Investigation of the electrochemical performance of solid oxide fuel cells with methanol internal reforming

Abstract

Hydrogen is a sought-after environmentally friendly energy source for the fuel of SOFC. However, it is difficult to liquefy, has low energy density, and is flammable, making it difficult to promote its use. Methanol is easy to obtain, can be stored as a liquid, and has a high hydrogen-to-carbon ratio. This makes it an ideal alternative hydrogen energy source. To assess the advantages and disadvantages of using methanol as the SOFC fuel, a comparison was made between methanol-fueled SOFC and hydrogen-fueled SOFC. The maximum power of the hydrogen SOFC is only slightly higher than that of the methanol SOFC. The study also analyzed the effects of key influencing factors on current density, component distribution temperature, and other factors. The inlet temperature of 1173 K differs by up to 0.1 V from the activation overpotential at 1073 K. The water-to-carbon ratio has a greater impact on the performance of the fuel cell. At the inlet temperature of 800℃, the power density is 4630 W/m2 higher when the carbon-to-water ratio is 1 than when that is 4. At the fuel flow rate of 0.25 m/s, the fuel utilization rate can reach 100%. These findings are important for understanding and optimizing energy conversion systems for SOFC technologies based on internal reforming.