Dynamic modelling of highly-efficient polygeneration systems

Dynamic modelling of highly-efficient polygeneration systems

Reaching a sustainable energy system requires a growing and necessary decarbonisation. A route to achieve this goal is by increasing the penetration of renewable technologies for heat and electricity generation as well as in transport. This is particularly relevant into industrial processes and systems characterized by high energy consumption, which is essential within a strategy to reduce environmental impact and greenhouse gas emissions. Additionally, sustainable integration of renewable energies also needs to be adapted to both the application and the environment.

This line of research addresses new polygeneration power plant designs integrating one or several renewable resources, being concentrating solar energy one of them, and solar heat inindustrial processes (SHIP). For instance, potential applications are hybrid micro gas turbines using concentrating solar energy for combined heat and power generation to fully cover electric and thermal energy demands of a city district or hydrid systems using photovoltaics and solar thermal. Another use is related to large-scale solar fuel production, which would have a major impact on a sustainable future transportation sector.

The energetic behavior of these polygeneration systems under study is analyzed by means of home-made and commercial numerical tools aiming at making time-dependent simulations (dynamic models). To do this, specific modules that describe the behavior of elements that compose the plant must be developed and validated. The ultimate goal is to assess the impact of fluctuations in the renewable resource (solar energy) on the performance of renewable energy systems. Thus, this analysis allows to optimize the sizing of components and detect the need for thermal and / or electrical storage systems and their integration into the system.