(53b) A Production Possibility Frontier of a Sustainable Coal, Wind, and SMALL Modular Reactor Hybrid Energy System
AIChE Spring Meeting and Global Congress on Process Safety
2015
2015 AIChE Spring Meeting and 11th Global Congress on Process Safety
Emerging Technologies in Clean Energy for the Twenty-First Century
Carbon Capture and Utilization Routes to High Value Products II
Monday, April 27, 2015 - 4:00pm to 4:30pm
A PRODUCTION POSSIBILITY FRONTIER OF A SUSTAINABLE COAL, WIND, AND SMALL MODULAR REACTOR HYBRID ENERGY SYSTEM
Kyle L. Buchheit and Joseph D. Smith, Ph.D.
Missouri University of Science and Technology, Rolla Missouri
ABSTRACT
The availability of cheap electricity is one of the biggest factors for improving quality of life. With the debate on the effects of carbon dioxide emissions continuing, several countries have either implemented or are considering the reduction of emissions through various economic means. The inclusion of a monetary penalty on carbon emissions would increase the prices of electricity produced by carbon-based sources. The push for large-scale renewable sources of energy has met problems with regards to energy storage and availability. The proposed coal, wind and nuclear hybrid energy system would combine a renewable energy source, wind, with traditional and stable energy sources, coal and nuclear, to create an integrated and sustainable system. Instead of a light water reactor, a next generation small modular nuclear reactor will be evaluated. The coal system will use a pressurized circulating fluidized bed system, which can not only take coal, but also biomass as a carbon feedstock. This system also employs a high temperature steam co-electrolysis unit for the utilization of carbon dioxide emissions for the production of synthetic gas which can be used in the production of transportation fuels or chemicals.
An existing rigorous dynamic process model will be used to simulate the potential output of the system based on real world dynamic data. System inputs will include a full year of dynamic wind speeds for variable power generation and simulated electrical grid demand. These inputs will vary the amount of power available for synthetic gas production, and thus yield a theoretical production frontier over a year of operation. This information will be used to determine overall process economics based on sale of synthetic gas and levelized cost of electricity.