Energy Analysis of Utilizing Biomass Gasification to Partially Substitution Fossil Fuels in an IBG-GT-ST-Kalina Cycle

Abstract

In this study, the partial alteration of fuel consumption of combined cycle power plants was investigated and analyzed using an innovative model. This system is applicable using the fuel derived from the biomass gasification process. For this purpose, energy modeling of an advanced gasification system to supply a share of the gas fuel was fulfilled. The results demonstrated that by considering the reasonable capacities for the design, up to 10 % of natural gas fuel could be replaced with syngas. In addition, heat recovery of the plant stack in the Kalina low-temperature cycle enhanced the total efficiency by up to 1.7 %. Therefore, the competitive advantage of the proposed cycle was enhanced compared to conventional power generation systems. A parametric study of the components affecting the integrated cycle performance including alternative biomass fuels, moisture content of biomass fuel, steam-to-biomass ratio, and equivalence ratio of the gasifier was performed, and the permissible values of each factor were obtained. Thus, by utilizing the proposed approach, it is possible to gradually substitute the consumed fossil fuels of power plants with renewable resources to achieve the objectives of sustainable energy development.

Keywords

• biomass gasification
• fluidized bed
• kalina cycle
• combined cycle
• energy efficiency