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Leading article oxygen
Leading article oxygen has the advantage that the combustion temperatures are higher because the proportion of nitrogen in the air (79%) does not have to be heated. Thus, the efficiency is also significantly better. Enough steam is generated with this incinerator. It is only operated when required and the oxygen is temporarily stored. In addition, part of the plan is to also operate the fuel cells with pure oxygen to convert the hydrogen back into electricity in times of shortage. This also ensures a significantly higher degree of efficiency here. At the centre of all thermal processes and measures is a liquid salt storage tank, which levels the different temperatures of the individual components and makes them available as needed. A hydrogen filling station is being built for the bus company next door and for other customers. The hydrogen is of course kept in LOHC and in an intermediate tank there is always enough gaseous hydrogen at low pressure to enable a tank filling. The start-up time of the dehydrogenation is so efficient that hydrogen can be supplied after a few minutes. In addition, the large-scale data centre will sell its waste heat for heating purposes. Initial calculations show that almost the entire industrial area can be heated with it. If necessary, heat pump technology can also be used here in order to be able to supply the right temperature. At the same time, this logistics centre should also be available to buy or sell energy in any form (electricity, heat, hydrogen, LOHC). Sellers of loaded LOHC can be private individuals or companies that may have equipped themselves with an SOFC electrolytic cell and reactor and can produce loaded LOHC. Hydrogen can be traded well, easily and safely via the LOHC storage medium. Increasing the output of classic power plants It is well known that classic power plants are most economical when they are operated at the optimal operating point. With increasing grid input from renewable sources, whose electricity must then also be given preference, the base-load power plant is forced to down-regulate depending on the amount of renewable electricity (fluctuating). This means inefficient operation of the power plant. One possibility is to always let the power plant work in the optimal range and to convert the excess electricity into hydrogen and store it in LOHC. When needed, more power would then be available than from the power plant alone. A concrete estimate for a real power plant delivered about 70% more power. It is also known that such power plants have large waste heat flows. With a few thermal and plant engineering measures, this waste heat could be used with only a small loss of efficiency to release the hydrogen from the LOHC and convert it into electricity. In this way, increasing the energy supply capability of the power plant would be relatively easy and efficient to implement. Buying additional electricity when needed, if available cheaply, is an additional option. This could even become a business model: to generate even more electricity when needed and sell it at a higher price. At the same time, however, other inefficient power plants could also be shut down without producing an energy shortage (decrease of overall carbon-dioxide output). In addition, it is also possible to set up the electrolytic cell and the reactor where the waste heat from these two components is needed. Or you can store the heat in salt storage and transport it to where it is needed. Chemical company with large heat requirements A chemical company needs appropriate heat sources for its high-temperature processes. There is one system that works at around 300 °C and another that works at around 500 °C. The concept now calls for PV to be installed on all roofs with a preferred southern exposure and a small wind turbine on the company’s high-rise building. The electricity generated in this way is converted into hydrogen, oxygen and heat in an electrolytic cell (SOFC). In addition, the hydrogen is stored in LOHC, which generates waste heat of up to 340 °C. This waste heat is used for the 300 °C range. The waste heat from the SOFC is pumped into the 500 °C system and at the same time waste wood is burned with the oxygen and the 500 °C system is supported. The stored hydrogen is used to refuel the delivering haulage vehicles or for reconversion and grid feeding or also sold as an energy source. These synergetic project approaches show how energetic optimisation can take place and at the same time maximum efficiency for hydrogen production can be achieved. The Author: Prof. Dr.-Ing. Eberhard Schlücker, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nuremberg, Institute of Process Machinery and Systems, Engineering (IPAT), Erlangen, Germany 12 PROCESS TECHNOLOGY & COMPONENTS 2022
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