Technical Papers
Dec 20, 2017

Power-to-Gas Energy Storage by Reversible Solid Oxide Cell for Distributed Renewable Power Systems

Publication: Journal of Energy Engineering
Volume 144, Issue 2

Abstract

The conflict between energy utilization and environmental problems is deepening, urging society to promote the utilization of renewable energy in the future energy structure. In this paper, the processes of power-to-gas (PtG) are described in detail for improving the utilization and flexibility of renewable energy. The reversible solid oxide cell (RSOC) technology is considered as a promising route for PtG, especially power-to-methane (PtM). The working principle, electrochemical performance, and dynamic behaviors of RSOC and methane production characteristics are reviewed and manifested by summarizing the existing literature and the authors’ experimental data. From the data, the application of RSOC in the distributed energy system is specifically demonstrated. The basic structure and power management strategies of the distributed systems combining renewable energy and natural gas are simulated and optimized by trade-offs among system efficiency, power quality, and renewable power penetration as well as system cost. It is found that RSOC is able to better integrate the renewable power, heat, and gas in the distributed system to fully utilize various energy sources and achieve a more efficient PtM conversion.

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Acknowledgments

The study support from Project 2014CB249201 supported by the National Basic Research Program of China (973 Program), Project 51476092 (National Natural Science Foundation of China, NSFC), and Youth Foundation Program for Fundamental Scientific Research in Tsinghua University (221 Program) are greatly appreciated.

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Information

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Go to Journal of Energy Engineering
Journal of Energy Engineering
Volume 144Issue 2April 2018

History

Received: Oct 10, 2016
Accepted: Jul 28, 2017
Published online: Dec 20, 2017
Published in print: Apr 1, 2018
Discussion open until: May 20, 2018

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Authors

Affiliations

Ph.D. Student, Key Laboratory for Thermal Science and Power Engineering of the Ministry of Education, Dept. of Energy and Power Engineering, Tsinghua Univ., Beijing 100084, China. E-mail: [email protected]
Yixiang Shi [email protected]
Associate Professor, Laboratory for Thermal Science and Power Engineering of the Ministry of Education, Dept. of Energy and Power Engineering, Tsinghua Univ., Beijing 100084, China (corresponding author). E-mail: [email protected]
Ningsheng Cai [email protected]
Professor, Laboratory for Thermal Science and Power Engineering of the Ministry of Education, Dept. of Energy and Power Engineering, Tsinghua Univ., Beijing 100084, China. E-mail: [email protected]

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