NiMo/CZ internal reforming layer for ethanol-fueled metal-supported solid oxide fuel cell

Abstract

A metal-supported solid oxide fuel cell (MS-SOFC) consisting of infiltrated NiMo/CZ internal reforming catalysts is operated under a direct ethanol feed condition at 700 °C with a steam-to-carbon (S/C) ratio of 2. The additional catalyst functional layer is required to internally reform the ethanol fuel into syngas while preventing the cell's rapid deactivation due to unwanted carbon deposits or coking. Our experimental results show that the cell with NiMo/CZ catalyst shows a higher maximum current density of 0.355 A cm−2 compared to 0.052 A cm−2 for the cell without catalyst at 0.4 V. The constant current stability performance was also improved. The cell with NiMo/CZ can operate for 90 h and shows less carbon deposition than the cell without a catalyst. Adding NiMo/CZ reforming catalyst into the MS-SOFC is a promising solution to enhance the operating lifetime and coke resistance in the ethanol steam reforming fed MS-SOFC system.