Analysis of Two Biomass Gasification/Fuel Cell Scenarios for Small-Scale Power Generation

Two scenarios were examined for small-scale electricity production from biomass using a gasifier/fuel cell system. In one case, a stand-alone BCL/FERC gasifier is used to produce synthesis gas that is reformed and distributed through a pipeline network to individual phosphoric acid fuel cells. In the second design, the gasifier is integrated with a molten carbonate fuel cell stack and a steam bottoming cycle. In both cases, the gasifiers are fed the same amount of material, with the integrared system producing 4 MW of electricity, and the stand-alone design generating 2 MW of electricity.