6] запропонована ідея використання паливних елементів в якості джерела теплоти для попереднього підігріву природного газу, показано річне ко-ливання температури природного газу на вході в ГРС Ірану, але також не проведено порівняння вартості отриманої та затраченої енергії, що викликає певну недовіру з точки зору реальної економії ресурсів в масштабі країни.…”

Energy Harvesting by a Novel Substitution for Expansion Valves: Special Focus on City Gate Stations of High-Pressure Natural Gas Pipelines

“…In 2016, Jie et al [4] also developed and tested cryogenic hydraulic turbines as a replacement of Joule-Thomson valves and reported that it improves Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) production by an average of 2% and generates a power of 8.3 kW. However, the idea of exploiting expansion turbines and/or turboexpanders in NG CGS/TBS to generate electricity has been presented in some studies [5][6][7][8][9]. Taleshian et al [10] presented a simple model for turboexpanders in a MATLAB environment to investigate electrical waveforms flicker due to variation in input pressure or mass flow rate.…”