Preliminary Reversible Solid Oxide System Specification

Knighton, Lane Todd; Shigrekar, Amey; Yang Hui Otani, Courtney Mariko; Casteel, Micah Joel; Wendt, Daniel S.; Westover, Tyler L.

doi:10.2172/1906497

DOE OSTI · 1906497

Preliminary Reversible Solid Oxide System Specification

Knighton, Lane Todd·Shigrekar, Amey·Yang Hui Otani, Courtney Mariko·Casteel, Micah Joel·Wendt, Daniel S.·Westover, Tyler L.

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Abstract

This report presents the preliminary documentation of a 10 MWe DC reversible solid oxide cell (rSOC) system designed to use both electrical and thermal energy from a nuclear power plant (NPP). The system is designed to consume 10 MWe DC in electrolysis mode while producing hydrogen from demineralized feedwater. In fuel cell mode, the same stacks produce 2.37 MWe DC of electricity by reacting hydrogen and oxygen, while generating water as a byproduct which is recycled to be used later in the electrolysis mode. The system detailed in this specification is a high-temperature steam electrolysis (HTSE) system when operated in the electrolysis mode. HTSE systems have the benefit of producing hydrogen at a higher efficiency than conventional low-temperature electrolysis (LTE) systems. In this report it is assumed that some of the heat required for HTSE operation comes from an NPP. Heat extraction from an NPP for use in electrolysis mode of the rSOC system allows preheating and vaporization of feedwater before recuperators and trim heaters raise the feed temperature to the approximately 800 °C before entering the solid oxide stacks. The purpose of an rSOC system in a utility company setting is to employ energy arbitrage with a dispatchable demand load which can consume excess electricity generation during times of low grid demand / high generation and can produce electricity for the grid during times of high grid demand / low generation. There is a wide range of energy storage technologies that could be used for utility-scale energy arbitrage (utility-scale battery storage is considered the baseline technology), the object of this work is not to compare and contrast rSOC technology with any of these other technologies, but only to present this preliminary design for consideration and for use in future conceptual or front end engineering design (FEED) work. This document is not meant to be a final specification or definitive description of the rSOC system, but it is meant to showcase preliminary process modeling results, provide boundary conditions and interface requirements such as input feed and utility stream flowrates, temperatures, and pressures as well as thermal and electrical energy requirements, and output conditions in both electrolysis mode and fuel cell mode. These results are intended to inform the future development of a conceptual demonstration-scale study to assess the technical and economic feasibility of a future demonstration of an rSOC integrated project at an NPP.

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08 HYDROGEN Hydrogen Reversible Solid Oxide Electrolysis rSOC

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Knighton, Lane Todd, Shigrekar, Amey, Yang Hui Otani, Courtney Mariko, Casteel, Micah Joel, Wendt, Daniel S., Westover, Tyler L.. 2022-12-01. Preliminary Reversible Solid Oxide System Specification. https://doi.org/10.2172/1906497

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