Molten carbonate fuel cell research at ORNL

Abstract

The activities at ORNL during the period July 1976 to February 1977 on the molten carbonate fuel cell program, funded by the ERDA Division of Conservation Research and Technology, are summarized. This period marks the initiation of molten carbonate fuel cell research at ORNL, making use of the extensive background of expertise and facilities in molten salt research. The activities described include a literature survey on molten carbonates, design, acquisition and installation of apparatus for experimental studies of molten carbonates, initial experiments on materials compatibility with molten carbonates, electrolysis experiments for the determination of transference numbers, and theoretical studies of transport behavior and the coupling of mass flows in molten carbonate mixtures. Significant accomplishments were the theoretical prediction of a possibly appreciable change in the alkali ion ratio at molten carbonate fuel cell electrodes, operated at high current densities, as a result of mobility differences of the alkali ions; design, construction and assembly of an electrolysis cell, and initiation of measurements of composition profiles in mixed alkali carbonate electrolytes; initiation of differential scanning calorimetry of pure alkali carbonates for quantitative measurement of transition enthalpies, eventually leading to new, more reliable values of the enthalpies and free energies of formation ofmore » the pure and mixed carbonates.« less