Degradation of the SOFC anode by contaminants in biogenic gaseous fuels

Solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) have one of the highest efficiencies when converting fuelgas to electricity. Combining this property with the use of biomass enables a reliable and non-fluctuation form to use renewable energy efficiently even in small operating units. The simplest form of such an integrated system could consist in a gasifier for converting solid biomass to useable fuel-gas, a separation unit for removing particles and the SOFC which uses the fuel gas in an electrochemical reaction to generate electric power. This configuration implies that the SOFC must be resistant to the contaminants (tars, sulphur-, chloride- and alkaline-species) that are leaving the gasifier. Otherwise, the gas must be purified which increases the complexity and therefore the costs of the system. In the current research project, the tolerance of SOFCs regarding contamination in the producer gas of a biomass-gasification is examined. For the experiments, a Fuelcon Evaluator C1000-HT test station together with a mixing station for tars and gaseous contaminants is used. The analyzed anode-supported cells are manufactured by Forschungszentrum Jülich and consist of a NiO/8YSZ anode and an LSFC cathode. First, the degradation when operating the cell with pure syngas is studied, measuring the cell-voltage and the temperature profile along the anode. Subsequently analogous tests with different contaminants will be done.      «

Solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) have one of the highest efficiencies when converting fuelgas to electricity. Combining this property with the use of biomass enables a reliable and non-fluctuation form to use renewable energy efficiently even in small operating units. The simplest form of such an integrated system could consist in a gasifier for converting solid biomass to useable fuel-gas, a separation unit for removing particles and the SOFC which uses the fuel gas in an electrochemical rea...     »