Running solid oxide fuel cells on biogas

Abstract

Abstract. The feasibility of operating a solid oxide fuel cell on biogas has been studied over a wide compositional range of biogas, using a small tubular solid oxide fuel cell system operating at 850 ~ In addition the response of the SOFC towards waste ammonia has been studied. It is possible to run the SOFC on biogas, even at remarkably low levels of methane, at which conventional heat engines would not work, thus offering a valuable and environmentally friendly use for poor-quality biogas that is currently wasted by detrimental venting to the atmosphere. The power output varies with methane content of the biogas, with maximum power production occurring at 45% methane, corresponding to maximal production of H2 and CO through internal dry reforming. Direct electrocatalytic oxidation of methane does not contribute to the power output of the cell. For biogas with higher methane contents methane decomposition becomes significant, leading to increased H2 production, and hence transiently higher power production, and deleterious carbon deposition and thus eventual cell deactivation. SOFCs are tolerant to ammonia, actually utilising the ammonia present in biogas to produce electrical power, at the same time acting as an environmental clean-up device breaking down the ammonia pollutant to N, and water, with no formation of any undesirable nitrogen oxides.

Computational fluid dynamics analysis of an innovative start-up method of high temperature fuel cells using dynamic 3d model

“…, biofuels 8 and energy carriers which can be converted to hydrogen-rich gas, including ammonia 9 and dimethyl ether 10 . Additionally, a future potential of solid oxide fuel cells can be foreseen in power-to-gas technologies.…”

Preparation of La/Co/Ni-based anode catalyst for biogas-fueled solid oxide fuel cells

“…Hydrocarbon that can be directly used as fuel for SOFCs is highly attractive because its use can afford significant reductions in the total energy cost as compared to hydrogen [4]. In particular, biogas and natural gas, of which the main components are methane and carbon dioxide, are widely available and can be used as a fuel for SOFCs [5,6]. However, because of the high catalytic activity of Ni toward hydrocarbon cracking reactions, the severe coke formation on the conventional nickel cermet anodes has been a practical issue [4,[7][8][9].…”

Biogas derived from municipal solid waste to generate electrical power through solid oxide fuel cells

“…It is because the main challenges impeding SOFC technology are a result of the high temperatures required for its operation. SOFC systems running on biogas derived from agricultural residue [27] and industry waste [28] have been investigated in the relevant literature. Recently, reference [29] has addressed some of the problems of applying biomassderived fuels in FCs, such as the removal of some components that adversely affect their efficiency.…”