Performance evaluation of a solid oxide fuel cell multi-stack combined heat and power system with two power distribution strategies

Solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) combined heat and power (CHP) system is a promising candidate for future energy conversion systems. Large power SOFC-CHP system needs multi-stack fuel cell (MFC) to solve the problems of thermal stress and system stability because MFC systems can achieve better performances for maximum power output and average efficiency than single stack fuel cell systems. This study develops an energy management strategy (EMS) for a SOFC multi-stack CHP system coupled with a methane reformer. SOFC multi-stacks are connected in parallel and verified by the published results. The effect of pressure and temperature on the overall multi-stack CHP system electrical efficiency and heat power is investigated with chain and adaptive EMS. The results show that as temperature and pressure increase, the system power increases. The temperature is more effective for the multi-stack system peak efficiency. Up to 11% of electrical system efficiency can be improved when the temperature rises from 700 C (973 K) to 900 C (1173 K). However, higher pressure reduces the peak efficiency by 1.5%. Both temperature and pressure can enlarge the output power range. The proposed model can serve as an effective solution for optimizing the SOFC multi-stack CHP system running on methane.