A compact and seal-less direct carbon solid oxide fuel cell stack stepping into practical application

Qianyang Chen, Qianyuan Qiu, Xiaomin Yan, Mingyang Zhou, Yapeng Zhang, Zhijun Liu, Weizi Cai, Wei Wang and Jiang Liu

Applied Energy, 2020, vol. 278, issue C, No S0306261920311557

Abstract: The direct carbon solid oxide fuel cell is a potential technology that efficiently and cleanly converts the chemical energy of solid carbon into electricity. Its superiority of all-solid-state configuration and unique operating mechanism indicate that it has a good application prospect in high energy density portable or backup power supplys. It can also be used to convert coal into electrical power. Here, for the first time, we report a compact direct carbon solid oxide fuel cell stack with 12 cells fabricated on a single 10 × 10 cm electrolyte plate. The plate covers a container filled with solid carbon-rich fuel to form a stack. No sealant and pipelines are needed and the carbon-rich fuel can be reloaded. Both activated carbon and sawdust of bauhinia tree branch are used as the fuel. The output power of such a stack approaches more than 10 W at 800 °C. Using 15 g of 5 wt% Fe-loaded activated carbon as the fuel, a stack discharging at a constant current of 1.5 A outputs an energy of 29 Wh, correspongding to an energy desnity of carbon of ∼2000 Wh kg−1. This work shows the feasibility of developing direct carbon solid oxide fuel cell into a compact electricity generator using readily available carbon-rich fuels. It also shows promise of using this technology in clean and efficient conversion of coal to electricity.

Keywords: Solid oxide fuel cell; Carbon fuel; Cell stack; Electrolyte plate; Coal; Biomass (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2020.115657

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