Fuel Cell Plant Research Articles

Methane Oxidative Coupling: Technical and Economic Evaluation of a Chemical Cogenerative Fuel Cell

A technical and economic evaluation of a chemical cogenerative solid oxide fuel cell plant that uses methane (natural gas) as fuel is presented. The 100 MW electrical power plant produces simultaneously 0.21 x 10 9 lb of ethylene from the methane oxidative coupling reaction that takes place at the anodic electrode-catalyst of yttria-stabilized zirconia solid electrolyte cells. The technoeconomic evaluation gives an acceptable return on investment before taxes of about 21.5%. The economics are also compared to those of a conventional oxidative coupling chemical plant. The return on investment after taxes (ROIAT) is 13% for the fuel cell plant while for the equivalent conventional chemical plant it is about 14%. The most important contributors to the total cost are identified. Areas of possible cost reduction that could significantly increase the competitiveness of the fuel cell plant are also identified and discussed.

95/01575 Test operation of phosphoric acid fuel cell plant

95/01575 Test operation of phosphoric acid fuel cell plant

Test operation of phosphoric acid fuel cell plant

After overcoming major start-up problems, guarantee test runs were successfully completed in February 1993 on the phosphoric acid fuel cell plant (79 kWdc 4 kWth) installed at the SWB solar hydrogen facility in Neunburg vorm Wald, Germany. The fuel cell plant comprises a fuel cell, a steam reformer with CO shift converter, and a pressure-swing adsorption unit. This article describes the fuel cell plant in detail. The most significant results of the guarantee test runs and specific knowledge derived from operation up to August 1994 are reported. The fuel cell plant described in this article was set up for testing within a solar hydrogen demonstration facility. In designing the plant, efforts were undertaken to incorporate an extensive variety of operating capabilities.

Neunburg vorm wald — Test centre for solar hydrogen technology

In Neunburg vorm Wald, eastern Bavaria, Germany, an industrial-sized solar hydrogen demonstration plant has been set up, and this plant is of some importance in the world of renewable energy. In the course of the long-term project, mainly prototype components of a possible future energy economy based on hydrogen as an energy medium are tested in their performance and interaction. The overall plant consists of photovoltaic generators, electric power conditioning, water electrolysers, gas treatment and storage units, as well as an LH 2-filling station and other application technologies like heating boilers, a catalytically operated heater/refrigerator and fuel cell plants. The present paper, as of July 1993, is a report on the realization of the first project phase, the operating experience, and also elaborates on the planning status of the current second project phase.

ELEVATED TEMPERATURE LOW‐CYCLE FATIGUE BEHAVIOR OF HK40 ALLOY

Abstract— By conducting creep tests and creep‐fatigue tests at temperatures of 800°C, 900°C, and 1000°C, on centrifugal cast HK40 alloy (which is used for example for the steam reformer tubes of fuel cell plants) and varying the strain rate during the loading and unloading process, the influence of strain history on the life of the material has been clarified. Furthermore, the data obtained from these tests were subjected to analyses by means of life evaluation methods utilizing the life fraction rule, strain range partitioning method, and damage rate approach, and comparative studies were conducted on each life evaluation method. As a result, problematic points concerning the application of the life fraction rule, strain range partitioning method, and damage rate approach have been clarified and data which would be useful in establishing design guidelines for structures to be used under conditions such as involves the interaction of creep and fatigue have been obtained.

Fuel Cell Power Plants for Surface Fleet Applications

ABSTRACTThis paper describes the results of a study undertaken to determine the impact of fuel cell technology on the design and effectiveness of future naval surface combatants.The study involved the collection of data to characterize four different fuel cell technologies: proton exchange membrane, molten carbonate, phosphoric acid, and solid oxide fuel cells. This information was used to expand current computer models to develop specific fuel cell plants that met the power requirements for several applications on a nominal 5000 Lton destroyer and a nominal 2000 Lton corvette.Each of the fuel cell technologies was incorporated into several applications aboard the destroyer and the corvette. These applications included combinations of centralized and distributed ship service power, and propulsion power. In addition, the impact of fuel cell technology was determined for a ship service power backfit option aboard a DDG‐51 class destroyer.The results of the impact on the ship designs were analyzed and a military effectiveness assessment was conducted to address such issues as the impact of fuel cells on mobility, survivability, affordability, and on the environment.The paper identifies which aspects of the fuel cell technologies have the greatest impact upon the ship designs and their operational costs. Recommendations are given for future technology development efforts required to make fuel cells suitable for Navy service.

PAFC demonstration plants in Europe: first results

In the past two years, over 100 fuel cell plants have gone into service worldwide, over 90% using PAFCs. So far, PAFCs have been the only technically mature and turnkey design available on the market. This paper gives an overview of the status of PAFC plants installed in Europe. Emphasis is laid on the experience gained from the operation of the 200-kW plant of Ruhrgas AG. The plant was commissioned in September 1992 at the Ruhrgas R and D facility and is presently being subjected to extensive testing. Ruhrgas not only measures the electrical output and corresponding efficiencies, but also simulates different user requirements. It further examines the effect of different gas properties on plant performance. The plant is operated on group L (≈ 9.2 kWh/m 3) gas, group H (≈ 10.8 kWh/m 3) gas and peak shaving gas. With this approach, overall efficiency and environmental compatibility of the fuel cell plant are thoroughly investigated and potential areas of improvement can be found.

Evaluation of Creep-Fatigue Damage Interaction in HK40 Alloy

In order to establish design criteria for materials which may sustain creep-fatigue damage, the creep rupture and creep-fatigue behavior of a high-carbon centrifugal cast steel was investigated at three different temperatures of 800, 900, and 1000°C, using HK-40 alloy which is a typical furnace tube material for fuel cell plant reformers and so on. The strain waveforms used for the creep-fatigue tests consisted of triangular waveforms—pp waves (fast-fast waves), cc waves (slow-slow waves), pc waves (fast-slow waves), and cp waves (slow-fast waves)—and a trapezoidal waveform holding the peak strain at the tension side. The applicability of various creep-fatigue interaction damage assessment methods were evaluated with particular emphasis on the life fraction rule (LFR) employed in ASME Section III, Boiler & Pressure Vessel Code Case N-47 and the strain range partitioning method (SRP). As it turned out that through the LFR life evaluation of HK-40 alloy subjected to strain cycling with holding at the tension side was well interpreted, design criteria for reformer tubes were established by applying the LFR to creep-fatigue life evaluation.

燃料電池プラント用大容量インバータの開発と実績

燃料電池プラント用大容量インバータの開発と実績

Phosphoric acid fuel cells (PAFCs) for commercialization

The ongoing projects and plans for commercialization of the phosphoric acid fuel cells (PAFCs) at the Fuji Electric Co. are reported. Technical specifications for some planned fuel cell plants are presented. Possible and planned cost reductions as the most important issue for PAFC commercialization are discussed. These efforts fall within the Japanese Government's long term introductory plan for fuel cell power plants.

European opportunities for fuel cell commercialisation

European opportunities for fuel cell commercialisation

The Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) fuel cell evaluation program

The Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) has promoted the development of fuel cells for individual suppliers for installation in buildings having a large heat demand, and for dispersed power sources in re-developed urban areas, utilizing advanced technology associated with phosphoric acid fuel cells. In demonstration testing of two 200 kW water-cooled plants for individual supply, the power generation performance and operating characteristics as a co-generation system are being assessed. Furthermore, construction of an 11 MW fuel cell plant for regional supply was completed. This was followed by the PAC (process and control) test, which led to successfully achieving the plant's rated power output. Although there are some obstacles to be overcome, the present demonstration tests clearly indicate the high potential of fuel cells for full-fledged commercial use. This paper presents an outline of these tests and the interim evaluation results.

Status of fuel cell R&D programme and perspectives for commercialization in Italy

In order to promote the development and commercialization of different fuel cell technologies a national programme, coordinated by ENEA, was begun in 1985, with the collaboration of industries, utilities and research facilities. In the framework of this programme, phosphoric acid fuel cell plants of different sizes and for different applications (from a few kW to 1 MW) will be built and tested; R&D activities are being carried out in the field of advanced fuel cells (molten carbonate, solid oxide, solid polymer) to develop cell and stack technology. The status of programme activities, together with the perspectives for commercialization in Italy, are presented and described.

Environmental impacts of energy facilities: fuel cell technology compared with coal and conventional gas technology

We compare the environmental side effects of power plants based on fuel cell technology with the side effects of conventional electric power plants based on coal and natural gas. The environmental impact of a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) plant is very much less than that of a coal-fired plant (a factor of 1 300 for air pollution and a factor of 1 5 for water pollution). Compared with a conventional gas plant, impact is reduced by between 50 and 98%. Damage to cultural monuments and buildings is negligible from a fuel cell plant. Socioeconomic negative impacts are reduced by about 30% relative to conventional gas plants (aesthetics and noise) whereas employment is unaltered. Impact on health and safety is greatly reduced compared with that from coal-fired plants and is about 70% of that from conventional gas plants. Preliminary results suggest that society's willingness to pay (WTP) for clean air, and thereby better health, matches the cost of installing emission-reducing equipment on conventional power plants. There is probably an additional WTP for other benefits (e.g., decreased risk of global warming). Thus, the utility of very small emissions, lower CO 2 discharges, and other benefits from SOFC generators may compensate for the increased cost incurred in producing electricity by SOFC generators.

Possible fuel cell applications for ships and submarines

Fuel cells chemically convert fuels into direct current electrical energy and unlike heat engines, are not limited by the Camot cycle. Although still an emerging technology, small and high reliability fuel cell plants have been built for space applications and large systems as demonstrators for commercial power generation [ 11. In these applications automatic and reliable operation of fuel cells has been demonstrated. Military applications have included small land based systems using phosphoric acid electrolyte fuel cells [2,3] and a German development using alkaline electrolyte fuel cells in a submarine [ 4,5]. For the operation of a fuel cell system, fuels generally have to be converted to usable hydrogen which is combined with oxygen in the fuel cell to produce water and electric power through a load. The following summarises benefits which might accrue from applying fuel cell systems to surface ships and submarines, and is based on earlier papers [6,7].

Analysis of control characteristics using fuel cell plant simulator

To estimate the operational characteristics of duel cell power plants, the authors developed a dynamic simulator and analyzed the operating characteristics. In the simulations, attention is given to the pressure difference between the cathode and anode of the fuel cell and the system base pressure. The former is important for safe operation of the fuel cell and the latter is important for safe operation of the reformer. For load following and shut-down modes of the 1 MW plant studied, calculation results were compared with actual test results and agree fairly well.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">&gt;</ETX>

Standard handbook of powerplant engineering

Section I: Energy Resources for Power Generation. Overview of U. S. Energy Resources. Coal. Oil and Natural Gas. Nuclear Energy. Hydroelectric Energy. Solar Energy. Geothermal Energy. Wind Energy. Biomass Energy. Waste Fuels. Section II: Steam Powerplants. Steam Fundamentals. Basic Powerplant Design. Steam Generators. Boiler Auxiliaries. Cooling Towers and Air-Cooled Condensers. Water Treatment. Section III: Prime Movers. Steam-Turbine Fundamentals. Steam-Turbine Design. Gas-Turbine Fundamentals. Gas-Turbine Design. Hydraulic Turbines. Oil- and Gas-Fired Reciprocating Engines. Section IV: Plant Electric Systems. AC Generators and Generator Protection. Transformers and Transformer Protection. Electrical Interconnections. In-Plant Electrical Distribution. AC Motors and Their Applications. Busway Applications. Cable Applications. Section V: Instrumentation and Control. Powerplant Instruments. Combustion Control and Burner Management. Turbine and Engine Governors. Key Systems and Components. Human Engineering: Human-Machine Interface. Section VI: Nuclear Plant Systems. Introduction. Fission Theory. Nuclear Steam Supply Systems. Nuclear Plant Operation, Maintenance, and Control. Reactor Safety. Regulation. Section VII: Hydroelectric Power Stations. General Features of a Hydroelectric Project. Dams, Spillways, Water Conductors, and Powerhouses. Auxiliary Mechanical Equipment. Hydroelectric Generators, Transformers, and Controls. Section VIII: Alternative Energy Plants--Emerging Technologies. Solar Power Systems in Space. Geothermal Power Systems. Wind Energy Technology. Wood/Biomass Powerplants. Waste-Fired Plant Design. Fuel Cell Plants. Section IX: Environmental Controls. Environmental Legisation and Regulation. Air Emission Controls. Water Emission Controls. Solid Waste Management. Powerplant Noise and Its Control. Section X: Appendices: Conversion Factors. Standard Nominal System Voltages and Voltage Ranges. Abbreviations.

Electrochemical high temperature technology for hydrogen production or direct electricity generation

Solid oxide electrolyte cells have been developed for hydrogen production from water vapour with high overall efficiency. On the basis of experimental data plant concepts have been designed for autothermal electrolysis operation with low temperature (∼150°C) steam input at a mean cell voltage of ∼1.3 V. The production of modules of series connected cells is under way in order to demonstrate the vapour electrolysis in a small, but complete plant for ∼3.5 kW hydrogen output. The actual state of the art of this technology will be described. It has been demonstrated that the solid oxide cells can be operated also in the reverse mode acting as fuel cells for hydrogen as well as for carbon monoxide. Calculations of overall performance of high temperature fuel cell plants show that, e.g. for electricity generation from natural gas, efficiencies of about 60% can be achieved with the additional advantage of extremely low NO x emission.

Power/energy: A giant step planned in fuel-cell plant test: A demonstration program for a prototype 4.8-MW dc fuel cell is underway for New York's Consolidated Edison electrical system

This article deals with the principles of fuel-cell power-plant operation, the scope and status of a 4.8 MW fuel-cell demonstration program, the importance of the fuel cell's features to electric utilities and their customers, and efforts to bring fuel-cell power-plant technology to commercial realization.

Fuel-cell plant for autonomous power supply

The construction and testing of an operating model of a 7 kW hydrazine oxygen fuel cell plant is described. The oxygen is obtained by catalytic decomposition of hydrogen peroxide immediately prior to use. The maximum output of the plant is 11·2 kW (100 A, 112 V). An electronic system controls starting, automatic operation and shut-down. Starting takes 1–2 min. The overall efficiency of the entire plant—referred to the hydrazine—is 0·51.