The growing concerns of energy sustainability promote the integration and permeation of solar energy with the ongoing progress of combined cooling, heating, and power (CCHP) technologies. Solar technologies including photovoltaic modules, solar heat collectors and photovoltaic/thermal systems convert sun energy into electrical and/or thermal energies, which can be complementary with the simultaneous power and heat production from CCHP system. This work summarizes various research works on solar technologies assisted CCHP systems. The possible integration methods of solar technologies are presented according to the styles of prime movers in CCHP systems: gas turbine, internal combustion engine and fuel cell. The cost analysis of solar and CCHP technologies is presented to show their potential cost-competitive hybridizations. In addition, the indicators for assessing the comprehensive performances of hybrid CCHP systems are compared from different aspects such as energy efficiency, economic cost, and pollutant emissions. In order to promote the commercial applications of hybrid solar-assisted CCHP systems, more efforts are required in novel energy-efficient and cost-effective technologies, integrated evaluation system, stochastic optimization models and advanced energy management strategies.

Hybrid solar-assisted combined cooling, heating, and power systems: A review

Stochastic multi-scenario optimization for a hybrid combined cooling, heating and power system considering multi-criteria

Concentrating solar collectors in absorption and adsorption cooling cycles: An overview

Bioenergy production is one of the most reliable strategies for replacing fossil fuels and reducing CO2 emissions. Gasification-based bioenergy generation has been extensively studied; however, it is still facing the challenges of limited energy efficiencies, especially upon small-scale development. Concentrated solar thermochemical gasification of biomass (CSTGB) where the endothermic reactions of gasification are driven by concentrated solar thermal energy serves as a promising solution to improve the efficiency of gasification. This review summarized recent development in modeling concentrated solar thermochemical gasification of biomass, the method of concentrated solar thermal for gasification, and applications and development of concentrated solar thermal biomass gasification. The influences of operating parameters toward the performance of the technology were studied, which determine the optimum parameters for maximizing the energy conversion efficiency of the technology. CSTGB could improve the utilization of biomass feedstocks and the total energy efficiency by 30% and 40%, respectively by effectively storing solar energy in the producer gas as compared to conventional gasification.

Concentrated solar thermochemical gasification of biomass: Principles, applications, and development

Optimal design of hybrid combined cooling, heating and power systems considering the uncertainties of load demands and renewable energy sources

Thermodynamic analysis of a combined cooling, heating and power system based on solar thermal biomass gasification.

The purpose of this paper is to improve the utilization of renewable energy by exergy and exergoeconomic analysis of the novel combined cooling, heating, and power (CCHP) system, which is based on solar thermal biomass gasification. The source of heat to assist biomass and steam gasification is the solar heat collected by a dish collector, and the product gas being fuel that drives the internal combustion engine to generate electricity and then to produce chilled/hot water by a waste heat unitization system. The analysis and calculation of the exergy loss and exergy efficiency of each component reveal the irreversibility in the heating and cooling conditions. Then, the exergoeconomic costs of multi-products such as electricity, chilled water, heating water, and domestic hot water are calculated by using the cost allocation method based on energy level. The influencing factors of the unit exergy cost of products are evaluated by sensitivity analysis, such as initial investment cost, biomass cost, service life, interest rate, and operating time coefficient. The results reveal that the internal combustion engine takes up 49.2% of the total exergy loss, and the most effective method of products cost allocation is the exergoeconomic method based on energy level and conforms to the principle of high energy level with high cost.

https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/12/12/2418/pdf

Chaofan Ma

Papers

Thermodynamic analysis of a combined cooling, heating and power system based on solar thermal biomass gasification.

Exergy and Exergoeconomic Analysis of a Combined Cooling, Heating, and Power System Based on Solar Thermal Biomass Gasification