Optimization of biomass powered cogeneration systems based on gasifiers and internal combustion engines

The proposed research project, funded within the Bilateral Agreement Confindustria-National Research Council and carried out in collaboration with Istituto Motori (CNR) and Costruzioni Motori Diesel S.p.A. (CMD), aims at considering the new global perspective of increasing energy efficiency and reducing the dependence on traditional fossil sources by applying innovative concepts of circular economy. The PhD work is focused on the development of a hybrid energy system based on biomass powered micro-cogeneration (m-CHP) and photovoltaic (PV) solar energy. The here analysed integration will add an exceptional flexibility to an existing m-CHP unit developed by CMD, the CMD ECO20x system, and, in particular, will lead to the possibility of providing off-grid energy to remote areas in the respect of constraints of compactness, high quality service and ultra-low environmental impact. Unpredictable factors as naturally variable availability of renewable energy sources (RES), including the irregular biomass supply, possible excessive load requests, faults of one of the power sub-systems, differentiated dynamic loads, will be fully accounted for.