Propane-fuelled microtubular solid oxide fuel cell stack electrically connected by an anodic rectangular window

Abstract

A current collecting window (0.4 cm2), without an electrolyte and cathode, is located in the middle of an anode and connected electrically to the cathode of another microtubular solid oxide fuel cell (MTSOFC) when building a short stack. No apparent open-circuit voltage (OCV) drops were observed during 31 thermal cycles for an 8-cell stack using H2 and syngas. Furthermore, 24.1, 53.6 and 103.5 W power levels are achieved employing this current collecting mode at 700 °C for an 8, 10 and 20-cell stack, respectively. The propane-fuelled 8-cell stack has a maximum power density (MPD) of 0.30 W cm−2 when integrated with a catalytic partial oxidation (CPOX) reformer, at a flow rate of 0.32 g min−1 of propane. A Pt-Ru nanoparticle is fabricated by impregnation treatment of the alumina honeycomb ceramic support. The Pt-based catalyst, with an average size of ∼10.0 nm, is well distributed on the surface of the honeycomb ceramic channel. Moreover, Pt-Ru/Al2O3, as a CPOX catalyst, exhibits high propane conversions (94.2%) at 700 °C.