Performance analysis of a novel biomass thermochemical conversion cascade utilization system driven by concentrated solar energy

Abstract

The utilization of complementary energy sources is an effective approach to addressing the existing technological constraints associated with renewable energy. A novel system is proposed that hybrid several thermochemical process. The temperature of the heat transfer fluid is matched to the thermochemical reaction conditions to make cascade use of energy. The system can generate 60 MW of electricity, and the bio-oil output reaches 7500 kg/h and the bio-char output reaches 2500 kg/h during the time period of better radiation conditions. Thermodynamic assessments indicate that the proposed novel system exhibits higher energy efficiency as 42.01 %, which is about 5 %–12 % higher than solar driven biomass gasification system. And the exergy efficiency of the novel system is 35.61 %, which is about 4 %–11 % higher than solar driven biomass gasification system. Additionally, the system exhibits good economic performance and superior environmental performance with a dynamic payback period of 7.8 years. CO₂ emissions from the operation and maintenance process is 77.30 %, which accounts for the largest share of the overall emissions.