A Microtubular Direct Carbon Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Operated on the Biochar Derived from Pepper Straw. Issue 3 (14th November 2019) - Yu, Fangyong
Abstract : Direct carbon solid oxide fuel cell (DC‐SOFC) is a promising energy conversion system, which can directly convert the chemical energy of biomass into electrical energy with high efficiency and low pollution. Herein, a microtubular DC‐SOFC fueled with the biochar derived from pepper straw for electrical power generation is reported. The DC‐SOFC operated on pepper straw char gives a maximum power density of 217 mW cm −2, comparable with 252 mW cm −2 for that with hydrogen fuel at 850 °C. Moreover, the lifetime of the DC‐SOFC reaches 21 h at a discharge current of 100 mA with the fuel utilization of 44.4%. The pepper straw char is characterized physically by scanning electron microscopy, energy‐dispersive spectrometer, X‐ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, and differential scanning calorimetry. The results demonstrate that the pepper straw char contains natural catalysts in itself and their contribution on the electrochemical performance of the microtubular DC‐SOFC is analyzed in detail. Abstract : The biochar derived from pepper straw is proved to be a superior energy source for microtubular direct carbon–solid oxide fuel cell (DC–SOFC) due to the naturally existing catalysts in fuel itself. Based on the results, it is valuable for developing microtubular DC–SOFC into a safe, effective, and environment‐friendly distributed power‐generation system using local biomass as fuel.