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3-E (Energy, Exergy, and Environment) analysis of Pressurized Pulverized Combined Cycle (PPCC) SubCritical (SubC) and SuperCritical (SupC) power plants of net capacity 400 MW e using High Ash (HA) Indian coal under Indian ambient conditions is performed to assess the potential of PPCC power plant for electricity generation in Indian energy sector. The study also includes the comparative performance of the plant using an imported Low Ash (LA) coal and a parametric study is performed to understand the effect of various parameters affecting the energy and exergy efficiencies of the PPCC plant. It is found that the plant energy efficiency of PPCC SubC and SupC plants using HA coal are 42.44% and 43.46%, respectively. The exergy efficiency of the same plant using HA coal are 38.94% and 39.87%, respectively. The energy balance shows that the maximum energy loss is observed in cooling water (24%) followed by loss in stack (22%). The exergy balance shows that the maximum exergy destruction in combustor (32%) followed by stack (7%). The environmental analysis reveals that the CO 2 , NO x , and SO x emissions are 426, 3.54, and 3.20 g/kWh, respectively.

Methanol crossover from anode to cathode is a process which adversely affects the performance of a DMFC (direct methanol fuel cell). Increasing the electrolyte membrane thickness and addition of a MPL (microporous layer) using PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene) loading are two techniques used to reduce methanol crossover by increasing the mass transfer resistance. This paper reports experiments carried out to study the effect of membrane thickness and PTFE loading in anode MPL on methanol crossover in a 25 cm2 DMFC. The rate of methanol crossover is indirectly measured by measuring the CO2 concentration at the cathode exit. The influence of PTFE content (0–20%) and membrane thickness (183 μm and 254 μm) on limiting current density, peak power density and cell efficiency are reported. The experimental results show that the methanol crossover current density is reduced by 24% using thicker membrane compared to MEA (membrane electrode assembly) with thin membrane. This leads to enhanced peak power density of 22 mW/cm2 with cell efficiency of 10%. About 20% of methanol crossover current density is reduced by 10% PTFE loading in anode MPL, which helps in improving peak power density from 13 to 24 mW/cm2 with cell efficiency of 8% compared to membrane as mass transfer resistance layer.