Energy Conversion and Management 105 (2015) 423–432

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Energy Conversion and Management

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/enconman

Modeling and optimization of a novel solar chimney cogeneration power

plant combined with solid oxide electrolysis/fuel cell
O. Joneydi Shariatzadeh a,⇑, A.H. Refahi b, S.S. Abolhassani c, M. Rahmani c
a
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Curtin University, GPO Box U1987, Perth, WA 6845, Australia
b
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Iran University of Science and Technology, Tehran, Iran
c
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Arak University of Technology, Arak, Iran

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Using solar chimney in desert areas like El Paso city in Texas, USA, with high intensity solar radiation is
Received 8 May 2015 efficient and environmental friendly. However, one of the main challenges in terms of using solar chim-
Accepted 21 July 2015 neys is poor electricity generation at night. In this paper, a new power plant plan is proposed which
Available online 13 August 2015
simultaneously generates heat and electricity using a solar chimney with solid oxide fuel cells and solid
oxide electrolysis cells. In one hand, the solar chimney generates electricity by sunlight and supplies a
Keywords: part of demand. Then, additional electricity is generated through the high temperature electrolysis which
Solar chimney
produces hydrogen that is stored in tanks and converted into electricity by solid oxide fuel cells. After
Solid oxide electrolysis cell
Solid oxide fuel cell
designing and modeling the cycle components, the economic aspect of this power plant is considered
Economic analysis numerically by means of genetic algorithm. The results indicate that, 0.28 kg/s hydrogen is produced
at the peak of the radiation. With such a hydrogen production rate, this system supplies 79.26% and
37.04% of the demand in summer and winter respectively in a district of El Paso city.
Ó 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
Initial driver of solar chimney power plant is temperature dif-
ference (that causes density difference) between ambient temper-
ature and temperature inside the chimney. The chimney acts like a
heat engine in solar chimney power plant which converts heat
(generated by a collector) into kinetic flow and turbine pressure
drop (potential energy) [1]. Since warm air is lighter than cold
one, lift force is arisen. In other word, a pressure difference
between collector output (chimney base) and the ambient is cre-
ated so the collector is leaned a few meters above ground level cov-
ered by a transparent glass. Main task of the collector is to absorb
sun ray for heating air. Buoyancy force conducts warm air into the
chimney located in the middle of collector. A turbine is also
installed in airflow direction to generate electricity [1]. The collec-
tor top surface is made of a semitransparent material like glass that
is impervious subject to long wavelengths. Several studies have
been carried out for modeling and optimizing solar chimney
hydrogen production systems. Sangi et al. [2] have modeled and
numerically simulated a solar chimney power plant. A hybrid solar
chimney system with electrolysis and a station for hydrogen
⇑ Corresponding author. Tel.: +61 8 9266 7707.
E-mail addresses: omid.joneydis@curtin.edu.au, omid.joneydi@gmail.com
(O. Joneydi Shariatzadeh).
production have been analyzed by Lebbi et al. [3]. Numerical calcu-
lations have been conducted for determination of air behavior in
different geographical conditions. Lebbi et al. [3] have shown that
dimension of the tower has an important role in the rate of air
passing through the tower. Also, the hydrodynamic part of the
tower is controlled by the dimensions of the tower, and its thermal
section by system temperature. Li et al. [4] presented a different
model to calculate the costs required for building a solar chimney
in north China. Patel et al. [5], have carried out a computer fluid
dynamics analysis to optimize the geographical conditions to
improve air behavior in a solar chimney by ANSYS software.
Kasaeian et al. [6] have also optimized the geographical conditions
of solar chimney built in the University of Tehran.
Fuel cells are used to convert chemical energy stored in fuel into
electrical. High efficiency and very low emission rate are among
fuel cells advantages [7]. Currently, there are several types of fuel
cells. Solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) is the only type able to work at
high temperature around 1000 °C [8]. Fuel cells also can be tubular
or planar. The tubular design is more appropriate for large-scale
applications in comparison with planar one [9,10]. As mentioned
before, since SOFC operating temperature is high, the hot outlet
gas can be used in gas turbine or heat recovery systems.
Preliminary studies on integrated power systems point out 70%
higher efficiency of such systems [11,12]. In recent years, much
effort has been made to combine devices such as solid oxide fuel

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.enconman.2015.07.054
0196-8904/Ó 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
424 O. Joneydi Shariatzadeh et al. / Energy Conversion and Management 105 (2015) 423–432
Nomenclature
A area (m2 )
cp specific heat at constant pressure (kJ kg K1 )
CRF capital recovery factor
G global solar radiation (W m2 )
H height (m)
h specific enthalpy (kJ kg )
1
i interest rate (%)
k specific heat ratio
m _ mass flow rate (kg s1 )
n system lifetime (year)
P pressure (bar)
Q_ heat flux (W)
rC pressure ratio in compressor
T temperature (K)
W _ mechanical work (kW)
Z capital cost ðUS $Þ
Z_ capital cost rate ðUS $ s1 Þ
cells with CHP (Combined Hear & Power) [12]. Lots of attempts
have been carried out to commercialize SOFC systems and related
technology, from 20 kW pilot plants on landfills [13] to 6 MW
power plants [14]. Today, economic analysis of SOFC systems run
by biogas has become very sufficient in comparison to old tradi-
tional power plants. Santangelo and Tartarini [15] have compared
efficiency of SOFC systems in combined thermal cycles with tradi-
tional power generation cycles. Chung et al. [16] in 2008 have
investigated the effective factors such as fuel utilization factor
and air-to-fuel ratio on the productivity rate of SOFC power plants.
Xu et al. [17] have modeled a 1 kW CHP working on the basis of
SOFC and concluded power generation efficiency of 52% and simul-
taneous power generation efficiency about 80% is attainable in
such systems. Choi et al. [18] have studied a SOFC system along
with a gas turbine and have determined that the power generation
efficiency of the cycle is up to 70%.
Combining solid oxide electrolysis cell (SOEC) with fuel cells is
another promising system. Iora et al. [19], studied a new system
including solid oxide fuel cells and solid oxide electrolysis cells.
An appropriate sample was developed by Iora et al. to produce
maximum oxygen or hydrogen, especially for small dimensions.
Iora et al. [20] have proposed a new combined system which
includes solid oxide fuel cells as well as solid oxide electrolysis.
Ni et al. [21] modeled a solid oxide electrolysis cell where effi-
ciency is enhanced by increasing the operating temperature of
SOEC and molar fraction of steam. Sanz-Bermejo et al. [22] studied
a combination of SOEC with solar tower. They have concluded that
the aforementioned combination enhances the efficiency of solar
tower power plant by five percent. One of the major concerns in
simple solar power plants is inability in supplying electricity at
night. Therefore, the combination of solar energy with SOFC and/or
SOEC may solve the energy supply problem in the next genera-
tions. Ural et al. [23] designed a hydrogen production unit parallel
with a solar cell in a fuel cell. They resulted that the use of PV (pho-
tovoltaic) is not sufficient to supply the electricity requirement and
thus, auxiliary components such as fuel cells should also be
included. Dincer et al. [24] examined a PV-water electrolysis com-
bined with SOFC. Energy and exergy analysis conducted by
Hosseini et al. [24] showed the maximum energy efficiency of
55.7% and exergy efficiency of 49%. Akikur et al. [25] applied
SOFC and SOEC with a solar power plant. They studied the combi-
nation of different components such as PV and SOFC and demon-
strated that the amount of hydrogen generated in days is
consumed at night and is converted into electricity by SOFC.
Greek symbols
a effective absorption coefficient of collector
b transfer coefficient, heat loss coefficient ðW m2 K1 Þ
g efficiency
q density ðkg m3 Þ
/ maintenance factor
Subscrips
AC air compressor
C compressor
coll collector
tot total
i inlet
o outlet
In this paper, a new design for the combination of a solar chim-
ney with solid oxide fuel cells, solid oxide electrolysis cells and a
heat recovery steam generator (HRSG) has been provided. One of
the initiatives applied in this article is the use of hydrogen pro-
duced by the solid oxide electrolysis cell into supply electricity in
residential area where solar chimney is not able to generate elec-
tricity during night time.
As mentioned before, two major factors for electricity produc-
tion by solar chimney are the quantity of solar radiation and high
temperature of the air. If the amount of solar radiation and air tem-
perature are not sufficient, the solar chimney will not generate
electricity resulting a very low efficiency. The solar chimney sys-
tem that is proposed in this article generates electricity surplus
to meet residential area need, on a summer day. During day, the
surplus electricity is stored as hydrogen and entered into a solid
oxide fuel cell. Then, it generates electricity to meet residential
area demand when solar chimney does not operate at night.
Namely, the outlet hot exhaust can be entered from SOFC into
HRSG to generate steam and finally, the generated steam is used
in heating and supplying hot water or in heating residential area
in winter.
Electricity and hydrogen generation have been analyzed every
hour during a year in order to elaborate and reveal the accuracy
of results and applicability of the system. A thermodynamic model
of the hybrid system has been developed to predict system perfor-
mance and electric energy and hydrogen production. Analysis of
the hourly electricity and hydrogen generation during a year is
then performed in order to check the accuracy of results and the
feasibility of the system application. The system design parameters
will be optimized using genetic algorithm to minimize cost. These
parameters include SOFC cell number, SOFC cell diameter and
length, HRSG pressure, approach point, pinch point, steam temper-
ature, solar chimney height and diameter, collector diameter, SOEC
cell number as well as SOEC cell diameter and length.
2. Mathematical modeling
2.1. Description of the system
The schematic of the solar chimney power plant combining
with SOFC and SOEC is illustrated in Fig. 1. DC power generated
by solar chimney, marked by (1) is entered into load controller
(2) for appropriate distribution of electricity in building complex,
 O. Joneydi Shariatzadeh et al. / Energy Conversion and Management 105 (2015) 423–432 425

Fig. 1. The schematic of solar chimney co-generation power plant combined with solid oxide electrolysis/fuel cell.

solid oxide electrolysis cell as well as pump and compressors. reduces and tends to rise moves upward from chimney and makes
When the solar chimney is active during day, electricity demanded the turbine generates electricity. Then, the heated air is exited
for building complex enters into a DC/AC converter (3) to convert through chimney to atmosphere [26]. Total efficiency of solar
DC power into AC power which is suitable for power load. The sur- chimney is obtained by multiplying the collector efficiency by
plus electricity i.e. the difference between the amount of electricity tower efficiency by turbine efficiency as follow:
generated by solar chimney and the demanded electricity enters
into SOEC (4) to produce H2.
gplant ¼ gcoll  gtower  gturbine ð1Þ
The oxygen generated by solid oxide electrolysis cell could be where gcoll is the collector efficiency, gtower is the tower efficiency
used for different purposes. Therefore, according to Fig. 1, after and gturbine is the turbine efficiency. The collector efficiency is
electrolyzing, hydrogen gas is transferred to the hydrogen tank obtained from dividing the amount of heat transferred to the air
(5) until the buffer tank sensors determine the amount of hydrogen through collector (Q) by the amount of solar radiation, (G) in the
available in the buffer tank reached 75% volume. A control panel collector area (Acoll):
automatically turns on hydrogen compressor (6), and hydrogen is
sent to the compressor. After compression and before storage in Q_
composite tanks, in order for purification, the hydrogen passes
gcoll ¼ ð2Þ
Acoll  G
through a heat exchanger (7) to cool down steam existing in gas
By writing the energy equation for the earth which is heat
and condense it. Water is also supplied for the heat exchanger by
absorber and also for the collector, the transferred heat can be cal-
a pump (8). Then pure condensed hydrogen gas is stored in com-
culated as follows:
posite tanks (9) by a high pressure compressor (10). The rest of
separator content is discharged to the atmosphere. In the next step, Q_ ¼ mc
_ p DT ¼ aAcoll G  bDT 0 Acoll ð3Þ
the stored hydrogen enters to the fuel cell power plant (11) at
night when solar chimney does not work due to the lack of solar _ is mass flow rate calculated as follows:
In Eq. (3), m
radiation, to generate electricity and meet the demand power at _ ¼ qcoll Ac V c
m ð4Þ
this time. Oxygen requirement for SOFC stack is also supplied by
a compressor (12) and an air preheater (13). Smoke and exhaust In Eq. (4), V c is exhaust air speed from collector obtained as
heat enter to a HRSG system (14). From one side, water is pumped following:
to the HRSG (15) and on the other side, steam is eliminated. HRSG
exhaust gas is discharged to atmosphere and HRSG output steam
aAcoll G  bDT 0 Acoll
Vc ¼ ð5Þ
(16) is consumed for heating as well. qcoll Ac cp DT
where qcoll denotes the density of output air from solar collector
2.2. Energy analysis and Ac represents cross-sectional area of the tower. By substituting
Eq. (3) in Eq. (2), the collector efficiency is calculated by:
2.2.1. Solar chimney
bDT 0
Solar chimney power plant is a power plant working in the basis gcoll ¼ a  ð6Þ
G
of solar radiation; it has a long chimney about 800 m and a
large-area collector about 1800 m in diameter, and also a turbine where DT 0 stands for temperature difference between surface (heat
which is next to the chimney. It works with solar radiation to the absorbent) and ambient temperature and b is heat loss coefficient
collector which heats the air underneath. Density of heated air from solar collector. The above equation indicates that the collector
426 O. Joneydi Shariatzadeh et al. / Energy Conversion and Management 105 (2015) 423–432

efficiency is reduced by temperature difference increase. Tower effi- as partial pressure and temperature are selected according to
ciency is obtained by: Chan et al. [28]. Ref. [28] clearly represents the complete and
detailed modeling of SOFC. Electrochemical reactions occurring
P
gtower ¼ tot ð7Þ within the cell are:
Q_ At the anode:
In which Ptot is obtained by Negrou et al. [27]. Another equation
1
that can help to calculate efficiency in an easier way is as follow: O2 þ 2e ! O ð14Þ
2
gH At the cathode
gtower ¼ ð8Þ
cp  T 0
1
Eq. (8) shows the tower efficiency is dependent on the height of H2 þ O2 ! H2 O þ 2e ð15Þ
2
the tower i.e. tower efficiency can be increased by increasing the
height of the tower. According to the Eq. (7), ptot can be calculated With the overall cell reaction:
by multiplying the transferred heat in tower efficiency. Now, the 1
following valuable equation is achieved by placing tower efficiency H2 þ O2 ! H2 O ð16Þ
2
from Eq. (8) and the transferred heat from combining Eqs. (3) and
(4).
2.2.4. Compressor
g  Htower Compressor isentropic efficiency (gc) is specified as below:
Ptot ¼ gtower  Q_ ¼  qcoll  cp  V c  DT  Ac ð9Þ
cp  T 0
ho;s  hi
As Eq. (9) indicates, P tot (total power) is dependent on different
gc ¼ ð17Þ
ho  hi
parameters such as the height of the tower and the density of col-
To obtain compressor work, it is necessary to know outlet fluid
lector exhaust air. According to Negrou et al. [27], the above equa-
temperature (T0) from compressor; the following relation repre-
tion can be changed into the following form:
sents it:
DT  i
DPtot ¼ qcoll  g  Htower  ð10Þ 1 h K1
T0 T0 ¼ Ti 1 þ r cK  1 ð18Þ
gc
Eq. (10) can be used to calculate the amount of electricity pro-
duction by solar chimney which is dependent on collector effi- _ AC Þ, the following equation is
To achieve air compressor work ðW
ciency, turbine efficiency and height of the tower as well as used:
collector surface. However, the important effect of solar radiation _ AC ¼ mC pa ðT 0  T i Þ
W ð19Þ
which is one of the principal parameters in this equation cannot
be neglected. In this article solar radiation is considered for differ- To obtain Cpa, the below equation is applied [29]:
ent hours per day in a year to conduct more accurate calculation   !
and consequently optimization. 3:83717T 9:453T 2
C pa ðTÞ ¼ 1:04841  þ
104 107
2.2.2. Solid oxide electrolysis cell ! !
One of the equipment used in fuel cell power generation and 5:49031T 3 7:9298T 4
 10
þ ð20Þ
generally CHP and CCHP systems is SOEC. This system generates 10 1014
hydrogen from electrical energy and water vapor and hydrogen
can be stored and used as fuel afterward. In SOEC, water vapor goes
2.2.5. Heat recovery steam generator (HRSG)
to cathode, and electrical energy required for splitting water mole-
Here, a single pressure HRSG is regarded as a common type sys-
cules is applied to electrode part of the SOEC. At this time, water
tem. Gas temperature and water properties will be computed by
molecules are fragmented at the common border of electrolyte
applying energy balance for gas and water in each part of the
and cathode to produce hydrogen gas and oxygen ions. The pro-
HRSG, as well as solving the below equations:
duced hydrogen is collected along cathode channel/bar. Through
Low-pressure super heater:
the holes existing in the electrolyte, oxygen ions go towards the
anode and are oxidized to form oxygen molecules again. _ 11 C p DT sup ¼ m
m _ 16 Dhsup ð21Þ
Electrochemical reactions at SOEC are as follow:
Low-pressure evaporator:
H2 O þ 2e ! H2 þ O2 ð11Þ
_ 11 C p DT eva ¼ m
m _ 16 Dheva ð22Þ
1 Low-pressure economizer:
O2 ! O2 þ 2e ð12Þ
2
_ 11 C p DT eco ¼ m
m _ 16 Dheco ð23Þ
The equilibrium reaction occurred at SOEC is expressed as
follows: The combinations of energy and mass balance equations are
numerically solved, and the temperature profile in the gas and
1 water/steam side of the HRSG is predicted.
H2 O ! H2 þ O2 ð13Þ
2
Ref. [21] shows detailed and complex modeling of SOEC. 2.3. Economic analysis

2.2.3. Solid oxide fuel cell
As mentioned, SOFC is a device to convert chemical energy into
electrical energy. The SOFC modeled in the present study is tubular
type, and all geometric properties related to length and diameter
values of the cells and also system performance parameters such
Economic analysis is applied to show whether investment in
such projects is affordable or not. Knowing the price of all compo-
nents used in the system and also the costs related to maintaining
and fuel consumption of the system is needed for economic analy-
sis. Cost function for all components is observed in Table 1 [30,31].
 O. Joneydi Shariatzadeh et al. / Energy Conversion and Management 105 (2015) 423–432 427

Table 1 3. System optimization

The cost functions of different components of the co-generation solar chimney power
plant.
3.1. Optimization methodology
System component Capital cost function
Solar collector [30] Z SC ¼ 8:004AC As mentioned before, this considered solar power plant is opti-
Floating solar chimney [30] Z FSC ¼ 80:04Hd þ 400:2d
2
mized using genetic algorithm in MATLAB program environment.
Air turbine gear boxes and generator Z AT ¼ 400:2P r The total cost is considered as the objective function in this study.
[30]
  The goal of this optimization is to minimize the investment cost of
Air compressor [31] 39:5m
Z AC ¼ 0:9 _a Pdc
gAC ln Psuc this system. Some studies [33–37] clearly represent successful
Fuel compressor [31]  _ 0:67
Z FC ¼ 91:562 445W FC applications of GA and MATLAB in different fields to reveal advan-
Heat recovery exchanger [31] Z HRE ¼ 8500 þ 406ðAHRE Þ0:85
tages of these methods and to justify choice of them. Besides, Fig. 2
  shows the flow chart of such an optimization procedure [38].
Pump [31] Z pump ¼ 705:48W_ 0:71 1 þ 0:2
pump 1gpump
SOFC stack [31] Z SOFC ¼ ASOFC ð2:96T SOFC  1907Þ
SOEC stack [31] Z SOEC ¼ ASOEC ð2:96T SOEC  1907Þ 3.2. Design parameters and constraints
_ 
DC/AC inverter [31] W
Z inverter ¼ 105 SOFC;DC
500
For modeling the desired power plant, the constants in Table 2
Auxiliary devices for SOFC [31] Z SOFC;aux ¼ 0:1ðZ SOFC Þ
Auxiliary devices for SOEC [31] Z SOEC;aux ¼ 0:1ðZ SOEC Þ should be considered. The values of these constants are of high
order of importance because they have a significant impact on pro-
duction result. Therefore, they were selected based on Ni et al. [21]
and Chan et al. [28].
In order to optimize solar chimney cogeneration power plant
The following formula is used to convert these costs in form of system with genetic algorithm, a population size of 100 was used.
annual cost: In Table 3, the intervals of important parameters involved in opti-
mization were given. These intervals are considered so that to be
Z_ K ¼ CRF/Z K ð24Þ compatible with applicable models and also with the mentioned
references These parameters are: the number of cells, the diameter
In this equation, Z K is obtained from Table 1, / is maintenance of each cell, the length of each cell, the pressure of HRSG, the pinch
coefficient and CRF is also obtained from the following equation point temperature of the HRSG, the approach point temperature of
[32]. HRSG, the steam temperature of HRSG, the height of solar chimney,
the diameter of the collector and the diameter of chimney.
n
ið1 þ iÞ
CRF ¼ n ð25Þ
ð1 þ iÞ  1 4. Results and discussion

In above equation, i is interest rate and n represents lifetime of In this article, in order to verify the validation and clarification
the system. of the modeling, the diagrams of cell voltage in terms of current

Fig. 2. Flow chart of the optimization procedure in Genetic Algorithm (GA).

428 O. Joneydi Shariatzadeh et al. / Energy Conversion and Management 105 (2015) 423–432

Table 2
Input parameters used for modeling of the system.

Parameter Value
Solid oxide electrolysis cell
Cell pressure (bar) 1
Stack temperature (K) 1273
Area of each cell (cm2 ) 1036
Cell current density (mA cm2 ) 300

Solid oxide fuel cell

Stack pressure (bar) 1
Stack temperature (K) 1273
Area of each cell (cm2 ) 1036
Cell current density (mA cm2 ) 300

Heat recovery steam generator

Area of HRSG (m2 ) 4.5
Air compressor
Efficiency (gc ) 0.85
Discharge pressure (bar) 10
Suction pressure (bar) 1
Fig. 3. Verification of present modeling for SOFC based on Ref. [28].
Pump
Efficiency (gp ) 0.83
LHV (kJ kg
1
) 45,100

Air properties
Composition (percent by volume) N2 (79%), O2 (21%)
Molar weight (kg kmol
1
) 28.97

Table 3
List of constraints used in optimization and the range of variation of design
parameters.

Constraints Item
2500 < nSOFC < 29,000 Number of cells for SOFC
3 < dSOFC < 6 Diameter of cells for SOFC (cm)
240 < LSOFC < 360 Length of cells for SOFC (cm)
1.2 < PHRSG < 2 Pressure of HRSG (bar)
Approach > 2 Approach point temperature (K)
Pinch < 7 Pinch point temperature (K)
130 < Tsteam < 200 Steam temperature (output of HRSG) (K)
700 < Htower < 10,000 Height of solar chimney (tower) (m)
1850 < dcollector < 1900 Diameter of solar chimney collector (cm)
100 < dtower < 120 Diameter of the tower (cm)
2500 < nSOEC < 29,000 Number of cells for SOEC (electrolyser) Fig. 4. Verification of present modeling for SOEC based on Ref. [21].
1.5 < dSOEC < 3 Diameter of cells for SOEC (cm)
120 < LSOEC < 180 Length of cells for SOEC (cm)

density and also the diagrams of activation overpotential and

ohmic overpotential in terms of current density were compared
with the mentioned references. As Fig. 3 illustrates, the values of
cell voltage in different currents density are well compatible with
the results reported by Chan et al. [28]. According to this diagram,
voltage cell is reduced by increasing current density. These alter-
ations indicate that the SOFC can be used in different conditions
with different values of voltage and current density. Fig. 4 depicts
the results of the SOEC modeling where the parameters of
Activation Overpotential and Ohmic Overpotential were plotted
in terms of current density. According to Fig. 4, the diagrams plot-
ted by this modeling are well compatible with the results of Ni
et al. [21].
Fig. 5 is the Pareto chart that demonstrates the optimal value of
objective function; here, the most minimal amount of costs is con-
sidered. The descending mode chart is plotted in terms of cost. The
less value, the more economical system. The marked point in Fig. 5 Fig. 5. Pareto optimal frontier from optimization of solar chimney co-generation
is the first point, after that the value remains fixed. This chart with system.
28,463,880,119 $ and in 70 generations has had the optimal mode.
After optimization, the optimized parameters were listed in
Table 4. This optimization is based on economy; namely, it designs Fig. 6 depicts that electricity production rate which is marked
the desired parameters so that the minimum cost with a constant by quadrangle graph, on January 2 and between 9:00 and 15:20
efficiency of energy production can be achieved. is much more than the demand shown by the rhombus graph.
 O. Joneydi Shariatzadeh et al. / Energy Conversion and Management 105 (2015) 423–432 429

Table 4
The optimum values of system design parameters.

Design parameters (decision variables) Single-objective optimization

nSOFC 16,000
dSOFC 3 (cm)
LSOFC 240 (cm)
P HRSG 2 (bar)
AP 295 (K)
PP 285 (K)
T steam 130 (K)
Htower 966 (m)
dcollector 1860 (cm)
dtower 100 (cm)
nSOEC 1000
dSOEC 1.5 (cm)
LSOEC 120 (cm)

Fig. 7. Electricity generation by solar chimney and electricity demand in June.

Fig. 6. Electricity generation by solar chimney and electricity demand in January.

Fig. 8. Difference between electricity generation by solar chimney and electricity

This system was designed such that at first, electricity produced by
solar chimney supplies directly the electricity of residential com-
plex; then in the hours that production rate is more than demand
rate, surplus electricity production enters to the SOEC and
generates hydrogen. According to Fig. 6, within 9:00–15:20, the
electricity produced by solar chimney is consumed to supply
demand rate and also to generate hydrogen; but during
24:00–9:00 and 15:20–24:00 it is seen that the electricity pro-
duced by solar chimney is less than demand rate, in these hours
the stored hydrogen is used to supply electricity shortage and
the electricity generated via the SOFC.
Fig. 7 is similar to Fig. 6 but related to summer season on June
30. According to Fig. 7, the hours in which the electricity is gener-
ated by solar chimney have a wider range in this season mode; and
also because of more solar radiation, the rate of electricity gener-
ated by solar chimney is greater. As a result, hydrogen production
rate in this season is more than in winter mode. It is seen that from
5:45 to 18:00, the rate of electricity generation by solar chimney is
more than demand rate in these hours; so, surplus electricity in
this time interval is consumed to generate hydrogen by the SOEC
that can be used in the hours and times of need for power
generation.
To explain power generation rate change, consumption and dif-
ference between them more clearly, the figures ahead were plot-
ted. Fig. 8 indicates the difference between power generation by
solar chimney and electricity demand. In fact, Fig. 8 illustrates
the amount of electrical power that enters into the SOEC for hydro-
gen production. According to Fig. 8 between 9:00 and 15:20, the
demand in January.
chart values are positive which means that in these hours the elec-
tricity produced by solar chimney is consumed to supply electricity
demand and also to produce hydrogen. Some parts of the chart
below the x-axis, the hours 24:00–9:00 and 15:20–24:00, indicate
the disability of solar chimney in supplying the area electricity;
and in other words, necessity of the use of hybrid systems such
as the SOFC. Electricity can be purchased from the grid in these
hours, or electricity demand in the area can be supplied through
hydrogen production by the SOFC.
Fig. 9 is the same as Fig. 8, but on June 30 (warm season). In
Fig. 9, the most remarkable point is that the amount of power that
can produce hydrogen in this season is significantly higher than in
winter. In fact, additional power to supply electricity shortage in
this season is higher than power demand in the area; so, one solu-
tion is that the hydrogen stored in winter, at night and also in the
twilight which the sun does not exist can be used in this season.
Figs. 10 and 11 represent the process of producing hydrogen by
solar chimney that is marked with solid black, the suggested distri-
bution of hydrogen marked with diamond and, the amount of
hydrogen demand in certain hours marked with gray grid.
Based on Fig. 8, on January 2, the solar chimney produces addi-
tional electricity between the hours 9:00 and 15:20 so, hydrogen
production occurs also in these hours; but the amount of electricity
demand has generally been supplied by solar chimney and there is
no need to use this hydrogen in the hours of production i.e. 9:00–
15:20. According to Fig. 10, diamond area represents the way of
430 O. Joneydi Shariatzadeh et al. / Energy Conversion and Management 105 (2015) 423–432

dividing and distributing hydrogen for hours which are required to

Fig. 9. Difference between electricity generation by solar chimney and electricity
demand in June.
Fig. 10. Hydrogen generation, hydrogen demand and suggested distribution of
hydrogen in January.
supply electricity demand. In this diagram, it is well-observed that
gray grid parts cannot be supplied by the same amount of hydro-
gen demand; so, it is required to use surplus hydrogen stored in
summer or to purchase hydrogen. Instead of buying hydrogen,
the shortage can be compensated by purchase from electricity grid.
The gray grid curve increases up to 0.066 kg/s indicating that the
maximum amount of hydrogen demand is in the hours between
1:00 and 8:00 as well as 16:00 and 24:00; and the diamond curve
increases up to 0.022 which represents the amount of hydrogen
stored for solid oxide fuel cell.
As seen in Fig. 10, the diamond curve that is the hydrogen
stored for the SOFC, supplies only 33.33% of total amount of hydro-
gen demand. To meet the shortage of hydrogen, the hydrogen
stored in summer can be used or otherwise purchase hydrogen.
Fig. 11 shows that in summer more surplus electricity is gener-
ated and therefore more hydrogen is stored; so, by dividing the
black solid curve that is the same surplus electricity into two equal
diamond areas, it is obvious that more parts of gray grid areas are
taken, they are the same amount of energy demand and indicate
the decrease in purchasing hydrogen to zero and thereby the costs
reduction. The black solid graph was obtained from Figs. 6 and 7.
Another point that can be understood from the Fig. 11 is that
between 5:00 and 18:00, there is no need to supply electricity by
hydrogen because in these hours solar chimney alone provides
electricity demand in the complex. The gray grid curve increases
up to 0.049 kg/s indicating that the maximum amount of hydrogen
demand is in the hours between 1:00 and 6:00 as well as 18:00 and
24:00; and the diamond curve increases up to 0.18 which repre-
sents the amount of hydrogen stored for solid oxide fuel cell.
Thus, in one sample day, it is observed that if all hydrogen pro-
duced in that day is fed to the SOFC, electricity production will
be much more than the requirement.
Fig. 12 shows the amount of power demand in the hours of elec-
tricity shortage (the hours that solar chimney cannot supply elec-
tricity) marked with gray brick, and also power generated by the
SOFC marked with solid black. In fact, power generated by the
SOFC is a power that is provided by feeding the distributed hydro-
gen, identified by distribution of H2 Gen in Fig. 10, to the SOFC. The
amount of purchased electricity can be obtained by the difference
between these two areas. Furthermore, there is a space between
two gray brick and solid black diagrams, this indicates that solar
chimney can fully supply the electricity for building complex from
9 to 15:20 and there is no need to use the stored hydrogen for

Fig. 11. Hydrogen generation, hydrogen demand and suggested distribution of Fig. 12. Electricity demand and electricity generated by SOFC using stored
hydrogen in June. hydrogen in January.
 O. Joneydi Shariatzadeh et al. / Energy Conversion and Management 105 (2015) 423–432
providing electricity. However, other methods such as buying elec-
tricity from the grid, hydrogen purchase or use of the SOFC should
be applied in other times in a day to supply electricity demand. In
Fig. 12, gray brick area is the amount of electricity demand during
electricity shortage time (the hours that solar chimney cannot sup-
ply electricity), but solid black area is the amount of electricity that
can be supplied by the stored hydrogen. It is observed that the
amount of electricity purchase can be obtained from the difference
between these two diagrams. Also there is a space between two
gray brick and solid black diagrams meaning that solar chimney
can fully supply the electricity for building complex from 9:00 to
15:00 and there is no need to use the stored hydrogen for provid-
ing electricity. However, the SOFC should be used to supply elec-
tricity demand in other hours of the day. Only 38.04% of
electricity demand in the hours 1:00–9:00 and 15:00–24:00 should
be purchased from the grid, because it cannot be supplied by
hydrogen generation.
Fig. 13 is the same as Fig. 12; however it is plotted on June 30
when solar radiation is high. Gray brick area that is the same
amount of electricity which solar chimney cannot supply in sum-
mer is less than solid black area that is that of electricity generated
in peak hours by the stored hydrogen which enters the SOFC. This
indicates electricity or hydrogen can be stored in summer since
surplus electricity can be generated. Much electricity shortage
can be compensated in winter by storage of this surplus electricity;
or many costs can be returned by selling this surplus electricity,
that is economically feasible. Solid black curve rises up to 3200 that
indicates the amount of electricity produced by the SOFC within
1:00–6:00 and 17:00–24:00. Gray brick curve rises up to 5600
showing the amount of electricity the SOFC generates via hydro-
gen. As shown in Fig. 13, electricity generation is much more than
demand in those hours. In the hours between 1:00 to 6:00 and
18:00 to 24:00, only 58.04% of electricity generation by the SOFC
supplies all electricity demand; and 41.05% of additional electricity
can be stored as hydrogen to compensate electricity shortages in
cold seasons.
A sensitivity analysis is also performed to study the effect of
variations in the design parameters on objective-function (total
cost) of the system. Fig. 14 illustrates the impact of two most impor-
tant parameters which are height of the solar chimney and diame-
ter of cells on the objective-function. The effect of parameters like
length of the cells and pressure of HRSG are 20.83% and 2.68%
respectively. The impacts of other parameters are ignorable and,
they cannot make any visible change in the objective-function.
Fig. 13. Electricity demand and electricity generated by SOFC using stored
hydrogen in June.
431
Fig. 14. Sensitivity of the objective-function (total cost) to design parameters.
5. Conclusion
Two applications are presented in this study: one is solar chim-
ney in combination with the solid oxide fuel cell, and another one
is produced and stored hydrogen by surplus electricity per day to
supply electricity in a district of El Paso city in peak hours and at
night time when there is no electricity generation by solar chimney
and supply the electricity demand in the area, due to the lack of
sunlight. The objective of this combined heat and power plant is
to supply electricity in a district of El Paso city by solar chimney
when the sunlight exists to meet electricity demand in the area.
If there is electricity more than the amount of electricity demand,
its surplus enters to solid oxide electrolysis cell and produces
hydrogen. This hydrogen is stored in composite tanks and then
in peak demand and when there is a shortage (in lack of sunlight
i.e. between the hours 6 pm and 6 am) fed to solid oxide fuel cell
and supplies the electricity of this city. The SOFC generates heat
during the operation; this heat can be used to supply the heat
demand in the region by different methods including hot water
supply and to increase the efficiency. In this article, the way of
modeling for every single component was expressed in detail;
and then the main parameters of total system were optimized by
considering economics formulas of each system and with the help
of genetic algorithm in MATLAB and the optimal values put into
MATLAB software in the programmed code, and several graphs
were plotted. For instance, the diagrams that express the amount
of electricity and hydrogen production, electricity and hydrogen
demand and electricity and hydrogen shortage. Other points such
as considering all hours in different conditions in a year for opti-
mization can be expressed; since, the conditions of all hours per
year cannot be shown in a graph, only 2 days of the hottest and
coldest days in summer and winter are considered and all graphs
and changes drawn in those days. For example, in this power plant
on January between 9:00 and 15:00, all electricity is supplied in El
Paso city. However, between 1:00 to 9:00 and 15:00 to 24:00,
61.54% of electricity and 33.33% of hydrogen are supplied and pur-
chase of 38.46% of electricity demand or 66.66% of hydrogen
demand in these hours or the use of the stored hydrogen in sum-
mer (high production time), are needed. Also on June 30 between
6:00 and 18:00, all electricity of residential area is supplied by
solar chimney and during 1:00–6:00 and 18:00–24:00; all electric-
ity of area demand supplied only with 58.04% of electricity pro-
duced through the SOFC and 41.05% of it can be stored in the
form of hydrogen and used in cold seasons to compensate the
shortages.
432 O. Joneydi Shariatzadeh et al. / Energy Conversion and Management 105 (2015) 423–432
In this study, calculations are in the basis of theoretical thermo-
dynamic equations. This cycle can be experimentally and empiri-
cally modelled for further research and studies. Further
development in the field of cogeneration power plants (hybrid
electricity generation), there will be possibility of comparison
and validation. In future works, solar chimneys and solar panels
can be compared from the economical point of view in order to
present a more economical solution with higher efficiency.
Additionally, multi-objective optimization can be applied instead
of single use optimization to target more accuracy and higher
efficiency.
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