Liquid Tin Anode Solid Oxide Fuel Cell for Direct Biomass Conversion

Abstract

This paper presents preliminary results of various non-food biomass conversions to electricity in a Liquid Tin Anode Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (LTA-SOFC). A major finding favoring direct biomass conversion was that biomass fuel utilization approached near 100%, 99% and 95% for biochar, poplar, and switch grass respectively. Another key finding with positive implications was that biomass ash formed in the LTA-SOFC environment did not readily fuse or form molten slag. SEM evaluation clearly showed that the cellular structure of corncob, poplar and switch grass was intact following operation in the LTA-SOFC, indicating that no melting has occurred. Another important finding was that there was no observed cell degradation during the short term biomass operation. The initial IV curves and total runtime data appeared normal for LTA-SOFC cells running on a fixed charge of biomass. Long term stability of LTA-SOFC operating on biomass yet has to be studied. Finally, the initial power density of the LTA-SOFC test cells operating on biomass fuels was approximately 70-80 mW/cm2.