Operation of solid oxide fuel cells with alternative hydrogen carriers

Abstract

Future electricity production will use fossil-free sources with zero CO2 emission or closed carbon cycle technologies based on renewable sources. While hydrogen is considered a key energy source, its production at present time relies heavily on fossil fuels. Furthermore, distribution and storage are not well established and require substantial investments. This is a strong motivation to identify alternative, safe, high power density hydrogen carriers, where existing logistics and infrastructure can be utilized. In this contribution, ammonia and biogas are considered for high-efficient electricity production in solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs). It is demonstrated that the properties and operating conditions of SOFC allow for direct use of these fuels, with fuel pretreatment inside the SOFC anode. The high efficient electricity production using pure ammonia or real biogas was successfully proven on stateof-the-art SOFCs. Even without optimization of operating parameters, electrical efficiencies of 40-50% and high and stable power output were demonstrated.

Development of 1 kW‐class Ammonia‐fueled Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Stack

“…5% degradation was observed when ammonia fuel was supplied to an SOFC short stack consisting of 10 planar cells. Also, this is superior to the value reported by Hagen et al [22], where degradation by 2-4% kh -1 was reported in a single cell (53 53 mm 2 ) with pure ammonia fuel at 850°C.…”

“…Also, this is superior to the value reported by Hagen et al. , where degradation by 2–4% kh −1 was reported in a single cell (53 × 53 mm 2 ) with pure ammonia fuel at 850 °C.…”

“…Hashinokuchi et al [21] investigated the stability of a Ni-SDC anode fueled with ammonia and found that Cr addition is effective for not only enhancing the catalytic activity but also improving stability. Hagen et al [22] tested an SOFC single cell with ammonia fuel for 1,500 h and confirmed comparable stability of the performance with that with hydrogen fuel, although degradation by 2-4% kh -1 remains an issue to be overcome.…”

“…Hagen et al. tested an SOFC single cell with ammonia fuel for 1,500 h and confirmed comparable stability of the performance with that with hydrogen fuel, although degradation by 2–4% kh −1 remains an issue to be overcome.…”

Effects of Sn doping on the manufacturing, performance and carbon deposition of Ni/ScSZ cells in solid oxide fuel cells

“…Coupled with combined heat and power system (CHP), the SOFC efficiency can reach up to 90% [2,3]. The key distinction between SOFCs and low-temperature fuel cells is that aside from pure hydrogen the former can operate with alternative fuels, including bio-hythane [4,5], ethanol [6][7][8], kerosene [9], propane [10][11][12], ammonia [13,14], syngas [15], methane [16][17][18][19][20], and biogas [14,[21][22][23][24][25][26], where CO also serves as a reactant in the electrochemical reactions [14,19,[27][28][29]. This ability is a remarkable advantage given the high cost of pure hydrogen required in low-temperature fuel cells although when hydrogen produced from renewable energy [30,31].…”