Engineering topics

Allan, Douglas A.

Publications and source records attributed to Allan, Douglas A..

5 records

DOE OSTI2024

Market optimization and technoeconomic analysis of hydrogen-electricity coproduction systems

Decarbonization efforts across North America, Europe, and beyond rely on variable renewable energy sources such as wind and solar, as well as alternative fuels, such as hydrogen, to support the sustainable energy transition. These advancements have prompted a need for more flexibility in the electric grid to complement non-dispatchable energy sources and increased demand from electrification. Integrated energy systems are well suited to provide this flexibility, but conventional technoeconomic modeling paradigms neglect the time-varying dynamic nature of the grid and thus undervalue resource flexibility. In this work, we develop a computational optimization framework for dynamic market-based technoeconomic comparison of integrated energy systems that coproduce low-carbon electricity and hydrogen (e.g., solid oxide fuel cells, solid oxide electrolysis) against technologies that only produce electricity (e.g., natural gas combined cycle with carbon capture) or only produce hydrogen. Our framework starts with rigorous physics-based process models, built in the open-source Institute for the Design of Advanced Energy Systems (IDAES) modeling and optimization platform, for six energy process concepts. Using these rigorous models and a workflow to optimally design each technology, the framework is shown to be capable of evaluating new and emerging technologies in varying energy markets under a plethora of future scenarios (i.e., renewables penetration, carbon tax, etc.). Ultimately, our framework finds that solid oxide fuel cell-based coproduction systems achieve positive profits for 85% of the analyzed market scenarios. From these market optimization results, we use multivariate linear regression (R 2 values up to 0.99) to determine which electricity price statistics are most significant to predict the optimized annual profit of each system. The proposed framework provides a powerful tool for directly comparing flexible, multi-product energy process concepts to help discern optimal technology and integration options.

08 HYDROGEN↗

DOE OSTI2024

Optimal operation of solid-oxide electrolysis cells considering long-term chemical degradation

Optimizing the performance of solid oxide electrolysis cells (SOECs) for long-term hydrogen (H 2 ) production at high temperatures is crucial, as prolonged operation leads to efficiency losses and shorter cell lifespans due to chemical degradation. Here, in this work, we adopt a quasi-steady state approach for dynamic optimization over extended operational periods to address the disparity in timescales between cell operation and degradation. Integrating a 2-D non-isothermal SOEC model with balance-of-plant (BOP) equipment, we explore three optimization objectives: minimizing terminal degradation, maximizing integral efficiency, and minimizing the levelized cost of H 2 (LCOH). Our dynamic optimization algorithm reduces LCOH by 9.5% and 16% compared to strategies focusing solely on terminal degradation and integral efficiency, respectively. For electricity prices of 0.03 $\$$/mWh and 0.3 $\$$ mWh optimal replacement schedules range from 5 to 2 years, depending on the operational mode. Furthermore, a flexible operational mode yields additional improvements in LCOH over traditional galvanostatic and potentiostatic modes.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

DOE OSTI2024

Nonlinear model predictive control for mode‐switching operation of reversible solid oxide cell systems

Abstract Solid oxide cells (SOCs) are a promising dual‐mode technology for the production of hydrogen through high‐temperature water electrolysis, and the generation of power through a fuel cell reaction that consumes hydrogen. Switching between these two modes as the price of electricity fluctuates requires reversible SOC operation and accurate tracking of hydrogen and power production set points. Moreover, a well‐functioning control system is important to avoid cell degradation during mode‐switching operation. In this article, we apply nonlinear model predictive control (NMPC) to an SOC module and supporting equipment and compare NMPC performance to classical proportional‐integral (PI) control strategies, while switching between the modes of hydrogen and power production. While both control methods provide similar performance across various metrics during mode switching, NMPC demonstrates a significant advantage in reducing cell thermal gradients and curvatures (mixed spatial‐temporal partial derivatives), thereby helping to mitigate long‐term degradation.

08 HYDROGEN↗

DOE OSTI2024

Development of algorithms for augmenting and replacing conventional process control using reinforcement learning

Here, this work seeks to allow for the online operation and training of model-free reinforcement learning (RL) agents but limit the risk to system equipment and personnel. The parallel implementation of RL alongside more conventional process control (CPC) allows for the RL algorithm to learn from CPC. The past performance of both methods are assessed on a continuous basis allowing for a transition from CPC to RL and, if needed, transitioning back to CPC from RL. This allows for the RL algorithm to slowly and safely assume control of the process without significant degradation in control performance. It is shown that the RL can derive a near optimal policy even when coupled with a suboptimal CPC. It is also demonstrated that the coupled RL-CPC algorithm learns at a faster rate than traditional RL methods of exploration while the algorithm’s performance does not deteriorate below CPC, even when exposed to an unknown operating condition.

30 DIRECT ENERGY CONVERSION↗

DOE OSTI2015

Accurate and precise determination of critical properties from Gibbs ensemble Monte Carlo simulations

Since the seminal paper by Panagiotopoulos [Mol. Phys. 61, 813 (1997)], the Gibbs ensemble Monte Carlo (GEMC) method has been the most popular particle-based simulation approach for the computation of vapor–liquid phase equilibria. However, the validity of GEMC simulations in the near-critical region has been questioned because rigorous finite-size scaling approaches cannot be applied to simulations with fluctuating volume. Valleau [Mol. Simul. 29, 627 (2003)] has argued that GEMC simulations would lead to a spurious overestimation of the critical temperature. More recently, Patel et al. [J. Chem. Phys. 134, 024101 (2011)] opined that the use of analytical tail corrections would be problematic in the near-critical region. To address these issues, we perform extensive GEMC simulations for Lennard-Jones particles in the near-critical region varying the system size, the overall system density, and the cutoff distance. For a system with N = 5500 particles, potential truncation at 8σ and analytical tail corrections, an extrapolation of GEMC simulation data at temperatures in the range from 1.27 to 1.305 yields T{sub c} = 1.3128 ± 0.0016, ρ{sub c} = 0.316 ± 0.004, and p{sub c} = 0.1274 ± 0.0013 in excellent agreement with the thermodynamic limit determined by Potoff and Panagiotopoulos [J. Chem. Phys. 109, 10914 (1998)] using grand canonical Monte Carlo simulations and finite-size scaling. Critical properties estimated using GEMC simulations with different overall system densities (0.296 ≤ ρ{sub t} ≤ 0.336) agree to within the statistical uncertainties. For simulations with tail corrections, data obtained using r{sub cut} = 3.5σ yield T{sub c} and p{sub c} that are higher by 0.2% and 1.4% than simulations with r{sub cut} = 5 and 8σ but still with overlapping 95% confidence intervals. In contrast, GEMC simulations with a truncated and shifted potential show that r{sub cut} = 8σ is insufficient to obtain accurate results. Additional GEMC simulations for hard-core square-well particles with various ranges of the attractive well and for n-decane molecules represented by the TraPPE force field yield data that support the trends observed for Lennard-Jones particles. The finite-size dependence of the critical properties obtained from GEMC simulations is significantly smaller than those from grand-canonical ensemble simulations. Thus, when resources are not available for a rigorous finite-size scaling study, GEMC simulations provide a straightforward route to determine fairly accurate critical properties using relatively small system sizes.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗