The effect of Fe2O3 catalyst on direct carbon fuel cell performance. (15th October 2015)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Skrzypkiewicz, Marek; Lubarska-Radziejewska, Iwona; Jewulski, Janusz
• Is Part Of: International journal of hydrogen energy. Volume 40:Number 38(2015)
• Page Start: 13090
• Page End: 13098
• Publication Date: 2015-10-15
• Subjects: Direct carbon fuel cell -- DC-SOFC -- Solid oxide fuel cell -- Catalyst -- Boudouard reaction; ASR area specific resistance [Ω cm2] -- CO-SOFC carbon monoxide fueled solid oxide fuel cell -- DC-SOFC solid carbon fueled solid oxide fuel cell -- DCFC direct carbon fuel cell -- GDC gadolinium doped ceria -- LSCM lanthanum strontium manganese chromite -- LSCT cobalt-doped strontium titanate -- LSGM lanthanum strontium gallate magnesite -- LSM strontium-doped lanthanum manganite -- LST lanthanum-doped strontium titanate -- MPD maximum power density [mW/cm2] -- OCV open cell voltage [V] -- SOFC solid oxide fuel cell -- SYT yttrium-doped strontium titanate -- YSZ yttria stabilized zirconia; Hydrogen as fuel -- Periodicals; Hydrogène (Combustible) -- Périodiques; Hydrogen as fuel; Periodicals; 665.81
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ijhydene.2015.07.132
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0360-3199

Abstract

Abstract: In a direct carbon solid oxide fuel cell (DC-SOFC), solid carbonaceous fuel is supplied directly to SOFC anode. This approach offers advantages of high efficiency, system simplicity and possibility of direct conversion for a wide range of solid, carbonaceous fuels. Additional improvements in the cell performance can be achieved with the application of catalysts. Two alternative approaches have been considered to apply catalysts in a DC-SOFC configuration. In the first approach, activated carbon has been impregnated with inexpensive Fe2 O3 catalyst before supplying to the anode compartment as a fuel. In the alternative approach, SOFC anode has been impregnated with Fe2 O3 catalyst while the non-catalyzed activated carbon was supplied to the anode as a fuel. In both cases, the current density for a fuel cell operating at 0.7 V, more than doubled in comparison to previously reported results in a similar test setup. This result points to the reverse Boudouard reaction (C + CO2 → 2CO) as a limiting process for the fuel cell performance. Utilization of the in-situ generated CO improved for catalyst-impregnated anode, enabling higher conversion efficiency. Moreover, the impregnation of anode with Fe2 O3 consumes 17-times less catalyst than impregnation of carbon, with similar cell performance. The obtained results were compared to other DC-SOFC performance improvement approaches reported in the literature. Highlights: Application of Fe2 O3 catalyst yields improved DC-SOFC performance of 130–150 mW/cm 2 . Two approaches tested: Fe2 O3 impregnated anode and Fe2 O3 impregnated fuel. Impregnation of anode with Fe2 O3 consumes 17-times less catalyst than impregnation of carbon. The Fe2 O3 impregnated anode performance is close to that of anode operated on impregnated fuel.