Dynamic modelling of an Ammonia to Power application at high efficiency using a solid oxide fuel cell system

Abstract

Ammonia is a promising zero carbon and sustainable hydrogencarrier that can be used as a fuel in solid oxide fuelcells (SOFC) by offering advantages related to the ease ofstorage and the possibility of being used directly withoutan external reformer. In this study, a Modelica-baseddynamic model of an 'Ammonia to Power' (A2P) system wasdeveloped by integrating ammonia decomposition kinetics,electrochemical reactions, all the system-level componentsand the main control loops. A novel Balance of Plant (BoP)configuration is proposed, featuring a five-way heatexchanger that recovers waste heat primarily using the fuelstream as the thermal energy vector instead of air. Themodel evaluates transient responses to operationalperturbations, the behavior of the different control loops,and recirculation percentage rates to optimize systemperformance. Efficiency is calculated as the ratio of thepower output from the SOFC to the power derived from thefresh ammonia line.