Cracking Reaction of Octane Fuel and Electrochemical Reaction on Ni-YSZ Cermet Anode of Internal Steam Reforming Solid Oxide Fuel Cell

Abstract

A porous cermet of Ni and yttria stabilized zirconia (Ni-YSZ) cermet was used as an anode electrode for the octane-direct use SOFC. Influences of operating conditions, steam/carbon ratio and cell temperature on the steam internal reforming reaction and electrochemical reaction on the anode electrode were investigated. In order to understand the influence of difference in branching of carbon chain, n-octane (linear alkane) and iso-octane (branched chain alkane) were used. By the internal steam reforming of n-octane, H2, CO, CO2, CH4, and C2H6 are generated. The reforming rate of n-octane is large, while the reforming of iso-octane is slow reaction. When the fuel utilization is low, H2 and CO preferentially contribute for the power generation. The carbon deposition rate is quite large, although the initial power generation performance is high. Especially, the carbon deposition is remarkable when iso-octane is used as the fuel.