Energy and Exergy Analysis of a Novel Combined Power/Cooling Production Cycle Based on Solid Oxide Fuel Cell

The main purpose of this paper is to introduce and investigate thermodynamic performance of a new combined power and cooling cogeneration cycle. In this cycle a hydrogen-fed solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) and a gas turbine are used for power generation, and a generator-absorber heat exchange (GAX) absorption refrigeration system is used to produce cooling. Electrochemical equations for fuel cell and thermodynamic relations for components are solved simultaneously using the Engineering Equation Solver (EES). The simulation results are validated using the previously published data in literature. The comparison shows a good agreement between them with an error of less than 4%. The effects on the system performance are investigated of such decision parameters like current density and pressure ratio. The results show that for the same condition, the energy and exergy efficiencies of the proposed cycle are 52.29% and 4.61% higher than those of the stand-alone fuel cell, respectively. Fuel cell stack, afterburner, and generator/absorber assembly contribute the most in the overall exergy destruction in the cycle.