Model-based quantitative characterization of anode microstructure and its effect on the performance of molten carbonate fuel cell

Abstract

This paper presents research on the impact of the material microstructure on the performance of Molten Carbonate Fuel Cells (MCFC). The study is motivated by the need to increase the operation time of MCFC stacks. As the MCFC stacks are mainly composed of porous materials, the paper shows the impact of the porosity on both fuel cell performance and degradation rate. The study is based on the mathematical model, validated through experiments with varying microstructure parameters, achieving an overall relative error of 8%. The study evaluated the performance of MCFC using anodes with different porosity and found that increasing anode porosity from 40% to 70% led to a nearly two-fold increase in maximum power density. However, from both the degradation test and polarization curves, the optimal level of porosity for the anode is around 55%. The porosity level at 55% ensures the highest catalytic surface of the electrodes and is a compromise between the mechanical properties of the electrode and its electrochemical properties.