Thermodynamic analyses of a biomass integrated fired combined cycle

A biomass integrated fired combined cycle (BIFCC) is proposed and examined with energy and exergy analyses. A focal point is the biomass gasification process, for which four different biomasses are examined. The fuel in the bottoming cycle is a biomass while the topping cycle fuel is natural gas. The analyses consider a range of compressor pressure ratios (6–24), gas turbine inlet temperatures (1300–1500 K), heat recovery steam generator (HRSG) inlet temperatures (840–940 K) and molar natural gas to biomass ratios (0.05–1.50). The energy efficiency is compared when the cycle uses natural gas, or natural gas and biomass (of various kinds). The efficiency is seen to be maximized at an optimum pressure ratio, which depends on the gas turbine and HRSG inlet temperatures. Increasing the gas turbine and decreasing the HRSG inlet temperatures leads to in an increase in energy and exergy efficiencies for the cycle. The performance of an 80-MW capacity plant is investigated for three cases, with optimum pressure ratios and various operating parameters. The most advantageous performance among the three cases, for which the energy and exergy efficiencies are 53.16 and 48.39% respectively, is achieved when the turbine inlet temperature is 1500 K, the HRSG inlet temperature is 840 K and the compressor pressure ratio is 14.