Investigation of startup, performance and cycling of a residential furnace integrated with micro-tubular flame-assisted fuel cells for micro-combined heat and power

Ryan J. Milcarek, Vincent P. DeBiase and Jeongmin Ahn

Energy, 2020, vol. 196, issue C

Abstract: Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFCs) offer advantages for micro-Combined Heat and Power (μCHP), but currently suffer from slow startup (>1 h) and limited thermal cycling which reduces the applications, energy savings and economics. In this work, a micro-Tubular SOFC stack is integrated into a residential furnace to create a micro-Tubular Flame-assisted Fuel Cell (mT-FFC) μCHP system. A high power density of 202 mW cm−2 is reported operating in synthesis gas generated from fuel-rich combustion of natural gas/air. Unlike previous reports, instabilities in the polarization are attributed to low temperature of the oxygen reduction reaction at the cathode. The mT-FFC stack achieved peak power density in 6 min after ignition. 200 thermal cycles at an average heating rate of 215 °C.min−1 and average cooling rate of 176 °C.min−1 were conducted and a low degradation rate of 0.0325 V per 100 cycles per fuel cell was achieved. Low NOx emissions (10 ppm) and high combined efficiency is reported.

Keywords: Flame-assisted fuel cell (FFC); Solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC); Micro-tubular SOFCs (mT-SOFCs); Micro-combined heat and power (μCHP) (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (7)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:energy:v:196:y:2020:i:c:s0360544220302553

DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2020.117148

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