The Performance of Solid Oxide Fuel Cells Based on Methanol Solution

Abstract

Methanol generally needs a steam reforming process before being used in solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs). This paper calculated and tested the composition of methanol reforming gas under different steam-to-carbon ratio (S/C ratio) and temperature. Results show that when the temperature is between 720°C and 820°C, experiment results are almost consistent with calculation results. When the temperature is around 620°C, a significant deviation exists between the experiment and calculation results, indicating that methanol conversion is incomplete. When the S/C ratio needs to be higher than 1.2 due to the equipment's limit, the appropriate reaction condition is 725°C and S/C ratio of 1.2. Methanol reforming gas under this condition was tested on a commercial SOFC. The peak power is 39.31W under 750°C and 46.97W under 800°C. The highest electrical efficiency reaches 52.4% when fuel utilization is 80%. These results provide a research basis for the future application of methanol in SOFCs.