Design Optimization of a Thermally Integrated Solid Oxide Fuel Cell with Triple Effect Absorption Chiller

The integration of a solid-oxide fuel cell (SOFC) and a triple-effect absorption chiller (AC) is proposed to meet the electrical and cooling requirements of a data center. Utilizing waste heat in the exhaust stream of the SOFC, a triple-effect AC system can produce the required cooling. A 200-kW SOFC system is optimized to produce the required electricity at the maximum efficiency, while still producing enough thermal energy to run the 200-kW AC system. Similarly, the AC system is optimized to harness as much thermal energy from the SOFC as possible while meeting the cooling demand of the servers. The optimized system can meet both the electric and cooling demands to produce primary energy savings of 25.8%.