Analysis of the effect of ionic conductivity of electrolyte materials on the solid oxide fuel cell performance

Abstract

SOFC solid electrolytes are known for their ionic conductivity characteristics, which increase with increasing SOFC operating temperature. Using COMSOL Multiphysics numerical simulation, analysis of SOFC power performance with yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) and lithium sodium carbonate – gadolinium-doped ceria ({LiNa}2CO3-GDC) electrolytes was conducted to determine the potential of these electrolytes in their application in SOFC. The ionic conductivity of YSZ was differentiated based on the mole value of the yttria content, namely 8, 8.95, 10 and 11.54 mol. Meanwhile, GDC varied based on the (LiNa)2CO3 content such as 7.8, 10, 16.8 and 30 %. With the numerical model, the calculation error is an average of 7.32 % and 6.89 % for the experimental power and voltage values. In SOFC with the YSZ electrolyte, it was found that the power output can increase 26.4–35 times with an increase in operating temperature from 500 °C to 750 °C. SOFC with 8YSZ can produce the highest power compared to other YSZ, which is 123 A/m2 at a current of 198 A/m2 with an operating temperature of 500 °C and 3,440 A/m2 at a current of 5,549 A/m2 with an operating temperature of 750 °C. Whereas in SOFC with the GDC electrolyte, it was found that the power output can increase 18.6–22.6 times with an increase in operating temperature from 500 °C to 750 °C. SOFC with 30 % (LiNa)2CO3-GDC produced the highest power compared to other GDC, which is 231 A/m2 at a current of 444 A/m2 with an operating temperature of 500 °C and 5,240 A/m2 at a current of 10,077 A/m2 with an operating temperature of 750 °C. YSZ also showed the potential for an increase in power output as the SOFC temperature increases above 750 °C, while the 30 % variation (LiNa)2CO3-GDC shows a limited increase in ionic conductivity at 750 °C