What the heck is this?
I obviously don't understand it because I don't see why they would have the turbine there if there is no combustion in the turbine. What else is the turbine for other than to burn fuel and make the gases turn the shaft?
Maybe the turbine is used when a lot of power is needed but when cruising in fuel cell mode, the turbine just acts as a drive shaft. That would improve efficiency because when in fuel cell mode, the efficiency would be 75% and when in turbine mode, that would drop to 25% or whatever the Capstone turbines produce.
But in that case, why bother with the turbine at all? Perhaps it is a matter of power, weight and capital cost and bigger fuel cells are too expensive, big and heavy. So they have a fuel cell for gentle to moderate use and a jet engine for hauling up hill or at high speed or in accelerating.
Anyone want to explain? That is quite an efficiency gain to try to get - from 25% for the 29 kilowatt unit running on diesel microturbine.com to 75% in fuel cell mode running on natural gas.
I wonder what the relative figures would be if both run on methanol, or ethanol. Two fuel tanks shouldn't be a big problem. Natural gas isn't good as a vehicle fuel due to storage mechanics, range etc. Better to convert it to methanol which is easy to distribute.
< DANBURY, Conn., Aug 16, 2001 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- FuelCell Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ: FCEL chart, msgs) reached a significant milestone by commencing operations of a DFC/T (TM) power plant based on a 250 kW Direct FuelCell(R) (DFC(R)) integrated with a Capstone Turbine Corporation (NASDAQ: CPST chart, msgs) modified Model 330 Microturbine.
The combined system does not require any combustion in the turbine. The first-of-a-kind test of the high-efficiency DFC/T (TM) power plant is being funded by the U.S. Department of Energy through its Office of Fossil Energy. The cooperative agreement is managed by the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) as part of the DOE's Vision 21 program.
An objective of the Vision 21 Program is to develop power plants that would generate electricity with net efficiencies approaching 75 percent (with natural gas), while producing sulfur and nitrogen oxide emissions of less than 0.01 lb/million BTU. These goals are significant improvements over conventional power plants, which are 35-60 percent efficient and produce emissions of 0.07 to 0.3 lb/million BTU of sulfur and nitrogen oxides. The nitrogen oxide and sulfur emissions from the DFC/T system are anticipated to be better than the Vision 21 goals due to the non-combustion features of the DFC/T power plant. The expected high efficiency of the DFC/T will also result in a 40 - 50 percent reduction in carbon dioxide emissions compared to conventional power plants.
The DFC/T power plant is based on FuelCell Energy's innovative design for ultra high efficiency systems. At the core of this power plant design is the Company's commercial DFC fuel cell technology. The system extends the potential fuel savings and positive environmental attributes of the DFC by combining a non-fired gas turbine and a network of heat exchangers, resulting in extra electricity and adding significantly to the already high efficiency of the DFC. Features of the DFC/T system include: high efficiency, minimal emissions, simplicity in design, direct reforming internal to the fuel cell, no pressurization of the fuel cell, independent operating pressure of the fuel cell and turbine, and potential cost competitiveness with existing combined cycle power plants at much smaller sizes.
The DFC/T power plant began operating July 31, 2001, and the test program is expected to last several months. The power plant is designed to operate in a dual mode: as a standalone fuel cell system or in combination with the microturbine. Instead of fuel, heat generated by the fuel cell is used to drive the modified Capstone Microturbine to generate additional electricity. This proof-of-concept demonstration will provide information to design a 40 MW DFC/T power plant that can approach the 75 percent efficiency goal as specified by the Vision 21 program, as well as serve as a platform for a high efficiency DFC/T in smaller sizes for retail power applications.
"The commencement of operation of this 250 kW fuel cell and microturbine demonstration is very exciting for us," said Jerry D. Leitman, president and CEO of FuelCell Energy. "Such a high efficiency, low-emission system represents a potentially powerful addition to our product line and opens up another innovative choice for high efficiency generation of both retail and wholesale power."
"We are pleased at the progress of this joint project and believe there is great potential in very high efficiency fuel cell/microturbine systems. This project takes advantage of the ultra-low emissions of both technologies and is an important milestone toward commercially viable fuel cell/turbine products," said Dr. Ake Almgren, president and CEO of Capstone Turbine. ... continued siliconinvestor.com;
If somebody wants to explain, I'd appreciate it.
Mqurice |
