Energetic, economic, and environmental analysis of solid oxide fuel cell-based combined cooling, heating, and power system for cancer care hospital

Abstract

In this study, energetic, economic, and environmental analysis of solid oxide fuel cell-based combined cooling, heating, and power (SOFC-CCHP) system is proposed for a cancer care hospital building. The energy required for the hospital power, cooling, and heating demands was obtained based on real and detailed field data, which could serve as a reference for future works in the field. These data with a 3D model for the hospital building are constructed and created in eQUEST software to precisely calculate the energy demands of the existing system (baseline case). Then, energetic, economic, and environmental models were developed to compare and assess the performance of the proposed SOFC-CCHP system. The results show that the proposed system can cover about 49% to 77% of the power demand of the hospital with an overall efficiency of 78.3%. Also, the results show that the levelized cost of electricity of the system and its payback period at the designed capacity of the SOFC is 0.087 $/kWh and 10 years, respectively. Furthermore, compared to the baseline system of the hospital, the SOFC-CCHP reduces the CO2 emission by 89% over the year. The sensitivity analysis showed that a maximum SOFC efficiency of 52% and overall efficiency of 80% are achieved at cell operating temperature of 1027 °C and fuel utilization factor of 0.85.