Global warming is thought to result from emissions largely caused by combustion reactions. If all existing burners could incorporate an SOFC, then global wanning could be much inhibited because of the improved exergy of SOFCs compared with existing catalytic burners. This paper proposes a new type of ceramic SOFC/burner which incorporates many of the innovations which are needed to improve burner performance, including catalytic combustion, premixed fuel/air, recuperation of combustion heat, recycling of reaction products, electric-ignition and electron extraction. The key problems of fuel variation and thermal shock resistance are addressed through the concept of 'reaction gradient' in which the rich sequence of oxidation reactions during combustion is spread through three extended catalytic regimes along the isothermal ceramic device. It is evident that ceramic materials such as zirconium oxide are necessary in this device to provide catalytic activity and to promote electron transfer. The conclusion is that ceramic will ultimately replace metal in SOFC/burners requiring low emissions and high exergy output.
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