Abstract
Three different anode supported solid oxide fuel cells
(SOFC) were tested with hydrogen, pre-reformed natural
gas from which sulfur was removed, and with pre-reformed
natural gas that contained sulfur. The cells were
obtained from Forschungszentrum Jülich (FZJ), Energy
research Centre of the Netherlands (ECN), and HTceramix
SA.
The reforming system includes a vaporizer for water, an
autothermal reforming unit, a ZnO sulfur removal unit,
and a product gas analysis system. The content of the
reformate gas varied slightly depending on the sulfur
content of fuel but an average content was: x[H2]=0.32,
x[CH4]=0.08, x[CO]=0.07, x[CO2]=0.06, x[H2O]=0.25,
x[N2]=0.22. The sulfur content in syngas was 2 vol-ppm
when the ZnO reactor was not used.
The geometry of the cells as delivered by all three
manufactures was circular having the gas inlets for the
fuel and oxidant at the middle. The flow field and
current collector at the anode was a porous nickel mesh
and at the cathode a porous platinum mesh. The active
area of the cells was 50 cm2. At the cathode, dry air was
used as the oxidant and its flow rate was constant 2075
mlN min-1 in all measurements corresponding to an oxygen
utilization of 0.5 at 1.25 A cm-2. At the anode, the flow
rate was set to correspond to a fuel utilization of 0.5
at 1.25 A cm-2.
The results to be presented from the three different cell
types are based on a test protocol including three
different steps. Polarization measurements from the open
circuit potential up to 1.25 A cm-2 or down to 0.6 V and
back to the open circuit potential were firstly conducted
at three different temperatures (i.e. 700 °C, 750 °C and
800 °C). Hydrogen was used as fuel in these measurements
in order to see the quality of the cells. Secondly, the
cells were loaded for 200 h at a constant current of 0.5
A cm-2 with one of the three different fuel choices at
800 °C in order to investigate the possible degradation
of the cells. After the stable current loading, the
polarization measurements were repeated with hydrogen in
order to examine the possible degradation in more
detailed.
This work is part of the Integrated Project "Realising
Reliable, Durable Energy Efficient and Cost Effective
SOFC Systems" (Real-SOFC) supported by the European
Commission. The cells studied here are the first
generation cells produced in the project.
Original language | English |
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Title of host publication | 1st European Fuel Cell Technology and Applications Conference (EFC2005) |
Subtitle of host publication | Book of Abstracts |
Publisher | American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) |
Number of pages | 13 |
ISBN (Print) | 978-0-7918-4209-6 |
Publication status | Published - 2005 |
MoE publication type | Not Eligible |
Event | 1st European Fuel Cell Technology and Applications Conference - Rome, Italy Duration: 14 Dec 2005 → 16 Dec 2005 Conference number: 1 |
Conference
Conference | 1st European Fuel Cell Technology and Applications Conference |
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Abbreviated title | EFC |
Country/Territory | Italy |
City | Rome |
Period | 14/12/05 → 16/12/05 |