Heat recovery options for onboard fuel cell systems

Solid oxide fuel cell fuelled by methanol is an attractive option to limit the environmental impact of the marine sector. In this publication, a study on heat-recovery has been made for a 250 kW SOFC atmospheric system fuelled by methanol, to satisfy the auxiliary demand onboard of a commercial vessel. Feasible heat-recovery systems were investigated, taking into account efficiency, costs, and space requirements. The heat-recovery possibilities taken into account are electricity production using an Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC), steam/hot water production, air-conditioning obtained using an Absorption Chiller, and demineralised water recovery. The software WTEMP, developed by the TPG (Thermochemical Power Group) of the University of Genoa, was used for the analysis; models of bottoming cycle, desalination unit, and absorption chiller were developed for this work. The analysis has compared these different solutions to the conventional onboard systems.