Modeling and Analysis of Transport Processes and Efficiency of Combined SOFC and PEMFC Systems

Abstract

A hybrid fuel cell system (~10 kWe) for an average family house including heating is proposed. The investigated system comprises a Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) on top of a Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cell (PEFC). Hydrogen produced from the off-gases of the SOFC can be fed directly to the PEFC. Simulations for the proposed system were conducted using different fuels. Here, results for natural gas (NG), dimethyl ether (DME) and ethanol as a fuel are presented and analysed. Behaviour of the proposed system is further investigated by comparing the effects of key factors such as utilisation factor, operating conditions, oxygen-to-carbon (O/C) ratios and fuel preheating effects on these fuels. The combined system improves the overall electrical conversion efficiency compared with standalone PEFC or SOFC systems. For the combined SOFC and PEFC system, the overall power production was increased by 8%-16% and the system efficiency with one of the fuels is found to be 12% higher than that of the standalone SOFC system.

A 2-D model for Intermediate Temperature Solid Oxide Fuel Cells Preliminarily Validated on Local Values

“…These models range from zero-dimensional (0-D) ones, which are lumped models using concentrated parameters and which can only relate to cell global proprieties, to three dimensional (3-D) ones, which are detailed models using distributed parameters and can describe cell local proprieties on the three spatial coordinates. The use of any one of these types of models depends of the research aims: Usually 3-D and 2-D models concern phenomena investigation, while 1-D and 0-D models are related to control purposes [6][7][8][9][10][11].…”

Simulation of a SOFC/Battery powered vehicle

“…In the current model, the fuel was converted into carbon monoxide and hydrogen prior to the SOFC through partial oxidation. Partial oxidation is considered in this study because it makes use of air, which can be an advantage for mobile applications [26]. The reformer model aims at determining the amount of fuel in mol (mol fuel_FC ) and the heat energy required by the system, considering the stoichiometric reactions of the partial oxidation.…”

A Comprehensive Review and Technical Guideline for Optimal Design and Operations of Fuel Cell-Based Cogeneration Systems

“…Most of the studies found in the literature used the fuel cell as the sole prime mover in the cogeneration system. Only several studies combined between two types of fuel cell [25,26,28,57,61,62] and the combinations between the fuel cell and other energy conversion devices such as photovoltaic, electrolyzer, thermoelectric and batteries as the storage were reported in [46,[63][64][65].…”