Victorian Brown Coal as a Fuel for Direct Carbon Fuel Cells - Benefits and Technical Challenges

摘要

Direct carbon fuel cells (DCFCs) offer one solution to the issue of involving coal in a cleaner energy future, in that are one of the most efficient means of converting the chemical potential in a fuel (carbon) into electrical energy. This carbon fuel can be any solid carbonaceous material, however the diversity of fuels used within these cells to date is limited. There is scope to increase the variety of carbonaceous fuels Mailed within these fuel cells to include a wide range of coals, including low rank coals. Furthermore, the effect of minerals and impurities present in coal on the reverse Boudouard reaction (gasification reaction) is central to the use of coals, and other abundant carbonaceous material, as future fuel sources for this technology. The reverse Boudouard reaction is a key side-reaction inherent in high-temperature DCFCs and has major implications to their performance and efficiency. This paper investigates the fuel-based performance of one such DCFC, and issues surrounding the use of raw coals and their products within these fuel cells.