Effects of Synthesis Gas Concentration, Composition, and Operational Time on Tubular Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Performance

Alexander R. Hartwell, Cole A. Wilhelm, Thomas S. Welles, Ryan J. Milcarek and Jeongmin Ahn
Additional contact information
Alexander R. Hartwell: Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Syracuse University, 263 Link Hall, Syracuse, NY 13244, USA
Cole A. Wilhelm: Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Syracuse University, 263 Link Hall, Syracuse, NY 13244, USA
Thomas S. Welles: Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Syracuse University, 263 Link Hall, Syracuse, NY 13244, USA
Ryan J. Milcarek: School for Engineering of Matter, Transport and Energy, Arizona State University, 501 E. Tyler Mall, Tempe, AZ 85281, USA
Jeongmin Ahn: Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Syracuse University, 263 Link Hall, Syracuse, NY 13244, USA

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 13, 1-16

Abstract: There is tremendous potential to utilize the exhaust gases and heat already present within combustion chambers to generate electrical power via solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs). Variations in system design have been investigated as well as thorough examinations into the impacts of environmental conditions and fuel composition/concentration on SOFC performance. In an attempt to isolate the impacts of carbon monoxide and hydrogen concentration ratios within the exhaust stream, this work utilizes multi-temperature performance analyses with simulated methane combustion exhaust as fuel combined with dilute hydrogen baseline tests. These comparisons reveal the impacts of the complex reaction pathways carbon monoxide participates in when used as an SOFC fuel. Despite these complexities, performance reductions as a result of the presence of carbon monoxide are low when compared to similarly dilute hydrogen as a fuel. This provides further motivation for the continued development of SOFC-CHP systems. Stability testing performed over 80 h reveals the need for careful control of the operating environment as well as signs of carbon deposition. As a result of gas flow disruption, impacts of anode oxidation that may normally not hinder power production become significant factors in addition to coarsening of the anode material. Thermal management and strategies to minimize these impacts are a topic of future research.

Keywords: flame-assisted fuel cell (FFC); solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC); combined heat and power (CHP); synthesis gas (syngas) (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/13/7983/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/13/7983/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:13:p:7983-:d:852423

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().