Analysis of combined cooling and heating power system based on high temperature PEM fuel cell

The aim of this project is to analyse a combined cooling, heating and power (CCHP) system based on high-temperature proton exchange membrane fuel cell (HT-PEMFC) and double-effect lithium bromide (LiBr) – water absorption chiller. This report presents a theoretical evaluation on the characteristics and performance of a double-effect LiBr– water absorption system. The system recovers the waste heat from an operating HT-PEMFC and transforms the energy into cooling capability using water as refrigerant. It also presents the experimental results regarding the maximum waste heat recovery ability by the fuel cell’s auxiliary cooling circuit currently which further acts as the heat source for absorption cooling system generator. In detail, the introduction included the current energy lookout for both residential and industrial applications. A literature review is given regarding the absorption system in which lithium bromide solution acts as absorber and water as refrigerant. This defined the history of absorption chiller development, its types and components and the working principles. Meanwhile, the development of fuel cells and the specific type used in this study are introduced with illustrations. The mathematical system construction model was built with the relations between heat source and the cooling capacity. A Matlab model was implemented in this study to analyse the data and graph the outcome under the variables’ inputs throughout the experiment. After the theoretical consideration, related experiments were carried out to perform the necessary performance evaluations. The experimental result was incorporated into the theoretical calculation with a maximum power of 5 kW and cooling capacity of 2.5 kW. An estimated cost analysis in the domestic residential application of the system is presented in the summary.Bachelor of Engineering (Mechanical Engineering