Performance Evaluation of Solid Oxide Carbon Fuel Cells Operating on Steam Gasified Carbon Fuels

Abstract

We investigated the operating characteristics of solid oxide carbon fuel cells (SO-CFCs) integrated with a steam gasifier that used carbonaceous fuels, including activated carbon and biomass driven charcoal. Steam gasification was carried out in a specially designed gasifier, which was directly integrated with a solid-oxide based carbon fuel cell. We studied the effect of gasification temperature, steam flow rate and catalyst addition on the electrochemical performance of SO-CFC, and the results showed that among the three tested fuels, activated carbon with a K2CO3 catalyst performed the best. At 850°C, the maximum power density 108mW/cm2, 161mW/cm2 and 181mW/cm2 was achieved when the SO-CFC operated on activated carbon, biomass driven charcoal and activated carbon with a K2CO3 catalyst, respectively. The SO-CFC operated continuously for 100h and it showed relatively stable performance. This study suggests that by using a catalytic steam gasifier integrated with the SO-CFC, the solid carbon fuel resources can be used for power generation with higher efficiency and minimal carbon footprint.