Integration of Solid Oxide Fuel Cell with Liquid Desiccant Cooling for Generation of Combined Cooling and Power for a Server

摘要

In this study the integration of a SOFC with liquid desiccant system is considered for powering and cooling a data center at the rack level. The novel idea is that each single fuel cell (～12 kW) is used to power one server rack and the waste heat from the fuel cell is used to regenerate a desiccant to provide dehumidification or cooling. The objective of this study is to theoretically investigate the capability of the integrated system to provide enough cold and dehumidified air to keep the server rack in the safe range of temperature and humidity. Results show that the SOFC waste heat can produce cold and dehumidified air within the safe range for server racks. However, with continuous outside air conditions of 25°C and 70% relative humidity the heat from the current SOFC system is enough to provide 25% of the air flow demand for each server rack.