Feasibility of the integration of a Molten Carbonate Fuel Cell System and an Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle

IGCC (Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle) power plants look promising for the environmentally- friendly, large-scale production of electrical energy from low-cost fossil feedstocks such as coal or refinery residues. In IGCC plants hydrogen is an intermediate product, as a syngas component, between the thermochemical section and the power section, which is a conventional combined cycle modified to handle this low-density fuel. Replacing the conventional power section with a fuel cell, the IGFC (Integrated Gasification Fuel Cell) configuration promises lower emissions, higher efficiency and possibility to scale down to smaller sizes. To explore the challenges and the feasibility of such an integration we have proposed putting a pilot-scale fuel-cell system into operation within an existing, conventional IGCC, creating a hybrid fuel-cell-IGCC. Two innovative configurations have been proposed and optimised for a pilot-scale MCFC–GT (Molten Carbonate Fuel-Cell–Gas Turbine) system, based on a typical syngas for IGCC plants such as that in operation at ISAB Energy Srl. The system has been modelled using the LIBPF process simulation library.