An example of innovative application in fuel cell system development: CO2 segregation using Molten Carbonate Fuel Cells

CO2 is one of the main causes of the greenhouse effect and serious attention is being given to CO2 abatement at the moment. In this work, the feasibility of segregating CO2 from the exhaust of a Gas Turbine using a Molten Carbonate Fuel Cell system is studied. In particular, different plant configurations are simulated using a commercial code integrated with proprietary MCFC Fortran blocks. The opportunity of an additional CO2 separation stage downstream MCFC is also discussed. The results of the simulations are presented and the possibility of producing electrical energy and being able to respect Kyoto Protocol and IPCC environmental requirements is analysed.