Abstract
The kinetics of catalytic steam reforming of methane over an Ni-YSZ anode of a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) have been investigated with the cell placed in a stack configuration. In order to decrease the degree of conversion, a single cell stack with reduced area was used. Measurements were performed in the temperature range 600–800°C and the partial pressures of all reactants and products were varied. The obtained rates could be well fitted with a power law expression (r ∝PCH40.7). A simple model is presented which is capable of predicting the methane conversion in a stack configuration from intrinsic kinetics of the anode support material. The predictions are compared with the stack measurements presented here, and good agreement is observed.
Highlights
The major advantage of partial internal steam reforming in an solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) is that the waste heat from the electrochemical reactions and the joule heat are used to supply the energy for the endothermic reforming reaction (Reaction (1)) which has a reaction enthalpy of 206 kJ/mol at 25∘C
The kinetics of catalytic steam reforming of methane over an Ni-YSZ anode of a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) have been investigated with the cell placed in a stack configuration
A simple model is presented which is capable of predicting the methane conversion in a stack configuration from intrinsic kinetics of the anode support material
Summary
The major advantage of partial internal steam reforming in an SOFC is that the waste heat from the electrochemical reactions and the joule heat are used to supply the energy for the endothermic reforming reaction (Reaction (1)) which has a reaction enthalpy of 206 kJ/mol at 25∘C. In order to achieve optimal operation of SOFC systems with internal steam reforming, it is necessary to have a good understanding and possibly control the amount reforming taking place in the cell This in turn requires a good model representation of the stack, which has received much attention lately [4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11]. In rigorous models describing both the flow in the gas channels and the diffusion through the anode, the observed reforming rate can be predicted by using an intrinsic kinetic expression Such a model will require heavy computations if used at stack level.
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