Optimization of Biosyngas-Combustion-Driven Reactor Applied in a Microscale Combined Heat and Power System

Remote villages could potentially enhance their levels of autonomy leveraging on biofuels to produce electricity for basic needs from the agriculture and animal wastes.This study proposes a biosyngas-fueled power system, which is the fusion between a micro-thermophotovoltaic (micro-TPV) system and a Stirling engine. The combustor in the micro-TPV is a coaxial tube made of platinum. Biosyngas was simulated using different compositions of H2 and CO mixture. The H2/CO/air mixture was delivered to the inner channel of the micro-TPV combustor, while the CH4/air mixture was delivered to the outer channel. This study realized a micro-CHP system, with a combustion-driven TPV cell array and a Stirling engine-driven power generation system. This micro-CHP system harvests energy generated through thermal radiation from the reactor surface as well as thermal energy from hot flue gas. The results indicate that the overall efficiency of the biosyngas-fueled microscale combined heat and power (micro-CHP) system was strongly dependent on fuel composition, fuel/air ratio, and flowrate mixture. Thus, Taguchi method was employed to find optimal operative conditions; the highest efficiency was achieved for a biosyngas composition of 90% CO and 10% H2, a flow velocity of 6 m/s, and an equivalence ratio of 1.2