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2.2 Microgrid Structure
ОглавлениеThe Microgrid (MG) broadly comprises of source, load and controller, as shown in Figure 2.1. The choice of the source depends on the geographical location of MG and the type as well as the demand of the load. The emerging technologies such as fuel cell could be suitable for supplying the base load and proves advantageous over batteries. The working of a fuel cell is similar to the battery. The batteries contain the limited capacity of support chemicals. They have a fixed life cycle, but a fuel cell is supplied with fuel externally and operates continuously as long as fuel supplied. An electrolyte separates an anode and a cathode in the fuel cell. The type of fuel cell decided by electrolyte used. A fuel cell is a static energy converter from chemical to electrical energy. It is a modular, efficient and very low emission power source for a distributed system. It is clear that fuel cell is an upcoming option for conventional power generation resources [2–5]. Fuel cell produces electricity from external supplies of hydrogen fuel (on the anode side) and oxidant (on the cathode side) in the presence of an electrolyte. Generally, the reactants flow in and reaction products flow out while the electrolyte remains in the cell. Fuel cells can operate almost continuously as long as the necessary fuel flows are maintained. There are different types of fuel cell based on base chemical or membrane used. Those are Phosphoric Acid Fuel Cell (PAFC), Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC), Molten Carbonate Fuel Cell (MCFC) Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC), etc.
Figure 2.1 Basic structure of microgrid (MG).