Efficiency and Performance Analysis of SOFC Integrated With S-CO2 Brayton Cycles: A Comprehensive Study on Waste Heat Utilization
Fuel Cells, vol.26, no.2, 2026 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus)
- Publication Type: Article / Article
- Volume: 26 Issue: 2
- Publication Date: 2026
- Doi Number: 10.1002/fuce.70074
- Journal Name: Fuel Cells
- Journal Indexes: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus, Chemical Abstracts Core, Compendex, Greenfile, INSPEC
- Keywords: hybrid system, intermediate temperature solid oxide fuel cell, supercritical CO2 Brayton cycle, waste heat
- Dokuz Eylül University Affiliated: Yes
Abstract
Addressing global energy challenges demands advanced strategies for efficient waste heat utilization and system integration. This study focuses on converting waste heat from an intermediate-temperature solid oxide fuel cell (IT-SOFC) into useful work and investigates the performance of hybrid systems that couple the IT-SOFC with various supercritical carbon dioxide (S-CO2) Brayton cycle configurations. At the standard operating conditions of the IT-SOFC (600°C, 0.3 A/cm2), the efficiency of the isolated solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) stack is 34.75%. The efficiencies of the novel hybrid systems are as follows: the SOFC/S-CO2 basic Brayton cycle (SBBC) hybrid system at 43.93%, the S-CO2 recompression Brayton cycle (SRCBC) hybrid system at 49.8%, and the SOFC/S-CO2 regenerative Brayton cycle (SRBC) hybrid system achieving the highest at 54.66%. Different cycles favor different temperature ranges: the SRCBC is more efficient below 600°C, whereas the SRBC performs better above 600°C due to the temperature sensitivity of its heat recovery unit. The SOFC/SRBC hybrid system offers high efficiency with reduced complexity, making it a promising approach for effective waste heat utilization.